Finally got around to doing the Santa mission in The Escapists !
I kept messing up right at the end; it was trying my patience. I like when the reindeer come up to you [to be petted?]
Santa only speaks in gibberish
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I watched this walkthrough without commentary of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake in its full 5 hour glory:
Christmas only is a thing in the very last part and there is not a single snowflake to be seen:
I found the mini bosses and the end boss funny, but they were not as unique and weird and special as the ones in the first game. The “love stories” in this one are also as cringy as it gets and made me laugh out loud multiple times.
Judging solely by looking at it, gameplay and visuals got a significant upgrade and it is way clearer when an anemy can spot you and when not. On the other hand it seems to be easier to trick AI, especially the mini bosses, which can make the fights trivial, if you know how.
All in all I had a good time watching Snake meet two beautiful women at Christmas Eve and backtracking through a jungle 5 times (that would have driven me crazy when playing).
I liked the music in this one a lot, while I had to mute it in the first one, so that’s an upgrade too.
It even has Swing and Blues songs ( 00:41:50 - Swing, Swing 00:42:53 - “A” Jam Blues)
To use an owl to make a guard believe it is evening was a funny idea and of course the cardboard box gets used again.
All in all a solid (Solid) Snake game 
, worth at least watching the highlights of, the hours of backtracking the same maps probably rather not.
It is definitely not a Christmas game. Not even in the sense of Die Hard Or Lethal Weapon.
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Love all the great retro game posts on this forum!!
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This time, I completed Batman Returns [NES] !
– We had this one when we were little; I think we could only get to level 2 [Shrek’s Department Store] at that age. I might’ve eventually completed it once around college, when I was getting back into retro gaming… ?
– That distinctive Konami/NES atmosphere. I especially like the part of the prologue that’s like “and Batman Returns to…” like, OOP ! They said it ! <3
– There is a level select code so completing this one shouldn’t be a problem, in fact you can have invincibility too but only for some levels [?!]. But at the end, a Penguin[?!] told me I took too long so I guess I don’t get the good ending. In a Batman Returns beat 'em up? Come on, man
– So yeah, this one was pretty cool
– There could be a Valentine’s-themed month for February [I assume some people might want to check out games they got for Christmas or whatnot FTTB]
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I love the many versions of Batman Returns that there are. Especially the game gear version!
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I have never played the Game Gear version of Batman Returns, though many years ago a relative gifted me the Game Gear version of Batman Forever
I have Batman Forever on SNES now; maybe I should try to get through it someday. Despite its reputation as a…less-than-stellar title…
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Thinking about candidates for January retro games and was thinking that since we will be entering 2024, maybe we should play games that enter the retro category as of this year. That would mean games from 2004. Does anyone have some interesting candidates for games that were released in 2004?
GTA San Andreas, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and Half Life 2 are some obvious titles that come to mind.
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There would be the first Far Cry and for me a chance to see how this series has started and if the first one still holds up. It seems also to be an extremely hard game, so I would have to check if this is doable for me or if I end up watching a video again. It seems to have an easy mode, but looking at the Steam forums I doubt that means actual “easy” but rather “not as unfair as other difficulties”.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines would be my GOTY of 2004 followed closely by Thief: Deadly Shadows and we do not talk about World of Warcraft shudder
I loved the story/stories of Masquerade, but I loved the atmosphere of Deadly Shadows even more and the orphanage map ( Shalebridge Cradle) made me sleep with the lights on after playing, as an adult. I am as eager as scared to go back there. 
But then replaying Masquerade now that the sequal finally might eventual come out, could also be a good idea. 
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I thought about listing WoW but I think Blizzard has now progressed Classic all the way to Cataclysm so we once again can’t play vanilla.
Far Cry is interesting because it’s nothing like the rest, given it’s sci-fi. The second refocus the series on a less fantastical approach.
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This is a really neat idea and I love the suggestions! I actually downloaded GTA:SA onto my retro handheld a few months ago but only played the intro so I’d love to play that. Similar case with Half Life 2, I started it ages ago but stopped for some reason (I got the original game for free during the steam giveaway so would like to play that in the leadup if we do end up going with Half Life 2.
My personal favourites from 2004 are Jak 3, Sly Cooper 2, and Spider-Man 2 ; 2004 is a killer year though for games it’s actually hard to pick from all of the incredible titles that released. Honourable mention to Incredibles movie game!
I’d like to try some games that I haven’t experienced yet so I like the sound of @Nelemania suggestions! Looking at stuff I haven’t played yet I’d probably throw Ninja Gaiden and either Pikmin 2 or Katamari Damacy into the mix!
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Going back to the December / holiday games though, I’m currently in Denmark to celebrate new years and figured I still had time to play one game just before the new year hits (it’s still holiday season, right?). Decided to go with Batman Returns as it reminded me a lot of the other beat em ups I’d played on the SNES like Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, and the combat does not disappoint! I really like some of the subtleties like being able to grab enemies and throw them against a wall or window (which breaks the glass) if you press the up arrow when throwing whilst close to a wall. Neat touches!
I’m currently trying to beat the first boss(?) “StunGun.C” and his health just isn’t going doing? Going to keep punching him right in the kisser for a bit longer and see if it does anything before turning to a guide
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The bosses take a few hits before their health starts going down; the health meter actually changes colors first
Also note that there is a code for more lives/continues, if necessary
Power Rangers [SNES] was a good one
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Oh this is a fun idea! Seconding the suggestions for Vampire: Bloodlines and Katamari.
Bloodlines is pretty obviously an unfinished game, but I’ve always felt that the first couple neighborhoods make up like half of one of the greatest RPGs ever, and it’d be rad to see how the mod scene has progressed since I first played it. And then Katamari is just a classic.
A few other 2004 games I’d love to return to:
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Metroid: Zero Mission - Before Dread came out, this was probably the best Samus had ever controlled in anything. It’s a fantastically snappy game with great action and puzzles, and just enough openness in the level design not to feel restrictive.
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Mario vs. Donkey Kong - Great puzzle platformer with a surprisingly deep moveset for a 2d Mario game.
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The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Would be interesting to return to one of Hidemaro Fujibayashi’s first Zeldas, now that BotW and TotK are such massive hits.
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Sid Meier’s Pirates! - Remember really loving the ship combat and sandbox design, plus pissing off every nation’s navy by working for all of them simultaneously.
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Cave Story - Maybe the first self-styled “indie” game I can recall playing and loving, v curious to see if it still holds up.
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Huh, I was considering trying Metroid Zero Mission anyway
It’s been in my collection for a while, but I never really played much of it
I have Pikmin 2 as well
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Incidentally, I believe this is getting a remake in a couple months.
Oof, I feel old. I remember this game making waves once word of it spread. It really wowed all us fans of the 8/16-bit eras of 2D platforming, which felt long gone by then.
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As far as I know there is still a way to play vanilla and that’s the hardcore servers. It is only vanilla or as close to vanilla as it ever got but with the twist that if you die once you need to start over.
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Oh God, that was 2004 too? It was a great year for gaming it seems. I played that one way later though. It came as a freebee with a games magazine. I remember having tried the game again not too long ago, but the ship combat was unplayable (ultra fast on my PC) and I did not have the patience to find out how to get that sorted out. The exploration aspect of this game made it for me, just sail away and find new places.
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I just defeated penguin in stage 4. The previous bosses were much harder imo. Think there’s 3 more stages to go! Doubt I’ll finish it before new the new year hits in 3 years lol
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Well, I hope one of them [for January] will be Metroid: Zero Mission, because I just finished…though, I imagine I’d be limited to ones I can access irregardless. This will be my first game for 2024 !
– This one has been in my collection forever, but I never really got far in it before now
– Last year, I was on a bit of a NES kick for a while and played through Metroid [on Switch] twice–once with armor, and once without it
– Zero Mission is a remake, but will throw a few curveballs. I tried, but needed a walkthrough for my first time
– After Mother Brain, there’s like a Metal Gear section with Zero Suit Samus [her first appearance…?] I don’t usually like sneaking around parts too much. And there was a cheap trick at the end! but, oh well
– Does everywhere Samus go self-destruct at the end? Like, if she has to go to the grocery store or something ?
– Kraid and Ridley are best friends
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Alight, behind schedule as usual (lol) I’ve pulled every suggestion together into a poll. I’ll give people a couple days to vote. People are welcome to play any of these but let’s try to narrow the discussion selection down to three titles.
Please vote for your top three games below:
Retro Game of the Month for January 2024
- Cave Story
- Far Cry
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Half Life 2
- Jak 3
- Katamari Damacy
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong
- Metroid: Zero Mission
- Ninja Gaiden
- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
- Pikmin 2
- Sid Meier’s Pirates
- Sly Cooper 2
- Spider-Man 2
- Thief: Deadly Shadows
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
0
voters
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