Last game you beat

>I do feel the greater fiends, especially Fiend Genshin, are a highlight
I liked regular Genshin more than the fiend version, mostly because of a couple of his attacks that do ridiculous damage and come out very quickly (like the fire blast move), but yeah. Alexei is probably my favourite boss and Liz is pretty great too. Don't care too much about Volf and Zedonious can go fuck himself. Who thought it was a good idea to make the second fight near the lava?

>I do think they are still quite harmless
They would be if they didn't give so much money in return, especially in the early game. You can start using them less after CH4/5 or so, but the early game is very boring because of this. I just wish there was another way to get more money during combat besides spamming UTs. I know you can get the same amount of money by building a large combo and OTing enemies, but it's a pain to do.

>and this is probably due to them now being % based for the most part
Was wondering about this and it makes sense. On one hand it makes OLB runs easier in some regards but 80% for other attacks is way too much.

For how rushed certain aspects were and for how good the core combat is a NG2 Black would have been a no brainer, but we got Sigma 2 instead.

> Fiend Genshin
Yeah he's a bit tricky, and some of his animations get a 100% speedboost past 50%HP which is quite scary (especially the grab). I do feel that it's the most "ninja" fight of them all, with him constantly teleporting all over the place, you're constantly dodging and attacking - which feels great.

> zedonius
Absolutely garbage boss due to his air-time imo. I hate it when a boss can just decide "I'm going to be immortal for 2 minutes now", sure you can IS him, but it rarely works and usually he just shields against it. Volf is more annoying due to his constant-countering, but he's also insanely glitchy (when he charges at you, switch your ranged weapon and laugh as he suddenly turns around and dashes away from you, no clue why).

> money
Agreed on that. There's some other methods like not healing, so that you instead get essence from chests, but that won't start being a thing until chapter 4 at the earliest. This problem sort of goes away on NG+, but yeah as noted NG2004 just fucking nails it since you can't manual UT there. You can only UT with essence, so it's always a gamble if the sacrifice is worth the return.

> NG2 black
It seriously would've been the absolute best game in the genre bar none I'd say. Hell, as is, it is still is in my eyes, but that's extremely subjective haha.

Finished Super Metroid, last time I did that is probably more than 10 years ago and on the Wii - was great to do it with an original cartridge on my CRTV. Game runs and plays like a dream, it's ironic how with the top Metroid games I find it hard to locate any complaints or things I'd like to see changed, though there are a few. I'll list them below for those interested / wanting to talk about this great game haha. I know a lot of people don't like the whole "swap weapons" thing but I felt that worked pretty solid once you got the rythm down.

Final boss is an absolutely legendary moment and still did not disappoint, it just plays out in such an epic fashion it's hard not to see it as an inspiration for every videogame cinematic going foward.

But seriously what a trip. Not really sure what to play now until Halo Infinite releases, maybe replay a Halo game but I also don't want to burn myself out to be honest.

> Super Metroid feedback
Basically a few points that I felt were off:

- wasn't a fan of the game once you enter Maridia. Up until then it's just one big adventure where the world is your oyster, and with Maridia and the Ship it felt like you were very 'directed'. Ridley's Lair was even worse, being basically a lineair level at that point (a cool one though).

- even knowing what it is, finding the hatched container after Ridley..it just doesn't communicate for me. I didn't even know what it was the first two times I played it until I looked it up.

- there's a super weird moment after Ridley where you have to enter an invisible wall, that even your Xray cannot detect. I knew it was there, but looking back...how the fuck are you supposed to figure out you can walk straight through it?

- if possible today, I'd make sure you could at least get the springball earlier. It's such an optional upgrade that, by the time you have the upgrades to get to it, is pointless.

- beam-combos are neat, but a bit too situational. Might've been cool to have them work on some bosses, maybe I used them wrong but they felt way to situational for such a hidden mechanic.

- later games added the ability to change a regular jump into a spinjump by pressing forward+jump, think that would've made this game better too. Also the Space Jump just...acts weird, sometimes it just wouldn't work and I have no clue why.

- That super derpy zoom in of the pixalated ship of Samus just looks terrible haha. Also feel the ending shots are really weird and the restrictions are pretty big too (either less than 10 hours or less than 3 hours, I mean, come on. Give some wiggle room for more stuff).

It's pretty fucked though that this is all I can legit think of to change. Such an insanely good game. I also liked how a lot of hidden techniques took a lot more skill than in later games. The infinite-bombjump is pretty darn hard here, and walljumping takes some finess too compared to later games which I really enjoyed.

Metroid Dread. (I will comment about the game in its respective thread.)

>super Metroid
Really a superb game, played it for the first time just a couple months ago and loved it. Part of me thinks a remaster with some small mechanical changes would be amazing, but the possibility of fucking up the entire package is too high.

Beat Blasphemous after drifting off at the final boss. Really solid game all around, fun areas, good challenge, some pretty creative bosses, and a lot of crazy imagery. One of the better Metroidvanias I’ve played(though admittedly I’m not really a fan of the genre anyway). Some areas fall into “die, learn the pattern, win” a bit too much but I think overall it’s a great example of a simple game executed well.

Also finished Dusk on switch, really loved this one. The game somehow walks a fine line between chaotic and methodical combat and I can’t really explain it. A lot of really standout levels and encounters and the soundtrack is awesome. One of the few shooters where I actually use every weapon(!) as well. There’s a lot of cool secrets and details too.

Probably won’t be beating anything for a while since I’m getting SMTV on Friday and I’m sure that game is long as hell. I don’t think I’ll beat Death Stranding Director’s Cut before then, but I’m glad I got back into the game because I really love it. Shame we get a really out-there AAA game and everyone hates it.

I really cannot recommend replaying Super Metroid enough though. Right now I'm trying to get as many items as possible before upgrading Samus's core kit. Above the ship where you start there's a really high wall, you can infinite-bomb jump up there and bomb the walls to get to an area where you're probably not expected to go until you have the Screw Attack. Instead I'm going through it with zero energy tanks and it's super tense.

It's really cool how each room is basically you looking at a far away item thinking to yourself "yeah....I can do that" with a combination of walljumps, bombjumps and other tricks.

> death stranding
Kind of homes in on the Miyamoto meme of "you guys don't know what you want". I'm glad I gave Death Stranding a chance when I did, mesmerizing game.

Resident Evil Zero. Normal. GC. Again. In one save, this run. And just because I had to interrupt. In church, before the bat. Got a handle, so that one save has to come off. I dig how the soundtrack near and around the church has a distinct Nemesis flavour with the piano. And on top of it the dark sky moving with flashes of lightning, again felt very Nemesis.

Zero has always grown on me each time I played it. There's something cool about the team-system, especially when you're seperated it feels very lonely, I liked that. Heard they added some weird Wesker/Jill action-y modes in the re-release, ever tried those?

No, I haven't. Wesker mode? That changes Billy's actions, but not Becky's. Dunno. Sounds like a bag o' half fun. Not enough for me to go Remaster.
And until now I didn't appreciate 0 for what it was. Glad I handled that.

Yeah Zero does have some cute unique factors to it, that is to say it also has bad things. The hookshot is terrible on your first playthrough when you don't know when you'll need it and the train really was the best part of the game imo.

> wesker mode
I think you get his 'super dash'.

Played and finished Twelve Minutes on Xbox. Pretty interesting game, but falls flat on its ass when it is time for the ending-reveal. Really unique concept though, would recommend a playthrough to those who have GamePass. Takes about 1-3 hours to beat.

Is it similar to something like Outer Wilds? or more akin to the Telltale style of games where there is less "actual gameplay" and more dialogs? Or is it something else entirely?

Haven't played OuterWilds, so cannot compare it. It's a bit of a mixture of old Telltale games and point-and-click adventures. You can get quite creative with what you let happen in the timeloops and everytime I thought "does this even work" it in fact did.

Finished Doom 64 on Watch Me Die (UV equivalent), pistol start and (mostly) without mid level saves. Will write more about it in the Doom1&2 thread but it was pretty fun and pretty hard, especially the later levels.

Finished Gunvalkyrie (no difficulty settings), I enjoyed every second of it, but it only took me 4 hours to beat (including some deaths I could have avoided). I've played with Kelly, and I will do another playthrough with Saburouta.

I liked the boss fights, but the last boss in particular is really great, and forces you to use everything you learned during your playthrough, and while not too difficult, you do have to stay at the top of your game, or at least to effectively use all of your aerial maneuvers to beat it.

As much as I love the games, it feels like an appetizer to the real thing that sadly, we will never get. There's so much untapped potential here that could be expanded upon to make a truly exceptional game.

The main offenders are the low enemy variety and limited selection of weapons (2 weapons for Kelly, 1 for Saburouta), which I'm sure will limit the replay value.

Having said that, the core loop of the game and gameplay foundations are really solid, and for that alone I recommend playing it, it's fun throughout and there's nothing else like it.

Been sampling Treasure's catalog lately, they are quickly becoming one of my favorite developers ever.

Most recently I've played through Sin and Punishment 1 and 2, their foray into rail shooters. Both are great games with crazy spectacle, and Treasure's mastery of polished controls and excellent enemy design are on full display.

1 is a pretty short game, and in many ways it balances the enemy and boss difficulty more elegantly than 2. However 2 is so utterly bombastic and ambitious that I can't help but like it slightly more. It's also much longer and harder than 1, which could be a positive or negative depending on your tastes, and many of the bosses spike sharply in difficulty compared to the actual stages.

Both get enthusiastic recommendations from me.

I've never 'seriously' played a Treasure game to be honest. I own quite a few (Alien Soldier, Guardian Heroes, Gunstar Heroes, Ikaruga), but never gave them more than a glancing look. Also due to having them on systems that I feel didn't give them time to shine through controls.

I need to change that haha

I'm almost sure I got Ikaruga as part of games with gold, but after checking I see there are multiple versions of it, including Steam. In case there are differences between them - which version is the best?

Since I've never played a shump, is this a good introduction to the genre? Other games I'm interested in are the Panzer Dragoon series, Sin and Punishment and Rez (they're only ones I know anyway).

The first Sin and Punishment was a japan only release, but I see it got a virtual console release on the Wii as well, should I go for that version?

Personally I found Ikaruga really cool, but way too difficult as a starting title for the genre. I really liked Gunbird personally (it's available on the Switch) as an introductionary game. There was a Schmup group on the Switch Gamefaqs forums back then and it was usually used as an intro title for new players, myself included. Really enjoyed that game.

Cannot commend on S&P.

>how to play S&P1
I played on Retroarch with Mupen64Plus-Next core and runahead to reduce latency. If I had to guess, the tier list for playing S&P1 is probably emulation w/ runahead > N64 hardware > Wii VC = emulation w/o runahead > Wii U VC. Avoid Wii U, the input lag is really high.

Don't worry about JP text, beyond the menus (which this guide https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/n64/366184-sin-and-punishment/faqs/14085 covers) none of it matters.

>ikaruga
https://shmups.wiki/library/Ikaruga#Version_differences has a breakdown, apparently the Gamecube version has a highly robust practice mode so it might be worth it to go for that if you can acquire it through whatever means. Steam/PS4/Switch ports seem fine though.

That being said, I agree that as a first shmup it's probably way too hard, although if you really like it it might still be worthwhile. I highly recommend ZeroRanger as an introduction to shmups, it's accessible and cheap. https://system-erasure.itch.io/zeroranger Gunbird is probably good too.

Cleared Project Zero 2: Wii Edition on Nightmare diff. As highest, it can be spooky at times and places. The real challenge I felt was not to use the plethora of healing goods. I used about two incarnation-on-the-spot mirrors, that's about it. It was alright. Going more into the series, this being my entry point to it. Miffed that 4 is JP only and the rest have some heinous prices at date. Playing 5 next.

I have only played Fatal Frame 1 (also S ranked all the battle mode missions) thus far, but I loved it so if you can grab it or emulate, go for it.

AFAIK, most people consider the Wii version of 2 worse due to its changes, including removal of fixed camera, removal of the mission mode and possibly more.

I also heard 2 is easier than 1, and I can personally attest that 1 can be really challenging at times (assuming you don't hoard healing items that is), so if you are looking for a greater challenge it might just be for you.

How did you find the Wii controls?

I was thinking of getting the original for Xbox, since it's reasonable priced and available.

2 Wii Edition has some sort of ghost house attraction, aside from the main game. It's about walking in first-person view and when the ghost come out to play not to shake the Wiimote to keep points until the goal. Make of that what you like...

I have no qualms with the controls. The missing second stick is replaced with, you guessed it, the motion sensor to tilt the camera angle. Nothing that gets in my way of getting around, since I find the pace of walking and "running" very, uh, paced. But then again I feel myself in a minority of players that are interested in getting away from the standard inputs for certain games. More if it's not in the hard-action field. Yet, when I think in theory of Castlevania Judgment and the implications I dare say it makes me shudder. Guess I'm in the middle (just don't call it average...).

Started Black Miko (Wii U). Applying what I said above about the GamePad. Instantly liking the mood and the aesthetics. After that I'm going after the origin. Pity the company is so sparse with the IP.

Glad to see you are going for the whole series, be sure to share your thoughts as you progress through the rest of the games.

I heard about the haunted house mode, how is it really? It was disappointing to hear that the mission mode was removed, it's a great feature to extend replayability for those who enjoy the combat like I do.

For FF1 and FF2 the Xbox versions are better due to their extra content, though FF2 is really expensive (better check if the EU version is cheaper in case you'd like to play it). Do you have a 360 or an OG Xbox?

GN1 wrote: I heard about the haunted house mode, how is it really?

My save game tells me every time I load it that I have cleared *ahem* exactly 1 house. It's aaah, nice? Can't remember enough to give a statement. Which you can take as a statement stand-in. I do remember I got to play the "co-op" with a real-live person, where the other player can shake the 2P mote to make the ghosts appear. Guess how that played out? Right. Shaking nonstop ensued. So...

GN1 wrote:For FF1 and FF2 the Xbox versions are better due to their extra content, though FF2 is really expensive (better check if the EU version is cheaper in case you'd like to play it). Do you have a 360 or an OG Xbox?

I own and actively play with both. Yeah, I figured I'd do it for the extra content.
In the case of Genma Onimusha it makes all the sweet difference to have an optimized "Black Label". Same for Gaiden Black.

Played some Doom recently. After 64 I though it would be a good idea to learn classic Doom by starting directly with Plutonia on UV (trial by fire), but it didn't do it for me (finished it but savescummed a lot). Now I finished the first 3 episodes of Doom on UV pistol starting and it was a fun time. Episode 1 is great, held back by only having 4 enemies and 4 weapons basically but even with this the maps are always engaging, open but not confusing (didn't get lost a single time). I liked a lot how barrels are used in the maps, you barely see them in E2, E3 and 64.
E2 and E3 dip in quality a lot compared to E1. Spongy enemies without the tools to deal with them (shotgunning Cacos and Barons is boring), confusing layouts and dumb gimmicks. Not all of it is bad of course, I liked the first half of E3 a bit, but it's a shame coming after E1. Also some of those levels were a pain to pistol start compared to E1. Most of the time you have to traverse a good portion of the level just to find a shotgun.
After finishing it I replayed a bit of Doom 64, just as a palate cleanser. Now I'll start Doom 2 but I'll directly skip a level if I don't like it. After that I'll retry Plutonia, without savescumming as much.

Doom1E1 is just fantastic, great to hear it also held up for you. The later episodes aren't that strong, with some good levels but a lot of weird ones. E4 is pretty nifty imo, with a lot of creative solutions and weird traps.

Doom 2 though...it's rough perrsonally. It has the best enemy designs, weapon designs and just overal ideas going on - but the levels are some of the worst I have *ever* played in any game. Only time I literally saw a giant arrow drawn on the floor as the level was so bad this was the only way the designer felt he could get me to go there. It's just...horrible haha. It's a fantastic foundation for WADs though.

Viewtiful Joe on adults - Great game that I truly enjoyed all the way through. It really feels like an action game in 2d rather than a beat em' up. I also enjoyed the level design and how it mixes some light platforming in a natural way using your VFX powers.

While I enjoyed the boss fights, and I like the fact that they require proper usage of your VFX powers, I'm a tad worried they might not hold up as well on further playthroughs because it seems like they have less room for experimentation compared to regular encounters. Sort of like Puzzles you need to figure how to solve, and after that the novelty wears off. Kinda reminds me of some ZoET2R bosses in a way.

However, as it was my first proper playthrough, and due to how challenging this game can be, I played it too safe and didn't experiment enough with Joe's moveset and abilities, and I didn't even use Voomerangs or bombs, so here's hoping I will be able to find ways to be more creative in the boss fights and not just regular combat on my next playthroughs on the higher difficulties.

I'm really looking forward to exploring the combat depth here, as well as beating ultra v-rated with all characters, perhaps even playing the PS2 version for Dante later down the road.

How good is Viewtiful Joe 2? It doesn't seem to be talked about at all.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it as such! It's a really fun and unique title. Regarding expeirmentation, there's still some available to you, but it really is a game all about optimization and meter-management. There's some funky things you can do like using the zoomed drop (where you jump and then slowmo+zoom while you fall down for a quake) works wonders against the first boss (the bat), while Voomerang is especially usefull against certain bosses as well.

Most experimentation comes from the bombs honestly, you can use your powers on it for all sorts of weird effects. You can attack it for example to get your after-images with Speed Up and get fired up.

Example of Voomerang usage:
https://youtu.be/XvbTi21C-rM?t=1587

Drop usage:
https://youtu.be/DtZBDLzp0bQ?t=877

V339, Gen2000 and Bullseyestrider have some good runs for the game up as well with inspirational gameplay.

> ultra v-rated with all characters
Never attempted this, but it's a great fun challenge from what I know. Matthew did a full Ultra V-rated run with full analytical commentary that's a great watch.

> VJ2
Never played it myself, but from what I know the reasons most (myself included) haven't played it or talk about it is a combination of: multiple character focus, no Kamiya, excess of minigames, rarity of the disc.

Despite my concerns, I thought the bosses were great and I enjoyed fighting all of them, I was just worried about them not holding up on repeated playthroughs. Glad to see there's still room for experimentation and having fun with the mechanics.

Sadly it's not talked about like other big 3d action games like NG, Bayo, DMC, GoW etc, do you think that people mistake it for a more traditional beat em up because of the 2d nature? How do you feel Viewtiful Joe stands next to them? Not in terms of ranking them or something, but does it compare favorably in terms of skill ceiling/ mechanical depth etc? Did you beat it on ultra V-rated with Joe?

VJ2 - I will still try it after being done with the first, though the character switches do seem like a an issue as Silvia's gameplay looks weird. excess of minigames sounds like a Kamiya thing ironically.

In the earlier days of the site I did a short piece on the game (not my best), personally I hold it in very high regards. In terms of action-games, I think people don't consider it for the same reason as games like God Hand are often overlook: it's fisticuffs and not exactly mainstream. Add it to being mostly a Gamecube exclusive in a genre that mostly avoided that console, and a lot of people don't give it the time of day.
It's also exceedingly difficult compared to most action-games on its default setting. That's fine for people like us, but a lot more of the casual action-folk are quickly spooked by that.

Most action-gamers still tend to stick to the big titles, especially early on i.e. NG, DMC, GoW and call it a day, with a minor sidetrack here and there. Games like VJ are very outside of the box that set a lot of things upside down and play with your expectations on how things function. Having your dodge be tied to meter and be fully invincible is pretty novel for example and far from 'traditional'. For me VJ's an excellent optimization game akin to Vanquish. You really feel like you're constantly eaking out that little bit of juice of your meter, seeking out that magic pixel to not 'overheat' (or in this case, lose your transformation). As such I hold it in high regard and it is, personally, Kamiya's best work (that I've played). I hold it in higher regard than Bayonetta, W101 and Resident Evil 2 at least.

I've always considered it to be the 'fourth pillar' of sorts. GoW and DMC were clearly the action-pillars of the Playstation, while NG was the pillar of the Xbox. Viewtiful Joe is the action-pillar of the Gamecube.

> my progress
I beat it on the highest setting a few times, but this was a long time ago to be honest so a lot of my knowledge has faded. I want to go back to it at some point when I have my CRT set up again. I also own the PS2 version but I just feel the 'cube's controller was made for this game (well, the other way around actually haha).

> VJ2
Let me know how it is if you play it. As noted, it's all hearsay. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

>Finished Gunvalkyrie
Did it hurt your fingers as much as it did mine? (Very much)

>Sin & Punishment
Pretty sure this game has the most complicated controls I've ever come across.
Once you get used to them though, they feel great. I did get to that point once a long time ago. Tried again recently and it was all gone. Couldn't even aim the gun properly.

>FF2 easier than 1
I beat both on the highest difficulties and FF1 is definitely harder in terms of ghost aggression and damage.

>removal of mission mode
That sucks. They should have included and expanded it.

>VJ
Never finished it. Played recently while going through my games to see what I need to sell. Played a few hours and loved it.

>not talked about as much
Not really sure why. Possibly the 2D aspect you noted. I actually felt weird about that when I first played it years ago.
Could also be all kinds of other reasons. The graphics, weird mechanics, not knowing what you can do. Saw similar with Okami (graphics, they don't want to play as an animal, not realizing how many cool things you can do). Who knows.

I love the collisions. You can send an enemy flying into others, controlling the direction based on your attack. Like kick sends them upward diagonally. One time the helicopter was flying across the room shooting bullets. I had just Sliw to kick a guy and he went up on the same diagonal angle as the bullet coming down. The guy collided with the bullet which was then sent back to the helicopter. It was beautiful.

You can uppercut guys into chandeliers and the fall and hurt others. Knock back misses. This is just knock ask and collisions. We still have Voomerang, bomb, slow and speed up. It should absolutely be talked about more.

I have VJ2 but I've heard about why people dislike it.

>replays
If you're going for the best rank it feels a bit more limited because you have to sit there waiting for dodges and slow combis to get enough points. So it can feel like you're just waiting around to build points before moving on. Voomeramg might see less use due to it not generating points.

I don't see this as a huge issue. There are quite a few games where going for ranks make you play differently. Some do it better or worse. But at the end of the day you still get tons of replay value out of them just because you had to do things differently for a bit. Get through it and you never have to bother again if wasn't as fun as just doing whatever you normally do and you've still added to replay and mechanical value.

>skill ceiling
In terms of moveset/tech?

>Gunvalkyrie
Didn't hurt my fingers at all, I still need to replay it with Saburouta. How much did you like it?

>Sin and Punishment Star Successor
Should I play it with a Gamecube controller or Wiimote + Nunchuck?

>Fatal Frame
This is what I always hear, I still hope FF2 will be able to deliver a good challenge.

Before moving on to FF2 I still need to beat 1 on nightmare and fatal difficulties, perhaps even completing the ghost list and attempting an S-rank run.

Battle mode was really fun and it lets the combat shine, though S-ranking mission 20 (Kirie) was awful. Seems like a common issue with this mission.

Did you play the Xbox or PS2 versions? I more curious about the Xbox's survival mode (which also includes Utsuro as an exclusive ghost), more specifically opinions about it, since I can't find anything online regarding this.

>Viewtiful Joe

Collisions - I also love how using slow makes an explosion last longer, and redirecting projectiles back at enemies never gets old. As Raeng noted in his article, a big part of this game is using enemies as projectiles, and collisions are a big part of that, along with positioning.

I played it too safe in my first playthrough, and I didn't yet experiment with Voomerangs and bombs. I barely even experimented with Mach speed. I usually just tried to position myself well for maximizing damage during slow time after successful dodges.

Replays - I believe I will attempt a rainbow V ultra V-rated run, but I also want to do more runs to experiment with mechanics and just have fun regardless of ranks. As you have said, doing different types of runs will increase both my mechanical knowledge and the replay value, and that's what I'm looking for.

Skill ceiling - Yep, I'm curious about how it compares to other genre's greats like NG, DMC, GoW, Bayo and God Hand in terms of moveset/tech and mechanical depth.

>Didn't hurt my fingers at all
The chain dashing really hurt mine after a short amount of time.

>I still hope FF2 will be able to deliver a good challenge.

>though S-ranking mission 20 (Kirie) was awful. Seems like a common issue with this mission.
Don't remember. What exactly was the requirement?

>Did you play the Xbox or PS2 versions?
PS2.

>I also love how using slow makes an explosion last longer
I didn't even know this. Which is always a great sign for me.

>in terms of moveset/tech and mechanical depth
None of the moves are hard to do themselves. There's some kind of faster movement technique and the slow zoom punch thing which is extremely hard to do. I think it was first done in a TAS.

VJ doesn't have the huge movesets of those games you listed. So you'll never get the same level of variation in that regard. Though personally I don't see that as a negative because it's mechanically different.

Fatal Frame battle mode - S ranking a mission requires at least one shot with a score of 7000 points (or 8000 in the Xbox version). Achieving that with Kirie is really difficult. I got scores in the 7800 range too many times.

Viewtiful Joe - There really aren't many combos (not that it needs them anyway), I'm just wondering how much mileage I can get of what there is, how creatively can I use Joe's abilities and mechanics etc... I will find that out as I keep playing and experimenting.

>Kirie
I did all of them so long ago I barely remember what I did in most of the missions. Does she still cause earthquakes that mess with your shots?

I think you can ONLY Zero Shot her. Not sure if status effects work. I'd say you need to Zero Shot while being very close to her as a Close Shot should generate some extra points.

>or 8000 in the Xbox version
They changed the requirements for Xbox?

>VJ mileage
Look into Saur's stuff. He speaks highly of VJ. Also this guy.


That video might spoil a lot of stuff but I've watched it and it should definitely give you a very good idea. You could try contacting him about this.

>how creatively can I use Joe's abilities and mechanics etc... I will find that out as I keep playing and experimenting.
One thing to watch out for, is even when you talk with good players, I find they sometimes neglect or don't even consider certain options they don't think are 'good' or don't 'have a point'. I've seen it often over the years. Experimenting by yourself is always the best option, though of course looking into what others do is still helpful.

I did S rank Kirie, it was a combination of a zero shot and core shot, probably also close shot (and special shot). I achieved 8170 points. The problem is that I achieved the same shots in prior attempts, yet my score was just below the required 8000 points. She still does the earthquakes, but that wasn't the issue.

I think points are calculated differently on the Xbox version (which is the only one I played), so perhaps they increased the score requirements to compensate for that? Achieving 8000 in that mission on Xbox seems to be about as difficult as achieving 7000 points on PS2.

>The problem is that I achieved the same shots in prior attempts, yet my score was just below the required 8000 points
You got close, core, special and zero multiple times but resulted in different points?

Wouldn't be able to tell unless I tested it. Not sure if the close shot points are are set at a certain distance or get more the closer you get.

Beat Ninja Gaiden 2 on MN finally, including all ToVs. It's my favorite game despite its unfinished nature and all of its serious flaws, which says a lot considering how many parts of it are bad, its lows are really the some of the lowest of lows.

I don't think I have much to add that hasn't been said before, but the highs of it are indeed the highest of highs IMO, surviving tough fights without Ninpo and UTs is really exhilarating.

The weapon arsenal is sublime, with the Kusarigama being my favorite due to its uniqueness, and how deadly it can be when used properly with its AOE attacks and counter attacks. Fighting Gajas with it is just so much fun.

Great to hear you've enjoyed it so much! Yeah the conclusion is pretty common i.e. highest of highs, lowest of lows. And your enjoyment is really linked to how badly you can deal with those lows and avoid them where possible.

I really recommend taking your time with subsequent runs, it's a great game to just have numerous save-files on (i.e. for certain fights, or single weapon runs, or NURs etc.). Great game that keeps on giving in that respect.

> Kusa
Such a fantastic weapon, and unique too. Love the grapple emphasis.

What's next?

Subsequent runs - The ToVs (aside from the 1st one in CH3 which I will keep playing) were really tiring and I'm not gonna do them again, so that alone will make my next runs go smoother.

Having save files for specific fight/sections - Sadly this is true due to how the bad parts can mess with the pacing, I will make these save files during my next playthrough

I still want to do all the 8 weapon achievements on fresh MN runs, I'm only concerned about some of the bad parts and how easily I will be able to cheese them. For the good stuff I aim to minimize UT and Ninpo usage as much as possible.

Kusarigama - Grappling enemies only works on humanoids, but regardless, its running attacks can be deadly and seem to have nice delimb chance as well.

What's next - Viewtiful Joe on V-rated and Fatal Frame 1 on nightmare difficulty. I highly recommend FF1, preferably on OG Xbox for the extra content. Great mix of horror and action IMO, with nice replay value as well and even a mission mode.

> weapon achievements
I personally did them on NG+ runs, at least some of them. Since most damage is % based, the increased HP-bar doesn't matter much outside of a few attacks. The increased Ninpo Slots and Essence help skip the dull parts/bosses that aren't interesting. That way I can just zone out against Gigadeath and fire 10+ Void Ninpos at him and be done with it.

I did DS-only on a fresh run and I still have a few to go (I'm in no rush).

> kusa
Yeah what's a neat balance is that the grapple moves have a good focus on delimb against non-grappleable foes. I also like how you can OHKO foes by grappling them when they are grounded, fantastic little touch.

Weapon achievements - I will keep that in mind, though I do want to start each run OLB, and with a level 1 weapon, but with the extra Ninpo slots.

Are there any good strategies to kill the dogs in CH2 and CH11 fast aside from Ninpo (in CH11 there are like 15 of them near the end)? The Lunar is good against them, but even then their aggression makes UT spamming kinda hard.

Some other parts I think about are the water dragon (without using the claws), water combat sections in ch5, mechs, centaurs, ch10 acid pits (without using the scythe). Also Dagra Dai I'm worried will be a nightmare without the scythe. Any good strategies for these parts as well?

OLB doesn't really matter as noted, since the life-bar is mostly an illusion and a free heal. The actual damage is scaled to such an extent when doing OLB you might as well have full health. It's a bit disappointing honestly. Especially boss-attacks scale to an insane degree. This video kinda shows it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmMGnOcTGp8 (OLB Master Ninja Genshin).

> dogs
On-landing attacks with decent recovery really nuke them, as they cannot grab you during those animations. The OL from the Lunar is pretty beastly. Scythe of course nukes them with the aerial-Y, same with Kusa and Kusa's OL also IIRC.

> water dragon
I have a video on how to do him No-damage with the bow. It's not too hard.

> water section in ch5
I always just skip that part. If I allow Ninpo I use Windblades there for added security.

> mechs
Guard-reset kinda invalidates them. TonfaUT is an OHKO, each weapon also has some safe combos against them but it's mostly just a grind since they are so resistant to delimb. If you allow Ninpo, then VoidLVL3 is good.

> Centaurs
Jump Y with the Scythe with Inferno, or ranged spam combined with whichever UT you have available. Windmill works decently but is a grind. Most fights with them have infinite-arrow regenerations nearby, so you can use those.

> acid pit
Spam IS UTs. There's an infinite refill near the start, just spam IS until everything dies. For the last room, run in, then run back to the start to despawn nearly all of them. Then kill the remaining ones with IS.

> Dagra Dai
He's a bitch. It helps to disable his ability to spawn adds (don't kill any Van Gelf while going towards him), but this bug fixes itself if you die/restart, so you only get one shot. With the Claws you can nuke him insanely hard (XX>XYYYY when he's in the sky). With the Dualkatana you can 360Y him for the most part paired with UTs. With the tonfa you can i.frame through his lightning. Other weapons will be a grind of avoiding his lightning and parrying his strikes while finding a UTopening where possible.

Haunting Ground - I have already shared my impressions on its thread - Great horror game with fun gameplay mechanics to toy around with, very well designed mansion as well as tight and stressful atmosphere.

Highly recommended, despite a disappointing final chapter (which is thankfully short), and I'm already looking forward for replaying it and playing the extra game mode that was unlocked.

Royta/Raeng wrote:
> NG2 black
It seriously would've been the absolute best game in the genre bar none I'd say. Hell, as is, it is still is in my eyes, but that's extremely subjective haha.

It most likely would have been called "Ninja Gaiden Red". As the bloody gore was one of its main selling point, & part of its game design. The game uses the color red & blood a lot in its menus. Alas, we live in the wrong timeline and got Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 instead.