Sunday 26 August 2007

Missing Codes

Mr. BanjoSonic alerted me that a couple of the Player Adventure codes are borked, and since they're needed for Player Adventure 4/5 AND SHPDMBGWL4 3, I better post them.

PA3's R Code: 7646
PA3's Pong Code: 9056
PA4's PA5 code: 7430

My fault for not checking through. The full list is hidden in SHPDMBGWL4 3 and I'll provide instructions on how to get to it in the next game of mine. Sadly you miss a large chunk of PA3 because of this.

Thursday 23 August 2007

Random Review - Chaotix

Regular PC will be back up and running by the weekend, but I've not got much else to do in between times. So hey lets blog about some random game for some reason because I haven't got a review site to do it on instead.

Knuckles Chaotix. There's loads of people against ROMs and as such they never get to play this, or if they do they end up wasting loads of cash on a 32X that isn't guaranteed to work and doesn't really offer anything else of value that hasn't been ported onto better consoles. Don't get it. Okay, get it, but not on a real 32X. Sure you miss out on the joys of a MegaDrive controller, but it's barely playable anyway.

So what's wrong with it? Loads. Chaotix started it's life as Sonic Crackers, a MegaDrive proto that's been surfing the net for years. The concept was that Sonic and Tails would be joined together at all times, having to use each other to progress. Crackers is glitch city but has surprisingly great music. Chaotix was built off Crackers, and Sonic became Mighty yada yada yada details. Sega did the stupid move of making the 32X, a system that boasted the same amount of colours as a SNES and could be fitted on top of a MegaDrive to play 32X games. Sega had already done this with the Mega CD though, so customers were already getting confused. There's even 5 Mega CD 32x games that need both to work. Chaotix became a 32X game, and possibly the only decent original game on the platform.

But enough about the history. Chaotix clearly tries to use as much of the 32X's new features as possible. Particle effects, re-sizing, colours etc. It looks great, although looks like an ordinary MegaDrive game at times. Gameplay is a fixed Crackers, but unfortunately it still uses the whole partner system. Yes you get a lot of characters to choose from and they're all different, but it still feels broken. You're always flying about and the computer player always holds you back in some way and you're left with the impression "Why didn't they just make a true sequel to Sonic 3 & Knuckles?".

The levels are huge, but they're all the same. There's really only 5 levels, each getting a palette change once they're randomly selected. Levels are huge due to the flying about, but huge is a bit boring. It's just basic running and jumping. The switches in the first screenshot only appear in the introductory level. The rest you can complete in seconds with Charmy Bee as he carries the other guy with him and renders the other characters useless. Mighty and Espio are already inferior to Knuckles and Vector, and Heavy and Bomb are useless.

The music's also WORSE than that of Sonic Crackers. The 32X didn't improve on the sound much either so there's no excuse for this.

Possibly the most disappointing part? The special stages. The 32X's 3D capabilities, much like the SNES's aren't too great, but like all Sonic games, the special stages house the most advanced features. The result, a hexagonal tube of hatred. Jumping about with a lack of draw distance, this is probably THE worst special stage in a Sonic game, except for Sonic 3D Blast on the MegaDrive and the Advance series. Better if they'd waited a year or two for the Saturn to roll along so that they could do this properly.

Don't get me wrong though, Chaotix is far from being the worst Sonic game ever. Despite the control system being stupid and it really just being there to market the 32X's abilities it's a solid game and is the last "classic" 2D Sonic platformer. You can see what they're trying to do but it just isn't done.

The conclusion: Don't get this on the 32X. It should have been a Saturn game (Because lets face it, THAT's the console that needed Sonic and friends), it should have dropped the partner system (Which strangely it does as a "punishment" for if you run out of rings and get hit), and it should have been included in Sonic Gems Collection. You may not see this one again, so get the ROM and enjoy. Sure that's illegal, but hey, surely all those purchases to play the cart off your TV must be a crime too. The fans want it on the Wii's Virtual Console, but lets face it, Sega are clearly masking the 32X or else it would have been included in Mega/Gems Collection (and there's half a dozen Sonics to come first). There's also a hack that replaces Mighty with Sonic, if you care.


On another note, Mario Galaxy only gets released 4 days earlier in America than here. Thank god it's not months.

Monday 20 August 2007

Games of the Moment - 20/08/07

Second time. This must be a feature or something.

It's an odd moment too. Due to redecorating, my regular PC's been offline (and managed to die on me after being moved, but that's a different story), so I've been reduced to my good old lappy which finds new ways to annoy me every time I use it. It's got an odd selection of games on it, from Quake III to Sonic Spinball Beta but these are the main two I've been playing:

N

If you've not played N then where the hell have you been? It's a platforming puzzler game thing with great physics. Not providing a screenshot this time because I don't want anything resized.

N is a flash game, but unlike the majority of flash games, it's fun to play. Your Ninja bloke can jump around and hang on walls, and your job is to get to the goal by flicking switches, avoiding enemies and getting gold before the time runs out. Think Lode Runner but with more freedom. It's got a level editor and hundreds of maps, and it's being ported to the DS and PSP in the next few months. My recommendation? Play it for free. It'll be hosted online if you go looking, but downloading it equals less lag, and means you don't have to be online to play (which is pretty useful for this laptop).

Sonic 1 MegaMix

What on Earth are you putting these two together for? They're not similar in the slightest! Well, uh, because. Sonic 1 MegaMix is, by definition, the greatest Sonic 1 hack ever. Possibly the best Sonic hack ever. The latest version (3.0) set a new standard for Sonic hacks, and there's still work being done on it for another version.

So anyway, the MegaMix team made up of some of the finest hackers in the Sonic community took the Sonic 1 ROM, added Mighty the Armadillo and Shadow the Hedgehog, programmed in some crazy moves (Homing attack, spindash, that thing where you travel along lines of rings etc.), put in Sonic 3 shields, extended and changed the layout of levels, put in new graphics (Like in Misty Maze pictured above), new music (Michael Jackson's Moonwalker?!), super forms, save feature, a "hard" mode and half a dozen other things, thus creating what is essentially a new game entirely... well okay some levels are just palette changes but still.

Furthermore they left in the original Sonic 1 levels/music/whatever, so you can play them with your new powers and stuffs. And all done in the restrictions of MegaDrive hardware! Yes, you could probably play this on your real MegaDrive. The only problem with this game is that obviously, it's half illegal what with it being a Sonic 1 ROM, but that shouldn't stop you. I mentioned this in the SAGE update not too long ago as well, and surely if I'm recommending it twice it needs a download.


So yeah, got some strange stuff on this laptop, but shouldn't be too long until I can get back on my old PC and tell BanjoSonic the broken Player Adventure codes so that he can get his hedgehog-like paws on one of SHPDMBGWL4 3's secret endings. Also so I can finish the "Expansion Pack".

Wednesday 15 August 2007

To the doom buggy

I'm liking the nice colourful Retro Sonic screen at the top of this blog so I'll keep this quick.

Epic game involving a tank-riding duck.

Enjoy!

Tuesday 14 August 2007

A great day in Sonic Fangaming

The Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE) hosted by SFGHQ comes around annually and is essentially a small E3 that's completely web-based. Now don't get me wrong, if you've got Ryan Drummond (The official voice of Sonic) doing a chat room session it's hardly a failure, but SAGE doesn't often have too many amazing games. One or two a year, if any. But SAGE this year had more amazing games than usual. Yeah that might be because it had Sonic 1 MegaMix, the greatest Sonic 1 hack ever, but it's also down because of the following two:

The first, pictured above is the brilliant Retro Sonic. Okay "brilliant" doesn't describe this properly. "Perfect" would be a better word. In fact, BETTER than perfect. And I'm not just taking the fanboy route here. Retro Sonic mimics the original Sonic physics almost exactly. In fact, unless I'm mistaken it uses the same coding. Or close to. But, since a standard PC nowadays isn't limited to the MegaDrive's low colour palette, memory, sound chip, processor etc. it's a hundred times better looking/sounding than the MegaDrive games. Well okay, I wouldn't have chosen all these graphics but still. There was a demo released in 2002 made in one of Clickteam's products and people loved it. This 2007 demo is made practically from scratch and is so much better.

Oh and the most amazing thing about Retro Sonic? IT WILL PLAY ANY MEGADRIVE SONIC LEVEL. Not this build, although this one does play Emerald Hill perfectly, but the final version. And you get to make your own. And lets not forget, this is being ported to the Dreamcast.

The second, Sonic XG. Not as hyped up as Retro, but still needs a mention. The above image doesn't give this game justice so take a look at their site. It's probably the nicest looking Sonic fangame out there at the moment, and it plays great too. Not perfect physics and will lag a bit on older machines but brilliant nonetheless. Music's better than Retro as well, and it follows on directly from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This is a perfect example of what Sonic Team should be making, not wasting time with broken 3D engines, stupid story plots and useless characters. If Sega released this on the Wii, I'd buy it, even if it didn't push the system to it's limits (although a 3D bonus like the one in the Saturn Sonic 3D would be cool =P).

So yeah, download both now.

Saturday 11 August 2007

So anyway

The reason I haven't posted in a few days is because I'm making something epic. How epic you say?

This epic. More at eleven.

Wednesday 8 August 2007

MFGG Sonic Skin

Oop.

MFGGers had a habit of thinking my last attempt was the final version despite me saying countless times I suck at picking colours. Here's more proof of this. No doubt it's better than before, but how the hell do you make a Sonic themed skin for MFGG without it looking like the default skin? Put your answers on a postcard and send it to the address above, or, even better take the images and experiment yourself. And yes, that Zip file does have the old background and headings. Might want to replace them.

I'll probably crack it eventually but here's a chance to beat me.

Tuesday 7 August 2007

Overlooked stuff?

SHPDMBGWL4 2 isn't really that great, I'll admit. It has it's moments, but by the time I got around to making it I'd run out of ideas. However...

...I did put Supertoad2k in it. I mean after all I did just go into Yoshi Vs. Windows and steal all his sprites. A surprise cameo was probably necessary. Don't worry though...

...Yoshi got in as well. I bet you managed to go through the entire game without noticing these. Note for the future - I like secret stuff.

Games of the Moment

As reccomended by myself. Stop messing around on your damn Pokémon games and play these instead. Or as well as. Doesn't apply as much if you already have played these, and since these two have been around a decade and a half you most likely have already. If you haven't, go google them.

Jill of the Jungle

Okay so that's Jill Goes Underground but it's from the same trilogy. Made back in the days when Epic Games were still "Mega", Jill of the Jungle is a VGA (although it does look as though it was originally for 16-colour users) platformer with puzzle elements. The difference between this and others? This one wins. Jill, armed with her crazy suit that manages to change colour every game, goes off somewhere and ends up saving a Prince. There's probably some big story here but I've never read it, I just go off the game titles. Jill gets random weapons floating in front of her, either the boomerang knife thing (As pictured) or a bouncing slicey thing and uses them to do battle with just about anything that moves, slugs, frogs, cute little bunnies, rocks etc. Fun.

Run it in DOSBox or VDMS or your deadly old PC with a Soundblaster sound card and you get to hear the digital music/sound effects which make this game even better. I used to play this with the PC speaker and thought it was pretty good, but the Soundblaster stuff makes it amazing, with all it's "YEAHHH"s and turntable scratching and all sorts of sounds that don't fit the game at all but are great. You also change into a bird and a fish on some levels. This is the sort of thing that needs to come back, not Unreal Tournament 23845098124 (although fish transformations would be good in that game I'm sure). Also the Jill games do something no other game does (Besides Kiloblaster although Jill does it better) - a NOISEMAKER. It's like a sound test, but every sound is assigned to a different keyboard key. Make your own "music". Brilliant.

Xargon

Xargon's very much the same game as Jill which is why I've grouped the two. Play as Malvineous as he goes and destroys Xargon or something. Same sort of thing as with Jill, jumping, climbing, attacking monsters etc. but with bigger and better sprites and a bit more difficult. Sadly there's no fish transformations, but you get a submarine at some point and you beat robots. You're also armed with the lazy man's weapon - a "bullet" that can be "fired" and controlled slightly. Sometimes you get powerups that allow you to fire more than one, and sometimes you get rocks/fireballs to throw. It lacks a noisemaker and isn't quite as good as Jill overall, but it's a little nicer on the eyes. Sound isn't as random either, although it has a shop system and has a few other little features that Jill doesn't. Overall a much more serious game but still great. By the way, ignore the "demo" in the shot above, I was lazy and just took a screenshot from the rolling demo.


Both are sadly shareware, so you can only get the first title of each legally. Nevertheless the other Jill games are easy to find (Xargon's a different story though - I've never found 2 or 3 on the net) and are worth the download. And I own them all (bar Xargon 2) on their original floppies :)

Monday 6 August 2007

Fangames of pure perfection

Since this blog's kicked out my Player Adventure MFGG signature link probably would be wise to have it listed here. And hey, while I'm at it, lets list ALL the crappy games I've helped make over the last couple of years:

The First Five Player Adventure Games

Super Hyper Paper Deluxe Mario Bros. Galaxy World Land 4: Partners In Sunshine Superstar Island & Saga of Time Advance 64 DS

SHPDMBGWL4:PISSI&SOTA64DS 2

Super Paper Mario Hyper Combo Finish 2

Super MFGG War (Alright this one isn't by any means bad but I better list it anyway. Also it's not like I really did anything here, just put skins and maps into a pack).

And to think, there's people nearly half my age creating perfect Super Mario clones.

Testing

For some crazy reason I decided to create a blog... not that there's really anything to blog, but still, might come in handy some day. It's 312469879325124 times easier updating this thing than with my current site, The Obscure Ripping Project, so if I don't end up using this as much as I had expected, I might be able to merge the two. Depends if Fateback is nice or if it's even possible... I didn't check.

Anyway nice title am i rite??