Retro gems: From NES to the PS

Black Francis · 06-04-2015, 10:18 AM

So yea, to me those were the top 5 fighting games most important to the genre but now i wanna cover a very different game, an Educational game

(a little music for reading)

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? (Snes)

Ahh, Carmen Sandiego.. the most elusive bitch in videogame history.
i gotta give it up for Carmen, for a thief she sure knows how to make crime educational for kids, this is the only game of the franchise i played as a kid but she had alot of games that were ported to PC and almost every console, this game even spawned 2 Tv shows, this is one of the most popular educational games ever

i had the Snes port, specifically the big box bundle pack that came with a world almanac that let me tell you, was NOT helpful AT ALL. you don't need it cause the clues the game gives you are really obvious.

Black Francis · 06-04-2015, 10:19 AM

The clues had to be really obvious cause this game was made for kids but i remember playing this game with my mother and we didn't get that far.

Thinking back on it, ive come to the conclusion my moms was either really dumb OR was playing dumb so that i'd learn stuff. (which i never did) cause ive replayed this game as an adult and it was incredibly easy and i still don't know sh*t about geography!

For those of you not familiar with the game, you take the role of a detective trying to find Carmen Sandiego but before you get to her you have to catch other criminals and as you do you keep ascending through the police ranks.

The whole game is text based and played through the character's Pda. With it you travel the world looking for criminals with bad pun names, you have a profile of every criminal in the game so as you gather clues in each case you have to match the descriptions of the criminal with the ones on your database.

Black Francis · 06-04-2015, 10:21 AM

Once you have enough clues you need to put out an arrest warrant on said criminal or else you can't arrest him even if you catch him.

you have a limited amount of days to catch the criminal but one cool thing the game does is show a little threatening animation that appears whenever you're close to catching the criminal.

A knife is thrown at you as a warning sign to back off then eventually you see a little animation of the criminal running away from the police and then you catch him but mind you, if the criminal is not the one in your arrest warrant they set him free.

Overall, this game was fun and Carmen has become somewhat of an icon along with Waldo for being the most elusive characters in edutainment games.. but if you're smart enough, you can catch them.

Black Francis · 06-20-2015, 09:05 PM

Since they announced The last guardian for the Ps4 i want to talk about the previous 2 installments of the series Ico and Shadow of the colossus

Both of these games were developed by the SCE japan studios who are responsible for Demon's Soul and Blood borne that right away should let you know how innovative these guys are.

I played both Ico and SOTC and while my memory of all the details in the games is a bit fuzzy i do remember the gaming experience i got from the games which was pretty great.

One thing that was apparent in both games are the superb graphics both games had. Both titles were Ps2 games but they almost looked like Ps3 games, also both games are very solitary games, in both games there are no useless npc characters around the world, you have your main guy, a stunning world and your objective, that's it.

Black Francis · 06-20-2015, 09:06 PM

Though Ico is the 1st game of the series, its story is actually the continuation of Shadow of the colossus

"The protagonist is a young boy named Ico who was born with horns, which his village considers a bad omen. Warriors lock him away in an abandoned fortress. During his explorations of the fortress, Ico encounters Yorda, the daughter of the castle's Queen. The Queen plans to use Yorda's body to extend her own lifespan. Learning this, Ico seeks to escape the castle with Yorda, keeping her safe from the shadow-like creatures that attempt to draw her back. Throughout the game, the player controls Ico as he explores the castle, solves puzzles and assists Yorda across obstacles."

This game is like playing a puzzle game within a painting, the story isn't really explained to you but still, the fantasy world the game creates always makes you feel present in every moment.

Black Francis · 06-20-2015, 09:07 PM

Both Ico and SOTC have that quality in the games, you always have to figure out your environment and how to instinctively use it to your advantage and in Ico's case you basically try to get from point A to point B while escorting Yorda.

That's it, you don't have to grind or even follow any story dialogue you just go, go, go, no time for plot or new mechanics, just get through the castle and save the girl.

Why? because.. Reasons.

But though the story is vague this game has the charm SOTC has, there's enough mistique in the story to keep you intrigued through out the whole game and the ending is F*ckn epic just like SOTC so wthvr troubles you had passing the game is totally rewarded, Still, to fully appreciate this game you have to play SOTC.

i'll cover Shadow of the colossus tomorrow cause im actually drunk atm and im getting sleepy but before i finish i gotta say, from the gameplay The Last guardian is gonna play more like Ico than SOTC so i would advice playing Ico before playing TLG

Black Francis · 06-21-2015, 06:17 PM

Shadow of the colussus

God this game looked gorgeous, this game reminds you that most Ps2 games never used the full graphical potential of the Ps2.

It may also remind you of Nes games in the sense that your adventure has a very simple objective, save your sleeping GF.

That's basically the plot of Zelda 2 for the Nes all SOTC did was basically add visually stunning colussus, The best horse in videogame history, Agro, and an interesting grappling puzzle dynamic to take each down each colussus.

This is basically "Climb a giant" the game a concept that if you think about its pretty cool from the beginning all you gotta do is execute it properly and you got yourself a game masterpiece.

Like Ico, this is also a very solitary game, you'll explore a visually beautiful world but it's empy as hell and actually a bit confusing to navigate in some parts.

Black Francis · 06-21-2015, 06:18 PM

Though i prefer SOTC over Ico i have to say, Ico is way more challenging game.

Both games use their environment brilliantly to help you overcome whtvr obstacles you have but in SOTC once you figure out how to beat a colossus it becomes a rinse and repeat situation Ico though not as fun as SOTC doesn't do that, each puzzle presented to you requires you to always come up with a different solution not just follow a pattern.

Story wise Shadow of the colossus is as cryptic as Ico, here's what i gathered from playing both games.

Ico is the reincarnation of your character in SOTC Wanderer which in by trying to save his ill gf Mona dooms his soul and the souls of the colossi he slayed in some kind of unholy ritual forbidden in those lands, this is why his reincarnation Ico is born with horns and is considered to be an omen by the native ppl of the land.

MEANING that Wanderer and to an extent Ico, are not really the good guys, they are the product of some kind of evil ritual.

Black Francis · 06-28-2015, 10:13 AM

ok, since no one has anything to say about Ico, SOTC or The Last guardian let's move on to another game.

GTA : San andreas (ps2)

Even though this game is not easy to get for an emulator, im mentioning it cause it's my favorite GTA and cause most of us played it at some point.

I'll get straight to the point, the reason San andreas is my favorite GTA is cause it's about da hood
alot of ppl pfrefer Vice city cause it's theme is more italian mafia oriented.

If Vice city was Scarface San andreas would be Menace II society and idk about you guys but i prefer watching hood movies over mafia flicks. this game also added an rpg mechanic where you build up your stats by exercising or doing other things like riding a bike and gradually getting better at it.

Black Francis · 06-28-2015, 10:15 AM

This feature was great because it didn't interfere with the gta gameplay but instead was personally rewarding for your character.

you don't have to get ripped or get a haircut or get a tattoo in order to pass this game but San Andreas added all these features, hell, you can even make your character fat by eating too much.

But not only was the character customization of this game great, the voice acting and the dialogue of this game is great as well

Most ppl only remember the crooked Officer Frank who was voiced by Samuel L Jackson but truth is, he's not the only recognisable actor in this game

"Big sweet" the main bad guy was voiced by Clifton Powell

There are other recognisable actors in the cast, i won't mention each one but here's a link for anyone who is curious about them

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Video Game 2004) - IMDb

Another thing i have to mention about this game is the city layout and the lightening of the game.

06-04-2015, 10:18 AM	#81 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	So yea, to me those were the top 5 fighting games most important to the genre but now i wanna cover a very different game, an Educational game (a little music for reading) Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? (Snes) Ahh, Carmen Sandiego.. the most elusive bitch in videogame history. i gotta give it up for Carmen, for a thief she sure knows how to make crime educational for kids, this is the only game of the franchise i played as a kid but she had alot of games that were ported to PC and almost every console, this game even spawned 2 Tv shows, this is one of the most popular educational games ever i had the Snes port, specifically the big box bundle pack that came with a world almanac that let me tell you, was NOT helpful AT ALL. you don't need it cause the clues the game gives you are really obvious. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A Last edited by Black Francis; 06-04-2015 at 10:29 AM.

06-04-2015, 10:19 AM	#82 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	The clues had to be really obvious cause this game was made for kids but i remember playing this game with my mother and we didn't get that far. Thinking back on it, ive come to the conclusion my moms was either really dumb OR was playing dumb so that i'd learn stuff. (which i never did) cause ive replayed this game as an adult and it was incredibly easy and i still don't know sht about geography! For those of you not familiar with the game, you take the role of a detective trying to find Carmen Sandiego but before you get to her you have to catch other criminals and as you do you keep ascending through the police ranks. The whole game is text based and played through the character's Pda. With it you travel the world looking for criminals with bad pun names, you have a profile of every criminal in the game so as you gather clues in each case you have to match the descriptions of the criminal with the ones on your database. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A Last edited by Black Francis; 06-04-2015 at 10:33 AM.

06-04-2015, 10:21 AM	#83 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Once you have enough clues you need to put out an arrest warrant on said criminal or else you can't arrest him even if you catch him. you have a limited amount of days to catch the criminal but one cool thing the game does is show a little threatening animation that appears whenever you're close to catching the criminal. A knife is thrown at you as a warning sign to back off then eventually you see a little animation of the criminal running away from the police and then you catch him but mind you, if the criminal is not the one in your arrest warrant they set him free. Overall, this game was fun and Carmen has become somewhat of an icon along with Waldo for being the most elusive characters in edutainment games.. but if you're smart enough, you can catch them. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

06-20-2015, 09:05 PM	#84 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Since they announced The last guardian for the Ps4 i want to talk about the previous 2 installments of the series Ico and Shadow of the colossus Both of these games were developed by the SCE japan studios who are responsible for Demon's Soul and Blood borne that right away should let you know how innovative these guys are. I played both Ico and SOTC and while my memory of all the details in the games is a bit fuzzy i do remember the gaming experience i got from the games which was pretty great. One thing that was apparent in both games are the superb graphics both games had. Both titles were Ps2 games but they almost looked like Ps3 games, also both games are very solitary games, in both games there are no useless npc characters around the world, you have your main guy, a stunning world and your objective, that's it. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

06-20-2015, 09:06 PM	#85 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Though Ico is the 1st game of the series, its story is actually the continuation of Shadow of the colossus "The protagonist is a young boy named Ico who was born with horns, which his village considers a bad omen. Warriors lock him away in an abandoned fortress. During his explorations of the fortress, Ico encounters Yorda, the daughter of the castle's Queen. The Queen plans to use Yorda's body to extend her own lifespan. Learning this, Ico seeks to escape the castle with Yorda, keeping her safe from the shadow-like creatures that attempt to draw her back. Throughout the game, the player controls Ico as he explores the castle, solves puzzles and assists Yorda across obstacles." This game is like playing a puzzle game within a painting, the story isn't really explained to you but still, the fantasy world the game creates always makes you feel present in every moment. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

06-20-2015, 09:07 PM	#86 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Both Ico and SOTC have that quality in the games, you always have to figure out your environment and how to instinctively use it to your advantage and in Ico's case you basically try to get from point A to point B while escorting Yorda. That's it, you don't have to grind or even follow any story dialogue you just go, go, go, no time for plot or new mechanics, just get through the castle and save the girl. Why? because.. Reasons. But though the story is vague this game has the charm SOTC has, there's enough mistique in the story to keep you intrigued through out the whole game and the ending is Fckn epic just like SOTC so wthvr troubles you had passing the game is totally rewarded, Still, to fully appreciate this game you have to play SOTC. i'll cover Shadow of the colossus* tomorrow cause im actually drunk atm and im getting sleepy but before i finish i gotta say, from the gameplay The Last guardian is gonna play more like Ico than SOTC so i would advice playing Ico before playing TLG __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

06-21-2015, 06:17 PM	#87 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Shadow of the colussus God this game looked gorgeous, this game reminds you that most Ps2 games never used the full graphical potential of the Ps2. It may also remind you of Nes games in the sense that your adventure has a very simple objective, save your sleeping GF. That's basically the plot of Zelda 2 for the Nes all SOTC did was basically add visually stunning colussus, The best horse in videogame history, Agro, and an interesting grappling puzzle dynamic to take each down each colussus. This is basically "Climb a giant" the game a concept that if you think about its pretty cool from the beginning all you gotta do is execute it properly and you got yourself a game masterpiece. Like Ico, this is also a very solitary game, you'll explore a visually beautiful world but it's empy as hell and actually a bit confusing to navigate in some parts. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

06-21-2015, 06:18 PM	#88 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Though i prefer SOTC over Ico i have to say, Ico is way more challenging game. Both games use their environment brilliantly to help you overcome whtvr obstacles you have but in SOTC once you figure out how to beat a colossus it becomes a rinse and repeat situation Ico though not as fun as SOTC doesn't do that, each puzzle presented to you requires you to always come up with a different solution not just follow a pattern. Story wise Shadow of the colossus is as cryptic as Ico, here's what i gathered from playing both games. Ico is the reincarnation of your character in SOTC Wanderer which in by trying to save his ill gf Mona dooms his soul and the souls of the colossi he slayed in some kind of unholy ritual forbidden in those lands, this is why his reincarnation Ico is born with horns and is considered to be an omen by the native ppl of the land. MEANING that Wanderer and to an extent Ico, are not really the good guys, they are the product of some kind of evil ritual. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A Last edited by Black Francis; 06-21-2015 at 09:22 PM.

06-28-2015, 10:13 AM	#89 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	ok, since no one has anything to say about Ico, SOTC or The Last guardian let's move on to another game. GTA : San andreas (ps2) Even though this game is not easy to get for an emulator, im mentioning it cause it's my favorite GTA and cause most of us played it at some point. I'll get straight to the point, the reason San andreas is my favorite GTA is cause it's about da hood alot of ppl pfrefer Vice city cause it's theme is more italian mafia oriented. If Vice city was Scarface San andreas would be Menace II society and idk about you guys but i prefer watching hood movies over mafia flicks. this game also added an rpg mechanic where you build up your stats by exercising or doing other things like riding a bike and gradually getting better at it. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

06-28-2015, 10:15 AM	#90 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	This feature was great because it didn't interfere with the gta gameplay but instead was personally rewarding for your character. you don't have to get ripped or get a haircut or get a tattoo in order to pass this game but San Andreas added all these features, hell, you can even make your character fat by eating too much. But not only was the character customization of this game great, the voice acting and the dialogue of this game is great as well Most ppl only remember the crooked Officer Frank who was voiced by Samuel L Jackson but truth is, he's not the only recognisable actor in this game "Big sweet" the main bad guy was voiced by Clifton Powell There are other recognisable actors in the cast, i won't mention each one but here's a link for anyone who is curious about them Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Video Game 2004) - IMDb Another thing i have to mention about this game is the city layout and the lightening of the game. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A