2017 Game Completion Challenge

[celerystalker]

As a way to do something fun together here, encourage working through our backlogs, and have some friendly competition, I present the 2017 Game Completion Challenge. Here are the rules:

-Every week, there will be three games presented to take on. I will select two, and the third will be chosen by each individual player, guided by a simple stipulation.

-In addition, for each month there will be one RPG, strategy RPG, or action RPG posted.

-For every game completed from the week, one point will be awarded.

-Completing all three games in a week scores a bonus point.

-Beating the monthly RPG will award 5 points.

-Emulation is allowed, but no save states (other than to continue at a later time) or cheats are allowed.

The goal here is just to have some fun and have some common games to talk about, but I will have prizes of some kind for the top two or three point scorers at the end of the year. You don't have to play every game or every week, and this format is designed to include both structure and freedom. I'll track points and such. We're going on the honor system here, so if you say you beat it, you did, no pics required... but feel free to post any fun screens, love, or hate for any games involved!

One final note: if you have just recently completed the monthly RPG and have no desire to return to it, let me know and I'll offer up an alternate game.

Week 1 post to follow!
Let's try and have some fun together!

[celerystalker]

Here are the week one games. I'll keep them short, as we only have a few days. Weeks that follow will pop up Saturday nights.

Breakthru (NES, Arcade)

Marvel Land (Genesis, Arcade)

Player's Choice: Any game that has the word "Super" in the title or subtitle.

RPG of the month: Any entry in Quest's Ogre franchise. These include Ogre Battle and its ports, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and its ports, Ogre Battle 64, Ogre Battle Gaiden for NGPC, and Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis for GBA.

Good luck, and beat somethin', will ya?

[Emperor Megas]

Well, I'm pretty sure that I have several games with Super in the title, so there's something I can play. I might actually have NES Breakthru as well now that I think about it.

I suppose I'm in then.

[Emperor Megas]

For player's choice, with games that don't end, like puzzle games, or games that loop, are they still eligible?

Like, if I play Super Stardust HD, which I don't think has an actual ending, does it count if I play past the final stage before the game loops to the first stage again? I think that would fly, but I'm assuming infinite puzzlers like Super Breakout aren't eligible for the challenge, amirite?

[celerystalker]

Yes, clearing a loop is fine for endless games

[FieryReign]

What about continues? Default difficulties? Adding extra lives in options menu? Just push start and go?

[celerystalker]

Default or Normal difficulty, continues are okay.

[Emperor Megas]

Default or Normal difficulty, continues are okay.So, no hard modes allowed? Meh, count me out then. :^p

[jperryss]

So, no hard modes allowed? Meh, count me out then. :^p

NES Breakthru without using continues = hard mode

:)

[celerystalker]

NES Breakthru without using continues = hard mode

:)

I have not done that. I think it would hurt my feelings.

[Scissors]

I may give this a go. I've been meaning to play Ogre Battle again and I have several "Super" games.

[jperryss]

Woohoo, I'm on the board! Breakthru (NES) completed. Took me a bunch of continues to finish but it was a fun one to revisit. Unfortunately this'll probably be my only entry this week.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/433791/breakthru.jpg

[FieryReign]

Picked Super Fantasy Zone for the players choice game. Made it to the boss rush in a single life, I could finish it with a bit more practice.

Couldn't get into Marvel Land. The floaty jumps and invisible warp zones that take you backwards a few levels pissed me off. And the cutsiness made me want to vomit.

Don't have time to sharpen up on Breakthru and no way I'm touching any of those Ogre games.

[Emperor Megas]

I played Breakthru for the first time and I'm a little confused about the game play. Does anyone know if there are any bugs or glitches playing this on the Retron 5?

[jperryss]

I can't help with the Retron question but the game play is pretty straightforward so maybe it's having trouble running it.

After hitting Start on the title screen you should see a map and description of the level, then the level starts. Your vehicle is always going right but you can speed up or slow down by pressing right or left respectively. B shoots, A jumps, and you jump higher when you're moving faster.

[Emperor Megas]

I can't help with the Retron question but the game play is pretty straightforward so maybe it's having trouble running it.

After hitting Start on the title screen you should see a map and description of the level, then the level starts. Your vehicle is always going right but you can speed up or slow down by pressing right or left respectively. B shoots, A jumps, and you jump higher when you're moving faster.I'm not able to jump. I didn't know you could jump. I just keep hitting a pile of rocks. I'll have to check the controls out and see if something wonky is going on there.

I hope I can fix it, because this game looks awesome.

[FieryReign]

Super Fantasy Zone barely beaten, to hell with another loop. And this site has a bullshit attachment manager.

[celerystalker]

You don't have to post screenshots to play! Your word is good enough.

Also, week one ends at midnight. Make sure and post if you cleared any games so I can track it! Congrats to jperryss on firat blood!

[Emperor Megas]

I'm already liking challenge thing. I'll definitely not get to finish Breakthru, but I'll get an super cheesy point for finishing Super Stardust HD (or something I've ended a million times like Super Mario Bros.). I'm liking that I'm going to finally PLAY some of my games this year, and learn some new stuff along the way. Like I said, I can tell from the seconds I've played that I'll enjoy Breakthru. I didn't even realize it was this sort of game (the name makes it sound like an Arkanoid clone).

I'll also get to add some games to me to get list. I don't own Marvel Land, so it's getting added.

[celerystalker]

Super Fantasy Zone barely beaten, to hell with another loop. And this site has a bullshit attachment manager.

Nice! And yes, the attachment manager is rough. I can't tell you how many times it'd fail to upload pics I took for GOTD topics. Sometimes, seemingly at random, it just starts failing over and over, and once an attachment fails, it will never work ever again. I end up taking, like 40-50 pictures for GOTD topics each, and sometimes the best ones don't make it. When you see one that only has five or six pics, that means literally dozens failed.

Nice score, though. I suck balls at any form of Fantasy Zone. It's a blind spot for me.

[FieryReign]

^It might be a phone/tablet problem because that's what I use. Not possible to drag and drop. Had to reupload a few times. And the mobile version doesn't even allow attachments.

I used to hate Fantasy Zone and didn't understand the hype. Until I sat down with the 3ds versions. Learned what the best weapons and upgrades are to cruise through the generators and got the patterns of bosses down. Became addicted and now one of my fav shmup series. Probably the only shooter games I can 1cc.

This exclusive Genny version is extremely colorful and vivid. It could easily pass for a SNES game.

[kupomogli]

I'm busy playing a few games so not participating at this time, but what if two categories fall under the same thing. Like if someone was to complete Super Hydlide or Super Mario RPG for instance, would they get a point for playing a game with Super in it and the RPG points?

[celerystalker]

I'm busy playing a few games so not participating at this time, but what if two categories fall under the same thing. Like if someone was to complete Super Hydlide or Super Mario RPG for instance, would they get a point for playing a game with Super in it and the RPG points?

Well, the stipulation for player's choice will change every week, so I'll be trying to keep the two mutually exclusive. If I screw it up and leave that possibility open, then sure, shame on me. :) The RPG points must meet that month's challenge, though. For example, this month has to be part of the Ogre series. So, while you could claim Super Mario RPG as the game with "super" in its title, it doesn't meet the RPG criteria for the month, so it would only be worth a single point.

I'm gonna try and keep enough variety so that people can drop in and out in accordance with what they feel like playing and still remain competitive.

[Scissors]

I haven't gotten around to starting Ogre Battle, but I did play through solo in Super Smash Bros on Wii U.

[celerystalker]

All week one scores are recorded in my handy dandy notebook. On to week 2!

-Space Invaders Extreme (DS, PSP, Download services)

-Story/arcade mode in any version of Puyo Puyo, including the Nazo Puyo games, Kirby's Avalanche, and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine.

-Player's Choice: any game that has Ryu from Street Fighter in it.

-Three more weeks for an Ogre-series game for RPG points. Have you liberated a town today?

[Emperor Megas]

I get a big fat zero for the first week.

I waited till the very last minute to play my super game (Super Stardust HD) only to discover my Dual Shock 3 was dead. I didn't find another one until after midnight. I got screwed on BOTH games because of controller issues. If I were smarter and not a procrastinator I would have just ran through any number of the multiple versions of Super Street Fighter II I own just for a cheap point, but I'd had a really stressful week and didn't have much focus. Which is exactly why I SHOULD be playing more games.

[kupomogli]

For example, this month has to be part of the Ogre series. So, while you could claim Super Mario RPG as the game with "super" in its title, it doesn't meet the RPG criteria for the month, so it would only be worth a single point.

I was too busy thinking of how to cheat the system and forgot that you already chose a series.

Even though Tactics Ogre is one of my favorite games, I'm already playing Persona Q, Witcher 3, and Yakuza 5(wanting to finish and plat this one before Yakuza 0 comes out later this month.)

[FieryReign]

Had a quick run through the PC Engine version of Street Fighter 2 using a few continues. It reminded me how much I suck at one on one fighters and how the computer is a cheating bastard in these type games.

I'll check out the Space Invaders game for DS. Can't do the Puyo game, I get bored with puzzle games within 2 minutes time. Just don't like em.

[celerystalker]

Nice! That version of SFII is way better than it had any right to be. I still like Turbo on SNES best for 16 bit Street Fighter best, but Capcom really made 'em all pretty solid.

[FieryReign]

Nice! That version of SFII is way better than it had any right to be. I still like Turbo on SNES best for 16 bit Street Fighter best, but Capcom really made 'em all pretty solid.
Yeah, figured I'd play this port since I never really tried it. Seems like the floor is missing some of the scrolling effects. The music is "Turbo-ized" but the voices sound way better than the Genny port and possibly the snes game.

[Emperor Megas]

I hadn't played Pocket Fighter in probably 15 years. I almost forgot how charming this game was. Fortunately, beating the solo game is still cake.

Sadly all my teenage friends who used to like this game are long since gone, and I doubt I'll ever meet any locals who would care about this classic retro fighter.

[celerystalker]

I hadn't played Pocket Fighter in probably 15 years. I almost forgot how charming this game was. Fortunately, beating the solo game is still cake.

Sadly all my teenage friends who used to like this game are long since gone, and I doubt I'll ever meet any locals who would care about this classic retro fighter.

I was actually hoping someone would play Pocket Fighter or Puzzle Fighter. Nobody seems to remember Pocket Fighter these days, but it's fun as hell, and excellent for some versus play.

[Niku-Sama]

Aw damn i thought i had space invaders extreme but it was #2 and not the first one.

[Emperor Megas]

After spending an aggravating hour trying to figure out why I didn't have any sound, and fighting with a tangle of a hundred wires, I dusted off the Wii and completed two of the three single player modes in Puyo Pop Fever. I haven't played this game since the year it released. I forgot that it had annoying 3D combo animations that I used to turn off in the options menu. Something I rectified in my second play through.

I have the DS verion of Space Invaders Extreme. I thought that I also had the PSP version as well. I know I physically picked it up and held it in Walmart or Kmart some years ago. I must have passed on it figuring it was more or less the same game on a different platform. I suppose this challenge is as good a reason as any to finally unseal it. It's not a rare or expensive game after all.

[Az]

Managed to 1CC Street Fighter II: The World Warrior with Ken on the PSP version of Capcom Classics Collection. This one is just a straight port of the PSOne Street Fighter Collection with no changes at all. It still has the load screens but they're at a minimum since I have the game copied to a memory stick. I usually hate playing PSP fighters but WW's slow speed coupled with very lenient special inputs make this port a bit more playable (to me) than straight CPS emulation.

I'm not used to playing as Ken that much, but using him is a perfect way to see how much changed from WW to CE/HF. His hurricaine kick redizzies almost every single time so if you hit it once on an opponent the round is pretty much over. As an example of small changes being huge just try to use Ken on the car bashing bonus stage in WW. His close f+HK axe kick move still hits twice, but nowhere in the same points engrained in your mind, so you can't just spam f+HK to destroy the car.

[celerystalker]

Nice to see a few games knocked out this week! Anybody try Space Invaders Extreme yet?

[FieryReign]

Nice to see a few games knocked out this week! Anybody try Space Invaders Extreme yet?

I'm working on the Psp version. Made it to the 4th level. How many levels are there?

[celerystalker]

I'm working on the Psp version. Made it to the 4th level. How many levels are there?

I've only done the DS version, though I have done at length. There are 5 stages in that one.

[Emperor Megas]

I'll try it out today. I figured there were like a few hundred stages or something. Seems like it would be that sort of game. If it's not insanely long then I'll have a crack at it.

[celerystalker]

I'll try it out today. I figured there were like a few hundred stages or something. Seems like it would be that sort of game. If it's not insanely long then I'll have a crack at it.

Oh, no, no... I figure most people here are adults with a lot of responsibilities, so the weekly games are and will be intentionally brief. I don't plan on choosing games that would take longer than a couple of hours tops for a playthrough, most around half an hour for a single play. Any longer games will either be the monthly RPG or player's choice.

[Emperor Megas]

Nice. That's good to know.

[FieryReign]

Got to the 4th boss on Space Invaders Extreme and died. Again. Towel thrown, have no interest to play through the level again. Done with this one. I'll wait til next week.

[celerystalker]

Okay, pencils down on week 2! Post if you had any last second finishes Saturday. Otherwise, it's on to week 3!

-Trap Gunner (PS1): Clear any character's story mode.

-Strider (NES, GBA): This version is completely different from the arcade/Genesis/PCE/PS1 game.

-Player's choice: Any game published under the Tengen brand. Examples could include NES games like RBI Baseball, Rolling Thunder, Shinobi, etc., Genesis games like Grind Stormer or Gauntlet IV... you get the idea.

-Still a couple of weeks to get in an Ogre Battle game for the RPG points. Somebody help Zenobia out... they'll give you tarot cards and shit.

[jperryss]

Unfortunately last week was a bust for me but I'm hoping to get to one of these this week.

Isn't the GBA Strider a port of the arcade version? I thought only the NES one was different.

[celerystalker]

Unfortunately last week was a bust for me but I'm hoping to get to one of these this week.

Isn't the GBA Strider a port of the arcade version? I thought only the NES one was different.

There is a Capcom Classics Collection that has the NES version along with Mighty Final Fight and Bionic Commando.

[Cornelius]

I worked on Space Invaders Extreme through the week, but only managed to beat it this morning around 11 am. I'm going to count it in my personal tally. ;) I have apparently lost my edge, though I was never all that good at shooters.

[jperryss]

Ah, didn't know that. I did a GIS for "gba strider" and all the pics looked like the arcade version.

[celerystalker]

I worked on Space Invaders Extreme through the week, but only managed to beat it this morning around 11 am. I'm going to count it in my personal tally. ;) I have apparently lost my edge, though I was never all that good at shooters.

Unless there are any objections, we'll count it. I don't mind extending the deadline to Sunday for games where people are close.

[Scissors]

I was going to play a Puyo Puyo and a Ryu game last week, but didn't have a chance. I haven't started Ogre Battle either.

I've had Trap Gunner for years but never got around to playing it. I should have time to give it a try this week.

[FieryReign]

There is a Capcom Classics Collection that has the NES version along with Mighty Final Fight and Bionic Commando.

Did they fix the wall jumping in that gba collection? Could never get the goofy timing down in the Nes game.

[celerystalker]

Did they fix the wall jumping in that gba collection? Could never get the goofy timing down in the Nes game.

Nah, it's the same. Slightly delayed compared to Super Metroid.

[RP2A03]

Player's choice: Any game published under the Tengen brand.

Does it absolutely have to be published by Tengen? Would a game developed by Tengen and published by another company count? What about a port that is owned by Tengen, but developed by another company and published by yet another company?

[celerystalker]

Does it absolutely have to be published by Tengen? Would a game developed by Tengen and published by another company count? What about a port that is owned by Tengen, but developed by another company and published by yet another company?

What game?

[RP2A03]

I was thinking about either Paperboy 2 for the SNES (developed by Tengen, published by Mindscape) or Roadblasters for the NES (owned by Tengen, this particular port developed by Beam Software, and published by Mindscape).

[celerystalker]

I was thinking about either Paperboy 2 for the SNES (developed by Tengen, published by Mindscape) or Roadblasters for the NES (owned by Tengen, this particular port developed by Beam Software, and published by Mindscape).

I'd say yes to Paperboy 2, since they developed it, and I believe they published the Genesis original Paperboy themselves. Roadblasters, since they only owned it, but neither published nor developed it, I'd say no.

[RP2A03]

I'd say yes to Paperboy 2, since they developed it, and I believe they published the Genesis original Paperboy themselves. Roadblasters, since they only owned it, but neither published nor developed it, I'd say no.

Well then, I guess I better get good at delivering papers.

[celerystalker]

Well then, I guess I better get good at delivering papers.

I mean, it's kind of an important life skill anyway.

[Scissors]

I played a bit of Road Runner (Tengen) on NES. It loops after four stages (getting harder each loop). I played through two loops and beat the default high score. Would that be acceptable for the player's choice this week?

[celerystalker]

I played a bit of Road Runner (Tengen) on NES. It loops after four stages (getting harder each loop). I played through two loops and beat the default high score. Would that be acceptable for the player's choice this week?

Yep. Clearing a loop and high score does it for an endless game. Good deal!

[FieryReign]

Man this games jumping controls are straight busted. Collision is weird all-around. It's an easy game besides that. It's like Capcom knew it was easy and purposefully glitched the controls to make it harder. The translation and story is just random words and sentences thrown together. A shame. Potential for a solid game was there.

Strider done. Don't know about the Tengen game, don't like any of their games despite owning Pit Fighter and Hard Drivin back when. Not sure about Trap Gunner, too long of a download. Probably done for this week.

[Emperor Megas]

Got to the 4th boss on Space Invaders Extreme and died. Again. Towel thrown, have no interest to play through the level again. Done with this one. I'll wait til next week.Yeah, that's as far as I got, too. Only I actually replayed a few times and always struck out at the level 4 boss encounter.

I just checked and I own Trap Gunner so I'll give it and the NES Strider a go. I don't think I've ever played either.

[jperryss]

Grind Stormer

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/433791/grindstormer.jpg


Thoughts:

Very pretty game, nice use of color on the enemies and their projectiles. Some of the enemy and level designs felt kinda Konami-ish.

There are some neat effects that I don't think I've seen in other games. The ship's options will lock into place while you're holding the fire button down, but they snap back into follow or "float" mode as soon as you release, which requires some additional strategy. One of the later levels presents you with a wall of these blob things that do not move until you shoot them (which causes them to move towards you) and you have to quickly manipulate them so you can squeeze by. One of the bosses can pull all projectiles (yours and his) into his mouth by opening it, but they instantly resume original trajectory when closed.

The bosses all felt like they took way too many hits to kill, and there's no sound or visual indicator that you're actually doing damage. The game could've really benefited from this, sometimes it's hard to tell where you should be aiming.

A couple of levels have small "bonus" sections where you can rack up a ton of points by grabbing point blocks at up to 10000 points each.

I'm pretty good at shmups, but this one was frustrating even at default difficulty and I'd never make it through at the harder difficulties. The challenge ramps up quite a bit around the 3rd stage. I found myself using bombs defensively more than offensively to save my ship from a wave of bullets or a blast of fast-moving lasers.

[celerystalker]

Love Grind Stormer! It is tough, and like you said, the bosses sure can soak up some bullets. Still, it has a nice arcade feel and look. I like playing the V.V game version as well.

[celerystalker]

Anybody take a run at Trap Gunner yet? It's like Spy vs Spy and Bomberman had a baby at an anime convention...

[celerystalker]

Man this games jumping controls are straight busted. Collision is weird all-around. It's an easy game besides that. It's like Capcom knew it was easy and purposefully glitched the controls to make it harder. The translation and story is just random words and sentences thrown together. A shame. Potential for a solid game was there.

Strider done. Don't know about the Tengen game, don't like any of their games despite owning Pit Fighter and Hard Drivin back when. Not sure about Trap Gunner, too long of a download. Probably done for this week.

Nice finish on Strider. I know its controls are sloppy compared to the regular version, but I love the look of the game. I really dug the PS3/PS4 Strider sequel they did a couple of years ago, too. That was a lot of fun.

A few Tengen games that are a little more playable-
Paperboy (Genesis)
RBI Baseball games (the early ones only take a little while to beat, having a ten or so game season and a 10 run mercy rule)
Fantasy Zone (NES)
Vindicators (NES)
Rolling Thunder (NES)
Robo Aleste (Sega CD)
Dragon's Revenge (Genesis)

[celerystalker]

In case anyone is interested, here are the totals as of today:

FieryReign: 4

Scissors: 3

Emperor Megas: 2

jperryss: 2

Az: 2

Cornelius: 1

RP2A03: 1

A couple of days left in the week to bang out some games!

[FieryReign]

Gimme that point for the Tengen game. Did a quick run using Ty, spamming that punch button and special kicks. Genesis port. Seems like cheating but I'll take it. Was too lazy to take screenshots of it. There's no ending anyway.

[RP2A03]

I mean, it's kind of an important life skill anyway.

I can't do this. I'm never going to need this skill in real life! I'm much better at snowballing monsters. Princesses love that shit!

https://s23.postimg.org/gvh4m1vwb/snow_bros.png


The game is Snow Bros. Nick & Tom published by Tengen for the Mega Drive.

[Az]

Managed to finally slog through Tengen's Genesis port of Pit Fighter tonight on my last credit using Ty with the default settings.

I have a love/hate relationship with this game and could ramble for days on all the things that it does good and fails horribly at. Until this week I had never actually sat down and paid close attention to all of the details of the game mechanics. It ended up actually being a bit deeper than I expected but was balanced out by being even more broken than I had ever noticed in the past.

After losing the pomp and spectacle of the arcade game it comes home basically as a boss-rush beat 'em up. The broke shit includes features that don't work or are totally useless like blocks, dodging, & evade rolls. You bend over to pick items up and for some reason it's just a coin toss if you'll actually pick them up or not. Context sensitive moves also come out at random. Maybe you knee a downed opponent once, maybe not at all, or maybe you can a hundred times in a row. All of those things should never, ever happen in a beat 'em up.

This port can handle 4 different characters fighting at once in 2p mode, so why not be like the arcade and include more than 1v1 matches in 1p mode? For that matter why not also fight against the other 2 player characters since the AI is already present? Also, with a Game Genie the boss characters are totally playable and have complete move sets (no specials though). This had to be known by the programmers so why not finish it and make them all playable?

Emulating this on a Retron5 is way faster than a real console, strangely just like the arcade version on MAT is too fast.

[celerystalker]

Nice finishes! However, now I have a delightfully grotesque mental image of monsters with gooey grins...

[Scissors]

I played through Trap Gunner for the first time. It's an interesting game, but I wasn't really into it. I feel like it might be more fun playing with another person.


celerystalker, shouldn't I have 2 points (now 3 with Trap Gunner)? I played a Super game the first week and a Tengen game this week.

[celerystalker]

I played through Trap Gunner for the first time. It's an interesting game, but I wasn't really get into it. I feel like it might be more fun playing with another person.


celerystalker, shouldn't I have 2 points (now 3 with Trap Gunner)? I played a Super game the first week and a Tengen game this week.

Yes, you are correct. I'd overlooked the Super Smash post. Your score is updated to reflect it!

Trap Gunner is more fun with two human players. It'd probably be phenomenal if it supported four!

[jperryss]

I'm playing through the portable Castlevania games again (just started Aria yesterday) so most of my gaming time has been spent there. I'm going to try to get in at least one point per week here and hopefully tackle the RPG challenge next month.

Looking forward to next week's list!

[celerystalker]

I'm playing through the portable Castlevania games again (just started Aria yesterday) so most of my gaming time has been spent there. I'm going to try to get in at least one point per week here and hopefully tackle the RPG challenge next month.

Looking forward to next week's list!

Those games are great. I really especially dug Portrait of Ruin on DS. I was really surprised to see a storyline sequel to Bloodlines, and the return to tons of equipment and items like Symphony of the Night felt great to me. They're all tons of fun.

New list coming tonight!

[Scissors]

I'm playing Strider right now. Let's see if I can finish tonight.