Monday MAME Club [03/28/05] - Rastan

[Flack]

Welcome to this week's Monday Morning MAME Club Posting. Every Monday, a member of the MAME club will pick a new game for you to play in MAME! All you have to do to participate is install MAME, download the ROM of the week from this message, and then post your thoughts about the game! You can post a full review of the game or simply tell us what you liked/didn't like about the game. Have you played this game before? Have you played it in an actual arcade? Do you like the genre? How did it run on your computer? Did you beat it? If so, how long did it take? What was your high score? How far can you get? Did you have any problems emulating the game? When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. Remember, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game! Just remember, if you want people to respond during YOUR week, you should play along on OTHER weeks!

The ROM of the week is: Rastan (available HERE (http://www.robohara.com/mameclub/rastan.zip)!)
KLOV Link for the game: HERE (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=9266)

http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/R/wRastan.png

Club Members:

digitalpress (Battle Bakraid)
Gamereviewgod (ESP Ra.De.)
Wisesalesman (Waku Waku 7)
scooterb23 (I'm Sorry)
ddockery (Penguin-Kun Wars)
AlanD (Dr. Micro)
IntvGene (Strike Force)
NE146 (Portman)
jonjandran (Bronze Adventure)
Flack (Rollergames, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu, Liquid Kids, Ninja Clowns, Great 1000 Mile Rally)
IGotTheDot (N/A)
zektor (Battle Bakraid, Haunted Castle)
buttasuperb (Blazing Star)
chadtower (Berkerk)
Sotenga (Caliber 50)
Stark (Mighty! Pang)
christianscott27 (Darius Gaiden)
ECWSandmanECW (League Bowling)
TripppsK (Lady Bug)
vespertillio (Rampart!)
<s>ghsqb</s>
TheSmirk (Bomb Jack)
Flukkake (Elevator Action)
BHvrd (NARC)
ManekiNeko (Battle Circuit)
MarioAllStar2600 (City Bomber)
Ze_ro (Pandora's Palace)
slip81 (Biomechanical Toy)
Qbert (Mysterious Stones)
k8track (Go! Go! Mile Smile)
<s>Hamsnibit</s>
Lady Jaye (Chuka Taisen/Cloud Master)
Sofa King Gud (Crossbow)
Schenley (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Kaine23 (Super Burgertime)
Arqueologia_Digital (Burgertime)
Jiscan (Withdrew)
-hellvin- (Splatterhouse)
Acidic_Pain (Armed Police Batrider)
Gamemaster_ca_2003 (Block Out)
Vigilante (Pu-Li-Ru-La)
Hovoc (D&D: Shadow Over Mystara)
<s>Mr.FoodMonster</s>
sniperCCJVQ (WWF Superstars)
A Boy (Satan's Hollow)
JibbaJaba (Solomon's Key)
Cauterize (The Simpsons)
youruglyclone (Vendetta)
Ed Oscuro (Alligator Hunt)
Gapporin (Daisu-Kiss)
Graham Mitchell (Ataxx)
RockyRaccoon (19xx: The War Against Destiny)
XxMe2NiKxX (Raiden II)
<s>brykasch</s>
Xtasy (Metal Slug 2)
DJ_DEEM (G.I. Joe)
The_EniGma (The Punisher)
DaBargainHunta (Combatribes)
cr0n0 (Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters)
Promophile (Pang)
Cirrus (Dynasty Wars)
!!! Stargate (Rastan) !!!
phantomfriar
GobopopRevisited
kevates
Lothars
SuperGunGuru
€ÜRØTRŧH

Remember, you don't have to be a member of the club to download the game and write up a review, but by joining you get the honor of picking a game to share with the group during your week. If you would like to join, simply send me a PM and I will add you to the list!

The current MAME Club Pick of the Week can be found Monday mornings stickied at the top of the main forum, and after that stickied at the top of the Arcade Alley forum.

MAME ON!

[scooterb23]

I am soooo horrible at this game. I don't think I've seen anything past the very first level.

Very nice graphics and very easy to pick up and play.

I like the game, but I'm very bad at at it :)

[Sotenga]

OH, YES. Excellent choice, this one. Rastan is one of Taito's most underrated titles, and to describe its charm is... well, not impossible, but hard to do. Hey, I can't say why I like it. Maybe because there aren't too many games out there that have the barbarian theme going on, except for any Conan titles that may be out there. Rastan can kick Conan's ass any day of the week. :D

Six levels, each one with a field segment, a castle segment, and the boss. The bosses in this game range from somewhat easy to ultra-cheap. You WILL hate the wizard at the end of level 3, I assure you. There's not much to the game, just slash up monsters and don't die! The tried-and-true action-platformer formula is very prominent in Rastan, and it provides a great challenge for any and all old school gamers. I highly advise playing this one, but if you intend to beat it, a warning: This is one of those games that forbids continuing on the last level. Considering how the final level is, of course, the hardest, and the game is already fairly difficult all throughout, I consider this a grave unfairness. Thank god game developers quit that bastardlike trend long ago.

[Geddon_jt]

One of my favorite and most-played arcade titles from when I was a little kid.
I have a lot of love for Rastan.

[Lady Jaye]

Not bad, but not my fave either. Then again, I do like side-scrolling hack-and-slash platformers... But like Scooterb, I suck at it. I guess that with some more practice, it's a game that could grow on me.

[Flack]

Glad to hear I'm not the only person who sucks at this game. When I was reading Sotenga's comments I was like ... wow, I didn't know this game had bosses in it. LOL Guess I never made it that far.

Our local bowling alley had this game so I remember playing it as a kid (hell, they might still have it). I recently went to a pizza buffet for lunch and they had it as well so I had to drop a quarter into it there too. At the time I thought this game had awesome graphics and I loved how bassy the music and sound effects sounded. That's one of those things that MAME simply can't reproduce.

I also played this game a lot on my Commodore 64, although obviously the graphics paled in comparison.

http://kim.c64.org/games/screenshots/full/rastan_07.gif

[Gapporin]

I also played this game a lot on my Commodore 64, although obviously the graphics paled in comparison.

http://kim.c64.org/games/screenshots/full/rastan_07.gif

Might I also add that the SMS port is quite decent. One thing I remember from my childhood is watching the title screen change colors whenever we put in a cheat code. :P

[cr0n0]

Sheesh...were do I begin with this one?? This is a classic in my opinion. I use to LOVE playing this baby everytime I wentto the arcade, even though I NEVER made it past the first level. I never even saw the FIRST BOSS!!!!!!!! Damn I sucked. I was glad to get another crack at this now that I am all grown and my reflexes and mind one (DANIEL SAN!). I FINALLY SAW THE FIRST BOSS!! (I killed the sucker too...BOOOYA)

I think the graphics are great and the music manages to capture the mood of the scenery superbly. Listening to that music blasting away in my headphones was a real throwback to the good ol 2-D days. Taito back then was a force to be reckoned with at the arcades. I always waited for this game to be released by one of the 16-bit consoles. A shame it never was. The Conan look and enemies are all done great, and the controls are right on for my taste. It's a shame the levels are pretty much flat in most cases (not all). Has anyone notice the large stone (rock) statue in the background at the beginning of the game?? Doesn't it look like the large statues we see Frodo and the fellowship sail through in the first film? What did Strider say they were? Past kings right?

Also...what's with our BUFFED UP hero disentigrating at the mere touch of water??? Is he made out of sugar or something??

[Cauterize]

Great choice! been playin it a lot on my MAME cab recently too!

Dont forget Rastan Saga 2 for Megadrive too (JAP only release i think...)

[Sotenga]

Glad to hear I'm not the only person who sucks at this game. When I was reading Sotenga's comments I was like ... wow, I didn't know this game had bosses in it. LOL

ROFL

S'okay, Flack. I can see why this game is difficult. I'm used enough to it to get past the first few levels, but I often quit by level 3 out of frustration. I got to the end of it once, but I... I kinda beat it using savestates, so my blatant cheating thus disqualifies my victory. :embarrassed:

Yes, there are six bosses, the first one being a skeleton warrior who likes to jump on top of you a lot. Then there's a female barbarian, whom I find really easy to beat, and then... there's the freaking wizard of level 3. What an asshole that guy is. Stage 4's boss is a jester who combines his swordplay and magic abilities, stage 5 has you go up against a five-headed hydra, and the final boss is a rather large dragon that can make crispy fries out of our hero in seconds. I wouldn't know what the final boss looks like because, once again, this game disallows continuing on the last level. WHY, GODDAMMIT??!? It's the hardest one out there, and people come that far into the game, only to lose all their lives and find that THEIR EFFORT IS FOR NAUGHT???!??!?? :angry: :angry: :angry:

... whoa. Rastan IS hard, so if you aim to earnestly beat it, check your blood pressure throughout the game, make sure it doesn't go too high.

[Flack]

Yes, there are six bosses, the first one being a skeleton warrior who likes to jump on top of you a lot. Then there's a female barbarian, whom I find really easy to beat.

Too bad it's not the female barbarian who likes to jump on Rastan a lot, otherwise we might have had the first R Rated MAME Club Pick! ;)

[stargate]

I chose Rastan because it was one of my favorites when I was a kid. My local arcade had one, but it got little use for some reason (probably too difficult for most casual gamers). My buddy introduced me to the game and I became instantly hooked.

What crOnO said about the music and graphics creating a mood is right on. This was one of my favorite aspects of the game. From the second you are dropped into the game, the heavy music and vibrant scenery kicks in. I love the statues in the distance and the colors really jump out at you, especially things like the toxic water. When your health gets low, you can hear your heart thumping and of course there is the death scream when you die. The weapon choices also rock. How cool is the flaming sword? It's the little touches like these that make all the difference.

The game is quite hard, but the controls are spot on and really help with the gameplay. Once you get the hang of it, things get much easier.

I have never beaten the game, but really haven't put in the time. Maybe I will now that MAME has brought it back from the dead.

All in all, a teriffic game. One of the better arcade platformers IMO.

[Sotenga]

Yes, there are six bosses, the first one being a skeleton warrior who likes to jump on top of you a lot. Then there's a female barbarian, whom I find really easy to beat.

Too bad it's not the female barbarian who likes to jump on Rastan a lot, otherwise we might have had the first R Rated MAME Club Pick! ;)

Well, she might, I haven't played this game in a while... :wink 2:

Actually, I meant that the skeleton likes to jump above you and then drop down with his sword pointed downward. Think Link's downward thrust move from Zelda 2, not Voldo's move from Soul Calibur where he jumps onto an opponent and stabs them with his legs wrapped around his victim. Seriously, so many gutterminds on this board. LOL

[SamuraiSmurfette]

Yeah! One of my faves growing up, too! I BOUGHT it for C64... I mean, really...who actually purchased games for that?



Dont forget Rastan Saga 2 for Megadrive too (JAP only release i think...)

It was released in North america, too...and it was (pardon the expression) TEH SUCKS! I was sooo dissapointed. Worth a laugh for the "sword poking" attack animation.

[Flack]

Moved to the Arcade Alley.

[Gamereviewgod]

There was also a Rastan 3 which seems to get heavily ignored, and that's a shame. Look for the game called Warrior Blade and read my review here:

http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/warriorblade.htm

But, back on topic, Rastan is one of my faves. It's like the quintessential platform hack and slasher. A local Little Ceasers (pizza place) used to have one. Usually got excited to go to a pizza place (being a Ninja Turtle fan and all), but not in this case. Damn it, I want Rastan!

What works is that you don't stop when you slash. You can continue on right, just jabbing the button and slashing all sorts of nasties. It gives the game a fantastic pace and flow.

Yes, it's brutal, horribly unfair (set the dipswitches to make it a little more tolerable), but that doesn't stop it from just controlling, looking, sounding (love the first stage theme), and playing perfectly. I always enjoyed the Master System port too. It's a little easier.

[cr0n0]

I hope someone here makes Rastab 3 a weekly MAME pick so I can play it. It looks freaking sweet!!!! I never new it existed. GOD I LOVE THIS FORUM!

By the way, Rastan 2 was programmed by the evil Satan himself. How else to explain such cruelness introduced to the gaming world?

[cr0n0]

I hope someone here makes Rastan 3 a weekly MAME pick so I can play it. It looks freaking sweet!!!! I never new it existed. GOD I LOVE THIS FORUM!

By the way, Rastan 2 was programmed by the evil Satan himself. How else to explain such cruelness introduced to the gaming world?

[Flack]

You can play it before someone picks it -- just go download it from romnaton.

[Sotenga]

I also recommend Emuasylum. That place is LOADED. :)

Rastan 2 (aka Nastar) does not play as well as the original, granted, but at least it allows continuing on the final level, and for that, I am grateful.