15/07/2013 30th FAMICOM anniversary

[nerdynebraskan]

That sounds ambitious. Do you have the 30 games figured out yet? If so, do you have a particular order you're going to play them in? Even at a blazing 10 minutes apiece, that'd be five solid hours of gaming.

[Nightstar699]

That sounds ambitious. Do you have the 30 games figured out yet? If so, do you have a particular order you're going to play them in? Even at a blazing 10 minutes apiece, that'd be five solid hours of gaming.

Well, I could just take the easy way out and beat Spartan X-2 30 times in a row...

I'm thinking I'll only play games which I can beat in less than an hour. So I won't be playing my two favorites, Armadillo and Hoshi No Kirby, because they both take me over an hour to beat. But the Natsume games, Kaiketsu Yancha-maru 1, 2, and 3, Contra, Ninja Ryukenden III, Kamen No Ninja Hanamaru, etc. I guess I'll decide the playlist a day in advance.

One thing I have to take into consideration is whether or not I should make exceptions to my usual rules for completion, for this challenge. For example... Daiku No Gen-San and Daiku No Gen-San 2.... regularly when I play these beloved cherished gems of mine, I only consider them beaten once I've finished both the first quest... and the second (and in the case of the original game, much harder) quest which comes after the first ending. However, for the sake of timeliness, I'm thinking that in this challenge, I should consider them beaten after one loop...  I can't recall how long it takes me to beat both loops on these games, but it just might be over an hour. Perhaps I just won't play the Gen-San games for this challenge.

[Cheetahmen]

You should probably add Hostages: The Embassy Mission to that list.

[Nightstar699]

Unfortunately I don't have that game, but I looked it up and I couldn't help but notice that there was a full playthrough of it on YouTube which is only 10 minutes  long... it's even shorter than Spartan X-2!

[FamicomLover]

I plan on playing some Famicom Disk System for the 4th

[Cheetahmen]

Unfortunately I don't have that game, but I looked it up and I couldn't help but notice that there was a full playthrough of it on YouTube which is only 10 minutes  long... it's even shorter than Spartan X-2!

Yeah, it's a very short game. Definitely one of my favourites though, mainly because it's one of the few stealth games on the system. Also worth noting that the time limit is actually 10 minutes on the Jupiter mission.

I'd also suggest Where's Waldo?, but it wasn't released on the Famicom. Well, that and it sucks anyway.

[nerdynebraskan]

I think Super Mario Bros and/or SMB 3 should make the cut. And they can be beaten within 20 minutes, with the use of warp zones. We gotta play some Mario for the anniversary.

[Nightstar699]

Yes, I'll definitely be playing SMB and SMB USA , but I'm not sure if I'll be able to beat SMB3 in less than an hour, even with Warp Zones... I'm pretty bad at SMB3, so usually I like to be well stocked with powerups for the later levels. Maybe if I practice it this weekend, I can get good enough to speed-run it as part of the challenge.

Edit: Alright, I typed up the playlist I'll be going through on its anniversary...

1. Spartan X-2
2. Saiyuuki World 2
3. Batman Dynamite
4. Kage
5. Jigoku Gokuraku Maru
6. Dragon Fighter
7. Parasol Henbee
8. Contra
9. Ninja Ryukenden 3
10. Super Mario Bros USA
11. Super Mario Bros
12. Kamen No Ninja Hanamaru
13. Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 2
14. Kero Kero Keroppi No Daibouken 2
15. Don Doko Don 2
16. Pizza Pop
17. Ducktales 2
18. Solbrain
19. Choujin Sentai Jetman
20. Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
21. Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger
22. Time Zone
23. Wanpaku Kokkun No Gourmet World
24. Chip N Dale 2
25. Ducktales
26. Akumajo Special: Boku Dracula Kun
27. Mickey Mouse III: Yume Fuusen
28. Daiku No Gen-San (1 loop)
29. Daiku No Gen-San 2 (1 loop)
30. Armadillo

These are all games which I can confidently beat in under an hour, in same cases as little as 10-20 minutes... with the exception of Armadillo. Armadillo takes me over an hour to complete, but I feel as though it deserves a playthrough on the Famicom's anniversary, because it's the game that represents my personal experience with the Famicom. I guess I'll start at midnight on the 15th, and go from there. Watch me fall asleep after two games and completely blow it.

Edit again: Oh, and I will not be allowing endings to play, with the exception of the final game. Besides that, I'm just gonna move on to the next game upon final strike to the endboss.

Edit again again: This seems like it'll be difficult. I honestly doubt my challenge will turn out successful, but I'll try my best. I look forward to seeing how  other members choose to celebrate the Famicom's anniversary.

[nerdynebraskan]

Interesting list. If I were in your place, I might have a few more common classics. (Especially since they're not only iconic, they're also the ones I grew up with for the most part.)

You've got a few in there that I'm still looking for: Parasol Henbee, Don Doko Don 2, and Time Zone. I take it you find those all pretty good, given that they made your list?

[Nightstar699]

Yeah but a lot of the more iconic games take me a while to beat... I can beat all the Rockman games with minimal error, but they still usually take me (barely) over an hour... maybe the first Rockman is short enough to include.

Those three games are all magnificent, especially Don Doko Don 2 which is one of my absolute favorites.

Don Doko Don 2's gameplay revolves around your hammer. Upon striking enemies, they'll be stunned for a short period of time. Then, you can pick them up, and launch them at other enemies. This is the only way to damage the bosses, as they're all immune to the hammer itself. In DDD2, you start with just three units of health, but you build up your health meter as you collect items, and possibly win big in the bonus games.

Parasol Henbee is an incredibly easy, but adorably fun platformer based on a classic children's anime. As Henbee, you'll mainly be relying on your rainbow abilities to dispatch enemies, although you can also use your parasol to attack and defend, in a few different ways. Speaking of your parasol, there are multiple ways to use it. You can glide through the sky, making certain jumps easier, in the water stages, you can use it as a boat which makes them much easier, you can bounce along ground with it, which will also work somewhat like Scrooge McDuck's pogo cane in Ducktales, you can even hide inside the parasol to protect yourself from enemy attacks. While a few of the boss battles are played out traditionally, a couple of them are actually mini-games, which usually bothers me in games, but here I actually find them quite painless and charming. These include a rock-paper-scissors game which plays out like a sumo match, and a memory game where you have to put together a picture of Henbee.

Time Zone is one of the most charming games I've ever played, and one which very much reminds me of my beloved Yo! Noid/Kamen No Ninja Hanamaru. Your girlfriend has been kidnapped by a mad scientist, who is taking her through various time periods. Luckily, you make it into the portal to chase after them, armed only with your deadly boomerang hat, and your invincibility skateboard which can be accessed only after collecting a certain number of bells (or collecting just one red bell, which are hidden throughout the stages). Due to the fact that you die in one hit, patience is key to learning this game, but once you've memorized the level layouts they're pretty fun to run through because your hero in this game is quite fast. The gameplay style, yet again, reminds me very much of Kamen No Ninja Hanamaru... but unlike Hanamaru, which only has mini-game-based boss battles, Time Zone has traditional boss battles, and I loved every single one of them. There are six worlds: Present day, BC, the old west, ancient Japan, the future, and... the last world is just completely messed up. Each world is divided into 4 stages, and they also each include a "Quiz" which will be a game show hosted by an enemy from that stage, who will ask you a question to give you a chance to earn three extra lives.

[Cheetahmen]

Don Doko Don 2's gameplay revolves around your hammer. Upon striking enemies, they'll be stunned for a short period of time. Then, you can pick them up, and launch them at other enemies. This is the only way to damage the bosses, as they're all immune to the hammer itself. In DnD2, you start with just three units of health, but you build up your health meter as you collect items, and possibly win big in the bonus games.

Well, it's a lot like the original game in terms of the core gameplay mechanics except the second game's a more conventional platformer. The whole thing with picking up the enemies and throwing them reminds me of Parasol Stars on the Game Boy. (That game was released on the NES in Europe, but not the Famicom)

[Nightstar699]

Yeah, some of the enemies and music are shared between both Don Doko Don games as well. I'm really glad they decided to make Don Doko Don 2 a conventional platformer, very rarely can I stay focused in a single screen Bubble Bobble style game. I remember seeing Parasol Stars on Nick Arcade many years ago, can't remember if it was the NES version... probably not.

[1990in1]

13-17 VII we got a FamiCon in Poland

[Jedi Master Baiter]

17. Ducktales 2

I'm going to (hopefully) be tackling this game this summer!

As for what I'm doing this 30th anniversary:

Listening to an endless stream of these:

http://midr2.under.jp/compo/vol10/index.html (btw, this is supposedly the last competition I hear)

[nerdynebraskan]

Tomorrow is the big day! I'll have to remember to play a little Famicom for sure. (I actually haven't in a couple of weeks now... I've been obsessed with Wario's Woods on my NES.)