The UKFF Retro Gaming Thread

[BomberPat]

I don't have that model, but I have another 8BitDo controller and it's lovely. I've always been pretty wary of third party controllers, but I've used it to play retro games on my laptop and on the Raspberry Pi thing, and it's a lovely bit of kit. Feels good, and the buttons feel nice and responsive. 

[Merzbow]

Awesome, it was either this or one of the newish USB Saturn controllers but this could actually be used for modern games if needs be.

[Accident Prone]

1 hour ago, Merzbow said:

I just bought one of these for 18 quid, anyone else use them for emulators? It looks to be a pretty decent pad and probably much better for 2D games than my Xbox controller.

Can't go wrong with an 8bitdo controller, especially the pro versions. Probably the best third-party controller when it comes to balancing quality with price. As Pat pointed out, it works great with a Pi set-up but also works real well on phones too. Where did you get that one, if you don't mind me asking? £18 is a good price!

[chokeout]

4 minutes ago, Accident Prone said:

Can't go wrong with an 8bitdo controller, especially the pro versions. Probably the best third-party controller when it comes to balancing quality with price. As Pat pointed out, it works great with a Pi set-up but also works real well on phones too. Where did you get that one, if you don't mind me asking? £18 is a good price!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/8Bitdo-Gamepad-Windows-RetroPie-Raspberry/dp/B07V2P79Z2/ref=asc_df_B07V2P79Z2/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=570366458556&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8791918719640565467&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007000&hvtargid=pla-814874554296&psc=1&th=1&psc=1 

 

Think thats the same one

[Merzbow]

Yep, that's the one. Saw it pop up on HUKD, it's the cheapest it's been in quite a while now.

I started playing the old scrolling beat em up Vendetta just now and while a little clunky it's pretty fun, you can play as bootleg Hulk Hogan and even fight Bruiser Brody who's the 2nd stage boss but it's stage 3 where things are fucked up... stereotypical 80's leather clad gay guys that try to sexually assault you if you grab them and hump lampposts till the lights fall on your head. Messed up shit.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Merzbow

[Onyx2]

So many awful gay / trans stereotypes (I mean they're not even stereotypes, just offensive 70s cartoon awfulness) in those 80s beat em ups. Rightfully getting coded out of remakes and rereleases eg the one in Final Fight.

Myth on C64 ruled my life at one period, back in that window where System 3 couldn't make a bad game if they tried. You're not wrong it was a little inscrutable but pretty par for the course in that day and age where you'd spent so much % of your own money you were definitely going to push through it to get the most out of it.

Loving the Amiga nostalgia @FelatioLips, keep it up.

[Tamura]

Does anyone remember an old game where when you through a grenade (IIRC) the sound effect was "I've got a present for you"? Probably from the late 80s, but could be several years either way.

[Jazzy G]

I think the GDI commando unit in the original Command & Conquer said that. 

[FLips]

16 minutes ago, Tamura said:

Does anyone remember an old game where when you through a grenade (IIRC) the sound effect was "I've got a present for you"? Probably from the late 80s, but could be several years either way.

 

9 minutes ago, jazzygeofferz said:

I think the GDI commando unit in the original Command & Conquer said that. 

I think Jazzy might have it! It’s in this clip a few times.

[FLips]

So before the next round of games I've been playing I have some admissions to make.
First of all I've figured out why some games, e.g Second Samurai seem to have issues with progressing by using items, and secondably why some games e.g Monkey Island and Cannon Fodder will save and then vanish.

The former is entirely on me it seems, as I had my controller mapped as a CD32 controller but it turns out you have to manually change your settings to make it one as opposed to a 2 button joystick. So for most games I've been going in with a CD32 pad with only 2 buttons working which has ruled out both other buttons and the shoulders. This has made some games much easier to play now and I will be revisiting them.

The latter is an issue with the emulation itself, as it seems it treats emulator configs as a console so because I was using the default configs and manually changing RAM and such as needed, it was saving and then when I would change settings between games it would treat it as a new console and wipe it. I've since created a new config that all games will run from so that should fix that.

So on to the games I've played.

The Secret of Monkey IslandTM

I've finally finished this, albeit it the poorer MS-DOS version on the Steam remaster. A game of two halves I felt, as the first half on Melee Island is superb and while some puzzles are tough it never loses track of itself. The second half on Monkey Island isn't bad but it falls apart a little bit. The interactions aren't as funny, the puzzles not as good and in some cases frustratingly vague, and the wandering around on the island between places quite dull. 
Overall though a fantastic game and a highlight of the Amiga so far (even if I never finished that version). Now I've fixed the save issues I hope, I'll definitely go back and play this again in the future.
Typically as most people did I went with the "Never pay more than twenty bucks for a video game" ending which is a class bit of self-referential humour you don't see in games now but is front and center in a lot of games from this era. I think maybe only Undertale has managed to pull it off in recent memory.

Wolfchild

Back in my early 20s when I had both the time and money to collect Mega Drive games I had a Sega CD with this and thought it was brilliant. Was happy to see there was an Amiga version and while it's not as impressive as the Sega CD version it's still pretty good. 
The platforming is smooth and the combat, while a little clunky, is never unfair compared to other games of this type. Graphically it's nice to look at and the stages/enemies are varied. They're like a strange mix of the dark and shiny Psygnosis graphics but have that cartoony smoothness of Core Design and it works well. The soundtrack is catchy as you play it but by the time you get on to the next level you've forgotten it. Overall not bad but I've played better versions.

Rick Dangerous

It's not good is it? By this point I'm quite accustomed to offensively difficult platformers but this is right up there as one of the worst offenders. It's not so much even the traps or enemies themselves, but that the hitboxes are so bad you'll die to things not even touching you. 
I won't be too harsh on it as you can tell there's a decent game stuck in there crying to get out. It's a little bit Spelunky in both looks and presentation but suffers from a trial and error game style.

Shadow of The Beast

Having now played the original Amiga versions of all three games in this trilogy it's fair to say the Beast code is 132. For a game made in 1989 it's still shockingly impressive to look at not just compared to what else followed it on the Amiga but also now. The soundtrack is an all time great of that era too.
The gameplay in this one isn't as forgiving as 3 but it's miles ahead of 2. Similar to both sequels one wrong move can lock your game up and in a way it's the less forgiving of the three because whereas 3 has short levels instead of one large world, and 2 you die so quickly it doesn't matter, this one you can get a fairly decent way into the game before you realise you left a key behind and you're toast.
I've seen some people refer to this game as a tech demo made to be played in store windows and while it pains me to admit it I can totally see why. One of the best looking and best sounding games on the Amiga, the gameplay is fairly poor and hit detection is all over the place. 1 has the best music and graphics, 3 has the best gameplay and 2 exists. 

Metal Gear

As surpising as it sounds apparently the Amiga scene is still incredibly active and a fella named Hoffman has ported over the MSX2 original version of Metal Gear with all the content the NES and other ports took out, and also put in multiple versions, improved Amiga soundtrack and other QoL improvements.
It's very impressive and the music is top notch but boy it's tough. It's trial and error but there's a pretty generous checkpoint system that can be revisited to essentially update your progress as you go. It's interesting to play the original Metal Gear and see the same tropes that followed the game through the series like Cardboard Box, Smokes and the Alert System and it's a really well made game, but some parts you get to just smash you in if you don't know what's coming or don't have the right item and sometimes it feels a little unfair. 
Not bad by any means and really well made if a little difficult.

Chuck Rock

Top tier theme song, bang average gameplay. There's not a whole lot to say about Chuck Rock really. While it has it's place in history, today it's got nothing going on really. Average gameplay, average level design, pretty poor combat. It's not as frustratingly out of control as Zool but the rock chucking concept isn't as interesting as the stretching from Robocod. It's perfectly functional just nothing to write home about.

James Pond 2: Robocod

Rounding out what I consider to be the big 3 exports from Amiga to other consoles along with Zool and Chuck Rock, James Pond 2 is another average platformer that I'm not sure why it ever took off and got ported as much as it did as the sequel was always way better to me. I'm not sure if this is like a lot of Amiga games where you can only pick music or SFX but the earworm soundtrack was sorely missed. The stretching gimmick is fun and the controls not offensively bad, but it's just missing something to really have it get past middling.

Zool has the soundtrack, Chuck Rock has the most balanced Gameplay and James Pond has the best gimmick but all three of them are really shown up by other games on the console. A confusingly popular trilogy of games I can only assume came from the desperate grasps of the Amiga to try and nail down a mascot to compete with Sonic and Mario.

None of the above join the best list, and Rick Dangerous joins the worst though I can appreciate it's contribution to games to come.

I did start the Steam version of Monkey Island 2 but will move back over to the Amiga version assuming the saves are fixed. So far impressions are good though, even if the graphics on screen are distractingly busy.

[Jazzy G]

The Amiga version of Robocod had music and sound at the same time, but I think the CD32 version is some kind of remake/remaster that changes a lot of things and removes a lot of the charm as a result. Unfortunately this version seems to be the one most of the modern re-releases are based on. 

The original A500 version is the best one. The Megadrive & SNES versions are ports of that one. 

[FLips]

2 hours ago, jazzygeofferz said:

The Amiga version of Robocod had music and sound at the same time, but I think the CD32 version is some kind of remake/remaster that changes a lot of things and removes a lot of the charm as a result. Unfortunately this version seems to be the one most of the modern re-releases are based on. 

The original A500 version is the best one. The Megadrive & SNES versions are ports of that one. 

That completely explains it! I’m playing CD32. The Cake, Hammer, Earth, Apple, Tap cheat didn’t even work and the levels were all over the place!

[Jazzy G]

I think the music/sound stuff was because they'll have wanted to show off their fancy CD audio soundtrack. I think they'd also lost the Penguin licence, so had to take the penguin sprites out, which is why they're Christmas elves or gnomes or something. 

Before I owned my own copy I once spent about 2 hours stood in my local independent videogames shop finishing it. The staff were very accommodating. 

Edited April 27, 2022 by jazzygeofferz

[Devon Malcolm]

@FelatioLips will be delighted to hear that Rick Dangerous 2 is just as horrendously unfair. Never understood those games where you just die without any warning or clue and that's how you learn. The Rick Dangerous games are nothing but that.

[FLips]

27 minutes ago, jazzygeofferz said:

I think the music/sound stuff was because they'll have wanted to show off their fancy CD audio soundtrack. I think they'd also lost the Penguin licence, so had to take the penguin sprites out, which is why they're Christmas elves or gnomes or something. 

Before I owned my own copy I once spent about 2 hours stood in my local independent videogames shop finishing it. The staff were very accommodating. 

The CD32 version I have has no music at all, but still has the penguins. The first level was a hilled path with no enemies and a car at the end that made you drive back but then later levels were more familiar.

3 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

@FelatioLips will be delighted to hear that Rick Dangerous 2 is just as horrendously unfair. Never understood those games where you just die without any warning or clue and that's how you learn. The Rick Dangerous games are nothing but that.

It’s my own fault really. I watched a Kim Justice video on Core Design and even though she said it was unfairly difficult I got a bit big for my boots. The second one probably won’t get a sniff from me.