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RF Generation Message Board | Gaming | Community Playthroughs (Moderators: techwizard, singlebanana, wildbil52, GrayGhost81, Disposed Hero, MetalFRO) | Kid Icarus - Retro Playthrough - January 2015 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. « previous next »
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Author Topic: Kid Icarus - Retro Playthrough - January 2015  (Read 31493 times)
singlebanana
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« Reply #105 on: January 12, 2015, 09:43:36 AM »

My understanding is that you are offered an arrow upgrade based on getting over a certain amount of points on your current level before entering the upgrade room. I could be wrong but that is what I have read on other sites.  Interesting enough, the battle rooms, which have the Groucho Marx looking enemies, don't offer any score when killing them.

UPDATE: However, getting the hearts from these rooms affects your score and ability to upgrade your arrow skill. Such a complicated system and so weird.
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Disposed Hero
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« Reply #106 on: January 12, 2015, 09:50:43 AM »

I spent some time with this over the weekend.  After having many frustrating moments in levels 1-1 through 1-3, I finally made it to 1-4.  I'm still trying to get a good grasp of 1-4 since it is very maze-like, but according to what everybody else is saying, the worst should be behind me and it should be all downhill from here.
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singlebanana
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« Reply #107 on: January 12, 2015, 10:01:29 AM »

I spent some time with this over the weekend.  After having many frustrating moments in levels 1-1 through 1-3, I finally made it to 1-4.  I'm still trying to get a good grasp of 1-4 since it is very maze-like, but according to what everybody else is saying, the worst should be behind me and it should be all downhill from here.

Yes, the maze/castle levels are trial and error and once you discover the appropriate path to take to the bosses, are quite easy (if you can avoid the eggplant wizards!). I think you'll find the platforming much easier in the horizontal levels and by the time you get to going vertical again, your weaponry will be so upgraded that you'll breeze through it. Be sure to do the training sessions when you find them.
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 Community Playthrough and the RFGen Playcast. Listen/Download on iTunes and Podbean: www.rfgplaycast.com

Complete licensed NA NES, U.S. SMS, NA Vectrex, and Microvision sets!, 11 left for 7800, 25 for 5200, 42 for Colecovision
JerryGreenwood
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« Reply #108 on: January 12, 2015, 10:08:30 AM »

Beat it yesterday. No pic because I wasn't ready and I didn't get the best ending anyway (missed an arrow upgrade). Overall, a very good game. A few minor tweaks could've made it classic. It could've been slightly easier and longer. Too many of the levels looked the same. I think the beginnings of 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 are identical aside from coloration. Also, it bothers me when you pass through a room in the 'dungeon' only to enter an identical room.

I believe that the difficulty probably makes this game less played and therefore less memorable than say it's contemporaries LoZ and Metroid.
True, but I think LoZ and Metroid are hard games too. Didn't you say that you were scared off by Super Metroid because Metroid on NES was so difficult? As a kid, I didn't know anyone who beat Metroid. I didn't beat it until the mid-to-late 90's. LoZ is tough too, but Nintendo Power and other hint books turned it into a moderate challenge. I think those games were so successful simply because it was fun to run around. It was Grand Theft Auto for the 80's. Very few games gave you the freedom to explore vast areas while shooting, stabbing, jumping, and everything else Samus and Link can do. Even if you were stuck, it was still pretty fun.
 

I abused save states to finish the game  Grin
C'mon MetalFRO, you don't need that crap. You're the Shmup Champ, you look danger in the face a laugh!
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Disposed Hero
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« Reply #109 on: January 12, 2015, 10:15:35 AM »

I spent some time with this over the weekend.  After having many frustrating moments in levels 1-1 through 1-3, I finally made it to 1-4.  I'm still trying to get a good grasp of 1-4 since it is very maze-like, but according to what everybody else is saying, the worst should be behind me and it should be all downhill from here.

Yes, the maze/castle levels are trial and error and once you discover the appropriate path to take to the bosses, are quite easy (if you can avoid the eggplant wizards!). I think you'll find the platforming much easier in the horizontal levels and by the time you get to going vertical again, your weaponry will be so upgraded that you'll breeze through it. Be sure to do the training sessions when you find them.

Good to know.  Yeah, I got turned into an eggplant a few times, but fortunately I found a room in 1-4 that will change you back to normal (although obviously it's much better to just not get turned in the first place).

I'm really looking forward to getting to the horizontal levels.  The vertical scrolling levels feel pretty awkward.

I found one training room in either 1-2 or 1-3 (and got a bow upgrade?  I'm not sure what it actually does).  Did I miss any or is that the only one up to this point?
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zcrich01
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« Reply #110 on: January 12, 2015, 10:29:11 AM »

Well I've tinkered with this for two 15-20 minute increments over the weekend...I almost made it to the end of level 1-1 but died in sad, horrific fashion. Those darn grim reapers...

But anyway, I'll be putting more time into it this week. I'd at least like to make it through the first stage...
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singlebanana
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« Reply #111 on: January 12, 2015, 10:40:57 AM »

I believe that the difficulty probably makes this game less played and therefore less memorable than say it's contemporaries LoZ and Metroid.

Quote
True, but I think LoZ and Metroid are hard games too. Didn't you say that you were scared off by Super Metroid because Metroid on NES was so difficult? As a kid, I didn't know anyone who beat Metroid. I didn't beat it until the mid-to-late 90's. LoZ is tough too, but Nintendo Power and other hint books turned it into a moderate challenge. I think those games were so successful simply because it was fun to run around. It was Grand Theft Auto for the 80's. Very few games gave you the freedom to explore vast areas while shooting, stabbing, jumping, and everything else Samus and Link can do. Even if you were stuck, it was still pretty fun.

Metroid is difficult, but that has more to do with finding items and areas more so than the difficulty of the gameplay. At any time, you can exploit and area and refill your energy easily, though it may be time consuming. You are allowed to explore pretty freely and compared to Kid Icarus, it's much less frustrating. What kills Kid Icarus is the monotony of the levels, the constant dying, and having to restart all the way at the beginning of a level.

I disagree that The Legend of Zelda is a hard game. Maybe initially, but not over time. Sure, finding the dungeons and working them is tough at points (especially obtaining the flute...doh darknauts.... and navigating Level 9), but once you have them down, going back, playing, and beating it is like riding a bike. That's not the case with Kid Icarus. It takes some time to get on top of the controls again, and there's a lot of battles you have to take slow and can't skip. Plus, heart replenishing in Zelda is fairly easy and exploitable; there are no such refill drops in Kid Icarus.

BTW, I beat Metroid as a kid (I was age 10). Now you know someone. Wink
« Last Edit: January 12, 2015, 10:49:34 AM by singlebanana » Logged

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 Community Playthrough and the RFGen Playcast. Listen/Download on iTunes and Podbean: www.rfgplaycast.com

Complete licensed NA NES, U.S. SMS, NA Vectrex, and Microvision sets!, 11 left for 7800, 25 for 5200, 42 for Colecovision
singlebanana
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« Reply #112 on: January 12, 2015, 10:44:01 AM »

Well I've tinkered with this for two 15-20 minute increments over the weekend...I almost made it to the end of level 1-1 but died in sad, horrific fashion. Those darn grim reapers...

But anyway, I'll be putting more time into it this week. I'd at least like to make it through the first stage...

Just a tip with the reapers. (1) attack them when their back it to you, if they don't see you, they won't call the minis, (2) sometimes you can platform past them fairly easily, don't feel like you have to kill them all.
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 Community Playthrough and the RFGen Playcast. Listen/Download on iTunes and Podbean: www.rfgplaycast.com

Complete licensed NA NES, U.S. SMS, NA Vectrex, and Microvision sets!, 11 left for 7800, 25 for 5200, 42 for Colecovision
zcrich01
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« Reply #113 on: January 12, 2015, 10:46:01 AM »

Well I've tinkered with this for two 15-20 minute increments over the weekend...I almost made it to the end of level 1-1 but died in sad, horrific fashion. Those darn grim reapers...

But anyway, I'll be putting more time into it this week. I'd at least like to make it through the first stage...

Just a tip with the reapers. (1) attack them when their back it to you, if they don't see you, they won't call the minis, (2) sometimes you can platform past them fairly easily, don't feel like you have to kill them all.

Well dang. I was wondering what the rhyme or reason was for when those little guys come out. Thanks for the tip!
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singlebanana
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« Reply #114 on: January 12, 2015, 10:48:22 AM »

Sure, that's what we're here for! Smiley
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Complete licensed NA NES, U.S. SMS, NA Vectrex, and Microvision sets!, 11 left for 7800, 25 for 5200, 42 for Colecovision
JerryGreenwood
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« Reply #115 on: January 12, 2015, 11:07:38 AM »

@Banana - I think we more or less agree, we're just saying it in different ways. Metroid and Kid Icarus are difficult to finish, but the general gameplay of Metroid is easier. You can play for a longer time before you die. Same with Zelda. I know where everything is in Zelda. I can easily beat the game, but in 1987 it might as well have been Simon's Quest. Without Nintendo Power or a friend helping me, there is no way I beat that game. In 1987, I'm not figuring out the Lost Woods, I'm not bombing a random rock for level 9, I'm not burning a random bush to find a heart container, etc. However, it was still fun to stab everything and whip my boomerang around the screen.

Those darn grim reapers...
In addition to what Banana said, if you want to kill them, take it slow. Fire an arrow, stay out of his vision when he's walking towards you, when he turns back around, shoot him again. Also, he'll usually do a little fake out when he reaches the edge. He'll turn his back and do a quick turn around before walking backwards again.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2015, 11:21:05 AM by JerryGreenwood » Logged
MetalFRO
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« Reply #116 on: January 12, 2015, 12:04:06 PM »

Beat it yesterday. No pic because I wasn't ready and I didn't get the best ending anyway (missed an arrow upgrade). Overall, a very good game. A few minor tweaks could've made it classic. It could've been slightly easier and longer. Too many of the levels looked the same. I think the beginnings of 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 are identical aside from coloration. Also, it bothers me when you pass through a room in the 'dungeon' only to enter an identical room.

I believe that the difficulty probably makes this game less played and therefore less memorable than say it's contemporaries LoZ and Metroid.
True, but I think LoZ and Metroid are hard games too. Didn't you say that you were scared off by Super Metroid because Metroid on NES was so difficult? As a kid, I didn't know anyone who beat Metroid. I didn't beat it until the mid-to-late 90's. LoZ is tough too, but Nintendo Power and other hint books turned it into a moderate challenge. I think those games were so successful simply because it was fun to run around. It was Grand Theft Auto for the 80's. Very few games gave you the freedom to explore vast areas while shooting, stabbing, jumping, and everything else Samus and Link can do. Even if you were stuck, it was still pretty fun.
 

I abused save states to finish the game  Grin
C'mon MetalFRO, you don't need that crap. You're the Shmup Champ, you look danger in the face a laugh!

HA!  If you recall, I didn't actually COMPLETE any of those shmups, though I wasn't far from doing so with Lightening Force, and that's primarily because I played the crap out of it as a kid.  I haven't finished any of those games yet on the default difficulty.  And I don't consider myself a shmup whiz by any stretch.  I may have been crowned king here by the December competition's standards, but I've been a long-time member of the "official" shmups forum (associated with shmups.com), and that is a den of hardcore shmup players who spurn unlimited continues and geek out about the smallest nuances with various shmup scoring systems.  I've never been that in-depth with the scoring systems myself, I've always been more focused on just getting through the games and attempting to achieve 1CC (single credit clear).  Unfortunately, I have a bit of "gaming ADD" and lose interest quickly when I begin to hit a wall in terms of a game's difficulty.  I've started to overcome that by forcing myself to continue playing something, even when the involuntary Tourette's kicks in, and over the last 2 years I've started to actually play games to completion that were a bit harder than I would normally have put up with before.

As a kid, and a young adult, when I had lots of time to play games, I could slog through something that was very difficult, and I felt like I had time to repeat a level 20 or 30 times until I figured it out.  As an older adult, the amount of time I have to dedicate to gaming is far less than I'd like, so I tend to be a bit pickier about how I spend it.  If I'm not advancing or progressing through a game as quickly as I feel I should, given my relative skill at that game, I tend to give up on them, in hopes that I may eventually have or make the time to come back and give it more effort later on.  That said, it rarely happens that way, and many games I've started over the years that I should probably have finished ages ago, have sadly been left unfinished.  Prime examples of this would be Spyro 2 and 3 - I bought them w/in the 1st year of my wife and I getting our PlayStation, and she started them, I continued to play them, but I hit a wall and never went back to them.  This was during that period where I had a lot more time on my hands to play.  Realistically, I could probably delete my save files, start from scratch, and have both games beat (not 100% complete, but last boss downed) within a week or 2.  I just haven't done it yet.  That describes a lot of my rather extensive backlog, unfortunately.

All that to say that, while I may have proven to be good enough at shmups to win the competition, my skills aren't as finely honed as I'd like, and a game like Kid Icarus would have left me curled up in the fetal position crying without the use of save states to help me get through it.  Grin
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JerryGreenwood
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« Reply #117 on: January 12, 2015, 01:31:48 PM »

the "official" shmups forum (associated with shmups.com), and that is a den of hardcore shmup players who spurn unlimited continues and geek out about the smallest nuances with various shmup scoring systems.
I like the sound of that.
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MetalFRO
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« Reply #118 on: January 12, 2015, 09:19:59 PM »

the "official" shmups forum (associated with shmups.com), and that is a den of hardcore shmup players who spurn unlimited continues and geek out about the smallest nuances with various shmup scoring systems.
I like the sound of that.

You should go check it out, though I must warn you that, like any extreme niche, some folks can be pretty elitist.
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JerryGreenwood
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« Reply #119 on: January 13, 2015, 08:21:29 AM »

Can't be any worse than SRK.
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