speccy

Monty on the Run (Switch): COMPLETED!

Posted on 12/10/2024 Written by deKay

Another Monty game. It’s very similar to the first one, really, but with the added feature that you have to collect five specific items en-route to the exit or you can’t escape.

I think I was lucky in that I found them automatically or accidentally, because I certainly remember when I’ve played this previously a very long time ago I must have missed some. It wouldn’t surprise me if backtracking to find them again was impossible too.

The jumping physics and general collision detection seems a bit improved over the first game, and graphically it’s a bit nicer too. There is a teddy that looks like you should pick it up but it kills you, which seems a bit unfair as there’s no warning. Bloody teddy bears.

Wanted: Monty Mole (Switch): COMPLETED!

Posted on 12/10/2024 Written by deKay

The Monty Mole games were always Too Hard. You only have to look at the random nature of the instant-death Crushers to see that. I sort of liked them at the time, but not enough to struggle through with not-my-fault deaths threatening to cut my play short – it was just too frustrating. Plus on the Spectrum I had a million other games I could play instead.

So, why I bought The Monty Mole Collection, a set of three Monty and one Monty-adjacent games on the eShop, I don’t know. Madness.

But! Save states! Sure, emulators have had these for a Very Long Time but it’s just easier to play things on the Switch these days, isn’t it? And with these save states I can work around the stupid randomness and relieve some of the other frustrations that are always part of pixel-perfect platformers with slightly wonky collision detection.

And so it came to pass that I played and completed Wanted: Monty Mole. Obviously it’s a simplistic, if not exactly simple, game these days but it was fine enough. There was a bit where you have to collect items to get past a certain screen and the items I needed did nothing. Not sure if that’s a bug or I did something wrong, but I ended up starting the game again, did exactly the same thing, and it worked. Haunted.

Midnight Resistance (Spectrum): COMPLETED!

Posted on 15/03/2016 Written by deKay

Hey whoa what what what? Didn’t I just completed this only a few days ago? Well actually, yes I did! Fancy that!

After doing so, I was curious about the Spectrum version. And, since RetroPie (which isn’t half getting a lot of use at the moment) does Spectrum games too, I gave it a go on there as well – completing it in the process.

I was quite amazed at it really. Certainly, it isn’t as good looking or sounding (or controlling, sadly) as the Mega Drive version I played the other day, but what was impressive is just how much of the game was the same. The levels, the bosses and the weapons were all present and correct, with only a few slightly shortened sections in the whole game. Even some of the bits I’d have considered pretty hard to manage on the poor little Spectrum, like the ascent into the tree, the massive several-screens-wide gunship, and the huge final boss-head with all his brains and worms were present and well represented. Just look at the screenshots and compare with my other post!

Click to view slideshow.

The post Midnight Resistance (Spectrum): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Castlevania: Spectral Interlude (Spectrum): COMPLETED!

Posted on 31/03/2015 Written by deKay

That’s right, folks – I’ve completed a Spectrum game. But not a Spectrum game from 30 years ago – one from last year. Or this year. It’s new, anyway.

And it’s also really good. A new Castlevania game (a fan one, not a Konami one) that manages to fit into the Castlevania canon, with astounding graphics and sound considering the hardware it’s on. And it’s a full adventure experience too, like Castlevania II was on the NES, which abilities you gain from bosses giving you access to new areas of the map.

I’d forgotten how responsive the controls on Speccy games could be. All too often there was some vagueness and input lag, but here it’s perfect – and it needs to be for some of the later sections where you have to be pixel perfect and make use of your double-jump or warp abilities. Or both.

Like all good Castlevania games, Spectral Interlude is a bit of a challenge. OK, it’s a lot of a challenge. Nigh on impossible, in fact. Thankfully, I was playing on an emulator, so I could make use of save states. This was probably just as well as it’s a big game too, and took me several hours to finish.

An utterly superb game. Please don’t ignore it because it’s for such an old system, as it stands up really well today despite the limitations. Not that you’ll even see any limitations, really, aside from the usual colour clash. Go and download a copy here.

Things I’ve been playing recently

Posted on 14/03/2015 Written by deKay

Roundup time!

Yakuza 4 (PS3)

It’s been a while since I played Yakuza 3. I did really enjoy it, but never got round to picking up Yakuza 4, probably because it was a PS3 game and I don’t really like playing PS3 games, however good they are. However, for reasons I won’t explain, I got a PS+ subscription and with it came Yakuza 4.

I’m a few hours in, and have spent most of the game so far watching cut scenes, playing with UFO Catchers, opening lockers, and buying clothes for girls. And a few fights, but not many. It’s good, but so far it seems to just be Yakuza 3 with a new story and no mobile phone camera. The asset reuse is high with this one.

3D Shinobi III (3DS)

When 3D Outrun was released this week, a few older 3D ports were reduced in price. I picked up Altered Beast (I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry) and Shinobi III. I was pretty sure I’d played Shinobi III before, but it appears not. I don’t recognise any of the levels so far, aside from seeing screenshots in magazines. It’s great, and not as hard as I was expecting (Revenge of Shinobi was virtually impossible, I seem to recall). The levels disjointedly follow on from each other with no obvious link, but that’s par for the course for games of this age, I suppose. I’m only a few levels in, but really enjoying it so far.

Pokémon Shuffle (3DS)

Still playing this off and on. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve completed the game, but I do return to have a few goes at the special stages or to try and capture a few missed pokeymens.

The Swapper (Vita)

I’m not sure if I’m enjoying this. I sort of like the setting, but the way you generate clones and can transfer into them feels slightly too vague to control. Also, some of the puzzles are such that completing them feels like you’ve kludged it or brute forced it rather than actually found a solution. I also don’t like how you have to turn your man around by using the on-screen pointer rather than just pressing the opposite direction like in almost every other game ever. Still, it’s a free PS+ rental so I’m not too bothered if I don’t play it again, although I suspect I will.

Castlevania: Spectral Interlude (Spectrum)

Someone made a Castlevania game for the Spectrum. Oh my. And not only that, but it’s polished to within an inch of its life, it plays flawlessly, looks fantastic, and even – somehow – fits into the normal Castlevania timeline. At least, until Konami rebooted it with Lords of Shadow, anyway. I’ve beaten two bosses, collected the double-jump artifact, and am generally loving it.

Various Crap Games (Spectrum)

Somehow I have become involved in the comp.sys.sinclair Crap Games Competition again. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, as I’m having to play some terrible, terrible games. Intentionally terrible games too. I think they’re driving me a little bit mad. Take a look here.