Game 1 for Round 5 is: Misadventures of Flink for Sega CD, with pixel art done by the talented Henk Nieborg.
This is a platformer with some exploration elements where you have to collect items to create different potions to get to further places in the game. The game is exactly the same as the Genesis version, except the Sega CD version has better music of course :)
From what I remember of playing this about 8 or 10 years ago, it is best to keep a log of which levels you got items on. Because later you will learn the spells, and if you didn't write it down you will say "oh crap which level did I get a leaf on .... "
ReplyDeleteI'm about to get started on this :)
I've already used 2 continues and I've only cleared thru level 1-4. Trying to use the first spell, but it is really difficult to keep enough magic. It works like sonic the hedgehog's rings, when you get hit all your magic bubbles fly out everywhere and you have to try to pick them up. Except you can never pick up nearly as many as you dropped.
ReplyDeleteI think this game is gonna require some serious commitment to get very far into :)
ReplyDeleteAlso of note, when I first saw this game in a magazine I was totally amazed by the graphics and I knew I had to get it one day. I wish I could find the magazine scans online, but alas, after a little searching I can't find it.
I didn't manage to run the mega CD version. It keeps showing me the music player but I can't launch the game.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I've tried the Genesis version and it works. I went till level 5 I think. Though I've had to use a potion so far (I could have gone back in level 3 I preferred to go as far as I could). Also in the very first level, you get a 1up. It seems you can take as many 1ups as you want, though it takes time and skills.
Nice little game. The Genesis music is already quite good, at moments the atmosphere created by the music is really special.
Well, I guess if you can't get the Sega CD version working, you can just do the Genesis one. Like I said I think they are identical except for the music.
ReplyDeleteWhat emulator are you using? I'm using "Fusion", previously known as Kega Fusion. I think it has a Linux version.
I'm using the Windows version of Fusion with Wine. I tried to compare the Genesis and the Mega CD by looking at videos on Youtube. The Mega CD version has an additional little pre-level but nothing much is happening in it. I guess overall it's identical.
ReplyDeleteBTW, it's strange but I find the Mega CD music is not always better than the Genesis', to my ears anyway, I guess I've been grown to love those FM sounds.
I'm having the same problem with the Linux version of Fusion. Anyway, I'm enjoying the Genesis version so far. I've arrived at the big monkey boss but can't pass it.
ReplyDeleteOh well. I don't have any problem if you just play the Genesis version. The only thing I'm maybe (?) concerned about is that the only version of the Genesis rom I could ever find was European, which means it runs at 50hz. Versus the Sega CD version which runs at 60hz.
ReplyDeleteWhether the games are at different speeds is another question? But hopefully they are the same, as I also hope Probotector was the same as Contra Hardcorps :)
The Genesis FM synth can definitely be an acquired taste to love :)
You may wanna check what Sega CD Bios file you are using. Here's the one I'm using:
ReplyDeleteSega CD - M2 V2.21.bin
and I got it from here:
http://www.emuparadise.me/biosfiles/SegaCD.zip
Good luck!
Thanks for the tip about extra lives in the first level. One of them is about 30 seconds in, so after you have cleared the level, it is possible to just go in, get the life, exit the level, restart, over and over. After about 10 minutes of work I now have 20 lives. :)
ReplyDeleteDo you disagree with this practice or is this OK? It kinda makes the continues pointless, if I ever get low on lives again I can always just go back to level 1
A similar technique can be used in Super Mario World, and even Mario 3 I think
ReplyDeleteThough the levels aren't explicitly named, I'm going to go ahead and use this naming system. The first 7 levels are 1-1, 1-2, etc thru 1-7. After that boss then I'm naming them 2-1, 2-2, etc.
ReplyDeleteI just got through 2-2. It was frustratingly difficult. No way I could have done it without the 1st level extra lives trick.
Man this game is hard, but good! I just wonder what these spells are actually good for !!!!!
OK for the level notational system.
ReplyDeleteI tried your ROM but same result. It's too bad cause there are a bunch of nice Mega CD games (which probably don't have Genesis counterparts) I'd like to play eventually.
Regarding the 1up trick, I guess for training it's OK, but probably not for final performance comparison (or at least we need to tell how many extra lives we used with the trick or such).
I haven't been able to do one single potion so far. ;-)
I gave it a try yesterday, still can't pass the big monkey, I got there with 1 credit (no 1up trick), then lost all my credit there. I'm probably gonna start watching long runs on Youtube to improve my gameplay.
I managed to make the Mega CD version work :-) My ISO was probable corrupted.
ReplyDeleteBut I prefer the FM music :-). The speed is the same. It feel really exactly the same. The only difference is that there is this little pre-level at the start of 1-1 that allows you to gather a bit of potion. I'll probably alternate between the Mega CD and Genesis version.
Oh. I think this pre-level is where I'm getting my extra life. Let me show you:
ReplyDeletehttps://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzdt-l1mY0e_UWE4TWpobXFVZUk/view?usp=sharing
Is that the pre-level?
OK, my dirty secret revealed, I spent a while gathering lives while listening to SDC entries. But I feel like it's the only way to make any progress in this game right now. I guess I'll keep two progress logs: One with extra lives for practice and discovery, and then later on one with just the standard lives and 3 continues. :)
OMG! I thought the 1up trick was at the next level. Though I guess it would work as well, this one just more direct. I noticed that you quite before reaching the end, maybe that it to not have the 1up being recorded in memory so you can get it over and over.
ReplyDeleteOK, extra lives for practice & discovery only.
Nothing about it being recorded in memory, it's just the quickest way, to do it over and over.. No reason to play the full level :)
ReplyDeleteAlso I noticed there is a "practice mode" which has unlimited continues. This would work just as well for discovery. However I've already carved out through level 2-8 with this method and using savestates to save my progress when I don't want to play anymore. So I'm not starting over with practice mode.
Man this game is really in depth. Definitely the most in depth game we have played yet for RGC. It has something like 54 levels.
ReplyDeleteAlso for the level naming, there are some levels I named "apple-1", etc. Then went back to 3-1, etc. You will see why when you get there.
Some of the levels have some really challenging jumping parts right before the end. There was one I died about 10 times in a row on.
No idea how you would ever 1cc this game. LOTS of practice. The game must have actually been a really good value if you bought it when it came out.
Screenshots will be easy since you can go back to any level at any time. So I'll do those at the end. :)
I don't know if I told you but yesterday I managed to get the Amiga CD32 version to work. It's nearly identical to the Mega CD version, it seems the only difference is that the resolution is lower, but instead of scaling things down they just zoomed in.
ReplyDeleteFire and Brimstone is pretty deep too. This round is all about pixel art work and depth ;-)
Man I scoured the net tonight trying to find scans of the magazine where I first heard of Flink. I managed to find the magazine issue:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.retromags.com/magazines/category/usa/diehard-gamefan/diehard-gamefan-issue-25#.VVrGx0YbO0Q
But can't find scans of it anywhere :(
Hey I'm pretty much ready to retire these games. Since you didn't really play Flink I think we can officially retire it now. I played it some but it's been 2 months since I played. It's pretty much too in depth of a game for a club like this I think :)
ReplyDeleteHey I'm pretty much ready to retire these games. Since you didn't really play Flink I think we can officially retire it now. I played it some but it's been 2 months since I played. It's pretty much too in depth of a game for a club like this I think :)
ReplyDeleteI was actually on my way to resume playing, but I've been too busy with the rendering. I think it's a really good game, but yes it is probably too deep for our game club. We can revisit it once we have more time, in elderly care or whatnot. ;-)
ReplyDeleteLol, I've frequently thought/hoped that I would still be playing games when I'm in the nursing home. I wonder if you and I will still know each other by then. It's hard to say what it will be like 40 years from now :)
ReplyDeleteTo the new generation, we'll look exactly like grandmas doing crosswords ;-)
ReplyDelete