Category Archives: Streaming

My History with the Mega Man and Mega Man X Series

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The “My History With…” series are my thoughts back when I was a kid to young adult, about when I got games of a series, my initial thoughts about them, and other thoughts about the games. I stick to games I have or had, not one I played for the first time when i discovered emulation or modern system remakes. 

So I’ve mentioned before I do have a long history playing and loving the NES Mega Man series. First one I played being 2 thanks to a cousin and he and I tore it up figuring out the order to fight the Robot Masters, figuring out the weapons to use in Wily’s Castle, and looking through Nintendo Power issues for if/when the password system was cracked. MM3 was the first one I owned myself and loved, doing the same as with 3, and eventually went back to the series roots with 1, and 4. Never owned 5 or 6, though I eventually did play them via roms and played them again, along with 7 in the ps2 MM Anniversary Collection. I had played 8 thanks to a cousin bringing his copy over.

ONTO THE GAMES:

I think I got this for a gift sometime after getting MM3 and 4. I knew it was the first and didn’t have the polish of the later games, but I still had a blast! Never finished it, but i did learn the boss order and about the pause buffering from Nintendo Power. Not so much a favorite of mine, but still fun seeing its more crude compared to the later ones.

Now we’re talking, this was my first when a cousin brought this over to play, a lot! We spent hours exploring the game, figuring out the order, and even going against the order to try runs with different weapons. I never finished it as a kid cause I got stopped up at the Boobeams Trap like most people, and that was even after knowing you could blow up the walls and they won’t return during your next trip. Probably my 2nd favorite of the NES games! I think I bought this one myself some years back since it was the one I played the most outside of others. In March of 2023, I finished this on both difficulties buster only! Never doing Difficult Mode buster only again though.

This was the first Mega Man I owned and still my favorite and most played out of the NES games. This is still my favorite, even though knowing now how broken and glitchy the game is. I can still rock most of the game except for still getting stuck in Doc Robot Hell. This one has my favorite of the Robot Masters and music and a few favorite weapons! After relearning this it’s still a favorite of mine to play and find hacks for like the MM3 Improvement and Revamped hacks! In March 2023, I finished this buster only! Many my streaming friends are surprised how well I rock it in this game too!

Probably the 2nd MM NES title I owned. I was fascinated by the Robot Masters in this one as a kid, glad there wasn’t a hellish portion with Doc Robots again but surprised there were 2 boss castles (which is why i call MM4-6 the 2 boss castle trilogy). I never finished this one as a kid either cause I’d get stuck in Wily’s with no e-tanks. I finished this one for the first time on stream, after a couple tries.

First time and only times I really played this was with a cousin of mine. I had forgotten about this until I got older and into game collecting and streaming. I found the plot interesting and even younger I found the voice acting cheesy, but then again it was the early years of video game voice acting and anime dubs. Finishing this one recently I enjoyed the plot and the soundtrack, but it felt kinda meh compared to the others. I don’t think I would revisit this thanks to the 1st Wily boss and the “jump jump, slide slide” sections.

I think I first played this at a friend’s house or rented it and I was blown away. The soundtrack kicked ass the minute you turned on the console and you were fed a rainbow of colors when you started the game. Seeing Mega Man X and its cast in beautiful colors was amazing to me as a late teen! I loved relearning how the X series worked with the new mechanics and upgrades and liked the idea of the bosses being called Mavericks in a more mature storyline set in the future. I finished this for the first time a couple years ago and enjoy revisiting it when I can! Zero was also awesome!

This one I did rent often as a late teen and I think the first of the X series I finished. I enjoyed the still mature storyline set by the first game and started seeing how Sigma would be the “It was Wily all along!” of the X series. The colors and soundtrack still blew me away with how many colors and what a great and mature soundtrack this game had. I enjoyed learning the new mechanics of this one and the following games that started with the first X game.

X4 was the first one I owned and loved the upgrades to the series on the 32-bit PS1 system. I can play as X or Zero now, sweet! Loved how both had their own fighting styles getting through the stages with X being a ranged fighter and Zero being a melee fighter with his sword. The graphics and soundtrack still amaze me. I think this is my favorite of the X series and something I need to finish cause I always get stuck up on the final Sigma fights. X4 and X2 are my favorites!

What’s YOUR history with these games?

If you enjoy reading any of my content and hearing of my nerdy adventures, feel free to share my posts on social media or leave me a comment. I would be forever grateful if you supported me via my Cash App or buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi. All donations are very welcomed and appreciated. I earn no income from this blog and this will help me continue in providing content and fulfilling my dreams. Thanks!

Hack Showcase: Mega Man 2 Revamped (NES)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Created by TheSkipper1995, this hack is just like the Mega Man 3 Revamped hack where it adds polish and other corrections to Mega Man 2 with hose weapons are used, ai of enemies and bosses, new level design to benefit stage gimmicks and more. There’s also 3 optional patches included with the base hack which are recommended:

  • NoFlash – Removes the flashing visual effects
  • Friction – Removes the slide Mega Man does when he stops running
  • FastEnergy – Faster speed which energy is refilled

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RPG Hack Showcase: Final Fantasy 2 – Unprecedented Crisis (SNES)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Created by Pinkpuff and his team, this hack changes up the events of FF2/4 in a new and exciting way that makes it feel like an all new game. You’ll have new party configurations, new skills and stats for your heroes, new items, new locations and a lot more. A lot of events from FF2/4 are more fleshed out in this hack as well as a cleaned up script. Visiting the Training Room in Baron will give a good rundown of a number of the changes and more.

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RPG Hack Showcase: Ultima Exodus Remastered (NES)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Ultima: Exodus Remastered by Fox Cunning aims to improve the game with quality of life features such as canceling an action, easier grinding, better combat AI, fixing typos and rebalancing the player classes. More can be found in the release notes. but for starters:

  • Updated, more user-friendly UI
  • Bug fixes
  • Many Quality-Of-Life changes
  • Improved “3D” dungeon view
  • Graphics inspired to Ultima IV-VI
  • NPC portraits in dialogues
  • Lootable weapons/armour
  • New enemy AI makes battles faster and more tactical
  • Battle/magic systems rebalance
  • More distinct Professions, each with their own stats and abilities
  • Horses actually make map movement faster over certain terrain types and are not just cosmetic

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Hack Showcase: Swamp Thing Easy (NES)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Created by Chronix, this hack makes the NES game Swamp Thing a lot more stable and playable, instead of it being a combination of jank and “Nintendo Hard”. Swamp Thing is one of those games that looks good, but plays like toxic waste. This following changes were added:

  • Faster walking
  • Longer jumps
  • Start with 9 lives and 6 hitpoints
  • Start with 20 shots
  • Power Ups give 20 additional shots

SO HOW IS IT? First off, let’s discuss the game itself. The presentation of Swamp Thing is well done. The music and sound effects really fit the mood as do the stage layouts and the use of bold colors, Earth tones, and other effects. That said, the play control, jank, and hitboxes really bring this game down and make Swamp Thing a “Nintendo Hard” game but not in a good way like with the Ninja Gaiden trilogy.

That said, the improvements to Swamp Ting from this hack make this game a lot less of a chore and more playable. Especially when it comes to the excessive platforming areas. Starting with more shots and getting more of them is helpful with keeping your distance attacking enemies, especially the boss fights (except for Skin Man). Better jumping and faster walking mares the platforming a lot easier than being a chore in the original and hoping that you don’t slip off a platform or anything (especially in the last stage). Having 9 lives is helpful since everything can kill you fast in this and you can find yourself being drained of hit points pretty fast before realizing it, especially since i-frames in this game are very short.

All that aside, Swamp Thing is a decent game made better by this hack and not as much of a chore. Just remember continues kick in after fighting the first boss in the cemetery level.

I GIVE SWAMP THING EASY 5 OUT OF 5 SWAMP FLOWERS!!

GAMEPLAY VIDEO:

LINKS:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4178/ – Swamp Thing Easy

If you enjoy reading any of my content and hearing of my nerdy adventures, feel free to share my posts on social media or leave me a comment. I would be forever grateful if you supported me via my Cash App or buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi. All donations are very welcomed and appreciated. I earn no income from this blog and this will help me continue in providing content and fulfilling my dreams. Thanks!

RPG Hack Showcase: Arcana: Seal of Rimsala (SNES)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Arcana: Seal of Rimsala is a labor of love by Sarah Shinespark to create the definitive version of this forgotten SNES RPG from Hal Labs. Lots of small and big fixes to this game were made to improve and modernize this game, along with various quality of life improvements! 

Features:

  • Faster gameplay, redrawn maps, and a coherent story.
  • Explore remodeled dungeons and search for new items!
  • Overhauled weapons and armor
  • Battle the SOR mascot, Mimic!
  • Undoes 90’s Nintendo censorship
  • One-page level-up screen; no more scrolling!
  • New status screen with stat icons and monster bonuses!
  • Tons of unused content debuting
  • Easter eggs and bug fixes
  • Hundreds of tiny tweaks

New to version 2.1:

  • Quality of Life: The New Game intro can now be skipped through with the A button.
  • Modernization: The menu now opens with the X button.
  • Gameplay: New anti-Human and Anti-Reptile equipment; balance changes
  • Coding: Elemental and race bonuses can now be viewed in the Status screen!
  • Graphics: New elemental icons!
  • Script: Spell and equipment text rewritten for more flavor.
  • Script: Attribute spells now show their element.
  • Balance: Reverted barehanded damage to vanilla.
  • Extras: Added a Monster list, Spell list, and Equipment list in PDF.
  • Extras: Added vanilla lists for reference.

SO HOW IS IT? I never played this when I was younger so I was excited to give this a try. Not to mention I’m not big on first-person dungeon crawlers and trying to follow maps. That said trying this out was an enjoyable experience!

I really enjoyed my time with this hack and want to revisit the game now even though I stink at first-person dungeon crawlers and finding my way around on maps. Text scrolling, transition between screens and going from fighting to walking is faster now with no lap! The fights can still be pretty intense and I do enjoy the battle music! Quality of life features like skipping dialogue and an easier way to open the menu is a must, and I do like the font used in the game!

Dialogue seems a lot cleaner and to the point now, and I like the extra commentary in dialogue scenes and in battle if you get hit with a surprise attack. It’s easier to see what gear upgrades do now with the new icons and screen now and easier to cast spells.

Included with this hack is a plethora of game information also if this is your first time playing this hack, or first time playing Arcana in general with information on your weapons, armor, spells, important characters, a monster lists and a lot more! I wish more hack authors did something like this!

I GIVE ARCANA: SEAL OF RIMSALA 5 OUT OF 5 CARDS!!

GAMEPLAY VIDEO:

LINKS:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4505/ – Arcana: Seal of Rimsala

If you enjoy reading any of my content and hearing of my nerdy adventures, feel free to share my posts on social media or leave me a comment. I would be forever grateful if you supported me via my Cash App or buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi. All donations are very welcomed and appreciated. I earn no income from this blog and this will help me continue in providing content and fulfilling my dreams. Thanks!

Hack Showcase: TMNT Shredder’s Re-Revenge (Sega Genesis)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Created by Savok with help from others, this aims to be the ultimate of the TMNT/Streets of Rage 2 hacks. Using a new storyline, all the graphics were changed to be TMNT-related. You have all 4 Turtles, Casey Jones, April, and Splinter, Foot Soldiers and well known enemies from the cartoon as bosses and more! This hack uses the graphics from the Steam game TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge and more:

Features:

  • Replaced all characters, all enemies and all bosses.
  • Added shadow for all characters, all enemies and all bosses.
  • Some enemies have new attacks, that will surprise experienced players.
  • Characters replaced by Raph, Leo, Donnie, Mikey, April O’Neil, Splinter and Casey Jones.
  • All seven playable characters can jump further while running
  • All of the characters attacks are similar to those from TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge.
  • The game has juggling for both players and enemies.
  • Players can recover from a hit by pressing the jump button upon landing (as in SOR4)
  • The command to run (f, f) becomes more sensitive.
  • All playable characters can jump further while running.
  • You can use the Offensive Special while running
  • Added 6-Button gamepad Support. Uppercut now is Y-button.
  • Friendly fire is disabled.
  • Added new sounds for players and enemies.
  • A new plot has been written for the game.
  • Changed the title screen
  • Changed all Story Screen in the game
  • For the first time in sor2 hacking, switching between normal and turbo mode has been added to the option
  • Added turbo mode

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Super Ghouls & Ghosts Restoration & Super Arthur Hacks (SNES)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Super Ghouls & Ghosts Restoration by SCD aims to remove most of the slowdown that hindered (or helped depending on your playstyle) of the original game, along with restoring religious content back to the game such as the crosses in level 1. There’s also a hidden menu by holding L and pressing Start.

The Super Arthur SGnG hack by Lufia aims to do the following:

  • Power decrementation on hit (return to previous armor)
  • Weapon collecting and switching between them with the L/R buttons
  • Shields that will not break by blocking with them
  • A slightly slower timer

Again this can be combined with the previously mentioned Restoration hack.

SO HOW IS IT? This hack really does help level the playing field with this tough game, no matter what difficulty you play on! For the record, playing this hack was my first real time playing Super Ghouls n Ghosts fully, first run went pretty badly, loop 2 went much better in some spots, worse in others. Satan fight wasn’t easy.

In terms of the Restoration hack, the slowdown removed really does help when fighting off the legions of Hell, and making tricky jumps and fighting bosses. In some cases of early SNES titles the slowdown can help, in other cases it impedes you since it sets off while you’re making a jump or fighting something and it throws you off. With this hack, no slowdown and you can fight your way without the game itself impeding your progress!

Adding the Super Arthur hack to it is where things really shine. Being able to keep all the weapons you find, and change them on the fly really will change your strategy for progressing through levels and fighting enemies, especially Red Devils and bosses. Being able to switch them is especially useful when you can use magic with the Gold Armors and need a different attack or finding hidden chests! Armor decrementation will give Arthur essentially 4 hit points if you have the Gold Armor, getting hit by enemies downgrades it to the Green Armor, then the Silver, then your boxers then death. It makes the game feel like the hit point system of the Sega Master System GnG which is a favorite of mine! Having a slower timer means you can take more time to explore and fight enemies, though lagging in places can still cause enemies to gather around you to move in for the kill. Shields don’t break when you block with them gives Arthur more time to kill things and stay alive just a little bit longer. The game can still throw the kitchen sink at you in terms of enemies or navigating the landscapes, but this gives you more of a chance to proceed or learn your way through levels.

I highly recommend both these hacks together if you’re a master of Super GnG or just a novice! It’ll change your outlook and the way you play this, leveling the playing field somewhat on any difficulty level! You can play these hacks separately or together as i did!

I GIVE THE SUPER GHOULS & GHOSTS RESTORATION AND SUPER ARTHUR HACKS 5 OUT OF 5 GOLD ARMORS!!

GAMEPLAY VIDEO:

LINKS:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2893/ – Super Arthur Hack
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3473/ – Restoration Hack

If you enjoy reading any of my content and hearing of my nerdy adventures, feel free to share my posts on social media or leave me a comment. I would be forever grateful if you supported me via my Cash App or buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi. All donations are very welcomed and appreciated. I earn no income from this blog and this will help me continue in providing content and fulfilling my dreams. Thanks!

Retrorevisited: Shinobi Series

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Retrorevisited is a stream series where I revisit a game or a game series I haven’t played in over 10 or 20+ years. I’ll go through to try see what I remember until a game over or I run out of continues. In some cases muscle memory may slowly return, in others probably not. This is a chance for me to revisit games of my youth that I still have or had at one point, playing them with and without nostalgia goggles, and do with mini-reviews of them too. If I decide to play any fully later and do a full review, parts of the mini-review would be incorporated into it. Depending on the playstyle or system, games reviewed will either be mini-reviews or one about all games in this session.  

The Shinobi series from Sega started with the arcade game and grew into a franchise with multiple ports of the arcade game on systems, and various sequels for the Sega Genesis and new editions for more modern systems. Great graphics and music, tough action and gameplay define the Shinobi series throughout the series. Some games added to the series while others took a slightly different route, but all games are still tough.

For this Retrorevisited I tried out the Sega Master System ports of the arcade Shinobi, then Revenge of Shinobi (ver 1 with Batman and Godzilla still as bosses), Shadow Dancer, and Shinobi 3 for the Sega Genesis.

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Retrorevisited: Mario Kart (snes, gba, n64)

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Retrorevisited is a stream series where I revisit a game or a game series I haven’t played in over 10 or 20+ years. I’ll go through to try see what I remember until a game over or I run out of continues. In some cases muscle memory may slowly return, in others probably not. This is a chance for me to revisit games of my youth that I still have or had at one point, playing them with and without nostalgia goggles, and do with mini-reviews of them too. If I decide to play any fully later and do a full review, parts of the mini-review would be incorporated into it. Depending on the playstyle or system, games reviewed will either be mini-reviews or one about all games in this session.  

The Mario Kart series has been a long running popular series since the first game was released for the SNES. Since then there’s been a Mario Kart game for every Nintendo system, with various improvements to gameplay, racers, power-ups, tracks and more. Series is so popular it started the “kart racing” genre!

For this edition of Retrorevisited, I started with the SNES Super Mario Kart, then tried out for the first time the GBA edition and finished with the n64 Mario Kart, which is the one i have the most experience with. GameCube was supposed to be a 4th title, but it didn’t work well while streaming so I had to drop it. I played as Luigi (my fav!) and did Mushroom and Flower Cup runs in all 3 games.

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