Game Club 199X
December 16, 2011 6:11 PM Subscribe
Here is Game Club 19XX, a new monthly podcast from Hardcore Gaming 101 (previously) in which knowledgeable gamers discuss playing through old video games without FAQs or walkthroughs. Episode 1 is on Snake's Revenge, the forgotten NES sequel to Metal Gear. (MP3 download from MediaFire, 1:27:32)
^ PURE PRE-FAQ INFO, DISCOVERED WITH MY OWN TWO THUMBS
posted by radiosilents at 7:02 PM on December 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by radiosilents at 7:02 PM on December 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
I did not forget about snakes revenge.
posted by St. Sorryass at 11:36 PM on December 16, 2011
posted by St. Sorryass at 11:36 PM on December 16, 2011
I owned Snake's Revenge. I'm not sure why, though, I didn't especially like Metal Gear. Maybe because I really liked the novelization.
Here is my heresy: I almost never play games without FAQs or walkthroughs anymore, and I am unrepentant. The knowledge that I missed something somewhere would cause me more pain than finishing unaided would bring me joy. On the negative side, this has taught me that I'm much more compulsive than I thought. So it goes.
posted by Errant at 1:25 AM on December 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here is my heresy: I almost never play games without FAQs or walkthroughs anymore, and I am unrepentant. The knowledge that I missed something somewhere would cause me more pain than finishing unaided would bring me joy. On the negative side, this has taught me that I'm much more compulsive than I thought. So it goes.
posted by Errant at 1:25 AM on December 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't really play games that need walkthroughs. How would that work with a Steel Panthers frex? "Be sure to grab the Tiger tanks before you go and attempt to stem the Russian tide at Kursk?"
posted by MartinWisse at 1:58 AM on December 17, 2011
posted by MartinWisse at 1:58 AM on December 17, 2011
Here is my heresy: I almost never play games without FAQs or walkthroughs anymore, and I am unrepentant.
I can understand this attitude for some games, but for others it goes against the very reason you'd want to play them. (There are many games where some subtle flaw in the way a level is presented results in me ignoring some obvious object, because of a miscommunication, and this has only become clear upon using a walkthrough. "You mean that can be picked up/those spikes don't kill me/it's okay to fall off here/collecting that ends the level immediately?") The thing is, there is no way to tell which games are which without playing them.
I am not kidding when I say the prevalence of easily-obtained walkthroughs for everything has seriously harmed gaming. But it has also increased the popularity of procedurally-generated, randomized games, like roguelikes.
posted by JHarris at 6:29 AM on December 17, 2011
I can understand this attitude for some games, but for others it goes against the very reason you'd want to play them. (There are many games where some subtle flaw in the way a level is presented results in me ignoring some obvious object, because of a miscommunication, and this has only become clear upon using a walkthrough. "You mean that can be picked up/those spikes don't kill me/it's okay to fall off here/collecting that ends the level immediately?") The thing is, there is no way to tell which games are which without playing them.
I am not kidding when I say the prevalence of easily-obtained walkthroughs for everything has seriously harmed gaming. But it has also increased the popularity of procedurally-generated, randomized games, like roguelikes.
posted by JHarris at 6:29 AM on December 17, 2011
I can understand this attitude for some games, but for others it goes against the very reason you'd want to play them. (There are many games where some subtle flaw in the way a level is presented results in me ignoring some obvious object, because of a miscommunication, and this has only become clear upon using a walkthrough. "You mean that can be picked up/those spikes don't kill me/it's okay to fall off here/collecting that ends the level immediately?") The thing is, there is no way to tell which games are which without playing them.
I remember when I was a kid, my friends and I would take turns playing single player games. One person would play and try to solve the puzzle, and the other would have the guide open, and would read a little ahead and prod the player in the right direction if he got stuck. (Actually I still do this.) We'd trade off when we died. Generally the guy with the walkthrough can evaluate whether to let the player try to figure things out, or whether there's actually something seriously confusing about the game.
posted by vogon_poet at 10:27 AM on December 17, 2011
I remember when I was a kid, my friends and I would take turns playing single player games. One person would play and try to solve the puzzle, and the other would have the guide open, and would read a little ahead and prod the player in the right direction if he got stuck. (Actually I still do this.) We'd trade off when we died. Generally the guy with the walkthrough can evaluate whether to let the player try to figure things out, or whether there's actually something seriously confusing about the game.
posted by vogon_poet at 10:27 AM on December 17, 2011
radiosilents, that trick, getting money from that cave in order to buy bombs, is the basis of one of my favorite Zelda exploits. It is possible to complete the game all the way up to facing Ganon without any sword at all! Every other necessary task can be done with items other than a sword. But once you get up go Ganon the trick fails, because you can only stun him with a sword, and you have to stun him several times to get him to turn brown and thus be vulnerable to the Silver Arrows.
In addition to buying bombs, you can get a Candle, an Arrow (useful for the Bow in Level 1), and a Magic Shield. With the Candle and Bombs you can get three Heart Containers. Plus, while show, the Candle can be used to slowly clear out rooms of Octoroks one monster at a time, and open up several money rooms including two more 100 rupee spots.
Another trick I've read people doing is infiltrating Level 8 early in order to get the Magic Key, which means not having to worry about collecting keys for the rest of the game. Apparently you can get it quite soon.
Part of what saddens me about modern video games in general, and all other Zeldas in particular, is that they seem to have regarded all these wonderful tricks in the first Zelda as exploits that needed to be fixed, and not awesome tricks to figure out and enjoy. It is why the original game is still my favorite in the series.
posted by JHarris at 6:04 PM on December 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
In addition to buying bombs, you can get a Candle, an Arrow (useful for the Bow in Level 1), and a Magic Shield. With the Candle and Bombs you can get three Heart Containers. Plus, while show, the Candle can be used to slowly clear out rooms of Octoroks one monster at a time, and open up several money rooms including two more 100 rupee spots.
Another trick I've read people doing is infiltrating Level 8 early in order to get the Magic Key, which means not having to worry about collecting keys for the rest of the game. Apparently you can get it quite soon.
Part of what saddens me about modern video games in general, and all other Zeldas in particular, is that they seem to have regarded all these wonderful tricks in the first Zelda as exploits that needed to be fixed, and not awesome tricks to figure out and enjoy. It is why the original game is still my favorite in the series.
posted by JHarris at 6:04 PM on December 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's not a "podcast" if there is no syndication feed. It's just a downloadable audio file.
Too bad, because I would like to add this to my podcast client.
posted by legion at 2:14 PM on December 18, 2011
Too bad, because I would like to add this to my podcast client.
posted by legion at 2:14 PM on December 18, 2011
Well, that is a good point legion. I've been looking for one myself. Maybe they'll provide one once there's more than one episode.
posted by JHarris at 2:37 PM on December 18, 2011
posted by JHarris at 2:37 PM on December 18, 2011
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you can skip that.
in the upper-right-hand square on the map, there's a secret wall you can walk up through that doesn't require bombs, a candle, or any sort of whistle nonsense. in there are rupees. take those rupees and buy some bombs. then visit any of the handful of locations on the overworld map where you can bomb a block to get a container heart. get two of those, then go and fetch the second sword (the white & blue one).
you may then revisit the old man and taunt his well-meaning-but-ultimately-worthless advice by swinging your better-than-his sword to your hearts' content.
(if you accidentally grab his wooden sword whilst demonstrating your superiority and fearlessness and general badassery, you will NOT replace the better sword with his crap one, but it WILL disappear from his cave thereby removing from you the opportunity to taunt him further at a later time).
posted by radiosilents at 7:02 PM on December 16, 2011 [9 favorites]