Rate the VC games you own!

[Yasume]

The meaning of this topic is to see what we, members of VC-Forums, think of the released VC games. Rate your games out of 10 and I'll put an avarage of the games in this post. It's as simple as that.

When it's your first post, please give me the following information as well:

- Your age
- The amount of VC games you own
- How many VC games you have beaten
- How many VC games you have completed (100&#37
- Your favourite VC game
- Your least favourite VC game
- A rating of the VC service on a scale of 1 to 10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~The Ratings~

From highest to lowest

1. DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure
Times Rated: 1
9/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 9.0]
Score: 9/10

2. Punch-Out!!
Times Rated: 1
8/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 8.0]
Score: 8/10

3. Mega Man 2
Times Rated: 1
8/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 8.0]
Score: 8/10

4. New Adventure Island
Times Rated: 1
8/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 8.0]
Score: 8/10

5. Mario Tennis
Times Rated: 1
8/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 8.0]
Score: 8/10

6. Mario's Super Picross
Times Rated: 1
8/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 8.0]
Score: 8/10

7. Mega Man 3
Times Rated: 1
8/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 8.0]
Score: 8/10

8. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Times Rated: 1
8/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 8.0]
Score: 8/10

9. Wave Race 64
Times Rated: 1
8/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 8.0]
Score: 8/10

10. Pokemon Snap
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

11. Bomberman '93
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

12. Detana!! Twinbee
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

13. Kirby's Adventure
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

14. Donkey Kong Country
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

15. Metal Slug
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

16. Dragon's Curse
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

17. Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

18. Mega Man
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

19. Columns
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

20. Ecco the Dolphin
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

21. Star Parodier
Times Rated: 1
7/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 7.0]
Score: 7/10

22. Air "Zonk"
Times Rated: 1
6/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 6.0]
Score: 6/10

23. Chew Man Fu
Times Rated: 1
6/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 6.0]
Score: 6/10

24. F-Zero X
Times Rated: 1
6/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 6.0]
Score: 6/10

25. Fantasy Zone
Times Rated: 1
6/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 6.0]
Score: 6/10

26. Bonk's Adventure
Times Rated: 1
6/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 6.0]
Score: 6/10

27. Super Mario Bros.
Times Rated: 1
6/10 x1 (Yasume)
[Total: 6.0]
Score: 6/10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~The Players~

Name: Yasume
Age: 20
Amount of VC games: 77
VC games beaten: 8
VC games completed: 5
Favorite VC game: DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure
Least favorite VC game: Super Mario Bros.
Rating of the VC service: 9/10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~The Facts~

Most popular VC game (based on ratings):
Least popular VC game (based on ratings):
VC game that is rated the most:
Rating of the VC service:

Average age:
Most favorite VC game (based on player info):
Least favorite VC game (based on player info):
User with the most VC games:
User that has the most beats:
User that has the most completions:
User that has posted the most ratings:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Updates~

* September 2nd, 2010: Started thread. Rated my own played games.

[Sharecrow]

Wow - that’s quite a request for me as I have quite a few VC games. But it sounds like fun so here it goes...

I own 84 virtual counsel games, I’ve beaten 58 of them, and completed (that I’m sure about) 6 of them. My favorite VC game is R-Type for the TG16. I’d have to say Ice Climber is probably my least favorite. My download list on these forums has one more game than what is listed here, but I haven’t included it since it wasn’t really a download done by me, it is a game I didn’t want, and one I will likely never, ever play. So I thought it was extraneous for listing here when I have no intention of ever rating it.

For the VC service overall, I’d give it an 8/10. I obviously like it and it is my principal use for my Wii. I’m a bit of a sucker for downloading some of these when I could have gotten them on compilations or other ports for cheaper, but I like the convenience of the Wii Shop Channel and I also like being able to grab stuff (provided it is available) when I find that I want to play it.

I’m presently 32 years old. Mine are going to be listed in alphabetical order. I didn't rank stuff that I feel I should play more before concluding on. If and when I get to spend enough time with those games, I'll try to remember to come back here and post rankings.

1. Adventures of Lolo - 9/10
2. Adventures of Lolo 2 - 9/10
3. Alex Kidd in Miracle World - not yet rated
4. Altered Beast (Mega Drive) - 6/10
5. Axelay - 7/10
6. Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa - 6/10
7. Bio-Hazard Battle - 7/10
8. Blaster Master - 8/10
9. Blazing Lazers - 7/10
10. Boulder Dash - not yet rated
11. Breath of Fire II - 7/10
12. Bubble Bobble - 8/10
13. Castlevania - 8/10
14. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - 8/10
15. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - 9/10
16. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - not yet rated
17. Dead Moon - 7/10
18. Donkey Kong Country - 8/10
19. DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure - 8/10
20. Dynamite Headdy - 8/10
21. Final Fantasy - 8/10
22. Final Soldier - 9/10
23. Golden Axe (Mega Drive) - 8/10
24. Golden Axe II - 8/10
25. Golden Axe III - 7/10
26. Gradius - 8/10
27. Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou - 9/10
28. Ice Climber - 5/10
29. Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures - not yet rated
30. Ironclad - 8/10
31. Kid Icarus - 8/10
32. Life Force - 8/10
33. Lords of Thunder - 8/10
34. Lylat Wars / Star Fox 64 - 6/10
35. Mega Man - 7/10
36. Mega Man 2 - 8/10
37. Mega Man 3 - 8/10
38. Metroid - 7/10
39. Ninja Gaiden (NES) - 9/10
40. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos - 8/10
41. Ninja Spirit - 5/10
42. Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen - not yet rated
43. Paper Mario - 10/10
44. Phantasy Star - 9/10
45. Phantasy Star II - 9/10
46. Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom - 6/10
47. Phantasy Star IV - 9/10
48. Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure - 8/10
49. Psychosis - 6/10
50. R-TYPE (Master System) - 9/10
51. R-TYPE (Turbografx) - 10/10
52. R-TYPE III: The Third Lightning - 9/10
53. Secret of Mana - not yet rated
54. Shining Force - 9/10
55. Shining Force II - 7/10
56. Soldier Blade - 8/10
57. Sonic Chaos - 8/10
58. Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System) - 8/10
59. Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive) - 9/10
60. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Master System) - 7/10
61. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive) - 10/10
62. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - 8/10
63. Space Harrier (Master System) - 7/10
64. Star Parodier - 8/10
65. StarTropics - 9/10
66. Street Gangs / River City Ransom - 8/10
67. Streets of Rage II - 10/10
68. Super Dodge Ball - 8/10
69. Super Mario 64 - 9/10
70. Super Mario Bros. - 8/10
71. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - 7/10
72. Super Metroid - 10/10
73. Super R-TYPE - 9/10
74. Sword of Vermillion - 8/10
75. The Last Ninja 2 - 8/10
76. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - 9/10
77. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - not yet rated
78. Toe Jam & Earl - 8/10
79. Uncharted Waters: New Horizons - not yet rated
80. Wonder Boy in Monster World - 7/10
81. Wrecking Crew - 7/10
82. Ys Book I & II - not yet rated
83. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - 9/10
84. Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II - 8/10

[SKTTR]

NES

06/10 - 01 Adventures of Lolo
06/10 - 02 Adventures of Lolo 2
07/10 - 03 Balloon Fight
04/10 - 04 Baseball
06/10 - 05 Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
08/10 - 06 Bubble Bobble
07/10 - 07 Clu Clu Land
06/10 - 08 Donkey Kong
06/10 - 09 Donkey Kong Jr.
05/10 - 10 Donkey Kong Jr. Math
06/10 - 11 Donkey Kong 3
07/10 - 12 Excitebike
08/10 - 13 Ice Climber
07/10 - 14 Ice Hockey
08/10 - 15 Kid Icarus
08/10 - 16 Kirby's Adventure
07/10 - 17 Mario & Yoshi
07/10 - 18 Mario Bros.
08/10 - 19 Metroid
08/10 - 20 Pinball
08/10 - 21 Punch-Out!!
04/10 - 22 Soccer
08/10 - 23 Solomon's Key
09/10 - 24 StarTropics
09/10 - 25 StarTropics II: Zoda's Revenge
08/10 - 26 Super Mario Bros.
08/10 - 27 Super Mario Bros. 2
09/10 - 28 Super Mario Bros. 3
07/10 - 29 Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
06/10 - 30 Tennis
09/10 - 31 The Legend of Zelda
09/10 - 32 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
03/10 - 33 Urban Champion
09/10 - 34 Wario's Woods
08/10 - 35 Wrecking Crew


SNES

09/10 - 01 ActRaiser
10/10 - 02 Donkey Kong Country
10/10 - 03 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest
10/10 - 04 Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
08/10 - 05 F-Zero
08/10 - 06 Harvest Moon
07/10 - 07 Kirby's Dream Course
08/10 - 08 Kirby's Dream Land 3
10/10 - 09 Kirby's Fun Pak
07/10 - 10 Kirby's Ghost Trap
10/10 - 11 Mario's Super Picross
08/10 - 12 Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
07/10 - 13 Pilotwings
09/10 - 14 Secret of Mana
09/10 - 15 SimCity
08/10 - 16 Super Mario Kart
09/10 - 17 Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
10/10 - 18 Super Mario World
10/10 - 19 Super Metroid
08/10 - 20 Super Punch-Out!!
08/10 - 21 The Legend of The Mystical Ninja
10/10 - 22 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
08/10 - 23 Zombies


N64

08/10 - 01 1080° Snowboarding
09/10 - 02 F-Zero X
08/10 - 03 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
09/10 - 04 Lylat Wars
09/10 - 05 Mario Golf
09/10 - 06 Mario Kart 64
09/10 - 07 Mario Tennis
10/10 - 08 Paper Mario
09/10 - 09 Pokémon Puzzle League
08/10 - 10 Pokémon Snap
09/10 - 11 Sin & Punishment
10/10 - 12 Super Mario 64
09/10 - 13 Super Smash Bros.
10/10 - 14 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
10/10 - 15 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
09/10 - 16 Wave Race 64
08/10 - 17 Yoshi's Story


SEGA Master System

08/10 - 01 Wonder Boy
08/10 - 02 Wonder Boy in Monster Land
09/10 - 03 Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap


SEGA Mega Drive

09/10 - 01 Alien Soldier
08/10 - 02 Dynamite Headdy
08/10 - 03 Gain Ground
08/10 - 04 Gunstar Heroes
08/10 - 05 Landstalker
08/10 - 06 Light Crusader
07/10 - 07 Shining Force
na/10 - 08 Shining Force II
07/10 - 09 Sonic The Hedgehog
07/10 - 10 Sonic The Hedgehog 2
07/10 - 11 Sonic The Hedgehog 3
07/10 - 12 Sonic & Knuckles
07/10 - 13 Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
09/10 - 14 Wonder Boy in Monster World


TurboGrafx

06/10 - 01 Bonk's Adventure
06/10 - 02 Bonk's Revenge
na/10 - 03 Bonk III: Bonk's Big Adventure
06/10 - 04 Neutopia
06/10 - 05 Neutopia II
06/10 - 06 Ninja Spirit
08/10 - 07 SimEarth: The Living Planet
08/10 - 08 Ys Book I & II


Commodore 64

09/10 - 01 Boulder Dash
07/10 - 02 Cybernoid
07/10 - 03 International Karate
08/10 - 04 International Karate +
08/10 - 05 Impossible Mission
07/10 - 06 Impossible Mission II
07/10 - 07 Jumpman
07/10 - 08 Nebulus
09/10 - 09 Paradroid
07/10 - 10 Pitstop II
08/10 - 11 The Last Ninja
09/10 - 12 The Last Ninja II
00/10 - 13 The Last Ninja III
08/10 - 14 Uridium


Neo Geo

09/10 - 01 Samurai Shodown
09/10 - 02 Samurai Shodown II
09/10 - 03 Samurai Shodown III
08/10 - 04 The King of Fighters '94
08/10 - 05 The King of Fighters '95



Virtual Console Arcade

none


Age: 29

Favourite VC game: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Least favourite VC game: The Last Ninja III

VC Rating: Since there's no EarthBound, no Chrono Trigger, no Terranigma, no Super Mario All-Stars, no Lemmings, no SCUMM VM or PC Classics support and thus no Monkey Island, no Maniac Mansion and no Day of the Tentacle, no N64 Rumble Pak support, no GB/GBA support and no translated MOTHER3, no continued C64 support and no fixed Last Ninja 3, plus there are too many emulation issues and too high prices, so this shouldn't get more than a measly 5/10. Wait, I just remembered there's no GoldenEye (and ten other essential N64 games made by Rare that won't come) so 2/10! Seriously, the VC has many problems, but it's also full of potential. When will it be used? It has given us more than 350 old games already, most of which are true classics, and many fantastic exclusives. It has also given us many surprises over the years, but now it seems dead.
I have 119/352 VC games and I still want to try a few and I still l have to beat some of those I bought. It's hard to turn such a thing into a number. Just because I only like or only own a third of the VC library should it be a third out of ten (3.33/10)? No, there are certain games, great nostalgia, and new love that is bumping up the score to a very personal 7/10.

[Refa]

Please, please, PLEASE, make a rating scale. Personally, I'd prefer one that is more balanced out, with 5 being average, but it is your thread. But don't you think it might be important to create a rating system* because all these are are abritrary numbers, and whatever is higher is better?

*a description of what each rating means

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Refa

Please, please, PLEASE, make a rating scale. Personally, I'd prefer one that is more balanced out, with 5 being average, but it is your thread. But don't you think it might be important to create a rating system* because all these are are abritrary numbers, and whatever is higher is better?

*a description of what each rating means

10/10 Perfect
09/10 Super
08/10 Very good
07/10 Good
06/10 OK
05/10 Average
04/10 Decent
03/10 Poor
02/10 Bad
01/10 Horrible
00/10 Broken

[Refa]

Thanks, but I'm not sure that's the rating scale that everyone else is using...which is the problem here. That's why Yasume needs to create a universal one.

[Yasume]

Originally Posted by Refa

Thanks, but I'm not sure that's the rating scale that everyone else is using...which is the problem here. That's why Yasume needs to create a universal one.

Unless you and Tides can figure out a better one, I'm going to stick with a scale of 1 out of 10. I think it's the most logical one to use and besides I'll have to revamp all the ratings in this and the WiiWare topic which is quite a pain.

I was thinking of something like this:

10/10 - Perfect
9/10 - Excellent
8/10 - Great
7/10 - Good
6/10 - Decent
5/10 - Mediocre
4/10 - Poor
3/10 - Bad
2/10 - Terrible
1/10 - Abysmal

[Yossarian]

Name: Yossarian
Age: 30
Amount of VC games: 22
VC games beaten: 3
VC games completed: 1
Favorite VC game: Majora's Mask
Least favorite VC game: Gunstar Heroes
Rating of the VC service: 6/10

Bonk's Revenge - 7/10
Donkey Kong Country 3 - 8/10
Kirby's Adventure - 6/10
Landstalker - 5/10
Last Ninja 2 - 6/10
Mega Man 2 - 6/10
Ninja Spirit - 5/10
Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen - 8/10
Paper Mario - 9/10
Pilot Wings - 6/10
Punch Out! - 8/10
Super Mario Bros. 2 - 6/10
Super Mario Bros. 3 - 6/10
Super Metroid - 9/10
Wonderboy in Monster World - 8/10
Zombies - 7/10

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Yasume

Unless you and Tides can figure out a better one, I'm going to stick with a scale of 1 out of 10. I think it's the most logical one to use and besides I'll have to revamp all the ratings in this and the WiiWare topic which is quite a pain.

I was thinking of something like this:

10/10 - Perfect
9/10 - Excellent
8/10 - Great
7/10 - Good
6/10 - Decent
5/10 - Mediocre
4/10 - Poor
3/10 - Bad
2/10 - Terrible
1/10 - Abysmal

Unlike Refa, I don't think putting arbitrary adjectives on the numbers makes the rating any clearer.

Having a kind of scale like this is helpful when you're looking at one dude's number, like in a review, but when a TON of numbers are getting crunched together and averaged like we're doing in this thread, all that's important is that higher is better. If someone comes in here and sees that a particular game has been rated by 30 people and still has an average number of 9.3/10 or something like that, it shows that the game is generally well-liked, and that's all you really need to know.

With that in mind, my proposed scale is:

10/10 - everyone likes it
9/10 - generally well-liked more than 8/10
8/10 - generally well-liked more than 7/10
7/10 - generally well-liked more than 6/10
6/10 - generally well-liked more than 5/10
and so on.

I'm being serious.

Don't wreck a good thread with hairsplitting precise definitions for each rating. If people rate their games differently here (i.e. if I give a mediocre game a 5 and someone else gives it a 7), then that's why they're being averaged out.

[Yasume]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

If someone comes in here and sees that a particular game has been rated by 30 people and still has an average number of 9.3/10 or something like that, it shows that the game is generally well-liked, and that's all you really need to know.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. It's pretty obvious IMO that a game is good if it has a high score. No need to change things here then.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I'm not just going to list all my games with numbers attached to them, since that would be too easy, boring, and turn this whole thread into essentially an excel spreadsheet for you. If anyone cares to try to read the thread, I'm going to give mini text reviews with my scores.

Jogurt the Yogurt
Age: 29

VC games owned: 71
VC games beaten: 33/71
VC games 100% completed: 24/33

Favourite VC game: tie between Shining Force and Final Fantasy II
Least Favourite VC game: that I own... or? I haven't bought any games I dislike...

VC Service Rating: 6/10

Adventures of Lolo (NES)
Rating: 7.6/10

A very fun top-down puzzler with lots of stages (50) of increasing difficulty. Some of the later ones become truly diabolical. The music is nice, simple NES fare. Puzzles require timing as well as thinking. Loses points because most won't be able to play long stretches without taking a break to recharge the mind or fend off boredom, because some of the later puzzles are really hard, and because it generally lacks replay value unless you're going back to it after a lot of time off.

[Yossarian]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

I'm not just going to list all my games with numbers attached to them, since that would be too easy, boring, and turn this whole thread into essentially an excel spreadsheet for you. If anyone cares to try to read the thread, I'm going to give mini text reviews with my scores.

Jogurt the Yogurt
Age: 29

VC games owned: 71
VC games beaten: 33/71
VC games 100% completed: 24/33

Favourite VC game: tie between Shining Force and Final Fantasy II
Least Favourite VC game: that I own... or? I haven't bought any games I dislike...

VC Service Rating: 6/10

Adventures of Lolo (NES)
Rating: 7.6/10

A very fun top-down puzzler with lots of stages (50) of increasing difficulty. Some of the later ones become truly diabolical. The music is nice, simple NES fare. Puzzles require timing as well as thinking. Loses points because most won't be able to play long stretches without taking a break to recharge the mind or fend off boredom, because some of the later puzzles are really hard, and because it generally lacks replay value unless you're going back to it after a lot of time off.

I was going to do the same but it seemed a horribly daunting task. I may post up some mini-reviews to justify my scores later though.

[Sharecrow]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

I was going to do the same but it seemed a horribly daunting task. I may post up some mini-reviews to justify my scores later though.

Wow - "daunting" is the right word. But i'd still like to do that...maybe I'll parcel mine out into groups of threes. Either way, I have lots of typing to do...

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Sharecrow

Wow - "daunting" is the right word. But i'd still like to do that...maybe I'll parcel mine out into groups of threes. Either way, I have lots of typing to do...

Well, I only have 70 games or so, and I'll do them 1-3 at a time.

[SKTTR]

If someone has questions about why I gave a game a certain score, I will answer and clarify the reasoning but I don't feel it being necessary to write mini reviews to all of my VC games at the moment.

[Tides of Chaos]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Don't wreck a good thread with hairsplitting precise definitions for each rating. If people rate their games differently here (i.e. if I give a mediocre game a 5 and someone else gives it a 7), then that's why they're being averaged out.

I'm not trying to wreck anything. I'm just saying if we all can identify a number with a level of "goodness" then it's easier to see games that are worth downloading versus games that are not. Sure, it's obvious which one's are liked the most since they have the highest numbers, but at some point you need to know where "crap" is. Those games are usually downloaded less frequently and thus an average taken from a nice, large pool of numbers doesn't exist. When only 2 people rate the game who have different concepts of what ex: a 5/10 means, then things start to get confusing.

Although, if these 2 hypothetical people include some words to describe their rating of the game, then this doesn't really matter.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Unlike Refa, I don't think putting arbitrary adjectives on the numbers makes the rating any clearer.

Having a kind of scale like this is helpful when you're looking at one dude's number, like in a review, but when a TON of numbers are getting crunched together and averaged like we're doing in this thread, all that's important is that higher is better. If someone comes in here and sees that a particular game has been rated by 30 people and still has an average number of 9.3/10 or something like that, it shows that the game is generally well-liked, and that's all you really need to know.

With that in mind, my proposed scale is:

10/10 - everyone likes it
9/10 - generally well-liked more than 8/10
8/10 - generally well-liked more than 7/10
7/10 - generally well-liked more than 6/10
6/10 - generally well-liked more than 5/10
and so on.

I'm being serious.

Don't wreck a good thread with hairsplitting precise definitions for each rating. If people rate their games differently here (i.e. if I give a mediocre game a 5 and someone else gives it a 7), then that's why they're being averaged out.

When did I say anything about arbritary adjectives? I said "general description", and considering that's what your rating system is, you're being a little hypocritical there. I don't need hairsplitting precise definitions. The most imporatant thing for me is people have a common rating scale. Someone could say an amazing game is a 1 out of 10, which could drag the rating of a lesser played game down a lot...That wouldn't exactly average out...

[Sharecrow]

Originally Posted by Refa

When did I say anything about arbritary adjectives? I said "general description", and considering that's what your rating system is, you're being a little hypocritical there. I don't need hairsplitting precise definitions. The most imporatant thing for me is people have a common rating scale. Someone could say an amazing game is a 1 out of 10, which could drag the rating of a lesser played game down a lot...That wouldn't exactly average out...

I think what he was saying is that applying corresponding adjectives to each number wouldn't add a whole lot of clarity since the words would also be subjective. What I call "good" someone else may consider "great" even if we theoretically had the exact same feelings about the game. But everyone would put eights above sevens and etc. Their value is for comparison with other games' ratings but they would be inherently less useful for comparing one reviewer's evaluations with another. It's difficult to definitively quantify things that are purely qualitative in nature. What's been proposed here is one way to do it, though. For my part, I wouldn't change the ratings I've made even if the descriptors differed from the ones I would use...if I gave it a 6, I think that's what it deserved whether a 6 is "decent" or "okay" to use example descriptors proposed earlier.

Originally Posted by Tides of Chaos

I'm not trying to wreck anything. I'm just saying if we all can identify a number with a level of "goodness" then it's easier to see games that are worth downloading versus games that are not. Sure, it's obvious which one's are liked the most since they have the highest numbers, but at some point you need to know where "crap" is. Those games are usually downloaded less frequently and thus an average taken from a nice, large pool of numbers doesn't exist. When only 2 people rate the game who have different concepts of what ex: a 5/10 means, then things start to get confusing.

Interesting point about skewing. Since the number of rankers involved are also identified, it may give someone pause on downloading based solely on that number ranking if not many people ranked it. A 9 with thirty rankings has much more credibility than a 9 with two rankings. I realize that doesn't resolve your concerns, but I'm just saying...that would be one helpful piece of information that would be available.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

If someone has questions about why I gave a game a certain score, I will answer and clarify the reasoning but I don't feel it being necessary to write mini reviews to all of my VC games at the moment.

I was surprised you gave all of the Wonderboy games for the Master System relatively respectable ratings. I thought you hated one of them as it was glitchy and difficult in all the wrong ways...? Maybe I misread the tone in your postings about it back in the day, but I remember some definite dislike for one of them. What's up with that?

[Sharecrow]

Originally Posted by Sharecrow

1. Adventures of Lolo - 9/10
2. Adventures of Lolo 2 - 9/10
3. Alex Kidd in Miracle World - not yet rated
4. Altered Beast (Mega Drive) - 6/10

Okay, I wanted to, piece by piece, go ahead and give just a little bit of clarity about where my rankings are coming from. I'll start with my first three. I'll keep it brief since I'm no reviewer and my opinion is just one dude's opinion and not any more interesting or relevant than anyone else's. But, just to speak from experience and to share my thoughts, here it goes:

1. Adventures of Lolo - 9/10 - I absolutely love the Lolo series. I think they are among the best puzzle games for the NES out there. Each level is simple in design and the mechanics for playing the game are also simple, but the riddles that the gamer has to overcome to advance can become quite challenging. The more difficult they are, though, the more rewarding overcoming it becomes. I got stuck in this game years ago and tried it again on the VC after it came out. I remember with a number of floors I would be stuck for quite awhile and then I would have a revelation about the piece I was missing and it would just click (sometimes well after I stopped playing for the day) and that floor would be solved. The main downside to this one, like JoYo said, is that it doesn't have a lot of replay value unless you give yourself some time to forget the solutions. Sometimes I seriously think whoever designed this game was really evil. At least it can seem that way...

2. Adventures of Lolo 2 - 9/10 - This game is extremely similar to the first one but just a tiny bit more challenging. I'd heard it was significantly more challenging, but I didn't find it to be that much of a step up from the first one. Perhaps I had become accustomed to how Lolo-puzzle-solving works by the time I tried this one. This game does have four secret levels which are absolutely insanely difficult in my opinion...difficult to the point that I didn't even have much interest in taking them on even though it would allow me to say I completed it. I tried them all, failed miserably, deleted the game, and moved on

3. Alex Kidd in Miracle World - I need to play this one more...I know, I know. I like it so far but haven't spent enough time with it to conclude.

4. Altered Beast - 6/10 - I got the Genesis version of this game largely for nostalgic reasons since I played it much more on this version than in the arcade. The arcade version is certainly a better version but, this one was on sale and available and so I grabbed it. It's okay. It is two-player, which is good if you can find someone else who wants to help you out. The game has varying difficulty so it can actually be extremely challenging if you choose it to be. But it can be quite easy too. There are five levels which are each different but relatively short. I think it's worth playing at least once and I'm glad I have access to it, but would encourage a gamer to keep it appropriately low on their list if they haven't already tried it. There's better stuff out there. It's can be fun to play as the different monsters, beat some stuff up, and play an early Genesis game, but it won't keep anyone interested for an extended period of time.

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Sharecrow

I was surprised you gave all of the Wonderboy games for the Master System relatively respectable ratings. I thought you hated one of them as it was glitchy and difficult in all the wrong ways...? Maybe I misread the tone in your postings about it back in the day, but I remember some definite dislike for one of them. What's up with that?

The game is Wonder Boy II (Wonder Boy in Monster Land) for the Master System.

Yes, I talked bad about it, because I was very frustrated by it. Still it's a very good game. The worlds have plenty of stuff to explore, the game has a wonderful atmosphere, and the music is awesome.

I tried to beat it about 20 times, and with every try I came a step closer to the end. I almost got it down, got through the final stage (a confusing maze), and was fighting the final boss, who killed me, because I overlooked the best sword in the game, and that was my own fault. And I haven't tried since then.

Yes, the game has the occasional random "hell glitch" where the whole screen turns into trapping tiles of spikes and fire and messed up code, and your only chance is to leave the place through the next door before it sucks all your hearts away... but this glitch only happened when I used the money cheat, tadaaa: Pause on the second controller 78 times to get 47 gold coins or something - an extremely tedious cheat that doesn't do much good, but if you can trigger the pause button a thousand times (before the time limit kills you), you have some 5000 golds and can buy some super expensive shield that you otherwise would have missed. Or maybe you had to find all the secret gold coin spawn points, I don't know, but to me it seems that some stuff just isn't affordable and you have to make your choice: super expensive boots or super expensive shield.. hmm. In a normal playthrough you just can't get everything or at least so it seems.

I cheated for the good of it. I mean there's no continues, only one life, a pesky time limit, no passwords, no saves, the last stage is a maze that you need to play at least 10 times to get the hang of, and if you miss just one important item you can as well play all over again. The tedious cheat was the only help, and it caused gamebreaking glitches, so you can forgive me.

This was originally an arcade game, and the only people who have beaten this must have used a guide from those late 80'ies SEGA magazines. It's brim full of secrets and it's storywise the direct prequel of the wonderful Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. It also has its normal soundtrack and the FM synth soundtrack. There's is so much goodness in this game, and it's accepted as one of the best Master System games ever. Not that things like these ever change my opinion, but I can see where this comes from.

Above all the hate I spat out for this game, I still like it very much somehow. Maybe because I like hard challenges and unconventional hardcore puzzles/secrets. It's a game that's still on hold. A game that I really want to give a 21th chance. But maybe it just need years of practise... Years like it the needed to beat ActRaiser, Last Ninja 1&2, Kid Icarus, Paradroid and Mystical Ninja.

I can't beat every game, because lately I'm somewhat lazy. Wonder Boy II, Ogre Battle, Super Punch-Out!!, Kirby's Dream Course, etc. There are VC games I just have not the right mind for now, but I appreciate them for what they are and give them good ratings because I know they are good. I have played plenty of games and have enough experience to say Super Punch-Out!! and Ogre Battle are well-made, even though it's extremely hard for me to get back to them now. I would have loved to play them back when they were originally released when I was a kid and played the heck out of all games. I got them now because I had no money back then. But the timing isn't the best now, and I should have waited for when I'm in the mood. Things will change, and one day I just start them again. No need to delete them or anything. At least they're now waiting for me. Before straying away too far I just wanted to say, a score shouldn't change just like the mood. This is of biggest importance if you try to be fair and objective. And if I'm on the fence, I always give out the better score. That's what the judge has to do.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Once again, the brilliant Sharecrow has my back and seconds my point more clearly than I apparently could have.

Refa, I think it's at least understood that 10 is high and 1 is low.

If we're going to start breaking down the 1-10 scale and giving them each adjectives/descriptors, then I'm going to either 1. argue for a 2 point scale with 0 being "bad" and 1 being "good" or, 2. not participate and let you guys enjoy your numberplay. Hey, is 5 mediocre or 7? Which one is a C+? And what does mediocre mean? Is it the same as decent, or better? Worse? How much worse? What's the difference? What's the difference between great and excellent? Etc. Pointless. All you need to know is that 1 is a low rank, and 10 is a high rank. The ranks between 1 and 10 indicate increasing gradations of subjective quality. Everyone has different subjective feelings about their games, and everyone is going to rank them according to subjective measures. Trying to qualify those subjective measures in a universalized way is futile and fruitless.

PS to Refa: Your "hypocritical BS generalized rating system" comment at me, or whatever it was, is actually scientifically/logically incorrect and holds no water or makes no rational sense whatsoever, since the (half-joke) rating system I proposed in the post to which you replied was perfectly relational.

[Tides of Chaos]

Hm..after thinking about it for a bit, I guess this system works. I mean, with the way things are set up now by Yasume, everyone can easily see who gave what score for each game. That way you can see for yourself if a game's rating was skewed with an out-of-ordinary, low rating by someone who doesn't like that certain genre of game, etc. The average forum member is able to pick apart these ratings and can that way see what games are really for them.

[Tides of Chaos]

Name: Tides of Chaos
Age: 17
Amount of VC games: 24
VC games beaten: 3
VC games completed: 0
Favorite VC game: Paper Mario
Least favorite VC game: Gunstar Heroes
Rating of the VC service: 6/10
The VC has been full of crushed hopes and dreams, but it's also given me the chance to play many of the classics I have never been able to play until now. All in all, alright, but it has tons of room for improvement.

I think I'll go with the slow style of rating, including reasons, etc. For now, let's start with stuff I've beaten:

Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Rating: 7/10 8/10

I'm tempted to give this game a higher rating, due to my adoration for the idea of the series, and the music, and the graphics, and the tight controls......ok, my rating of the game is now +1. Seriously, this game is undeniable. Even if it is on the easy side and on the short side, I still had fun playing with it while I did. It's quite possibly the best looking NES game I've yet to play, and the cutsey animations really add some life to the game (Kirby's dance, the conflicts with Dedede). Sucking up enemies and taking their powers is fun, as always. I dunno. I just look back at this game and remember having a pretty good time. I wouldn't mind playing through it again, and it hasn't been too long since I've beaten it, so that says something I guess. Overall, I'd recommend this game to just about anyone looking for a good platformer.

[Yossarian]

Bonk's Revenge - 7/10
Donkey Kong Country 3 - 8/10
Kirby's Adventure - 6/10
Landstalker - 5/10

Bonk's Revenge - 7/10

A good solid platformer with a meaty challenge and a surprising amount of variety in the level design. Each stage really feels like a journey. The graphics are pleasingly cute and chunky and the music is tolerable if a little bland. It has enough charm and character to rise above many similar generic platform games.

Donkey Kong Country 3 - 8/10

This was my first game in the series and I still really enjoy it. The game has plenty of challenge and secrets to keep me busy. The co-op aspect is well done and is a fun way to tackle the game with a friend.

Kirby's Adventure - 6/10

Never played it first time round. It is a fun platform game but it wasn't anything special. It was fun to play around with the transformations but too many stages could be passed by simply floating past them.

Landstalker - 5/10

A Zelda clone with an uninspired set of characters, enemies and NPCs. This game suffers from the baffling decision to marry isometric jumping puzzles and a shadowless main sprite. This makes for a deeply frustrating and unsatisfying experience. All this and the hero is called Nigel.

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

All this and the hero is called Nigel.

HAHARHAR!

[Refa]

Name: Refa
Age: 17
Amount of VC games: 25
VC games beaten: 6
VC games completed: 5
Favorite VC game: Castlevania Rondo Of Blood
Least favorite VC game: Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
Rating of the VC service: 8/10

A question- Should we be reposting this if they change (e.g. I grow a year older; I get newfound hatred of Castlevania; etc.)?

PS Wow, 2 people have already cited Gunstar Heroes as their least favorite VC game? Seriously guys? I mean, you might not like it, but obviously you people need to get on with spending 500 points on Donkey Kong Jr. Math and then we'll see what your least favorite VC game is.

[Yossarian]

Originally Posted by Refa

Name: Refa
Age: 17
Amount of VC games: 25
VC games beaten: 6
VC games completed: 5
Favorite VC game: Castlevania Rondo Of Blood
Least favorite VC game: Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
Rating of the VC service: 8/10

A question- Should we be reposting this if they change (e.g. I grow a year older; I get newfound hatred of Castlevania; etc.)?

PS Wow, 2 people have already cited Gunstar Heroes as their least favorite VC game? Seriously guys? I mean, you might not like it, but obviously you people need to get on with spending 500 points on Donkey Kong Jr. Math and then we'll see what your least favorite VC game is.

Seriously. I had more fun with Donkey Kong Jr Math than I did with Gunstar Heroes. Granted I didn't have to pay for DK Jr Math but I just found Gunstar Heroes to be a chore. That is my opinion and a mini-review will follow to justify my scores.

You do raise an interesting point for Yasume though. Most games will keep their rating but I know that a couple of the ones I have listed have got a lower (Landstalker) or even higher mark (OoT) compared to my view of them from last year. If I have any major updates than I would list them but include justification as well.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

Seriously. I had more fun with Donkey Kong Jr Math than I did with Gunstar Heroes. Granted I didn't have to pay for DK Jr Math but I just found Gunstar Heroes to be a chore. That is my opinion and a mini-review will follow to justify my scores.

You do raise an interesting point for Yasume though. Most games will keep their rating but I know that a couple of the ones I have listed have got a lower (Landstalker) or even higher mark (OoT) compared to my view of them from last year. If I have any major updates than I would list them but include justification as well.

Ouch, that's harsh indeed. Although your BL ratings seem to indicate otherwise, so I'm inclinded to say that maybe you're a little biased against it because it wasn't as good as you were expecting.

Well actually, I was just talking about the personal description, because I could beat some more VC games, so I'm assuming I should repost the statistics.

[Yossarian]

Originally Posted by Refa

Ouch, that's harsh indeed. Although your BL ratings seem to indicate otherwise, so I'm inclinded to say that maybe you're a little biased against it because it wasn't as good as you were expecting.

Well actually, I was just talking about the personal description, because I could beat some more VC games, so I'm assuming I should repost the statistics.

I wouldn't put much stock in BL ratings as their description for a 2 star game is 'decent'. There isn't a great deal of choice for 'bad' ratings.

I've noticed it is mysteriously absent from my original post so here is my rating and clarification.

Gunstar Heroes - 5/10

A cheerful, bright and brash run and game beloved by many but not me. I found the experience to be a tedious chore (the board game sequence and final boss rush were particular low points) and even the fabled 'Sevenforce' boss left me cold and unimpressed. It's my least favourite game that I've downloaded on the VC and I have little desire to ever play it again.

[antster1983]

Name: antster1983
Age: 27
Amount of VC games: 127
VC games beaten: 9
VC games completed: 6
Favourite VC game: Super Mario World
Least favourite VC game: Smash Table Tennis
VC service rating: 7/10

ActRaiser - 8/10
Adventure Island - 6/10
Adventures of Lolo - 7/10
Aero the Acrobat - 6/10
Aero the Acrobat 2 - 8/10
Air "Zonk" - 7/10
Alex Kidd in Miracle World - 8/10
Alien Soldier - 6/10
Baseball Stars 2 - 8/10
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa - 7/10
Blaster Master - 7/10
Blazing Lazers - 8/10
Bomberman '93 - 8/10
Breath of Fire II - 8/10
Bubble Bobble - 8/10
California Games - 7/10
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - 8/10
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - 9/10
Comix Zone - 7/10
Cybernator - 8/10
Detana!! Twinbee - 8/10
Devil's Crush - 7/10
Donkey Kong Country - 8/10
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - 9/10
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble - 8/10
DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure - 8/10
Dynamite Headdy - 7/10
Earthworm Jim - 8/10
Earthworm Jim 2 - 8/10
ESWAT: City Under Siege - 7/10
Fantasy Zone - 8/10
Final Fantasy II - 8/10
Final Fight 3 - 7/10
Galaga '90 - 7/10
Gaplus - 6/10
Gate of Thunder - 8/10
Ghoul Patrol - 5/10
Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou - 8/10
Gradius III - 7/10
Gunstar Heroes - 8/10
Harvest Moon - 7/10
Impossible Mission - 6/10
Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures - 7/10
Kid Chameleon - 7/10
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - 7/10
Kirby's Adventure - 8/10
Kirby's Dream Course - 8/10
Kirby's Dream Land 3 - 7/10
Kirby's Fun Pak - 9/10
Kirby's Ghost Trap - 8/10
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole - 7/10
Light Crusader - 6/10
Lords of Thunder - 8/10
Lylat Wars - 8/10
M.U.S.H.A. - 7/10
Magician Lord - 6/10
Mario & Yoshi - 6/10
Mario Kart 64 - 9/10
Mario's Super Picross - 8/10
Mayhem in Monsterland - 6/10
Mega Man - 7/10
Mega Man 2 - 8/10
Mega Man 3 - 7/10
Military Madness - 7/10
Nebulus - 7/10
Neo Turf Masters - 7/10
Ninja Gaiden (NES) - 7/10
Ninja Spirit - 6/10
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber - 8/10
Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen - 8/10
Paper Mario - 9/10
Pilotwings - 8/10
Pulseman - 7/10
Puyo Puyo 2 - 7/10
R-TYPE (Turbografx) - 8/10
R-TYPE III: The Third Lightning - 8/10
Secret of Mana - 9/10
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi - 7/10
Shadow of the Ninja - 4/10
Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye - 3/10
Shining Force - 8/10
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master - 8/10
Sin & Punishment: Successor of the Earth - 8/10
Smash Table Tennis - 1/10
Soldier Blade - 9/10
Sonic & Knuckles - 8/10
Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive) - 8/10
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive) - 9/10
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - 8/10
Space Harrier (Arcade) - 5/10
Star Parodier - 8/10
StarTropics - 7/10
Street Fighter Alpha 2 - 7/10
Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting - 8/10
Street Gangs - 7/10
Streets of Rage - 8/10
Super Castlevania IV - 9/10
Super Mario Bros. - 8/10
Super Mario Bros. 2 - 8/10
Super Mario Bros. 3 - 9/10
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - 8/10
Super Mario Kart - 9/10
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - 9/10
Super Mario World - 9/10
Super Metroid - 9/10
Super Probotector: Alien Rebels - 8/10
Super Punch-Out!! - 8/10
Super R-TYPE - 6/10
Super Smash Bros. - 7/10
Super Star Soldier - 7/10
Super Star Wars - 8/10
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - 7/10
Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - 8/10
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers - 9/10
Super Turrican - 8/10
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja - 8/10
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - 9/10
The Revenge of Shinobi - 8/10
Ufouria: The Saga - 7/10
Vectorman - 7/10
Wave Race 64 - 8/10
Wild Guns - 8/10
Wonder Boy in Monster Land - 8/10
Wonder Boy in Monster World - 9/10
Yoshi's Story - 7/10
Ys Book I & II - 8/10
Zombies - 8/10

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

I wouldn't put much stock in BL ratings as their description for a 2 star game is 'decent'. There isn't a great deal of choice for 'bad' ratings.

That's actually one thing I like about the Backloggery's 4-star ratings. One star is bad. That's the only number of ratings for bad games you need. One rating for bad, one for decent/average, and one for good, with the 4-star/top rating being reserved for good games that are also personal faves. One doesn't need any more than that without caving into the artifice of hypergradation (like the BL did when they moved to a 5-star rating because... uh, I guess because people thought they should? because they saw other folks doin' it y'all?).

[Ouenben]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Least Favourite VC game: that I own... or? I haven't bought any games I dislike...

I assumed it just meant the VC game you owned that you liked the least.
I do own one VC game I just do not like and that's super star solider, thought I'd try it out as there wasn't much available at the time. But it's a sub-par shoot-em-up and it's far from my favourite genre so there's a hundred other shoot-em-up's I'd rather play.

[sponge]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

Gunstar Heroes - 5/10

A cheerful, bright and brash run and game beloved by many but not me. I found the experience to be a tedious chore (the board game sequence and final boss rush were particular low points) and even the fabled 'Sevenforce' boss left me cold and unimpressed. It's my least favourite game that I've downloaded on the VC and I have little desire to ever play it again.

perfect review. my least favorite purchased VC game as well.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by sponge

perfect review. my least favorite purchased VC game as well.

I was actually not a huge fan of Gunstar Heroes either, to be honest, but for only $2.49 it's not a bad little game to go back to for a few minutes here and there. I don't really have another stylish run & gun to fill that quick gunning gap for me.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Bubble Bobble (NES)
Rating: 5.1/10

This is a nicely crafted little arcade-style platformer with a lot of content, nice multiplayer, and cute music. Unfortunately, its lot of content is quite repetitive and can become quite frustrating and luck-based, especially when you need a certain power-up or simply don't have enough time to get at those last few enemies. The game uses the archaic arcade-style coin-munching trick of speeding the players along if they start to take too long on a stage, and later levels (especially the "boss") can rely on error-free pattern memorization. For not having aged well and for offering little to no real variety to keep a player's interest, this game is only recommended for genre fans and people with lots of nostalgic forgiveness for the original.

[Sharecrow]

Originally Posted by Sharecrow

5. Axelay - 7/10

Okay, here's another one:

5. Axelay - 7/10 - I liked this game quite a bit but, for whatever reason, even though I'm a big fan of shooters, this one appealed to me somewhat less than I had expected it to based on the reviews. There was good weapon variety with nearly all of them having their own unique usefulness, beautiful levels, good music, and, for the most part, imaginative boss battles. The game features both overhead and side-scrolling levels which is a good way to mix up the gameplay and help keep the game interesting. I had some issues with hit detect sometimes (especially with the overhead levels) as it seemed to unfairly favor the bad guys every once in awhile. Perhaps that was in my imagination. And, for what is frequently described as an easy shooter, I had a pretty tough time beating it even though I was just playing in Normal mode. The last level, especially, gave me some grief. Anyway, I'm glad I played it and I did enjoy it for what it is. I think there are quite a few better shooters on the VC than this one though. And so I give it an average-ish but good 7/10 rating.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by Sharecrow

Okay, here's another one:

5. Axelay - 7/10 - I liked this game quite a bit but, for whatever reason, even though I'm a big fan of shooters, this one appealed to me somewhat less than I had expected it to based on the reviews. There was good weapon variety with nearly all of them having their own unique usefulness, beautiful levels, good music, and, for the most part, imaginative boss battles. The game features both overhead and side-scrolling levels which is a good way to mix up the gameplay and help keep the game interesting. I had some issues with hit detect sometimes (especially with the overhead levels) as it seemed to unfairly favor the bad guys every once in awhile. Perhaps that was in my imagination. And, for what is frequently described as an easy shooter, I had a pretty tough time beating it even though I was just playing in Normal mode. The last level, especially, gave me some grief. Anyway, I'm glad I played it and I did enjoy it for what it is. I think there are quite a few better shooters on the VC than this one though. And so I give it an average-ish but good 7/10 rating.

It feels good but oh so outdated, doesn't it? I mean, from the very first level, with that eh, gimmicky 3D effect. Yes, it is a fun shmup, but it just doesn't hold up as well as others do. Still, it was an early SNES game, so you got to give Konami some cred. where it's due. Also, it reportedly influenced Radiant Silvergun, although I can't really confirm that, you know, because RS is so...expensive.

[Yossarian]

Zombies - 7/10

A quirky and hard b-movie theme top down shooter with some excellent tunes and a sense of humour. Giant babies! Murderous lumberjacks in hedge mazes! Holy water pistols! Secrets aplenty! Two player co-op makes it all the more sweet. The game offers a balancing act for the player. Do you try and rescue and retain all your neighbours or do you let some of them die in the trade off for a faster progression through the forty plus levels?

Whilst it is one of my favourite VC games but it is marred by the horrible password system. This a long and difficult game and surviving the onslaught often relies on having stockpiled a bewildering array of weaponry to take on the varied monsters that are trying to kill you and the people you are trying to rescue.

The password system works on a four level basis and will not retain your weapons making some levels nearly impossible to beat. With so many weapons and items on offer the inventory system is also hugely frustrating as you frantically cycle through your weapons whilst trying not to die.

If these features were better than I would award a higher rating but they are too big to ignore. 7/10 is still respectable though.

[enigmaopoeia]

Name: enigmaopoeia.
Age: 28.
Amount of VC games: 17.
VC games beaten: 1.
VC games completed: 2.
Favorite VC game: Phantasy Star [SMS].
Least favorite VC game: Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance [C64].
Rating of the VC service: 7/10.

Here are my ratings, I will only list the VC games I took the time to play:

• BIO MIRACLE BOKUTTE UPA [FDS]: 4/10. [My Reflection]
• Bonk's Revenge [TG16]: 6/10.
• Chō Aniki [PCE]: 5/10.
• DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure [SFC]: 6/10.
• Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole [GEN]: 5/10.
• Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance [C64]: 2/10.
• NINJA SPIRIT -Saigo no Nindō- [TG16]: 6/10. [My Reflection]
• Phantasy Star [SMS]: 8/10.
• Phantasy Star II [GEN]: 7/10.
• Pilotwings [SNES]: 5/10.
• Wonder Boy in Monster World [GEN]: 7/10. [My Reflection]

[Refa]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

Zombies - 7/10

You mean Zombies Ate My Neighbors, right?

Yeah, passwords on a SNES game is kind of a BS move, considering battery saves were much more easy to implement than in the NES days. It still shocks me to no end that all there were no Mega Man games on the SNES with a battery save...actually, I can't think of any Mega Man games with battery saves. Anyone know if there is one?