The Coop

Spheres of Chaos Ever wonder what Asteroids would be like if it was made by a Woodstock programmer on a major acid trip while listening to Pink Floyd? Well wonder no more, because here it is. Recently released as freeware, Spheres of Chaos is an electronic mindfuck just waiting for you to enter it. As mentioned, it plays a lot like Asteroids (right down to a Hyperspace button), but with added weapons. The ships are geometric in design, and the effects that are constantly going off are nuts. So warm up that lava lamp, get out your black light, and give it a whirl.

You bitch about how much stuff there is to do, then you bitch about being given new stuff to do once you've done all the previous stuff. I suppose next you'll be bitching about having nothing to do once people stop resending their songs. Then you'll start bitching about your own bitching about stuff. Next comes being called a whiny bitch, and finally, you'll be bitching in circles about the bitching of bitching about stuff from whiny bitches bitching about bitching until it rips through the fabric of our reality... ending bitching as we humans have come to know it. GAWD! YOU'RE JUST NEVER HAPPY!

Looking at the list, here's 15 of the best ones in my view... -=SNES=- Super Castlevania IV- A great entry into the series. Nice graphics, good music, but a bit on the easy side. The controllable whip makes for some interesting gameplay additions, and there are plenty of levels to make your way through. R-Type III: The Third Lightning- Great shmup. Pretty damn hard too. Great graphics, good music, and a choice of three different Force orbs to make for some experimentation. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts- Hard as a fucking rock, it'll make you want to punch a baby. However, it's not hard because it's cheap, it's hard by way of enemy placements and level layout. It's graphically very good, has a very nice soundtrack, and to see the ending, you'll need to play through twice. Super Metroid- Do I really need to explain anything with this one? Axelay- Another shmup from Konami. As expected it looks quite good, has good music, and it switches from "into the screen" view, to side view every other stage. Gotta crank this one's difficulty all the way to see everything in the ending. -=Genesis=- Ristar- A platformer that really got little attention, despite the rather high praise. The character is sickeningly cute, but the gameplay is spot on. Great graphics, upbeat music, fun gameplay thanks to the character's stretchy arms, and big, fun levels. The boss fights are blast too, and the game as a whole has just the right amount of challenge. Great stuff. Gunstar Heroes- Contra-like gameplay, but much more hectic. Very good graphics, good music, a tough challenge, and lots of levels. It's by Treasure, so it's got all the expected cool special effects too. Run 'N Gun baby. Alien Soldier- Take the above game's gameplay, difficulty and visual style, shorten the levels, and make twenty-plus bosses for you to fight. This game is a boss fight lovers dream, as the bosses make up the majority of it. It never came to The States, and it's a shame since this game is quality stuff (again) from Treasure. Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole- Action RPG that's set up in an isometric view. It's done by Climax, and it has a similar graphical style to games like Shining Force and especially Shining In the Darkness. Making the jumps is a bit difficult because of the view, but the game is great from start to finish. Shining In the Darkness- A dungeon crawler on the Genesis? Why not. The music gets a bit repetitive after a while, but it's a quality title. The dungeons get tougher as you go along, and keep some paper handy as you'll want to make a map of your journey. Good graphics, nice tunes, and a solid challenge that keeps from feeling unfair. Beyond Oasis- Another action RPG, done by Ancient (Yuzo Koshiro's company). Great graphics and a tough, but fun quest wait for you here. The music's a bit average, but mostly because the tunes aren't all that memorable, as opposed to being bad aural quality. Shinobi III- The last entry on the Genesis, and it's a good one. Very nice graphics, good music, a nice variety of levels, and it's a good challenge. It plays similarly to Revenge of Shinobi, but its gameplay has been expanded with a few new moves, and ridable vehicles. A very good action platformer. -=NES=- Castlevania- An NES classic. Sure, the graphics are rough, but the music is memorable, and the gameplay is good. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest- Better graphics and equally good tunes, this game's several times larger thanks to the broader quest. Another NES classic. Ninja Gaiden 1+2- I'm putting these together because they play damn near the same. Both games are hard as hell, but they're also quality titles thanks to the graphics, music and level design.

What genres are your favorites?

Well, then I'll keep working on it. Be a few days before there's a WIPable item though.

As I said in the other thread a few days ago, it's a shame when someone who's just getting started in their life has it taken from them. Having such a tragedy come to pass during an event that was supposed to be happy and festive makes it sting just a bit more for those who knew him. I never spoke with Reuben, nor have I ever heard his remixes and original music. But this fact doesn't prevent me from extending my condolences to you, his family and friends. Your loss was great, and my heart goes out to you as you make your way through this extremely hard time. If it's any small measure of confront, know that this thread shows you're not alone in your grieving, as the remixing community is sharing in some of your pain. Your son and friend touched a lot of people with his music.

I chuckled at how they were talking about the extra power 16bit offered, and as examples of that power, they showed several Master System games. Um, what?

Has there ever been an American system/game that did well in Japan? American gamers are all for buying-Japan made games and systems, but it always seems to be quite the opposite when it comes to Japanese gamers buying American made games or systems. Are they really that disinterested in American-styled gaming, or is it just the charts that are released making it seem that way?

I was thinking about trying something between bouts of SM64 remix work, and even got a song started. But, I noticed too late that Carol of the Bells has already been covered. Oops.

Money's pretty tight for everyone in my family, so I'm very much favoring not asking for anything. I'd rather they hang on to their money in case they need it for something.

Guess it's like the swastika, which, if memory serves, essentially was a symbol of "well being" before Nazi Germany perverted it into a hate symbol. And now Sephiroth has been tainted as well. Damn them and their inability to come up with their own new ideas! **shakes fist**

I think he's just referring to the OCR side of it, and not that the whole thing will be a focused OCR-centric effort. Although, perhaps having one site handle the mailing for the other sites involved like Anime Remix and such might not be a bad idea... or rather, have one person handle the mailing. I'm sure the Kee family doesn't want their address posted on multiple websites, so perhaps if one or two people had the address in private, it might be better. I mean, with the talk of individual tributes and such, bombarding the Kees might not be the best idea. As DragonFireKai mentioned, they're going to be in grieving for quite a while. So maybe having one concentrated package/letter might be more considerate than a regularly recurring flood of them. Anyway, just a thought.

I am sure with all these lurkers that are from Singapore posting in this thread, it really won't be necessary, but still awesome just in case. Very true. But, better safe than sorry with something like this. Kudos for offering DU.

Heh. I'm sure the thread title would be more tactful than that, but I can understand how that might make some people feel a little strange, or uneasy. It's a bit like seeing a family obituary over and over again. And since I wasn't as clear as I needed to be, I was only speaking against the name "Reuben Roulette", and not the idea of having his remixes on the front page in that space for a short while. His remixes being there is a nice concept. Indeed. We're discussing things that we each feel may or may not be good community tribute/condolence ideas in a very constructive manner. No flames, no put downs, just ideas and concerns, zyko. And Mr. Bottle Rocket, skill level has nothing to do with creating something heart felt. Even if what you made didn't turn out well in your eyes, the sentiment behind it will still be felt just as strongly

I don't believe there's a "bad" FF game on the DS or GBA. Chances are, you'll enjoy the GBA/DS remakes/ports of 1-6 (though folks who grew up with the original SNES carts might differ on that). None of them got low marks, so you're likely safe. And since up until recently, Square-Enix didn't make sequels to the FF series, you don't have to worry about playing them in order unless you want to.

So that's what happened to it. I wondered whatever became of that project, but could never find anything on it earlier this year.

I don't see anything wrong with a thread bringing his passing to people's attention. Lots of celebrities, musicians, game makers and such that've passed away over the last five-plus years have gotten threads made in memory of them. But "Reuben Roulette" just had a... gimmicky, ring to it (no offense intended whatsoever Harmony, as I know it was a heart felt idea). As such, a thread about his death seems more fitting to me, and it gives people a place to express their thoughts

I'm sure I'll catch shit for this, but why not keep it simple? No "Reuben Roulette", no tribute albums (especially no selling of tribute albums), no overblown "Candle in the Wind"-esque projects. Instead, find out the address of the Kee family if possible (or perhaps someone who knows where they live... or at least their E-mail address), and write them a sincere letter of condolence in both English and their native tongue if they're not English speaking... one that expresses the sentiments and well wishes of the remixing community. Have as many people sign it as possible (however you wish "sign"-ing to be, whether it's scanned hand writing, or visual images somewhat like the GenDis Christmas card last year), and send it to them. If it can be physically mailed to them, perhaps include a CD of his music on the offhand chance they weren't aware about their son's musical side. I know his contributions to the remixing world will be missed, but let's not get carried away Ellen-style. Keep it simple, and heart felt You can commence with the "You insensitive prick" flames now.

I really wouldn't consider this underrated personally. This is arguably the best known Amiga soundtrack out there, as a good amount of people who've never even owned an Amiga have heard the SotB soundtrack (or at least a couple tracks from it). I've even seen the SotB music mentioned in magazine articles in the past. SotB2 might fall into the underrated canopy, but not SotB1... in my opinion anyway.

It's a shame to lose someone who's just getting started in their life, but having that loss come during something that was supposed to be happy and festive makes it sting just a bit more for those who knew him. My condolences to his family and friends.

Let me think up a few for the Genesis... TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist- I'm probably alone on this, but I find the Genesis music better sounding than the SNES music used in "Turtles In Time". Same tunes, but I think the Genesis lent a better sound to them. Whip Rush- A little shmup that came and went, but it's got quite a few catchy tunes in it. Midnight Resistance- There are surprisingly few tunes in this game considering how many levels there are, but the music is pretty good... especially the song used on stage 1. Alisia Dragoon- The only cart GameArts ever made, and it has wonderful music in it. Batman- Some very nice music in this one, and a great ending song. Herzog Zwei- The game that basically started the RTS genre, and it has quite a few memorable tunes. Master of Monsters- A game few people ever played, but it has a wonderful soundtrack. Sword of Vermillion- This RPG got lost in the space between Phantasy Stars II and III, thanks to its not being as good as it could have been (WAY too many random battles), but it has a great soundtrack nonetheless. Super Fantasy Zone- Never came to The States, but thankfully there are ways to still hear it's upbeat and catchy tunes. Alien 3- Probe made this film adaptation, and much to my surprise, they did a good job in writing music for it. Devilish- An infuriatingly cheap Breakout clone, but it's got some nice tunes. Gauntlet IV- A highly accurate port of the arcade game Gauntlet, but with an added adventure mode, and some new good music. Of course, let's not forget games like Thunder Force IV, Streets of Rage, Revenge of Shinobi, Thunder Force III, Castlevania: Bloodlines and the like. They're not really underrated though, since plenty of people have heard their music and liked it.

Thanks

Very nice, chumble spuzz. Here's my attempt...

Ah. My account is active again. I'll have to give you an IOU. **takes out a piece of paper and starts writiing** "I owe you, $10". Alright Escariot, just sign right here...

Hope everyone had a...