[QUOTE USER="repto" TIME="1258763491"]Anybody else kinda wish deep down that Gary/Blue still had the gym made out of Legos?[/QUOTE]

YES

Also, Slow, take a look at this:




I don't know if you've seen it before, but remember that whole Splash Woman fiasco back a while ago? I think it happened during the Sonic 3D Blast LP. YouTube linked a video to yours that corresponded exactly with what you were talking about, and you were freaked out at the possibility that YouTube recognized your voice and matched it to videos. Well, this may explain that.

Speaking of Megaman bosses. Tomorrow I'll probably continue SMB3, and this is the first time in... well, ever, that I'll be happy to see Wendy and her flying rings of doom.

Let me explain. I've been playing Megaman 2 all night, trying to finally get through Wily's castle. The going was slow. Like, a snail riding a turtle slow. The game over screen is burnt into my retina now. So I'm playing for hours, and eventually I get to stage 5. Robot Master rematches up the ass, but that's not the problem, I've done the gauntlet so many times now that I'm actually starting to get good at it, though Air Man still gives me trouble. (Being forced to keep Atomic Fire for Wily didn't do me any favors against Wood Man either.) So yeah, I'm ****ing sick of running that gauntlet.

The problem is that the only manageable way to beat Wily is the massively low-ammunition Atomic Fire on stage 1, then the barely-better-ammo-clip Crash Bombs on stage 2. But those projectiles... urgh. I can avoid the stage 1 projectiles okay while doing nothing else (except for the first one which ALWAYS hits), but trying to fire away while doing it is a lot harder. And then the crap hits the fan in the second stage. Is there any way at all to dodge those bouncing balls? I'm used to those from Sonic 2 GG, but these are child's play compared to Wily's. And stage 1 always leaves me weakened enough that I get obliterated. My best attempt left me exactly ONE Crash Bomb short of victory, and I could never replicate that level of success afterwards.

So I inevitably die, and guess what? I still have two chances left in theory, but there's only enough Atomic Fire left for a level 2 shot, which barely does anything. I tried getting through with Metal Blades several times, but I always die first. So essentially, I have ONE chance to beat Wily, and then it's the ****ing gauntlet again. (Did I mention sometimes Flash Man and Bubble Man drop their health orb right on top of the teleporter, so I can't take it? Urgh.)

In the end, I couldn't take the adrenaline pounding away at me anymore, and now I'll have to redo the first four stages again. Fun. Especially considering the "easy" way to beat the turrets on stage 4 is time-consuming, and involves suicide. Whoever decided Crash Bombs should run on such a small ammo clip should be shot. I'm even thinking of going straight to Megaman 3, and trying Wily's castle again at a later date.

So in a nutshell, that's why I'll be especially glad to see Wendy tomorrow. Anything but Wily!

(And yes, I know there's another stage and boss after that, but I hear the stage is the easiest ever, much more simple than the gauntlet at least.)

I never thought I'd read about someone having a hard time against MM2. I dunno about Cross, but I'm certainly a diehard fan of the classic games.

All I can tell you is, if MM2 is crushing your nuts into oblivion, I don't recommend buying MegaMan 9. Amazing game, ridiculously brutal on new players.

High five on toughing it out for that long, though. A casual would have given up long ago and denounced the game as broken or shitty.

To answer your question about those phase 2 shots, the hit detection on them is very buggy and they're almost impossible to avoid when fired two at a time. I don't recommend using Atomic Fire on the thing at all, and just stick with Metal Blades.

Well, it IS my first time playing the game and all. Yes, I realize I commited a mortal sin trying to get into the series so late. But I'm not kidding when I'm saying it's probably the hardest retail game I've ever played.

If only I didn't suck so much at the turrets... maybe I could get to level 5 with an E-tank in reserve, and assuming the gauntlet didn't crush me, Wily would actually be doable. The problem is, of course, the insane amount of pressure I'd be under not to get a game over before I get to him, else bye bye E-tank.

Edit: Megaman 2 beaten! As it turns out, the key to the boss isn't avoiding the bouncing balls, but rather the ones that come before. I did exceptionally well there, nailing both Atomic Fires while taking only one hit, then it was a matter of spamming Crash Bombs like crazy. I was almost dead at the end, but that's the key. Almost. The final boss hurts like hell, but eventually I got the hang of dodging its one attack. But come on, of all the weapons in the game, only ****ing Bubble Lead hurts it? How could I have known this had I not checked it out before? Of all the weapons I had, Bubble Lead would've been about the last one I tried. Heck, I would've expected a massive curveball, like "smash into it with Item-2", before Bubble Lead. Jesus.

Nonetheless, I feel like I accomplished something today. It's been a long time since a game challenged me like that. And it doesn't look like I'll have to wait for long, as I still have six (or seven if I decide to buy MM9 after this) games to go. Which begs the question, I'm 25 and I had all the trouble in the world, how were we supposed to beat this as kids?

The same way we beat it as kids- attempting relentlessly. That's how we'd beat QuickMan and his horrible level (at age six, that shit might as well have been impossible.)

By the way, MM2 is considered one of if not the easiest game in the series.

For what it's worth I had a much easier time in MM1.

SMB3 part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EiTLhSifyY&fmt=18

Edit: Having read Bob & George definitely helps with those games to an extent. I've encountered Protoman a few times, and thanks to the comic I know it's just a test of your sliding skills. As is Shadow Man being weak to The Lamest Weapon Ever. Unfortunately I doubt I can make Spark Man shortcircuit by having him pick up a shuriken.

Even funnier is that I personally consider MM1 the hardest.

I had almost forgotten that I had done a TAS of a ROM hack of MM2! The weaknesses are changed, and you can't see how drastically the creator altered the levels to become extremely fiendish with the part I'm going to link to, but if seeing the gauntlet utterly dominated along with Wily would amuse you, feel free to watch this. It's not particularly long, considering it starts at the 5th stage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jRf_kbxSO4

Also, even with Mario Bros Wii bringing back the earthquakes (and allowing Morton to create them also) they're still nowhere near as obnoxiously annoying/difficult as they are in 3. Mainly because they don't make them just by landing, but they'll do a high jump and then plummet.

Whoa. My favorite bit was at the beginning, where you avoid Heat Man's initial attack. I always thought of it as a mulligan for Heat Man, and a much-needed one at that because he's an absolute pansy otherwise. Dodging Air Man's attack is also something I can't manage to do, hence why he's my most problematic Robot Master. But DAMN, changing Wily's weakness to the goddamn bubbles? How sadistic is that? It was hard enough with Crash Bombs...

Now that I've played the first two games, I'll drop by SDA tomorrow to feel even more humiliated at how much I suck. I'm curious as to what routes speed-runners take. I personally did this:

MM1: Cut > Bomb > Guts > Elec > Ice > Fire
MM2: Flash > Bubble > Quick > Metal > Wood > Air > Heat > Crash
MM3: Top > Shadow > ???

I tried Magnet Man's stage... it gets absolutely crazy at one point, with not only disappearing blocks over a pit, but a freaking magnet on top of that. Screw that, I'm only coming back there with the Rush Jet, like I did with Heat Man's stage. Hopefully I can beat Needle Man without needing the Magnet Missile at any point.

Actually, the boss order in MM3 is wonky because there's two weakness circles (yeah, don't ask.)

Top > Shadow > Spark > Magnet > Hard > Top

Gemini > Needle > Snake > Gemini

GeminiMan puts up a good fight with his weapon dealing 6 damage a pop and having a two-phase battle, but you can pick up two E Tanks easily in his stage, so you have some insurance.

You'll want the magnets before you take on HardMan.

Also, you're going to love the four stages following the eight robot masters, especially NeedleMan's.

I hope you do end up downloading MM9, because it's an extremely well made game with a rare plus in that every single one of the weapons is well thought and serves uses outside of hitting a boss for more damage. Can't say the same for most games in the series, least of all MM2.

Also, the DLC for MM9 is pretty awesome, though if you're frugal with points I'd suggest just Endless Stage and Superhero Mode (provides drastic level layout changes and not just stupid switch-flipping that makes the game harder with small tweaks.) Superhero Mode is so good that most people agree it's better than the original game itself.

Well, Pokemon Rumble officially has me intrigued. Having read nothing but praise and watching a demo that kinda looks fun will do that.

Edit: I downloaded the demo version and played until it cut me off. I gotta say, if it weren't for the fact that this were Cube controller compatible, it'd be a "pass" from the start. Even in the ten-fifteen minutes I played, my thumb had already started to hurt.

Kinda fun considering I've paid for button mashers before, if not a little easy and not particularly deep. That may make you say "OF FUCKING COURSE it's not deep; what did you expect?" but what I mean is that I'm not entirely sure I want to drop 15 bucks on a button masher.

The demo did entertain me though, and I'll admit that when the demo ended, I hadn't yet gotten bored and would have tried the Battle Royale for the hell of it. I played through the forest (forced AFAIK), beach, cave, and furnace. That little gumball machine gave me Bullet Seed for Ivysaur and Rock Smash for Machop, the only two pokes I extensively used aside from busting out a Quirtle for the fight with Charmeleon. My thumb did get sore awfully quickly, though.

While I did pay attention to your rants on Rumble on those earlier LPs of yours, is there anything you can give me more in-depth about it, that might convince me there's a lot more to the game than the demo lets on (I don't mean content, but depth and strategy and the like)? I'm not a particularly picky gamer and I'm able to enjoy a lot of really simple things; I just don't want to feel like I'm spending 15 bucks on something where I repeatedly press A and B while running around, occasionally switching when my poke is about to die.

If you actually do entertain the idea of giving me a sort of sales pitch, don't be afraid to wall-o-text me.

I'll be honest with you... sadly there's not THAT much strategy involved. Getting two good moves on Pokés that you intend on using is about the extent of it. Of course, you can't really get the two you want because of the gumball machine system... from what you told me, it's not the kind of game you'd spend 15 bucks for. The appeal is mostly beating the crap out of stuff, much like most beat-em-ups.

Nonetheless, late Advance mode and the EX rank battle royales can get extremely difficult at times, I'm personally stuck at the battle royale 3-1 in EX rank. Enemies just hit too hard there.

Edit: I just saw SDA's MM2 run, and for some reason that guy does a lot more damage with his weapons than I do. For example, he beat Heat Man with THREE bubbles. I don't remember how many I needed, but it was a lot closer to double that amount.

Edit 2: SMB3 part 7 up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3L9D6qmqDY&fmt=18

Also, I swear I've heard the song from Needle Man's stage somewhere else, but I can't remember where for the life of me.

That's because the SDA guy was a pussy and played on normal difficulty. You played on Difficult. (If you couldn't choose, it was difficult by default.)

This essentially halves the amount of damage enemies take.

Oooh. I checked the options in MMAC's main menu, and I had the choice between Normal and Easy, and three lives or five. I was on Normal with three lives all along. Of course... if you're gonna play Megaman, at least PLAY it.

So I beat all eight stages, as well as Shadow Man Redux... and I feel so sorry about bashing Bubble Lead before. How I always beat Heat Man in MM2 was allowing him to get one shot in, remain at the end of the room, shoot a bubble, let it move to where I am while running to the other end of the move, allowing me to avoid his attack, shoot another bubble, go all the way to the end of the room, dodge the incoming Heat Man, repeat. But as crappy as the Bubble Lead is, at least it travels along the ground and eventually hits Heat Man. But here... its weak point is the Shadow Blade and its godawful range. Maybe in retrospect I should've used the Gemini Laser... well, at least I killed it eventually, but I would've liked to keep that E-tank. The good news is that whatever Air Man's weakness is (I haven't checked), it's gotta be easier to exploit than the Leaf Shield. Oh let it not be Top Spin... please...

Edit: So apparently MM1 was a glitchfest of epic proportions. However, I never had any problem with glitches, only my own ineptitude. Did MMAC fix those things or something? The only glitch I encountered so far was with those chimneys spitting out platforms near the end of Snake Man's stage. I must've died four or five times from it, and I've definitely seen it occur without dying at least as many times.

No, MMAC never fixed them and I never did beat MM1 through that game. The moving platforms at the end of Wily 1 ensured I never even reached the boss. I was annoyed.

IIRC Doc HeatMan was also weak to Top Spin, lol. AirMan is Spark Shot and Magnet Missile. CrashMan is Hard Knuckle and I forget.

I haven't fully counted out purchasing Pokemon Rumble, seeing as there's not only nothing I know that's being released soon, but I've paid 50 bucks for beat-em-ups before, or rather, games that arguably had more depth and several interesting mechanics.. ...that still boiled down to "traverse passage, spam melee attack and projectile, roll credits many hours later."

Well.. I think I'm going to get it. Reading an FAQ, it looks like something I could actually get into.

Ah, I understand why I haven't noticed anything... I just got lazy and used the Magnet Beam for that part.

Edit: Finally, a return to Pokémon!

Part 132: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhLuof8JWP8&fmt=18

Hey, Slow- apart from the whole power-stifling thing, is there a drawback to using passwords to pick up pokes? I couldn't resist entering the passwords for the starters and legends/ubers, and apart from the ! indicating they were smacked with the nerf bat for the time being, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong.

Killing eight pokes in one blow is.. satisfying.

Speaking of that blue ! icon, what if it's there, but it isn't lit up? I released five Bulbasaurs for an Ivysaur Ticket, picked up the Ivy, and while the ! isn't lit up like the starters, the icon is still visible. Shed any light on that?

Never thought I'd like using Rollout, but I tried it on the Jynx boss and her health was plummeting like an anvil. The user was an Electrode, no less.

I seem to be having no luck whatsoever befriending bosses; I got Ivysaur at first and then... nada. My best pokes have been passworded, though I've stopped using them for the time being as it got boring.

It seems everyone's recruiting that Ivysaur... probably scripted, much like the Pikachu earlier in the level. I only recruited one other boss other than that. It was...

...wait for it...

...it's coming...

...a MOLTRES.

I'm not making this up, either.

As for the ! sign that isn't lit up, it means it's a "Pokémon from afar" that has reached its maximum power, whether you recruited it through a ticket, by buying it, or via password. When you reach Advanced rank S, for example, the Venusaur's ! sign won't light up anymore.

As for MM3... the Magnet Missile appears to be extremely inconsistent in its damage output. The first time I fought Hard Man, I just started mashing the A button given the homing ability. However, Hard Man ate a lot of those magnets while they were moving vertically, and somehow I ran out of ammo long before it died, and eventually I croaked. But when I tried again, I only attacked him when he was on the ground, and he went down in record time. Then a similar thing happened with Metal!Doc, except for the part where I fought him again and won, because I turned off the console in frustration and played some FF6 instead. So is there really a catch to the magnets, or am I just so terrible that I can turn a guaranteed win into a crushing defeat?

Edit: Oh yeah, I just remembered, in MM3 you keep your E-tanks even when you get a game over. That means I can farm Wily's lair for all it's worth... how was MM2 the easiest game again?

Because MM2 gave you a Pussy Mode, which apparently just about everyone played.

I've managed to recruit a couple other bosses while hunting around to complete the befriends list.. among them Wartortle and Persian. The others, once I get five of their underlings I just ticket them. The P recruit method also barfed out a couple such as Charmeleon, but I hate the thing as it's really unreliable.

After all this I came out with two Eevees and five Magikarps, the latter of which I will not ticket until much later, so the Gyarados will be at a rank that's actually powerful.

I'm having no luck getting Lickitung and Butterfree, the former of which having appeared twice out of maybe ten prairie massacres, and the latter not at all, save for the very first excursion when I had only Rattata. I might have to come back with someone that knows False Swipe so I can wobble the things guaranteed when they finally do appear.

If you're having trouble finding rare Pokémon now, just wait until you need to find the Eeveelutions. Sadly, you can't ticket Eevees (or Budews, or Porygons for that matter), so you really need to FIND them. Seriously. I think I've seen Flareon once, and that's it.

Also, something Serebii doesn't say: you CAN, in fact, get Burmy's Ground and Steel forms. When you release five Mothims, you receive a random Burmy form. I believe it also works with Gastrodon, though I haven't tested it yet.