Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2017 4:19:33 GMT -6
There is a new mania lately, called: "Fangames". Story goes usually like this; group of amateurs (or pros) get together and out of nostalgia and passion for a certain videogame of the distant past, sacrifice time, effort and resources, in order to create an unofficial game, which plays and feels like the one they were paying tribute to; distributed for free, to the fans, across the internet.
Only recently this became widely known and widespread, especially since the quality of some fangames is astounding! Some others, the unlucky ones, get fame through notoriety, though; for example, right after a cease and desist! I saw some people commenting here a couple of excellent castlevania fangames, which i now play and enjoy very much. But being the sharing person that i am, i decided to open a big thread to discuss fangames, not only the castlevania ones! Before we proceed and to avoid heat, i have to mention beforehand, that i strongly disagree with companies shutting down fangames and the unfair laws, that governs the field (copyrights). Besides, paying tribute to a half-dead series that their current copyrights holder refuses to revisit, either anytime soon, or in the same features and style it had once and not charging anything for it, in my books, translates as a heroic sacrifice that has to be respected and rewarded... Not violently undone.
I will start with the notorious bunch!
AM2R - Another Metroid 2 Remake
metroid2remake.blogspot.gr/p/about-project.html
Thiswas is a wonderful game, which happened to coincide with the series' anniversary. Was meant to be the perfect tribute, but no, Nintendo felt threatened and order its shutting off... Even though Nintendo never made or sold anything on pc, is most probably never going to revisit this style of game features/play and of course, this game was distributed completely free, for fans mostly! But wait, it gets even lower... Game was nominated for candidate in 2016's "best fan made creation of the year", together with Pokemon Uranium, another fangame and guess what; the rigged contest's host, enforced their removal, even from that list! Well, nevermind, the internet is like a huge faceless necromancer, anyway, true immortality is achieved throughout the webs! It currently is in 1.1 version, the last update it got, before the N-purging. THIS IS A MASTERPIECE
Pokemon Uranium
pokemonuranium.co/forum/index.php
People who have played pokemon can appreciate this game. Its graphics and style go after 4th generation, its mechanics and gameplay are 6th and most pokemon inside, are fakemon... But, well designed, with unique movepools and great overall performance, fitting right in! Mega Evolutions and all goodness is also there, inside it. Slightly better story and slightly more challenging difficulty, than the downright childish, canon games, too! It was a nominee together with AM2R for best fan made work of the year, but we already covered that in detail, above... It has online functionality, trades, battles, even mysterygift (which gave out before perfect IV/stats pokemon)!
STREETS OF RAGE REMAKE V5.1
www.bombergames.net/sorr_project/
Personal favorite. Seriously, i can't recommend this one enough. Right after Sega closed down their Sega Australia department, which was working on official remakes to 4 of their older series (including Golden Axe and Streets of Rage), Bombergames graced us all with this flawless masterpiece! It compiled together all gameplay features, all enemies, all playable characters (including cheat enabled ones) plus two new ones of their own creation, all stages into a huge, happy package, adding to it even restored content that was left half in game's code (motorcycle levels from Japanese 3, new type of enemy present only on 1's box cover art) and the tip of the iceberg? UNCENSORED content (from upskirt eye-candy, to badass boss smoking cigar, to restoration of fights that western releases had changed)! Streets of Rage and Bare Knuckle, especially No3, were essentially like different games... Well, no more, this one brings them all and everything, together! Many options to get the experience of it exactly how you want it (police call or not, special moves gauge or not, running or not, i can't even begin to describe the options without running out of space)! Better leave it at that by urging you all to play. You can even set an AI controlled ally (with desired behavior, even, too) or play together with a friend, hotseat. Too bad Sega ceased and desist on this great game, even though they usually allow fangames to bloom (Sonic, anyone?); it seems though that they were put to shame, since a fan made creation instantly surpassed anything they did or they could have done with their series... *Sigh* Ah and did i mention the most important thing? It got a huge list of mods, conversions from other timeless classics, or more faithful iterations of the original 3 games; you have to check this out to believe the heights it has achieved!
Super Mario Bros X
www.supermariobrosx.org/
What a pleasant surprise! After the cease and desist to Super Mario 64 HD fangame, it was a miracle that this one got off the hook; and off the radar! The way i felt it, it's like combining elements from the best mario games throughout the years; All Stars and World 1, from Snes! Add in Link from Zelda as playable character an nothing can go wrong! This is also a highly modable fangame, there are already some extra episodes out for it and some gamers out there, even go so far as to claim, that it even surpasses that official, commercial, Nintendo's, custom Mario editor. What can i say? See for yourselves!
CASTLEVANIA: Lecarde Chronicles 1 and 2
the-mig-page.wifeo.com/castlevania-haunted-castle-2et3.php
the-mig-page.wifeo.com/castlevania-the-lecarde-chronicles-2013.php
Okay, this was discussed here, before. It even got Konami's "blessing", so this makes things way easier. Can't recommend those enough. They get the feel right. They are very good, if not, exemplary. Now i will never regret avoiding the 2 Lords of Shadows titles on Steam. This is what i knew, what i remember, what i trust, whenever i see the word Castlevania; and ultimately, what i do expect out of it.
TOUHOU
Entire series feels like a fangame. Hell, the main games are "bullet hell"! It has a plethora of spinoffs, even games that go after other, popular games... There is the 2 "Touhouvania" titles, for example and what did they know? The soundtrack matches somehow and feels so familiar, for a reason!
My personal favorite, though, is the Beat Em Up(s). It has spawned a number of them, but the one i consider the best out of them, is:
SCARLET WEATHER RHAPSODY, together with its expansion, TOUHOU HISOUTENSOKU
Please feel free to replay, add your own suggested fangames, expand the list, discuss, propose... I would especially appreciate a high quality Zelda fangame next, for example, i have yet to get wind of one. Of course, don't expect me to drop download links, since most of them are now considered to be illegal, plus they were officially "killed" by the companies that they "offended". Can't wait!
Only recently this became widely known and widespread, especially since the quality of some fangames is astounding! Some others, the unlucky ones, get fame through notoriety, though; for example, right after a cease and desist! I saw some people commenting here a couple of excellent castlevania fangames, which i now play and enjoy very much. But being the sharing person that i am, i decided to open a big thread to discuss fangames, not only the castlevania ones! Before we proceed and to avoid heat, i have to mention beforehand, that i strongly disagree with companies shutting down fangames and the unfair laws, that governs the field (copyrights). Besides, paying tribute to a half-dead series that their current copyrights holder refuses to revisit, either anytime soon, or in the same features and style it had once and not charging anything for it, in my books, translates as a heroic sacrifice that has to be respected and rewarded... Not violently undone.
I will start with the notorious bunch!
AM2R - Another Metroid 2 Remake
metroid2remake.blogspot.gr/p/about-project.html
This
Pokemon Uranium
pokemonuranium.co/forum/index.php
People who have played pokemon can appreciate this game. Its graphics and style go after 4th generation, its mechanics and gameplay are 6th and most pokemon inside, are fakemon... But, well designed, with unique movepools and great overall performance, fitting right in! Mega Evolutions and all goodness is also there, inside it. Slightly better story and slightly more challenging difficulty, than the downright childish, canon games, too! It was a nominee together with AM2R for best fan made work of the year, but we already covered that in detail, above... It has online functionality, trades, battles, even mysterygift (which gave out before perfect IV/stats pokemon)!
STREETS OF RAGE REMAKE V5.1
www.bombergames.net/sorr_project/
Personal favorite. Seriously, i can't recommend this one enough. Right after Sega closed down their Sega Australia department, which was working on official remakes to 4 of their older series (including Golden Axe and Streets of Rage), Bombergames graced us all with this flawless masterpiece! It compiled together all gameplay features, all enemies, all playable characters (including cheat enabled ones) plus two new ones of their own creation, all stages into a huge, happy package, adding to it even restored content that was left half in game's code (motorcycle levels from Japanese 3, new type of enemy present only on 1's box cover art) and the tip of the iceberg? UNCENSORED content (from upskirt eye-candy, to badass boss smoking cigar, to restoration of fights that western releases had changed)! Streets of Rage and Bare Knuckle, especially No3, were essentially like different games... Well, no more, this one brings them all and everything, together! Many options to get the experience of it exactly how you want it (police call or not, special moves gauge or not, running or not, i can't even begin to describe the options without running out of space)! Better leave it at that by urging you all to play. You can even set an AI controlled ally (with desired behavior, even, too) or play together with a friend, hotseat. Too bad Sega ceased and desist on this great game, even though they usually allow fangames to bloom (Sonic, anyone?); it seems though that they were put to shame, since a fan made creation instantly surpassed anything they did or they could have done with their series... *Sigh* Ah and did i mention the most important thing? It got a huge list of mods, conversions from other timeless classics, or more faithful iterations of the original 3 games; you have to check this out to believe the heights it has achieved!
Super Mario Bros X
www.supermariobrosx.org/
What a pleasant surprise! After the cease and desist to Super Mario 64 HD fangame, it was a miracle that this one got off the hook; and off the radar! The way i felt it, it's like combining elements from the best mario games throughout the years; All Stars and World 1, from Snes! Add in Link from Zelda as playable character an nothing can go wrong! This is also a highly modable fangame, there are already some extra episodes out for it and some gamers out there, even go so far as to claim, that it even surpasses that official, commercial, Nintendo's, custom Mario editor. What can i say? See for yourselves!
CASTLEVANIA: Lecarde Chronicles 1 and 2
the-mig-page.wifeo.com/castlevania-haunted-castle-2et3.php
the-mig-page.wifeo.com/castlevania-the-lecarde-chronicles-2013.php
Okay, this was discussed here, before. It even got Konami's "blessing", so this makes things way easier. Can't recommend those enough. They get the feel right. They are very good, if not, exemplary. Now i will never regret avoiding the 2 Lords of Shadows titles on Steam. This is what i knew, what i remember, what i trust, whenever i see the word Castlevania; and ultimately, what i do expect out of it.
TOUHOU
Entire series feels like a fangame. Hell, the main games are "bullet hell"! It has a plethora of spinoffs, even games that go after other, popular games... There is the 2 "Touhouvania" titles, for example and what did they know? The soundtrack matches somehow and feels so familiar, for a reason!
My personal favorite, though, is the Beat Em Up(s). It has spawned a number of them, but the one i consider the best out of them, is:
SCARLET WEATHER RHAPSODY, together with its expansion, TOUHOU HISOUTENSOKU
Please feel free to replay, add your own suggested fangames, expand the list, discuss, propose... I would especially appreciate a high quality Zelda fangame next, for example, i have yet to get wind of one. Of course, don't expect me to drop download links, since most of them are now considered to be illegal, plus they were officially "killed" by the companies that they "offended". Can't wait!
yey