What are the top 5 games you currently enjoy playing the most on your Pi and why?

IanDaemon

KINDA OFF TOPIC:
@sirhenrythe5th I miss the "on-rails renaissance" we enjoyed with the Wii console. The world needs more light-gun games (with accurate motion aiming).

sirhenrythe5th

@iandaemon also unforgotten: House of the Dead: Overkill. Marvelous! :D
EDIT: and Dead Space: Extraction of course.

mth75

Commandos 1
Broken Sword 3
Lamplight City
Age of Empires 2
Simcity 3000

Because I loved those games in the early 00's (except Lamplight City from 2018)... and now I'm able to play them on the Pi4! thanks to Box86 and Wine.

WeirdH

@iandaemon said in What are the top 5 games you currently enjoy playing the most on your Pi and why?:

KINDA OFF TOPIC:
@sirhenrythe5th I miss the "on-rails renaissance" we enjoyed with the Wii console. The world needs more light-gun games (with accurate motion aiming).

Have you checked out the Sinden light gun? Looks pretty good.

Zering

Chourensha (Sharp X68000), in my opinion the most addictive shmup ever crafted.
Panzer Dragoon (Sega Saturn), one of the most enthralling rail shooters out there.
Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast (Sony PSP), crazy addictive, extremely relaxing. The sense of speed is sublime.
Genocide Square (Fujitsu FM Towns), I suck at it and I don't think I quite understand the way the game works, but I find myself coming back to it.
Sin and Punishment (Nintendo 64), I play through the game regularly, I think the first two thirds are some of the most spectacular stuff of their generation.

mediamogul

Capcom vs. SNK 2 - Dreamcast
I've been a avid Mortal Kombat guy my whole life. After an embarrassingly long time I wanted to see how the Capcom and SNK fighting games feel to play and I figured this would help with both at the same time. Funny thing is, the game is so good, I honestly don't think I'll ever be going back to MK seriously outside of the occasional nostalgia trip.

Enduro - Atari 2600
I'm not a programmer, but I have and will watch/read/listen to any interviews done with original Activision employees. What they were able to do with a machine that was only ever meant to play 'PONG' and 'Tank' is flat-out amazing. With 'Enduro' you get a, 'Outrun'/'Rad Racer' gaming experience that cycles through day and night, as well adverse weather conditions such as snow and fog. It's every bit as impressive as it is fun to play.

Jr. Pac-Man - Atari 2600
This is by far my favorite version of Pac-Man. It's undeniably challenging and proves that an early 80s video game programmed for a late 70s console can really get the heart racing. Its been a mainstay of mine for a while, but currently I'm trying to break down the ghost behavior to manipulate it rather than remaining evasive at all times.

Space Duel - Arcade
The gorgeous color vector presentation would be enough of a reason to play this, but this 'Asteroids' sequel is steeped in history, with its roots going back to the first coin operated arcade game, 'Computer Space', which was itself an adaptation of one of the earliest video games ever, 'Spacewar!'. I never really liked that the best strategy for 'Asteroids' was to remain in one place and fire. Here you're forced to move around the screen to survive.

Tetris - NES
What's to say? It's Tetris for the NES and I want to git gud. Currently I'm almost half way to maxing out the score and I'm drilling the DAS system to move the pieces faster. I honestly don't know if it's even possible to max the score under emulation, but it won't be for a lack of trying.

pjft

@mediamogul logging in just to say welcome back - great to see you're still doing well!

mediamogul

@pjft

So, you're just gonna act like nothing happened? After stealing the woman I love and then having the unmitigated gaul to insist that my children, the very lifeblood of my family line, call you father. How dare you, sir! Wait... Come to think of it, I'm reasonably sure that was an entirely different pjft. I am of course very happy to see that you're doing well also.

Once I get a little more free time, I'm looking forward to trying out all the new advancements in RetroPie. I'm especially interested in Box86 and whether or not it would run the x86 arcade 'Polybius' and 'Fix-it Felix Jr.' Not to mention the brilliantly bananas 'Pacapong'. Those have always been pretty high on my wish list and they actually seem possible on the Pi now. Truly amazing!

thelostsoul

@mediamogul Intersting titles. You made me curious about Space Duel. Which Tetris are you playing, the original from Nintendo, which is also the main game played at Tetris world records. Or do you play the Tengen one, which people claim to be the better Tetris. About Pac-Man, I never played one of the games seriously and don't know all the differences. While digging on roms recently, I found out about a 2 player Pac-Man Arrangement from 1996. While the graphics and sound changed drastically, its still interesting that there is a multiplayer Pac-Man game.
Enduro is really fascinating. It is incredibly fast and fluid, sound design is excellent and never gets annoying and the other stuff you already said. You have a good taste.

mediamogul

@thelostsoul

Very, very-very cool! I'd love to know the name of that two player Pac-Man arrangement. In answer to your Tetris question I am playing Nintendo's own version of Tetris for the NES. A lot of what seems to dictate popular opinion on the best NES version comes down to game options, of which Tengen's Tetris trounces Nintendo's. It has two player competitive, two player cooperative, as well as versions of both against the computer. The latter of which is surprisingly rare in puzzle games of that time. However, despite its unique multiplayer offerings, the Tengen version's lack of a marathon mode ironically limits its value for competitive play.

The main problem is that Tengen's gameplay is broken up into individual rounds that arguably disrupts the flow of progression. This forces you to start every new round cold from memory with your stack still in place from the round before at a higher difficulty. This is mitigated somewhat by Tengen's version having a difficulty ceiling that does not progress when reached. However, this is another factor not suited to competitive play, due to the fact that once the difficulty limit is reached, it's trivial to just keep playing forever, making high scores somewhat meaningless.

All that said, with all the countless different versions of Tetris, I'm of the opinion that the game is so perfect at its core, the only way to make an objectively bad version is to render the control scheme unintuitive in some way. Bulletproof Software's original version for the Famicom unfortunately suffers from this, where pressing down rotates the pieces and the 'A' button hard drops. As an aside, I really should mention a recent effort to finish and reinstate the hidden two player mode in Nintendo's Tetris found here. Some may be familiar with the 'Tetris Zero' hack that first attempted the same feat, but this new one outdoes it in every way by implementing same seeded pieces between players, the option for garbage and even the ability to mimic CTWC tournament conditions with no garbage or game endings for the first player out.

thelostsoul

@mediamogul From the modes of both Tetris, I would conclude (categorizing is the best I can do) Nintendo Tetris best for single player and Tengen Tetris best for multiplayer fun. But I wonder if there are fundamental differences like the logic when and how the Tetrinos (aren't the Tetris blocks called like this?) appear or other non visible differences of gameplay have any impactful meaning.

I love the romhacking community in general. Looking through the list you linked, there are really cool mods, but never looked too much into Tetris mods yet. Actually I know about this 2 player hack and find it very cool and odd too (because its not included in the final game): https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5076/ - Tetris - Two Player Mod. I wasn't aware for all the options! Very interesting those variations of this mod (I keep calling it mod instead hack).

The Pac-Man game I was talking about actually is named "Pac-Man arrangement" from 1996 (for the Arcade). It has the new style of diagonal 3D fake optic (not classic Pac-Man unfortunately) and I have no clue how good the game plays: https://pacman.fandom.com/wiki/Pac-Man_Arrangement_(1996) The GBA and WIIU ports lack the 2 player mode. It is released as part of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namco_Classic_Collection_Vol._2

Not to be confused with the 2005 game of the same name seen in Namco Museum Battle Collection.
...
A fifth, yellow ghost who wears glasses named Kinky is introduced in this game.
...
The game also incorporates two-player simultaneous play. A second player can join in anytime during gameplay, and will control a green Pac-Man, in which the player can help the other player complete the stage or compete for the highest score. At the end of every round when two players are present, a score total screen will appear and the player who scores the most wins per round. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score total overall wins the game. The game also features continues, however unlike the other arrangement games featured, the player's score is reset when they continue a game after losing all their lives.

Sounds good to me. And it is developed and published by Namco.

dankcushions

tetris battle gaiden is by far my favourite multiplayer tetris - it's tetris with magic spells :) eg, reverse opponents controls, swap your playfields, randomise their playfield, and so on.

and what's hilarious is that all the spells are titled in japanese so my opponent and i typically have no idea what spell we're about to use, and many of them are more of a hindrance than a help. there's probably a translation hack but IMO it's better with the added chaos. i refuse to play with my japanese gf as she has the advantage :D

tetris effect on ps4 (etc) may not a be a 'pure' tetris experience but it is incredible in VR.

(welcome back @mediamogul !)

thelostsoul

@dankcushions I have discovered Tetris Battle Gaiden just recently when researching the best SNES games and never had the chance to play it against a friend. Really like the game so far. Besides Tetris Effect, the newer NSwitch exclusive Tetris 99 looks fun too (in other words Tetris Battle Royale), essentially a 100 player at the same time game mode. And I have heard really good things about the Tetris: The Grand Master series on Arcade and its ports to the newer consoles.

dankcushions

@thelostsoul tetris TGM seems like the one for the true tetris-savants! it's the setting for some of the craziest videos of gaming skill out there:

(check out the credits at the end...)

there are some awesome games-done-quick segments featuring it but i can't remember which is the best - maybe

thelostsoul

@dankcushions Wow, the first link was one of the, if not the most impressive Tetris play I have ever seen. And what the heck is happening at the end? Is this some kind of "admission" (not sure if this is the right term, I use a translator)?

One of the key factors in a good Tetris game is the control in the moment it hits the bottom and the right amount of time to be able to still rotate.

mediamogul

@thelostsoul

The Pac-Man game I was talking about actually is named "Pac-Man arrangement" from 1996 (for the Arcade).

Can't wait to try this out tonight. A fifth ghost with eyesight problems sounds like it has a nice sense of humor to it.

I wonder if there are fundamental differences like the logic

There certainly is. Since Tetris is a fairly straightforward game, these differences can usually be broken down into just a few categories, like rotation type, DAS delay and ARE speed. For the most part they're all documented at www.tetris.fandom.com. For example, the basic logic of Nintendo's Tetris is documented here and Tengen's here.

@dankcushions

tetris battle gaiden is by far my favourite multiplayer tetris

According to a few interviews, this is also Alexey Pajitnov's favorite version as well. His answer seems to change over time, but apparently this was his kids' favorite version growing up and they would play it with him quite a bit.

what's hilarious is that all the spells are titled in japanese so my opponent and i typically have no idea what spell we're about to use

Seeing people play online over the years, this comedy of errors is one of the biggest reasons the game is so fun. The battle mechanics themselves are also very inventive and well thought out. I hate to say that I've never had the pleasure of playing it with others. Strangely, the computer player isn't even affected by some of the bonuses/hindrances like reversed controls and blinded play, which begs the question, why even have a computer opponent here at all. I don't know if it would interest you, but the whole game was recently translated in full only a few months ago. Overall it's a very good effort, but I have a slight issue with the translated title. "Gaiden" seems to translate more easily to "side story" rather than "spin off", but it's debatable and a very small nitpick regardless.

(welcome back @mediamogul !)

Thank you very much my friend. It's good to see you guys.

pjft

@mediamogul I'm perfectly certain that it was most definitely an entirely different pjft. I'm also perfectly sure that that same different pjft didn't mean any ill will, and that at the time he was a believer that "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" but apparently there's broader ramifications to his actions, and that he's sorry. Also, "the woman you love" reminds you that the restraining order is still in effect after the noodle incident.

Anyways. Not me.

Definitely.

I actually haven't played many new things sine my last post 21 days ago, but you got me intrigued by some of your mentions - I hadn't heard of Pacapong, and it looks awesome.

As for all the Tetris love here, @dankcushions 's recommendation is also echoed by many, and when I tried it out a few years ago it was indeed quite a fun game. Our own @herb_fargus swears by OpenBlok, which you can install in the Ports section, so that's also an option. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

mediamogul

@pjft

I'm perfectly certain that it was most definitely an entirely different pjft.

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celly

@mediamogul I’ve chimed in on this one before. Tetris is also my game. Its the game I have most physical copies of. The game I play the most out of all my collection. The Gameboy version is really my go to but, I do enjoy the NES version a lot. A year or two ago I wanted to head up to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo. It never happened and I really wanted to go see Jonas in person and compete in CTWC. He has since past and COVID cancelled it last year so here we are today. I still play Tetris like my life depends on it.
RIP Jonas Neubauer.

mediamogul

@celly

It's such a damn shame about Jonas. I followed both him and his wife Heather online for years and completely aside from their massive amount of skill (Heather is also a Dr. Mario world champ) it was always amazing to see the two of them just being themselves together.

If you were to ask Alexey Pajitnov currently, I believe he's ultimately settled on the original Game Boy version as being his favorite for some time now. It's no surprise really, as it's not only one of the strongest, most iconic and enjoyable versions available, but it was also developed with direct input from himself by his close friend Henk Rogers who owned Bullet Proof Software. Despite arguably missing the mark earlier with the Famicom version, BPS really got it right on the Game Boy.