Play This Set

StingX2 By StingX2.

Intro

This is a place where achievement creators (and sometimes their fans) can advertise their work and tell the community why they should play those games (with achievements).

Our idea is to post 10 “Play This Set” per month. If you want to advertise your set (or a set you’re a big fan of), write a couple of paragraphs and send us a message (go to RAdmin page and then “Send Private Message”).

Panzer Dragoon Saga

Game System Genre
Panzer Dragoon SagaPanzer Dragoon Saga SEGA Saturn RPG

Achievement set and writeup by televandalist televandalist

The Panzer Dragoon series has always had a very unique atmosphere… almost like being a part of those vintage sci-fi book covers brought to life. While the first two games are rail-shooters akin to a more cinematic Space Harrier, Panzer Dragoon Saga transitioned the gameplay into a full-fledged RPG with a ridiculously fun and addicting battle system. It was way ahead of its time and still holds up today, so long as you’re not playing on a complete potato of a PC due to Saturn emulation being very demanding.

If you like RPGs with a more personal touch to them rather than saving the world at age 16, want to fly around on a dragon who is also your best friend and greatest weapon, or just want to tell your friends that you “can run Saturn games just fine.” Then do yourself a favor and give Panzer Dragoon Saga a shot.

(Hack) JUMP | Janked Up Mario Party (SNES)

Game Console Genre
~Hack~ JUMP | Janked Up Mario Party ~Hack~ JUMP | Janked Up Mario Party SNES Platformer [Very Hard / 125 Exits]

Achievement set by Jared6502 Jared6502

Writeup by HolyShinx HolyShinx

Why JUMP over other hacks?

This hack is just huge! The hack spans the size of 125 exits, but late levels are even 3x larger than vanilla ones. The level design varies in difficulty, from normal Mario world one to even kaizo styled ones. The same goes for level quality because the hack is a collaboration from many authors. Some of the best levels I’ve ever played in my life are from this game, but some levels on the other one hand are just plain bad.

But you’ll keep playing since you never know what’s the next level is going to be like and this hack surely ends with a bang! Exploration in this game is heavily rewarded, since the overworld has so many branching paths. As in vanilla, getting switch palaces makes the game slightly easier but to reward exploration even more JUMP adds permanent power-up that you can unlock for sets of dragon coins (max is 69). Some of these include starting stage as big Mario or having ability to shoot 4 fire balls at same time.

Robotrek (SNES)

Game Console Genre
Robotrek Robotrek SNES Role-Playing (RPG)

Achievement set by Alena Alena

Writeup by StingX2 StingX2

When I think of classic SNES RPGs that focus on the feeling of youth my head actually jumps to this game instead of Earthbound. There is a feeling of homeliness with Quintet’s 1994 outing mixed with a boyish wonder into robotic fantasy. The game throws you in the role of a nameless boy protagonist who ends up entangled with a group called The Hackers seeking to bring chaos to the world. It’s typical RPG stuff but Robotrek differentiates itself by not taking itself too seriously (The game was even called Slapstick in Japan!). Much like Earthbound the game does have rather darker moments like the first arc related to the games first major boss, but it also can get real silly quite quickly.

The real highlight of the game is the robot creation system. Robotrek shares many similarities to a franchise that wouldn’t come til a few years later, Pokemon. The game’s entire combat system revolves around upgrading and reinventing your battle robots to appropriately fit the current situation. At times you may finding yourself adjusting one of your bots as bait just to better benefit the other two. Robotrek is not an easy game and it will punish you more often than it forgives.

Robotrek’s unique and weird approach to the RPG genre puts it in that category of games released too ahead of its time.

King of Fighters 2000 (Arcade)

Game Console Genre
King of Fighters 2000, The King of Fighters 2000, The Arcade Fighting (Modern)

Achievement set and writeup by SherryBirkin SherryBirkin

Hello! I’m Sherry, I’ll be talking a little about a game from my favorite franchise! The King of Fighters 2000 is the sixth episode in the series’ history and the second game in the Saga “Nests”. It has been a while since the existence of the mysterious secret NESTS union was revealed. Since then, however, their presence remains a mystery and they have kept their activities a secret.

The game has been completely reworked from earlier entries, giving the player more freedom to create his combos. Combining that with the fact all the characters are completely different from each, give the returning player the feeling of having to relearn how to play from the beginning.

For my sets, I usually make the immersion within this universe 100% explored.

  • Knowing all the endings of each team.
  • Knowing all the special moves, challenges and random things to do.
  • Sometimes I demand to find some secret tricks, making the player research about and learn something new.

These things may seem a little heavy, but I see a lot of players today who forgot what it was like to play these games in a real arcade. So I bring you the set with several bans that at the time you would not do with just one credit in hand. Don’t let fighting games die! The King of Fighters Forever!

Clash At Demonhead (NES)

Game Console Genre
Clash at Demonhead Clash at Demonhead NES Platformer

Achievement set and writeup by psyduck psyduck

Clash at Demonhead is a Metroidvania style action-adventure that had it’s share of popularity back in its day, and even a second surge with the featured name in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. The game embraced a lot of oddities and tropes of anime of its time, and even though a few bits of that was lost in translation to English it still maintained a lot of the feel and spirit of its Japanese counterpart. The main hero, Billy ‘Bang’ Blitz is silly and serious all rolled into one (mostly silly), and his facial expressions really carry the day. He may act goofy, but he’s a top agent for reasons beyond his survival skills as he always manages to dig information out of the enemy, and never falls for their traps.

When creating the achievements for Clash, I went digging into the history of the game and could really see what imagination the creators wanted to unfold as a game. They took the extra effort to make Bang’s expressions in cutscenes vary in emotion, or change depending on which suit he was wearing. Even minor enemies in the various routes would react depending on what Bang was wearing! So I tried to take care when styling the achievements to not only embrace the sense of humor and style, but to also not break the immersion so much… to make it an addition to the feel of the game, than just an achievement. It seemed only fair to add the love when the creators did so themselves.

Professor Plum’s kidnappers are no match for Bang, so the achievements are crafted to let you explore the mechanics of the routes or fights rather than bulldozing through them or trying to achieve untouchable perfection. Every weapon or off-beaten path you could easily ignore was included to be explored, and boss challenges were done in a way to make you meet the mechanics created by the developers so that, like Bang, you’ll have to use your smarts as well as your power. Hope you enjoy them as much as the game itself!

Metal Gear 1 (MSX) and Metal Gear 2 (MSX)

Game Console Genre
Metal Gear Metal Gear MSX Action
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake MSX Action

Achievement sets and writeup by wilhitewarrior wilhitewarrior

The year was 1987. Video games were simple and often consisted of little more than ‘Here’s something. Kill it and move to the right.’ One day, along came a young video game designer named Hideo Kojima. He’d been asked to make a military-themed game. Kojima introduced us to the crazy idea that maybe running at your enemies, screaming and firing a machine gun might NOT be the best approach when taking on a fortress full of enemies all by yourself, despite what Arnold Schwarzenegger told us.

Enter Metal Gear. A game for the MSX that introduced us to the idea of avoiding being seen, rather than just killing everything in sight. While certainly primitive compared to a lot of modern stealth games, the game is still enjoyable to play and holds up still and was a revolutionary idea for its time. Its story is very simple, but its personality is present and it’s clear playing it that Kojima wanted to do more with it than he was able to. While retaining some Kojima-style stupid ideas like the keycard system, it’s still fun to play and certainly worth exploring the earliest stages of the stealth genre.

Three years later, along comes Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. This game really shows what Kojima really wanted to do to begin with. The game’s evolution is so massive that you would barely even recognize it as the same franchise. The gameplay is greatly evolved, introducing the ability to crawl which also gave us the ability to hide under vehicles, tables, etc.

The game also has a MUCH more fleshed out and interesting story, revolving around a Czech scientist, Dr Marv, who has developed a solution to the world’s energy crisis, but was kidnapped by the military nation Zanzibar Land in an attempt to establish themselves as a legitimate power in the world. Once again taking on the role of Solid Snake, your job is to infiltrate Zanzibar Land and rescue Dr Marv. One of my favorite Metal Gear games, this one is definitely worth a play.

Game Console Genre
~Hack~ Legend of Zelda, The: The Missing Link ~Hack~ Legend of Zelda, The: The Missing Link Nintendo 64 Action / Adventure

Achievement set and writeup by Pelouch Pelouch

There aren’t too many complete Ocarina of Time romhacks out there. Some of the ones that do exist are beginning to show their age due to the invention of new modding tools. Recently, there has been an uptick of exceptional projects being worked on. One of these projects happens to be what has been referred to as the “dream team of oot modding” and it shows. The game is polished beyond belief and it really feels like something a major developer would release.

The story takes place between the two N64 official titles and is done by the books. You don’t need to play either to enjoy this one however, since they make sure to catch you up to speed. It is also a very short hack with at most 3 hours of gameplay, which is about what you’ve come to expect from the base game but with very interesting new additions and restrictions. New additions like finally being able to shoot laser beams from the sword at full health for example. The Missing Link is an extremely well made hack and a must play if you enjoy 3D Zelda games.

Pokemon Conquest (NDS)

Game Console Genre
Pokemon Conquest Pokemon Conquest Nintendo DS Tactical RPG

Achievement set and writeup by DanielARP DanielARP

Pokemon Conquest is one of many spin-offs from the Pokemon series, like Pokemon Snap, Mystery Dungeon and Stadium. This one however is a tactics RPG akin to Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. It brings both worlds together: Introducing fans of Pokemon to gameplay elements that are characteristic of these kind of games. Thing you normally don’t do in Pokemon like equipping an army, strategic positioning and using the field to your advantage. It also introduces the concept of Pokemon to fans of tactics games looking for another game to quench their thirst.

The game by Koei Tecmo has a Japanese historical war setting common to their series “Nobunaga’s Ambition”, but with more light-hearted caricatures of the old historical figures. With the addition of Pokemon to the world, these figures train and use in battle to conquer other territories. With 200 different Pokemon that you can use in battle, all with their own attacks, there’s plenty of depth and fun to the battle system.

Gyruss (Arcade)

Game Console Genre
Gyruss Gyruss Arcade Fixed Shooter

Achievement set and writeup by KloggMonkey KloggMonkey

Gyruss is a space shooter in the style of Galaga meets Tempest, however it is more advanced than either of its two ancestors. Fast paced action ensues as you destroy waves of enemy ships as you travel from the outer edge of the solar system trying to reach Earth. Outstanding music and sound effects complement the space setting and impart an epic feel as each planet comes into view. Gameplay is intuitive as you circle the screen shooting ships, collect the must have twin shot, and clear each stage.

For the beginner reaching the next planet is the goal that will have you saying, “just one more game.” The advanced player will focus on clearing multiple incoming enemy formations to gain progressive bonus points and maximizing score. Varied chance stages with a hefty bonus for a perfect result will reward or thwart highscore attempts. Only the skilled and persistent will make it all the way to Earth, and this achievement set will track your progress as well as challenge you along the way.

Oddworld Abes Oddyssee

Game Console Genre
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee PlayStation Action

Achievement set and writeup by Dazzman Dazzman

Set on a dystopian planet where industry and consumerism rule, Oddworld is a dark and cynical caricature of today – complete with greedy bosses making unethical business decisions and unwitting employees being taken advantage of. Upon overhearing Molluck’s plans to turn Abe and his fellow mudokons into food, your job is to rescue (or kill) the other slaves from the meat packing factory and bring down Rupture Farms. Abe’s Oddysee has you running and sneaking, avoiding being shot or eaten, possessing enemies, completing puzzles and finding secrets all while exploring over 400 screens of carefully crafted trials and challenges.

Influenced by classics such as Flashback, Another Planet and Prince of Persia, Oddysee focuses on challenging trial-and-error based gameplay offset with highly-detailed, pre-rendered levels and realistic animation. If narrowly avoiding traps, liberating slaves, causing destruction and mayhem while being accompanied by stunning backgrounds way ahead of their time and a soundtrack fit for an 80’s action movie is your thing – you need to play this cinematic platformer!