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”).

NOTE: don’t get frustrated if your article isn’t published in the next issue! Fortunately we’re receiving many articles from the community, and if yours is not present here, it’ll probably be present in a future RANews issue.

Chrono Cross (PlayStation)

Game Console Genre
Chrono Cross Chrono Cross PlayStation RPG

Achievement set by Altomar Altomar

Writeup by StingX2 StingX2

While a controversial release amongst die-hard Chrono Trigger fans, Chrono Cross is a an all time PS1 classic in its own right. Released in 2000 the game was and likely still is the only major JRPG to release with a tropical beach theme as its main aesthetic. Cross sports one of the most memorable soundtracks ever made along with graphics that push the Playstation 1 to its limits. As the years have gone by the angry voices of Chrono Trigger fans have faded away to be replaced by a generation of gamers that really appreciate the wonder this RPG journey brings.

The premise of Chrono Cross revolves around Serge. He lives in a fishing village and spends most of his time with his crush Leena. She wants a seashell necklace which prompts Serge to head out to the nearby beach and collect the shells. Serge ends up on the beach when his whole life changes as he wakes up in a different world…except in this world hes dead?! Chrono Cross is as much a journey about saving the world as it is learning about what could have been different in our lives.

The game supports a massive 45 recruitable characters and 12 different endings. While some characters are joke characters (see the Mushroom guy), most have very interesting backstories that can be explored in both timelines. While Chrono Trigger gave us a taste of altered fates, Chrono Cross truly masters the art.

Metal Gear Solid: Integral (PlayStation)

Game Console Genre
Metal Gear Solid: Integral Metal Gear Solid: Integral PlayStation Stealth, Action

Achievement set and writeup by wilhitewarrior wilhitewarrior

Metal Gear Solid needs no introduction. Or if it does, you need to introduce yourself to it. Right now. Yes, you. Now. Go. Why are you still reading this? Go.

Metal Gear is an old franchise, dating back to 1987 on MSX, but it was really Metal Gear Solid that first put it on the map and drew people’s interest. Which is in fact a shame because I’m confident that if Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake had been ported to the US, it would have seen a lot more interest before that.

Metal Gear Solid is an espionage stealth game that revolutionized the genre, bringing a unique style of gameplay that many had never seen before of avoiding being seen, and brought a truly fascinating story that keeps you guessing throughout the whole game. Many have tried to recreate the magic that MGS brought with its stealth mechanics but few have succeeded in capturing it in the same way. And some just missed the point entirely. (I’m looking at you, every Zelda stealth section ever.)

Metal Gear Solid Integral is a port of the original MGS but added in some new features, like a first person view mode, a very easy difficulty (Complete with cheater infinite ammo assault rifle) and an alternate round that changes the guard’s patrol patterns, making them considerably more difficult to avoid. While these features didn’t truly evolve until MGS2, MGS Integral is certainly worth a look.

Mega Man Legends (PlayStation)

Game Console Genre
Mega Man Legends Mega Man Legends PlayStation Action

Achievement set and writeup by Infernox Infernox

Mega Man Legends has always been somewhat of a black sheep to the Mega Man family. It was the franchise’s first major foray into the realm of 3D gaming, having been released all the way back in 1997 when the fifth generation of consoles were still in their relative infancy and most developers had yet to figure out how to make movement on a 3D plane fun. Though the game received average reviews at the time and didn’t sell exceptionally well, it ended up becoming a cult hit and an important part of Capcom’s history.

Throw out every notion you have of what a Mega Man game should be, because Legends diverges from the norm in more than one way. Platforming is kept to a minimum, and rather than individual levels, the game plays out in an adventure format akin to something like Ocarina of Time. New weapons are no longer obtained from boss kills, but instead scrounged together from tech you’ll find in the game’s many interconnected dungeons or as a reward from quests. There isn’t exactly anything complex about the level design or core mechanics – especially compared to the aforementioned Ocarina of Time which released just over a year later – but there’s something about outfitting yourself with brand new gear and delving into the unexplored ruins of an age long past in search of further upgrades that injects just the right amount of feel-good chemicals into my brain, and that’s really the most I could ask for.

Gameplay aside, the story, art, and sound direction are top notch and where the game truly shines. The eclectic cast of characters and intrigue surrounding the game’s world are what won me over and are why people are still clamoring for a capstone to the series over 9 years after the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3. Perhaps one day I’ll be gushing over that game instead, but for now, I hope those both familiar with and brand new to the series can enjoy the work I’ve put into this set.

Touhoumon (GameBoy Color)

Game Console Genre
~Hack~ Touhoumon - Ordinary Version 1.3 ~Hack~ Touhoumon - Ordinary Version 1.3 Game Boy Color Role-Playing Game

Achievement set and writeup by Kisumebuckets Kisumebuckets

The set will be the first in a series of different romhacks based around the Touhoumon concept. Ordinary Version is a very easy entry level hack that anyone can get into, it mirrors Pokemon Silver in terms of story as an easy entrance point. The romhacks are based off of a series of PC-98 and Computer games from the late 90’s. There’s 5 old PC-98 games, and over 10 different modern PC games. They each try for some new mechanic or twist on the shmup formula, as well as new characters and story.

Though the main games are made by just one person, the hacks are made with a variety of developers and each include a bit of their personality into them. All of the characters that appear in these shmups (or bullet-hells) and replace the Pokémon normally found.

Moorhen 3 (GameBoy Color)

Game Console Genre
Crazy Chicken 3: ... The Chicken Chase! | Moorhen 3: ... The Chicken Chase! Crazy Chicken 3: … The Chicken Chase! | Moorhen 3: … The Chicken Chase! Game Boy Color Action / Shooter

Achievement set and writeup by rabbids4eva rabbids4eva

Moorhen 3: The Chicken Chase is the third Moorhuhn game on the Game Boy Color and was released in 2002. The GBC version was developed by Similis and Sproing. As always, the aim of the game is to get the highest score by shooting down the chickens. But this time, there’s a different bird that, when shot, you lose points.

Besides the main game, Moorhen 3, there are 3 additional minigames: Moortris, Fishblast and Bandit. In Moortris, you must align blocks to form a line to clear the blocks and earn points. In Fishblast, test your patience and luck to see how many fish you can blow up with the dynamite. In Bandit, it’s a shoot out in the wild west. There are three doors and there are two chickens to shoot down: the gun bandit and the bomb bandit. But DO NOT shoot down the chicken with a flower, or the game will end early.

Nimpize Adventure (Nintendo 64)

Game Console Genre
~Hack~ Nimpize Adventure ~Hack~ Nimpize Adventure Nintendo 64 Action / Adventure

Achievement set and writeup by Pelouch Pelouch

On November 22, 2018 OoT’s 20th anniversary Ostrealava02 revealed his project to the world. Over 16 months of work poured into an unprecedented, new, full length Ocarina of Time romhack for the seasoned players who wanted a new challenge in the land of Hyrule.

A re-telling of the original game based on the memories of the Hero of Time and his fairy, aimed at players that thought “Master Quest was easy” it presents new and difficult, albeit mostly fair challenges in both familiar and brand new dungeons and settings. Join the Hero of Time in his epic quest to save Hyrule once again.

Kamen Rider (SNES)

Game Console Genre
Kamen Rider Kamen Rider SNES Beat ‘em up

Achievement set and writeup from jplima jplima

Kamen Rider (translated as Masked Rider) is a famous Japanese tokusatsu show created in 1971 by Shotaro Ishinomori and it is broadcasted until today, a new Kamen Rider show is released almost every year.

The Super Famicom release is a beat ‘em up based on the original Kamen Rider where 2 players can play together as Takeshi Hongo for player 1 and player 2 is Hayato Ichimonji, both can transform into Kamen Rider and go brawling by the streets defending the Earth through 6 stages in order to take down the plans of Shocker’s evil empire. During the playthrough you can customize combos and it has a balanced difficulty, maybe 40 or 50 minutes of fun not more than that like most games of the genre.

The set is simple, not many challenges, it has easy ones like a cheevo for to transform into kamen rider, an achievement for to finish a boss, cheevos of progression and beat the game, also one for stopping a Bulldozer in the training system, the harder ones surely are the achievements for beat stages without dying.

~Hack~ Of Jumps and Platforms (SNES)

Game Console Genre
~Hack~ Of Jumps and Platforms ~Hack~ Of Jumps and Platforms SNES Platformer [Very Hard / 7 Exits]

Achievement set and writeup by Skystarmania Skystarmania

I was starting my set creation with a rather small but twisted hack. The hack wasn’t kaizo buildstyle but still around tight platforming which really had some charm that gave me the reason to develop achievements for this hack in first place. I’ve got really positive response for that one which gave me motivation to work on another hack which released only 3 days after Of Jumps and Platforms

007 The World is Not Enough (PlayStation)

Game Console Genre
007: The World Is Not Enough 007: The World Is Not Enough PlayStation First Person Shooter

Achievement set and writeup by BrunoKiko BrunoKiko

007 and James Bond, the best secret agent in the World! (or not depending on the point of view of the reader.) 007 The World is Not Enough brings the same style of play of your acclaimed predecessor GoldeEye 007, the camera in first person, the levels with missions and sub-missions to do, great variety of wepons lethals or no lethals. The story is based in the movie with the same name, launched in 1999, in which the game faithfully follows the facts of the movie. Anyway, it’s a game worth checking out, especially those who liked Playstation 1’s Medal of Honor, as its gameplay is very similar.

Banjo Kazooie: The Jiggies of Time (Nintendo 64)

Game Console Genre
~Hack~ Legend of Banjo-Kazooie, The: The Jiggies of Time ~Hack~ Legend of Banjo-Kazooie, The: The Jiggies of Time Nintendo 64 Platformer

Achievement set and writeup by Kaiserlucas Kaiserlucas

Ever since Microsoft purchased Rare in 2002 fans have waited for a comeback of our beloved animal duo, but aside from a somewhat controversial spinoff title, Banjo developers Rare have been silent on a potential new title in the series. You’d think that the only way to relive the nostalgic feelings many of us have for the franchise is to replay the original two games on the N64 ad infinitum, but earlier this year The Jiggies of Time finally gave us a new adventure to delve into to fill the bear and bird shaped void in our hearts.

This hack managed to faithfully reproduce everything that made the original two games so great, from the creative level design and challenges to the cheeky character dialogue or even just plain fun platforming, and on top of that the game is full of easter eggs and little details too!

And don’t expect a straightforward 1 to 1 copy of the various Ocarina of Time locales either, as the creator went above and beyond to remodel, retexture and even expand upon each and every one of them to contain new surprises and fit the Banjo and Kazooie gameplay style like a glove.

If you liked the original games in any capacity you will certainly enjoy this love letter to Banjo’s first two N64 adventures, therefore I cannot recommend to play this set enough!