Play This Set

StingX2 By StingX2.

Contents

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.

Our idea is to post up to 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! If yours is not present here, it’ll probably be present in a future RANews issue.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (NDS)

Game Console Genre
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies Nintendo DS Role-Playing Game

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is a traditional JRPG developed by Level-5 and is the first Dragon Quest to be released on a handheld console.

The narrative is what you would expect from Dragon Quest, predictable but enjoyable with a lovable cast of characters. The opening scene shows you, the Hero, as an angelic being known as a Celestrian. The Celestrians, living in the Observatory in the skies, wish to move to a new location known as the Realm of the Almighty. However, before they can leave, they must help those in need in the world below; the Protectorate. As the Hero returns to a small village below the clouds and helps the citizens of Angel Falls, they obtain a spiritual energy knowns as Benevolessence. The Hero returns to the Observatory to offer this energy to the mighty Yggdrasil Tree; at which point things begin to take a dark turn.

Dragon Quest IX was easily my favourite JRPG when it released. With it being such a traditional JRPG, it just felt like home. There was never any crazy new battle mechanics I had to learn or strive to achieve to end the battles quickly, it’s a simple turn-based battle system which holds a special place in my heart. A typical leveling system too, but it’s the changeable job mechanic that captivated me. Having the option of 12 unique jobs and the ability to have a party of 4 made it an enjoyable experience to decide how I wanted to build my party.

Over 40 hours of story gameplay, optional quests, databases to fill and even DLC support, you won’t go bored. When making this set, I wanted to pour every ounce of love into it. This was my first RPG set and I enjoyed every moment of making it and having the chance to replay it again.

Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue (PS1)

Game Console Genre
Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue PlayStation Extreme Sports

If you were to say that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is the equivalent to a standard video game controller, Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue is the weird off-brand controller that you give to your younger sibling or guests. In Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue (no connection to Pokemon) you take control of any of the four main characters from the TV show and compete across 16 levels in order to save Rocket Boards. In the game you will compete using a variety of equipment including: snowboard, skateboard, roller blades, and bicycle. The stages will take you from racing down a mountain to going for the high score in a stadium.

The achievement set consists of three main components. The first is basic progression for completing each part of the game. The second is one achievement per level for clearing the level while doing a bonus challenge. These challenges help to break up the monotony of using the same tactics in each level. The final set of achievements is for unlocking the secret characters. Hidden around several levels, tokens are hidden that must be collected in order to unlock secret characters.

As the Ancient Hawaiian’s used to say “You can paint the coconut shell, but you can’t change the milk inside”.

The Legend of Banjo-Kazooie: The Jiggies of Time (N64)

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

The Legend of Banjo-Kazooie: The Jiggies of Time is a hack of Banjo-Kazooie that has the dynamic duo collecting jigsaw pieces, musical notes, and other goodies across various locations from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Don’t let that description fool you though, this is no lazy level pack port, in fact I’d go as far as to say it’s possibly the most lovingly crafted N64 hack yet. Every area was built from the ground up to match Banjo-Kazooie’s style and fit the bear’s heightened movement capabilities. The entire soundtrack is redone in Banjo’s goofy style. There are new areas with cool platforming challenges, classic characters strewn about with all sorts of interesting things to say, and even the animal transformations are all-new. Even Kokiri Forest and Hyrule Castle Town, otherwise mundane areas in Ocarina that exist largely to push the story forward, are extended into large, interesting worlds full of things to see and do.

You like easter eggs? Because, everything else aside, the enormous amount of hidden content alone makes the game worth playing. You can’t Talon Trot 5 feet without tripping over some amusing secret or mysterious cubby hole. Even the secret areas have secrets hidden in them. It’s absolutely insane just how jam packed with love this game is. And the Forest Temple? WOW. I won’t spoil it for you here, but when you get there… You’ll understand.

I get that hacks are generally less popular in this community then regular games, so for those of you who aren’t really interested in them, please at least consider this one. I promise it’s a delight the entire way through.

Super Mario Bros

Game Console Genre
Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. NES Platformer

The game that started it all, the one that put videogames in the map. You should play it because it’s Super Mario Bros. and it’s still fun, but also because there are all kinds of achievements and fun challenges. Playing this set I learned about Mario’s dance on top of the beanstalk, or how to successfully do the “1-Up Trick”. You will need a lot of skill and some replays to successfully get all the Pacifist/Master Plumber/Master Treasure achievements, but the game is very easy to pick up and play. And the final reward is mastering one of the best games of all time and also some nice 800 points!

This was the first game I ever played, my parents had it before I was born, and even though I couldn’t get past the first gap at first I kept trying until I reached the end. My next (and harder) challenge would be beating The Legend of Zelda. If you never played it before you will be surprised to see a game from 1985 that is so fun and accessible, and if you played it before and have good memories about it then you should go and try this set now!