Play This Set November 2021 - RetroAchievements/RANews GitHub Wiki

Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei (PlayStation Portable)

  • gameid: 3729
  • set by: blendedsea
  • writeup by: blendedsea

What better way to celebrate Halloween than murdering the friends you met during a very serious lockdown at your High School?

Danganronpa is an Adventure Visual-Novel game. The PSP version of this game is Japanese only, but an English Fan-Translation has been supported. You control High School student Makoto Naegi who is well known for being... Ultimately Unlucky. Makoto attends the school, Hope's Peak Academy, with other Ultimate students. There in his class he meets Ultimates such as the Ultimate Pop Star, Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, Ultimate Fashionista and many more. After they arrived at the school, they fell unconscious and eventually woke up to being in a completely locked down building. After assessing the situation, they are all called to the Gymnasium to meet the Headmaster...

Danganronpa takes a spin on the murder-mystery visual novel style of game. If you've played any Ace Attorney game, then that's the best example to use here. There's usually a bit of exploration at the beginning of a chapter which will lead into an investigation period and then onto the Class Trial. The class trials are also unique compared to AA. Rather than just selecting a line of dialog and choosing evidence to refute it, the characters will be having a Non-Stop Debate in which they will continuously talk, and your goal is to select to correct evidence (Loaded as a Truth Bullet), take aim and to fire the evidence at the statement that contradicts the evidence. The trials have more unique minigames to them which have always made them feel more exciting than the typical "sit there and wait for the next cross-examination". There's also something very exciting at the end of each Trial, but I'll allow you to discover that on your own.

I had a lot of fun making this set and I'm thankful that we've been able to support PSP so we could have Danganronpa sets.

A Plumber For All Seasons (SNES)

  • gameid: 2865
  • set by: StingX2
  • writeup by: Bendyhuman

Usually when I write about Super Mario World hacks, I struggle to describe what differentiates them from so many other similar hacks out there. This one stands out from the crowd by being unique, memorable, and incredibly fun throughout. Whereas most hacks reuse a bunch of random assets from SMW Central, most elements here are made specifically for this. The backgrounds are striking and look unlike any other hack I've played. The original soundtrack is consistently impressive. The level design is one of the hack's greatest strengths; each level feels extremely distinct from all others, and many of the new mechanics are things I've never seen before.

Following your initial playthrough you'll unlock Coin Allergy mode, in which you will spend the bulk of your playtime if you desire the mastery badge. Like the Penniless Plumber achievements in other Mario games, the goal here is to avoid touching any coins. You're allowed to make some mistakes, since coins only damage you as opposed to outright killing you, but it's a pretty tough challenge regardless. Figuring out the optimal routes in each stage is a ton of fun, filled with lots of risk/reward decision making.

On top of everything I've mentioned thus far, the level of polish on display here is something I've rarely seen. If you enjoy Super Mario World, then A Plumber for All Seasons is undoubtedly worth your time.

Nimpize Adventure (Nintendo 64)

  • gameid: 10812
  • set by: Pelouch
  • writeup by: Chauckles

Nimpize Adventure is a hack of Ocarina of Time that takes the familiar world of Hyrule and turns it into the Master Quest you didn't know you wanted. Like the "Beta Quest" mysteries of old, Nimpize Adventure starts off in a flooded tomb and connects the rest of Hyrule in unexpected new ways. To succeed you'll have to unlearn what you know about Ocarina's world and utilize what you know about individual areas.

Of course, this game isn't a pure remix. Along the way you'll explore new areas & dungeons, unravel bits and pieces of a new story, and maybe, just maybe, find out exactly what "Nimpize" means.

Deep Forest (Game Boy)

  • gameid: 17053
  • set by: Alfex
  • writeup by: FerrousFeline

With increasing frequency these days, I catch glimpse or hear about Game Boy game jams - events where people try and come up with original Game Boy games that run on Game Boy hardware, often in the space of a handful of days - and have been left with a mixture of awe and wonder as to what these games, predominantly made with GBStudio, are like and why people have grown to love them with a level of almost infatuation.

Enter the world of one of the most charming virtual forests I have had the pleasure of exploring in recent memory, a short itch.io GBStudio game called Deep Forest. A simple premise, the game has you exploring a world full of trees, cute dogs, and yummy fruit, and together with some simple, yet emotional story-telling and adorable exploration-based puzzle-solving, this game is bound to leave you with a smile on your face.

Pokémon Brown Version (Game Boy)

  • gameid: 7317
  • set by: stfN1337, SporyTike
  • writeup by: Mekevin255

Are you an avid Pokémon fan? Grew up playing Pokémon Red or Blue? And are you looking for a fresh adventure in a familiar world?

Someone in the crowd: "Fool's Gold?"

No, today I am not here to talk about Pokémon Fool's Gold. Today I am here to talk about Pokémon Brown, a popular hack that brought a lot of attention, even those from Nintendo.

In this hack you will encounter many generations of Pokémon, specifically those from Gen 1 to Gen 4 with the addition of Sylveon. Five whole new types: Wood, Gas, Abnormal, Wind, and Sound type. What's more? The layout of the world was recreated into one path, so no backtracking involved. Just like the game, the set is not very hard coming out to 40 achievements. The set revolves around completing the Pokédex and the game. There are 9 missables, 1 being to defeat your rival before the first gym and 8 related to in-game trades and the Pokédex. There are a total of 210 obtainable Pokémon to encounter and our beloved 8 Gym Leaders/Elite Four. If this isn't enough to get you interested, then I believe this might. The set has a RAGuide to go with it. Thanks stfN1337 and SporyTike for making this set.

Fun Fact: Pokémon Brown is a prequel of Pokémon Prism for which we have a set, but today is about Brown.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Genesis (Game Boy Advance)

  • gameid: 6818
  • set by: ColonD, MGNS8M
  • writeup by: RearviewMirror

Am I crazy? Maybe. Whenever I get news of a bad game nowadays, that just makes me more eager to play it than anything else due to me wanting to see it for myself. The result with this Game Boy Advance port of the original 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive makes for an interesting experience, especially when adding some achievements to it. Though I can't help but get the feeling that some of the achievements were made while the developers were making Grinch-styled smiles, especially with the “Fun Is Infinite” achievement. But despite some expecting torture with this set, it kind of does the opposite. Especially with anyone likely to do multiple playthroughs of this relatively short game. Though I will admit, one of the reasons for me sticking around was the remixed music on this port. Despite them being different from the original, they grow on you over time, with Labyrinth Zone being a personal favorite.

With that said, though, I will admit on the occasional slowdown, somewhat zoomed-in aspect ratio, and somewhat different physics when compared to the original. It is not a 1-to-1 port by any means. Yet thanks to it still having solid controls throughout with a soundtrack I enjoy had me go through the whole set. I won't let a few hiccups stifle my experiences here! In fact, the differing physics arguably made the Special Stages a bit easier in some parts with how the falling is one constant motion rather than a hectic bouncing around. That is especially with the 3rd and 6th Chaos Emeralds.

But with all of that said, I would recommend this set for those who want an experience that resembles the original game but wants a "different" experience. ;)

Super Ninja-kun (SNES)

  • gameid: 3804
  • set by: affftedio
  • writeup by: affftedio

Come on a great adventure with the best ninja through many different places like a volcano and an ice cave, all conveniently situated in the same island, defeat many powered up enemies just like a random episode of some colorful clothed heroes, all while pursuing the main villain in his multipurpose vehicle like some overweight mad scientist that keeps escaping you even though you're clearly faster, blast through the stages getting a new power with every boss defeated as if you were... I guess you get my point by now.

This game was a pleasant surprise to me, never played it before the cheevos and it was very fun and had some good challenges even though you can easily finish it under an hour with some practice. So, if you like your platformers but feels like old platformers are too hard, then search no more for you have found the right game for you. From the casual player to the hardcore no damage player I’m sure all can enjoy this game.

Uninvited (NES)

  • gameid: 2056
  • set by: DrackosFlare
  • writeup by: adamjohnny5

Even though by now Halloween season is over, I can’t help to recommend a spooky set that I feel gets all-to-often forgot about. Uninvited is a point-and-click horror game from the 80s ported to the NES as the last in line of 3 games of its kind (the other two being Déjà Vu and Shadowgate). However, I can honestly say it’s probably the most fun out of the three.

By today’s standards it’s story may seem cliché, as you must go through a haunted mansion to save your sister. However, it is just so much fun to do. From its clever ways to die, to the various rooms and buildings you traverse, to the way it all wraps up, it is a spooky, often hilarious romp down memory lane than I feel anyone can have a good time playing. Also, it’s not particularly long, and the set is fairly easy. A player can expect to master the set in a few hours. If you find yourself with some time to kill, or just want to take is easy with something fun and not very complicated, give Uninvited a try.

Just take my advice. Beware the skeleton.