Play This Set July 2022 - RetroAchievements/RANews GitHub Wiki
Play This Set is a showcase for our passionate community members to write about the games and achievement sets they love. Whether you're an achievement developer looking to promote your work or a player wanting to spread the word about your favorite hidden gem, we're always looking for new Play This Set submissions. If interested, submit your write-up as a private message to {% rauserpic RANews %}.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Night Driver | Arcade | Racing |
- Set by: {% rauserpic guindev %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic Retrokaiser %}
You've played the classic time limit based arcade racing games such as Daytona USA, Ridge Racer, and Sega Rally. However, you'd be surprise at how long that the arcade racing genre has been this way. Well, let me introduce you to the granddaddy of all classic time based arcade racers. This is Night Driver. A game where you drive at night and try to drive as far and as fast as you can before the time limit runs out.
There's nothing much to in this game other than going fast and turning sharp. It's super simple and super fun. You'll quickly be drawn in by its charm and play, play, play until you have all of the achievements. The set itself is pretty simple as well. Just reach a certain speed and a certain score. Nothing too complicated here, nor is it anything that you'll achieve on your first go. Oh, yeah. You'll also have to get yourself towed away as well.
This game is very, very, veeerrrryyy old. However, appeal of this game is still very strong. A great drive into the past.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Virtual Boy: Wario Land | Virtual Boy | Platforming |
- Set by: {% rauserpic SporyTike %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic Gamechamp %}
Okay, so this recommendation isn't going to be for everyone (and the number of people who even can play it this way is limited), but here goes: I don't just want you to play Virtual Boy Wario Land, I want you to play it with a VR headset. Through the use of the emulator's side-by-side mode and a program such as Virtual Desktop to split the screen down the middle so left side is left eye and right side is right eye, you can play the game both in 3D and in VR. This isn't just how it was originally intended to be played, it's a step beyond. If you increase the game's size to just beyond your field of view, there's an incredible feeling from being able to look around the game world as a physical space sprawled out in front of you, with the 3D effect making it all feel real. It's a totally immersive underground cavern exploring experience. It's legitimately in the running for best VR game I've yet played, which is kind of sad but also impressive. VR doesn't need to be limited to first-person games, and VBWL shows how.
Also, you are required to leave the colors on Red/Black. This enhances the experience by giving you a very immersive throbbing headache.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Hogs of War | PlayStation | Turn-Based Strategy |
- Set by: {% rauserpic TeddyWestside %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic BahamutVoid %}
Hogs of War is basically 3D Worms, set in the First World War starring some anthropomorphic pigs that try to turn each other into bacon for the sake of the world's supply of swill. Customise your best-loved out of 6 armies and charge into the campaign which scores you based on optional tasks in addition to winning the battles, which directly affect how well you can upgrade your squad for the next mission. As for gameplay, it's got enough tools that you never feel like you're out of options, but not too much that everything starts to feel the same. Each class gets its own upgrades meaning that fights get much more complex as you capture each country. When you're feeling outgunned there's plenty of weapon crates, buildings and vehicles lying around that can help turn the tide. The real star here is the game's comedy; each army has its own taste poking fun of its stereotypes and it's got some wonderfully done cinematics with talent from Rik Mayall and Marc Silk highlighting the stiff upper lip of the British officers. You will not regret giving this underappreciated gem a chance.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Clock Tower | SNES | Point-and-Click Adventure, Survival Horror |
- Set by: {% rauserpic Rewsifer %}, {% rauserpic Hotscrock %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic Enagonius %}
My first mastery ever here on RetroAchievements, so it's important to me to share this with you all: a few months after I knew about the site, I decided to finally link the account to my emulation station so I could hunt some cheevos and this was my game of choice. I had a blast with the game, both because I'm a fan of horror but also because the overall experience on this is really pleasant! Exploration is both enthralling and tense due to the survival horror elements that fill the game, with heart-pounding chases that end up in a sadistic hide-and-seek game. The adrenaline from being on the lookout while a murderer hunts you down alongside the brain-poking puzzles were enough to make me want to never drop the game down; all that mixed with an interesting plot and mystery made me fall in love with the game and become a fan of the franchise.
Clock Tower definitely earns the badge of a game "ahead of its time" in many ways – people often praise both Sweet Home and Alone in the Dark for influencing the genre-on-the-making with Resident Evil, but I believe Clock Tower deserves even more recognition on that matter, with both puzzle-solving and surviving violence becoming staples in this style of gameplay and narrative. Talking about story... Oh my... What a rich universe; so hypnotic, even if many aspects of its lore are only slightly hinted throughout the ride, pretty much like the giallo movies that inspired the game. You can see the touch of Dario Argento (Italian) on this slasher (American) game of Nordic (Norwegian) horror filled with a bit of folklorism but still feeling inherently Japanese – pretty much like Silent Hill is an American horror story with Asian storytelling.
Gameplay-wise it has common point-and-click mechanics revolving around exploring the environment, collecting items, and using them in creative ways to progress further. The differential here is the survival element introduced by the antagonist Scissorman, who is killing your friends one by one and is ever trying to make you the next victim; this real-time interaction to (literally) run for you life spices things up, since you'll be under pressure while strolling around the mansion without knowing when and where the assassin will appear again on this hideous and dangerous hide-and-seek game. Your "health bar" is actually a measure of both panic and stamina, with the colour of the main character's portrait and her facial expressions being hints at you physical and psychological state when being confronted by Scissorman – this is resource management on its proto-state for developing the survival horror genre. The scenario itself is very expansive and the way of dealing with locked doors, acquiring keys and discovering secret passages also show many game design choices that would become sacred later to the genre.
The set itself is simple yet elegant, touching each ending but also the multiple pathways you can take to reach each of them. It's a grand fine synergy between game and achievements to improve replayability on an unforgettable experience, which guarantees that the player that masters the set has interacted with all possibilities within the game world while also repeating the cycle to beat the story in all nine possible ways.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest | NES | 2D Platforming, Action RPG |
- Set by: {% rauserpic Atheistpanic %}, {% rauserpic Mutawarrior %}, {% rauserpic SirVG %}, {% rauserpic JAM %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic Akai %}
Having just mastered Simon's Quest, I can wholeheartedly recommend playing this set. While known for being a difficult and cryptic game, if you're playing it in 2022, you can easily use a guide like this. Overall it's a fun little Castlevania game, perhaps not as good as its sequel, but still a nice journey at least once.
In terms of the set, you can get a total of 179 points simply by getting everything you can get in the game. Depending on the speed you finish the game, it'll earn you another 10 to 25 points. Another 45 points are locked between the 3 bosses damageless, though these can be easily cheesed and there's even videos on the achievement pages showing how to do so. 46 points are earned in the process of reaching max level.
With the above, playing the game once should earn you at least 200+ points. Doing it 3 times for all endings and achievements will earn you a total 315 points. If you can do Curse's Destruction and A Belmont Legacy, that'll also be another 100 points. The last achievement, Home Before Sundown, can be done on a fresh reset of the game assuming you're able to be fast enough. It also is a good achievement to save as a mastery trigger, if you're doing something like Peak Streak or Daily DistRActions.
Overall 425 points well earned.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Power Stone 2 | Dreamcast | Arena Fighting |
- Set and write-up by: {% rauserpic StingX2 %}
Hey do you like Fighting games like Smash? Do you like Goku? What about balls hard achievement sets that will send you crying back to your mommy? Well then you'll love Power Stone 2, the hit sequel for Sega Dreamcast! The game is a 1 Vs 3 free for all that has you battle against other over the top characters. Each stage is set in an isometric arena filled with weird stuff to interact with that you typically see in party fighters.
There are 14 fighters to play as ranging from a Samurai Swordsman to a Chef. The real fun with Power Stone is by collecting 3 of the name sake gems in a fight you transform into something otherworldly. The Chef becomes a Dinosaur, the Samurai a Robot Samurai, and the martial artist named Wang Tang becomes Goku. No I didn't typo, he just becomes Goku and we accept this.
At the heart of this game is a short arcade mode with 2 bosses, both will have you really in pain. Utilize stage items, specials, and play it safe on normal difficulties. For harder difficulties? You'll need to value speed over safety.
The final attraction in this game is the item shop where you buy items, and then mix them to make new ones. There are a lot of things to make and you'll need to keep diving into Adventure mode to get the supplies. Normally this a mode most players would ignore but with the power of achievements how can you resist?!
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
~Hack~ Rock n' Roll Racing | Mega Drive | Racing |
- Set by: {% rauserpic DarknessZedzi %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic JAM %}
Do you know what original Rock n' Roll Racing is? It's a quite popular game to play with a friend back in 90's. Not quite as popular as Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, but still close. It's a battle racing game. Something like Super Mario Kart, more serious and brutal, but still fun.
A bit of history: a few years ago, romhackers were starting to research this game to see what can be changed, what can be added, etc. Most of the code (if not all) was disassembled, resulting in this hack, updating over time for several years.
So what make this hack special? New planets (old ones still remain), new cars. new upgrades for them, new characters, new co-op modes (including co-op with AI), 2 new starting bonuses for characters, new difficulty levels with remakes of old ones, and more. It looks so advanced that you can basically call it a new game, like Rock n' Roll Racing 2. Blizzard should really learn how to make remakes, not just sell the old game emulated and overpriced for their anniversary.
The set itself was made because by request of hack creator. He gave a lot of ideas for the set and what he'd like to see there. It's basically counts for "game dev is also set dev" with help and guidance of outstanding dev {% rauserpic DarknessZedzi %}. If you like the original game, but want to see the new stuff and love challenges, then you shouldn't miss this one.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Duke Nukem Advance | Game Boy Advance | First-Person Shooter |
- Set by: {% rauserpic FernandoFFS %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic Rohsiph %}
Duke Nukem for Game Boy Advance? I fiddled with this oddity for a Daily DistRActions challenge and walked away impressed and confused. None of the levels were among those I played elsewhere over the years in Duke Nukem 3D collections. The game also has brief story interstitials between levels, where Duke receives orders from an army general. No swears to be seen, the only blood is aliens, and Duke seems to have forgotten all about the babes that make up half the controversy at his heart. Plus, the game plays reasonably well for a FPS with 4 buttons and a D-pad unlike some other classics with misplaced GBA editions (I'm mostly looking at you, Serious Sam Advance, but Doom plays nearly as bad).
The achievement set is a straight-forward challenge: finish the game on normal ("Let's Rock") difficulty while finding all secrets and killing all enemies on every level. Nothing to write home about, but the fact this set was out there led me to learn about and play some of this weird game that I always assumed was just a straight port of the original PC game.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Bible Game, The | Game Boy Advance | Party |
- Set by: {% rauserpic voiceofautumn %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic NickGoat1990 %}
O brothers and sisters, let’s call an end to the vain pride of beating self-imposed challenges, and an end to the vice and ruination brought forth by juice. Hear this calling and enrich your soul, arm yourself with the knowledge of the Holy Scripture, advance through a variety of locales quelling the forces of evil, earn and don none other than the Armor of God and confront Sata - I mean, the "Master Deceiver" himself, not with the use of violence but with The Word. With the ability of selecting between playing as a boy or a girl, cutting-edge technology known as “saving by password” so you can continue your game whenever you want, the power to locate the Deceiver's minions thanks to a map feature, and achievements that do not ask for extreme abilities, this is verily a game everyone can enjoy. Take a Chance on this {% rauserpic voiceofautumn %} set, mastery spots still available.
Amen.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Saturn Bomberman | Saturn | Action |
- Set by: {% rauserpic BrunoKiko %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic GalacticSpear %}
One of the best ways to play Bomberman! The game has aged super well graphically and is one of the most beautiful games in the franchise. In the normal game, all worlds are very unique and each level introduces something new to the table, such as different enemies and new mechanics. The game also introduces Tirras, which are similar to Louies, but you can make each of them stronger individually during gameplay. In addition, there is also the master game in which you climb several floors until you reach the last boss of this mode. There's also battle mode of course, which is at its best here with various customizations from the previous games and the possibility to play with up to 8 players in normal stages, or up to 10 players in the wide stage. The set itself is very simple - just finish the normal and master game, get a certain amount of points, and win some matches in battle mode. I recommend it to anyone who wants a very chill mastery.