Play This Set October 2024 - 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
~Homebrew~ Retro Adventure	Game Boy	Adventure

• Set by: {% rauserpic StingX2 %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic 1stPrize %}

Are you a newer member of RetroAchievements and want to experience RA history? Or are you a veteran and want to relieve the fearsome times of having to touch grass once a month? Then this set is for you! Expirience totally hilarious RA interactions and even get your own house. Speak with members like {% rauserpic Bl4h8L4hBl4h %}, {% rauserpic DanielARP %}, and other silly members about their casual day on the website. Or explore RA Town and discover mysterious and creepy things. This very small homebrew by {% rauserpic StingX2 %} will gladly occupy 15 minutes of your life and humor with professionally written textboxes and demoted content! Get your copy today!

Game	Console	Genre
Kirby Super Star | Kirby's Fun Pak	SNES/Super Famicom	2D Platforming

Game	Console	Genre
Kirby Super Star | Kirby's Fun Pak [Subset - Multi]	SNES/Super Famicom	2D Platforming

• Sets by: {% rauserpic jackolantern %}, {% rauserpic Dexterspet %}, {% rauserpic Nevermond12 %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Totempanic %}

Kirby Super Star is quite an important game for me as it introduced me to emulation. This is probably the earliest game I can think of playing back in around 2016-2017. So I'm very glad I managed to complete this game on August 10th, 2024. Alongside that, my brother and I {% rauserpic Lauribloo %} completed the multiplayer subset. This is my review of both sets.

Kirby Super Star is quite different from the other Kirby games. Instead of one huge adventure, it includes eight smaller ones. My personal favorites are The Great Cave Offensive and Milky Way Wishes. The game also features a huge amount of copy abilities. Most of the not so great ones from Adventure do not return, replaced with more fun brand new abilities. The graphics are quite charming.

The main achievement set is pretty great, all things considered. It consists of general progression achievements as well as a few challenge achievements. However, the achievement RNG Surprise! was a bit grindy. The subset was mostly focused on Arena runs, which were fine, especially with abilities like Bomb or Plasma. However, it was very tedious with Suplex specifically. The hardest achievements were The Pink Blur for the main set and Suplex Superstars for the subset.

Overall. I'm giving the following rankings:

• 9/10 for the game
• 9/10 for the main set
• 7/10 for the subset

Game	Console	Genre
~Hack~ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Re-Revenge	Genesis/Mega Drive	Beat 'em Up

• Set by: {% rauserpic Snow %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Sutarion %}

TMNT: Shredder's Re-Revenge is a demake of a beat 'em up that came out a few years ago. The hack is based on Streets of Rage 2, with most of the levels and bosses being directly ported from the original game. However, the hack shines with the characters you can choose from. As expected, you can play as any of the four ninja turtles, but you can also choose from April O'Neil, Splinter, or Casey Jones. Each character has unique stats and abilities that makes your selection meaningful. Hidden extra lives are in the same places are they are in SoR2, which can give you the extra edge you need while playing on hard difficulty. The set also has subsets for playing with a friend and playing on the hardest difficulty. Even if you are not a fan of Streets of Rage or are new to beat 'em ups, I'd highly recommend checking out this set, especially if you enjoyed the original or the arcade TMNT games.

Game	Console	Genre
Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle	PlayStation	3D Platforming

• Set by: {% rauserpic Retronplay %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic AssClownKing %}

Have you ever wanted to play a Saturday morning cartoon? This game has you covered. Featuring the voice of the peerless, legendary Bruce Campbell as our hero Pitfall Harry, your mission is to travel to... the Jungle... in 3D (well, more of an isometric 2.5 D with dynamic camera angles throughout certain sections) and collect Lucense. Well, the blue one (the red's no cherry).

This one hits me right in the nostalgia feels, as it was the perfect example of a rental game. Something that doesn't necessarily need to be bought, can be beat over a rental period, doesn't push the genre too far forward, but is just fun enough (and takes itself just seriously enough) to be a good time. Also, random aside, I DID rent this one a bunch of times, and also bought it when a rental place near me was about to close.

The game itself is simple yet satisfying. Most 3D platformers had to deal with 8 directions and using momentum of movement to create its platform challenges. Pitfall 3D, on the other hand, has more of a consistent movement. You start and stop on a dime (unless floating on blue Lucense which does put a crimp in your control scheme quite a bit), and jumps up or forward have more or less the same distance each time. Enemies hit a bit too hard in the later levels, but that honestly could be my lack of skill at playing the game. It's absolutely a game worth playing to this day.

Besides, a beautiful girl, a suicide mission, I'm in! Who's with me?

Game	Console	Genre
Mega Man 8: Anniversary Collector's Edition	Saturn	2D Platforming

• Set by: {% rauserpic GalacticSpear %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic wolfman2000 %}

As the Sega Saturn was maturing, Capcom saw fit to release a few Mega Man games for the system. Of the two that have sets at this time, Mega Man 8 is perhaps the more charming of the two. For those that have played Mega Man 7, you will feel right at home with the game's structure. You'll gain a new toy early in the Mega Ball, a utility so great it has its own subset dedicated to it. The Mega Ball can be so fun that you won't miss the Rush Coil too much. Don't worry: Rush is still available to help out, and this time you can gain his assistance in the middle of stages and not just the end. You also gain access to exclusive features in this version. You can get revenge on Cut Man and Wood Man with your new weapons. Tengu Man has a unique track. There's also a special bonus mode where you can view the fan art and listen to the music. Don't let the lack of E-tanks, water translucency, or voice acting guidelines fool you. This game is a solid entry. Just...make sure to mute the game audio during a certain cutscene in the middle of the game. You're welcome.

Game	Console	Genre
Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuuden Totsugeki Hen	SNES/Super Famicom	Role-Playing Game

• Set by: {% rauserpic solidification %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic sioneus %}

The original Dragon Ball series takes you through the charming adventures of Goku, when he was only a devilish monkey boy of abnormal strength and desire to become the best martial artist, and for those who never got to experience this story through the original manga or anime I would recommend trying out the fantastic set for Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuuden Totsugeki Hen by {% rauserpic solidification %}. The first of two parts, Totsugeki Hen follows the story of Goku all the way until the end of the King Piccolo Saga. The RPG mechanics are very light, with no EXP element or necessity (or possibility) to grind. The fights consist of two characters moving to the centre of the stage in real time to take turns attacking. There are four different types of attacks mapped to the four buttons of the SNES controller, A, B, X and Y: Special, Kick, Defend, and Punch, respectively. For each of these types, you can map 4 different moves as a combo with the D-pad. You unlock these moves as you experience the story. The game is fairly easy, aside from the last fight, but the achievement set highlights the different events one can play through and encourages you to seek out all of them, as well as posing extra challenges. I recommend everyone who's a fan of Dragon Ball, or curious to learn about the series, to give this set a try.

Game	Console	Genre
Devilish	Game Gear	Brick Breakers

• Set by: {% rauserpic AppleAndo %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Bilalscape12 %}

This is one hidden gem that I strongly believe everyone should try. Paddle the ball through 8 distinct stages and battle unique bosses under the pressure of a time limit. The game has a lot of charming sprites and a very well-fitting soundtrack. The first stage even has a Michael Jackson reference. Having looked at the other two games in the series, this first game still plays the best; I would even go as far as to say that this is the best game on the Game Gear. I don't say this often but this is one of the few games I've discovered on RA that I would randomly open and play as a comfort game, especially since the game can be speedran in under 15 minutes. The set serves as a good complement to the game with achievements for hard difficulty, score, and the time trial mode. A must play for any pinball, Arkanoid, or Firestriker fans. Plus if you badge this set, you get put onto my special list of very cool people.

Game	Console	Genre
Dig Dug	Atari 2600	Arcade

• Set by: {% rauserpic KingS1zzle %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic ockerjj %}

Arcade ports were a staple of the 2600's library, and their quality could vary heavily between good and bad. Fortunately, Dig Dug is among the better ports the system has to offer. The gameplay is recreated accurately, getting close enough to the original to be a solid substitute. On top of that, the graphics are serviceable, and the music is pleasant on the ears.

As for the set, it's easy but not quite trivial. All it really asks of you is to beat 24 levels and clear every enemy in at least one. The early stages are simple, but steadily rise in difficulty as enemies become more aggressive and plentiful. Luckily, they can be dealt with in the same ways as the arcade version. The addition of a continue feature also helps in case you run out of lives late in the game.

All in all, I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a manageable challenge, and another master for the 2600.