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Sega Master System Weekly Contest Round 4: Cloud Master Ends 12/24/17 11:00 PM NA Time

Dec 17, 2017 at 11:00:46 AM
Red (80)
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(Green Blue) < Lolo Lord >
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Hello and welcome to the fourth round of the first Sega Master System Weekly Contest!  This week's game is Cloud Master.  Not crazy about penguin based puzzle-platformers?  How about cloud based horizontal shooters?  Play as Michael Chen (no, not the actor) on his quest to become a Cloud Master.  Watch out!  Evil forces have sent various animals and food products to stop you!  Can you survive five rounds of ramen, gyoza, turtles, monkeys, and Gradius Syndrome?

Rules:

-Play until Game Over
-One loop only
-If you beat the game, take your picture after receiving the 100,000 round clear bonus, but before the second loop starts 
-Highest score wins

For general contest rules, click here:

http://nintendoage.com/forum/mess...

Good luck and have fun!

SCOREBOARD:

1st: bimmy_lee (365,800)
2nd: laddersandcakes (348,700)
3rd: mbd39 (338,400)
4th:
5th:
6th:
7th:
8th:


Edited: 12/24/2017 at 10:07 AM by Red

Dec 17, 2017 at 12:19:20 PM
mbd39 (1)
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(Michael ) < Bowser >
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338,400


 

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Reigning NA 2018 Beat Em Up Champion


 


Edited: 12/17/2017 at 02:42 PM by mbd39

Dec 17, 2017 at 2:44:05 PM
mbd39 (1)
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(Michael ) < Bowser >
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I like this game. I've already reached stage 3.

I haven't experimented that much with the magic, but I like the spinning flame shield that you can keep activating.

-------------------------
Reigning NA 2018 Beat Em Up Champion


 

Dec 18, 2017 at 1:12:12 AM
laddersandcakes (58)
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I'm in it this time! Woo! This game is fairly cool, but it doesn't play, if you know what I mean. 

348,700



Edited: 12/18/2017 at 11:45 PM by laddersandcakes

Dec 18, 2017 at 3:43:01 AM
Krunch (146)
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(My name's Krunch) < King Solomon >
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Ahh, I'll be looking to get in on this, unfortauntely during the Fantasy Zone week my computer crashed and I just got it back to its normal state. So I missed both Fantasy Zone (although I played it a little bit before the crash) and Penguin Land. I'm sure this game will be enjoyable whatever it is

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^^discounts for NA members^^

Dec 18, 2017 at 8:12:00 PM
ninjistar (29)
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I played twice, and so far I've gotten scores of around 38,000 and 115,000. I'll be waiting for my cart to arrive before I post a score though. Here's to hoping this one arrives on time!

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On the hunt for prototypes...

Eat, sleep, collect, repeat.
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Dec 18, 2017 at 11:47:10 PM
laddersandcakes (58)
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Scored updated. You weren't kidding with the Gradius Syndrome. Urgh. I saw a brief glimpse of the the red energy wave upgrade in an earlier attempt. Haven't seen it since.

Dec 19, 2017 at 12:00:29 PM
mbd39 (1)
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(Michael ) < Bowser >
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Originally posted by: laddersandcakes

Scored updated. You weren't kidding with the Gradius Syndrome. Urgh. I saw a brief glimpse of the the red energy wave upgrade in an earlier attempt. Haven't seen it since.

The Gradius Syndrome is horrible. It's so frustrating when you beat the first two stages without dying, make one mistake in stage 3, and then lose all your lives because you're too slow to dodge stuff. Yeah, don't die in this game.





 

-------------------------
Reigning NA 2018 Beat Em Up Champion


 

Dec 19, 2017 at 12:06:08 PM
mbd39 (1)
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(Michael ) < Bowser >
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Also, I don't like that getting the better powerups is a matter of luck. At least in Gradius or Life Force you keep getting powerups if you kill certain enemies. It's not like sometimes you get powerups and sometimes you don't.

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Reigning NA 2018 Beat Em Up Champion


 

Dec 19, 2017 at 2:16:40 PM
laddersandcakes (58)
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(Chris ) < Lolo Lord >
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Originally posted by: mbd39

Also, I don't like that getting the better powerups is a matter of luck. At least in Gradius or Life Force you keep getting powerups if you kill certain enemies. It's not like sometimes you get powerups and sometimes you don't.
Yeah, I have a hard time telling which upgrades are actually helping me more sometimes. I guess I ought to look up the manual for this game and read through it to have some clarity. As far as the special magic goes, I've only tried out three of them; not a fan of the spinning one you mentioned earlier. I usually go with the flame that snakes around and moves forward. 

 

Dec 19, 2017 at 2:21:05 PM
mbd39 (1)
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(Michael ) < Bowser >
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Originally posted by: laddersandcakes
 
Originally posted by: mbd39

Also, I don't like that getting the better powerups is a matter of luck. At least in Gradius or Life Force you keep getting powerups if you kill certain enemies. It's not like sometimes you get powerups and sometimes you don't.
Yeah, I have a hard time telling which upgrades are actually helping me more sometimes. I guess I ought to look up the manual for this game and read through it to have some clarity. As far as the special magic goes, I've only tried out three of them; not a fan of the spinning one you mentioned earlier. I usually go with the flame that snakes around and moves forward. 

 


I usually equip the red bomb thing now. The best one moves across the ground until it hits something.

Grap the P whenever it appears because it's always an upgrade.

-------------------------
Reigning NA 2018 Beat Em Up Champion


 


Edited: 12/19/2017 at 03:54 PM by mbd39

Dec 20, 2017 at 1:04:05 AM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
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Man, you guys aren't kidding about the Gradius Syndrome in this game. You die late in a stage and it's tough to make it through without the speed and weapon power-ups. On one run, I died at the Stage 2 boss (lost my first life) and then burned through like 3 lives just to get back to him. A lot of times I forget about the special magic and don't use it. I prefer the spinning fireball to all of them so far. Is it just me, or do the special magic power-ups you encounter later in the game depend on which one you are holding? I always choose the spinning fireball and anytime I enter the doors after killing a mid-boss, I see the same 4 power-ups. Also, I have discovered the manual has some incorrect information. The manual says you get 10,000 points for defeating each boss, but you do not. Instead, you get 100,000 points for beating the stage, which the manual doesn't mention. It also appears you get an extra life every 100,000 points, not every 200,000 points like the manual states (you do get an extra life at 30,000 points). Also, the manual has the wrong end-boss listed for stage 4. At the end of stage 4, you fight a dragon and not the shogun. Instead, at the end of stage 5, the shogun is the boss. How do I know all this? I did some research on the game. I haven't made it to the stage 4 boss yet  

-------------------------

My NES collection count: 757 games (16 to go for a full set)

Latest Purchase(s): Snow Brothers

"Wait...Bimmy and Jimmy??  How'd they make a mistake like this!?  Bimmy isn't even a real name!"

Beware the Bimmy Marsh!

Proud owner of post #2000, #2900, and #3800 in Inner Circle HQ thread


Dec 20, 2017 at 1:09:22 AM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
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Okay, messed around with the game a little bit and the special magic you choose DOES change up what types of special magic becomes available in each doorway after destroying a mini-boss.

-------------------------

My NES collection count: 757 games (16 to go for a full set)

Latest Purchase(s): Snow Brothers

"Wait...Bimmy and Jimmy??  How'd they make a mistake like this!?  Bimmy isn't even a real name!"

Beware the Bimmy Marsh!

Proud owner of post #2000, #2900, and #3800 in Inner Circle HQ thread


Dec 20, 2017 at 1:09:24 AM
mbd39 (1)
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(Michael ) < Bowser >
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Originally posted by: bimmy_lee

Man, you guys aren't kidding about the Gradius Syndrome in this game. You die late in a stage and it's tough to make it through without the speed and weapon power-ups. On one run, I died at the Stage 2 boss (lost my first life) and then burned through like 3 lives just to get back to him. A lot of times I forget about the special magic and don't use it. I prefer the spinning fireball to all of them so far. Is it just me, or do the special magic power-ups you encounter later in the game depend on which one you are holding? I always choose the spinning fireball and anytime I enter the doors after killing a mid-boss, I see the same 4 power-ups. Also, I have discovered the manual has some incorrect information. The manual says you get 10,000 points for defeating each boss, but you do not. Instead, you get 100,000 points for beating the stage, which the manual doesn't mention. It also appears you get an extra life every 100,000 points, not every 200,000 points like the manual states (you do get an extra life at 30,000 points). Also, the manual has the wrong end-boss listed for stage 4. At the end of stage 4, you fight a dragon and not the shogun. Instead, at the end of stage 5, the shogun is the boss. How do I know all this? I did some research on the game. I haven't made it to the stage 4 boss yet  


The game also suffers from "huge player sprite with lots of enemies and tiny bullets that are hard to see coming at you" syndrome. That combined with the Gradius syndrome is a real pain. I'm probably done.

 

-------------------------
Reigning NA 2018 Beat Em Up Champion


 

Dec 20, 2017 at 1:13:57 AM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
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Originally posted by: mbd39

Originally posted by: bimmy_lee

Man, you guys aren't kidding about the Gradius Syndrome in this game. You die late in a stage and it's tough to make it through without the speed and weapon power-ups. On one run, I died at the Stage 2 boss (lost my first life) and then burned through like 3 lives just to get back to him. A lot of times I forget about the special magic and don't use it. I prefer the spinning fireball to all of them so far. Is it just me, or do the special magic power-ups you encounter later in the game depend on which one you are holding? I always choose the spinning fireball and anytime I enter the doors after killing a mid-boss, I see the same 4 power-ups. Also, I have discovered the manual has some incorrect information. The manual says you get 10,000 points for defeating each boss, but you do not. Instead, you get 100,000 points for beating the stage, which the manual doesn't mention. It also appears you get an extra life every 100,000 points, not every 200,000 points like the manual states (you do get an extra life at 30,000 points). Also, the manual has the wrong end-boss listed for stage 4. At the end of stage 4, you fight a dragon and not the shogun. Instead, at the end of stage 5, the shogun is the boss. How do I know all this? I did some research on the game. I haven't made it to the stage 4 boss yet  


The game also suffers from "huge player sprite with lots of enemies and tiny bullets that are hard to see coming at you" syndrome. That combined with the Gradius syndrome is a real pain. I'm probably done.

 

I agree with you on that one.  It's really bad in stage 2 when the background is a brown color and the enemy bullets are almost the exact same color.  I've suffered several unexpected deaths in that stage because of the color of the bullets.


-------------------------

My NES collection count: 757 games (16 to go for a full set)

Latest Purchase(s): Snow Brothers

"Wait...Bimmy and Jimmy??  How'd they make a mistake like this!?  Bimmy isn't even a real name!"

Beware the Bimmy Marsh!

Proud owner of post #2000, #2900, and #3800 in Inner Circle HQ thread


Dec 22, 2017 at 12:05:28 AM
ninjistar (29)
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(Mr E ) < El Ripper >
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I got this bad boy today!


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On the hunt for prototypes...

Eat, sleep, collect, repeat.
[ YouTube ]   [ Twitter ]   [ Blog ]   [ RF Generation ]   [ VGCollect ]   [ NA WTB ] 


Edited: 12/22/2017 at 12:09 AM by ninjistar

Dec 22, 2017 at 12:14:30 AM
ninjistar (29)
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(Mr E ) < El Ripper >
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I love the description on the back of the case:

"Cloud Master
Enter the wild, fun-filled world of Mike Chen. He's out to learn the secrets of the five lands so he can become a powerful wizard of the skies! Already he has tamed a cloud to carry him around. He has learned the art of shooting Ki force from his fingertips! But standing against him are more wacky, zany creatures than you can shake your chipsticks at!

Bird men. Flying at heads. Pigs with guns. And flying bowls of soup! Sounds funny...but remember that each can zap you with a touch! You do have a couple of tricks up your sleeve. Collect power-up pots to fly faster and make your Ki force even more powerful! Defeat the mid-round bosses and you will earn the use of true magic... fireballs, guardian flames, and bouncing bombs.

Defeat the five world guardians and you'll become a Cloud Master! Fail, and you'll be locked in combat forever. Are you really going to let a flying dumpling get the best of you?"

-------------------------
On the hunt for prototypes...

Eat, sleep, collect, repeat.
[ YouTube ]   [ Twitter ]   [ Blog ]   [ RF Generation ]   [ VGCollect ]   [ NA WTB ] 

Dec 22, 2017 at 2:43:30 AM
ninjistar (29)
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(Mr E ) < El Ripper >
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Sorry for the triple post, but I'm wondering about something. I'm new to SMS and all, but how are you meant to pause a game? It seems as though there is no real way to do this in general. So perhaps the best way to play on original hardware for a contest like this is to use a Genesis and a Powerbase converter (or similar) which likely allows pausing using the "start" button? Or use the Genny controller on the SMS for this game? Bimmy, I'm looking to you for advice, buddy! There's no way I'm capturing that score using a SMS controller!  

-------------------------
On the hunt for prototypes...

Eat, sleep, collect, repeat.
[ YouTube ]   [ Twitter ]   [ Blog ]   [ RF Generation ]   [ VGCollect ]   [ NA WTB ] 

Dec 22, 2017 at 3:14:33 AM
Bea_Iank (4)
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(Beatrice Bueno Iank) < Master Higgins >
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Look at your powerbase, Ninji.
You will see a pause button there.  

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A paragon of purity, chastity and innocence.
Fair reminder that I don't weigh the same as a duck, so I am not made of wood and therefore I am no witch.
Sometimes I don't know where in the world I am.

Dec 22, 2017 at 2:41:52 PM
ninjistar (29)
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(Mr E ) < El Ripper >
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Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

Look at your powerbase, Ninji.
You will see a pause button there.  
Oh, how amazing. It's on the console itself.  
Happy to know that it exists though! Thanks
 

-------------------------
On the hunt for prototypes...

Eat, sleep, collect, repeat.
[ YouTube ]   [ Twitter ]   [ Blog ]   [ RF Generation ]   [ VGCollect ]   [ NA WTB ] 


Edited: 12/22/2017 at 02:42 PM by ninjistar

Dec 22, 2017 at 2:49:16 PM
Bea_Iank (4)
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(Beatrice Bueno Iank) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: ninjistar
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

Look at your powerbase, Ninji.
You will see a pause button there.  
Oh, how amazing. It's on the console itself.  
Happy to know that it exists though! Thanks
 

Isn't it a most impressive design decision?  
I would love to meet whoever came up with that idea and have... kind words with him.
 

-------------------------
A paragon of purity, chastity and innocence.
Fair reminder that I don't weigh the same as a duck, so I am not made of wood and therefore I am no witch.
Sometimes I don't know where in the world I am.

Dec 22, 2017 at 3:34:53 PM
barrels (149)
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^ how about the pause button on the 7800 base, which only works on some games and takes a really hard press to actually work!

Dec 22, 2017 at 3:51:55 PM
ninjistar (29)
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(Mr E ) < El Ripper >
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Originally posted by: barrelsAndRivets

^ how about the pause button on the 7800 base, which only works on some games and takes a really hard press to actually work!
After this discussion started to unfold, I immediately thought of Atari  
 

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On the hunt for prototypes...

Eat, sleep, collect, repeat.
[ YouTube ]   [ Twitter ]   [ Blog ]   [ RF Generation ]   [ VGCollect ]   [ NA WTB ] 

Dec 23, 2017 at 1:50:22 AM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
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Originally posted by: ninjistar

Sorry for the triple post, but I'm wondering about something. I'm new to SMS and all, but how are you meant to pause a game? It seems as though there is no real way to do this in general. So perhaps the best way to play on original hardware for a contest like this is to use a Genesis and a Powerbase converter (or similar) which likely allows pausing using the "start" button? Or use the Genny controller on the SMS for this game? Bimmy, I'm looking to you for advice, buddy! There's no way I'm capturing that score using a SMS controller!  

Like Bea said, the pause button is on the system.  That is one of the biggest designs flaws of the system, in my opinion.  Why they couldn't have put the pause button on the controller is beyond me.  Nintendo did it, so why couldn't Sega.  I sit close to my system when playing games, so I'm always at the ready to pause a game.  The 8-direction D-Pad on the Master System is a cool thing, but I feel like my thumb is too big for it and I end up not hitting a direction precisely sometimes.  For instance, if I want to go right, sometimes my character goes down and to the right.  For certain games, I find using a Genesis controller allows for more precise movement and doesn't lead to stupid deaths.


-------------------------

My NES collection count: 757 games (16 to go for a full set)

Latest Purchase(s): Snow Brothers

"Wait...Bimmy and Jimmy??  How'd they make a mistake like this!?  Bimmy isn't even a real name!"

Beware the Bimmy Marsh!

Proud owner of post #2000, #2900, and #3800 in Inner Circle HQ thread


Dec 24, 2017 at 1:09:07 AM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
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365,800



Got pretty close to the stage 3 boss, but died near the end of the stage and burned through my lives pretty quickly.  The first two stages are pretty easy to get through and memorize, but once you get to stage 3, the challenge starts to ramp up.  Definitely a fun game on the Master System.

-------------------------

My NES collection count: 757 games (16 to go for a full set)

Latest Purchase(s): Snow Brothers

"Wait...Bimmy and Jimmy??  How'd they make a mistake like this!?  Bimmy isn't even a real name!"

Beware the Bimmy Marsh!

Proud owner of post #2000, #2900, and #3800 in Inner Circle HQ thread