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NintendoAge 2013 Weekly Contest Presents: Castlevania Contest ends Sunday, 10/20/13 at 10 PM NA time

Oct 13, 2013 at 8:27:44 PM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
Posts: 7072 - Joined: 08/10/2009
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Hello everyone and welcome to the latest installment of the weekly contests!  I'm getting things started a little early tonight and you guys wont be disappointed with this week's game.  It's the middle of October and it's time to get into the spirit of Halloween (if you haven't already) and play one of the greatest horror-themed games on the NES: Castlevania.  Here are the rules:

  • Play until Life 0
  • No looping of the game allowed
  • Get as far in the game as possible
  • The lowest score takes precedence
  • If you beat the game, take your picture when the game starts over
  • If you roll the score, take a picture just before and just after you roll it
  • Furthest progression in the game wins with the lowest score taking precedence
  • GENRE: Action/Platformer


The contest ends Sunday, 10/20/13 at 10 PM NA time.  Your user name MUST be in the picture for your score to be valid.  The entire TV screen, or computer monitor if you are playing on an emulator, MUST be in the picture for the score to be valid.  No partial screenshots will be considered or accepted.  No screenshots by hitting "print screen" on a computer will be allowed.  You must take a picture of your computer monitor.  There may be instances where this will be acceptable, but it will be at the discretion of myself and the contest organizers.  Also, the use of turbo controllers is forbidden, as well as any cheat codes, Game Genies, or save states if playing on an emulator.  Also, we will only be using NTSC systems for the contests.  The use of PAL systems will NOT be allowed.  Good luck everyone and have fun


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

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



Edited: 10/21/2013 at 03:42 AM by bimmy_lee

Oct 13, 2013 at 8:31:46 PM
guillavoie (125)
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(Der Graue Kasten) < Master Higgins >
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I like the no looping rule, cause otherwise it would just be who got most time to play Castlevania this week. Also, perfect timing to get in the Halloween mood!

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Oct 13, 2013 at 8:38:52 PM
EoTN (9)
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(Eskimo Of The Night) < Eggplant Wizard >
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This'll be a fun one! I have an arcade style Konami cabinet with this on it! I've never beaten the game though, so it'll be interesting. Best of luck all!

Oct 13, 2013 at 9:19:42 PM
bearcat-doug (34)
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(Doug C.) < Bowser >
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Finally a game that I own! I don't think I've ever looped the score, but at least I can beat this one.

-------------------------
2017 NintendoAge Weekly Contests Hall of Fame Inductee

Oct 13, 2013 at 10:04:57 PM
rdrunner (35)
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(Tom Votava) < Meka Chicken >
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Yay, I love Castlevania!

Rules issue though: I recommend putting some kind of limit on the number of lives. It's really easy to score big points and large amounts of extra lives in this game. All you need to do is use boomerangs or holy water on groups of enemies (zombies and red skeletons come to mind, but there are many other spots). You get an extra life every 50k points and it's relatively easy to loop the score without even leaving the first stage of the game. The only limitation is that the game stops giving you extra lives after you loop the score at a million points. However, the damage is done, because by then you will have earned 20 extra lives.

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

Tom Votava
http://rdrunner0077.blogspot.com/
 


Oct 13, 2013 at 10:08:12 PM
gutsman004 (126)
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(Guts Man) < Wiz's Mom >
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Would love to play this week,but I'm quitting the competitions.

Oct 13, 2013 at 10:18:38 PM
bearcat-doug (34)
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(Doug C.) < Bowser >
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Originally posted by: rdrunner

Yay, I love Castlevania!

Rules issue though: I recommend putting some kind of limit on the number of lives. It's really easy to score big points and large amounts of extra lives in this game. All you need to do is use boomerangs or holy water on groups of enemies (zombies and red skeletons come to mind, but there are many other spots). You get an extra life every 50k points and it's relatively easy to loop the score without even leaving the first stage of the game. The only limitation is that the game stops giving you extra lives after you loop the score at a million points. However, the damage is done, because by then you will have earned 20 extra lives.
Would a low score contest work?



-------------------------
2017 NintendoAge Weekly Contests Hall of Fame Inductee

Oct 13, 2013 at 10:41:30 PM
TWarwick07 (85)
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(Kung Fu Master) < King Solomon >
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Originally posted by: gutsman004

Would love to play this week,but I'm quitting the competitions.
Dont quit,

i havent played in a couple weeks and saw something about the nonsense in last weeks contest but dont let some jackass stop you from playing games and having fun. participating is what makes the community contests so much fun



Oct 13, 2013 at 11:16:15 PM
guillavoie (125)
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(Der Graue Kasten) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: rdrunner

Yay, I love Castlevania!

Rules issue though: I recommend putting some kind of limit on the number of lives. It's really easy to score big points and large amounts of extra lives in this game. All you need to do is use boomerangs or holy water on groups of enemies (zombies and red skeletons come to mind, but there are many other spots). You get an extra life every 50k points and it's relatively easy to loop the score without even leaving the first stage of the game. The only limitation is that the game stops giving you extra lives after you loop the score at a million points. However, the damage is done, because by then you will have earned 20 extra lives.

Thanks for adressing this issue right away.. We played with only 1-life last time so I wasn't sure how extra lives were earned. I'll pm Bimmy to solve the problem in the rules. As of now, I can think of two choices :

A: Just like Bear-cat Doug proposed, doing it for furthest in the game and lowest score takes precedence. Personally, I think that would be refreshing to play it like this, cause we already done it for highscore several times in the past.

B: We limit the use of lives to a certain number, and verify if the lives left match with the score (which indicates the number of extra lives obtained). I think there are a few 1up items in the game, and if so, we need to find a compromise about this as well.

Please, every opinion are welcomed.


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Edited: 10/13/2013 at 11:16 PM by guillavoie

Oct 13, 2013 at 11:25:23 PM
mattyjmania (179)
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(matty j) < El Ripper >
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Originally posted by: gutsman004

Would love to play this week,but I'm quitting the competitions.


dont quit Guts

i love having you in the competition!

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Oct 13, 2013 at 11:26:05 PM
mattyjmania (179)
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(matty j) < El Ripper >
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also, i have never beaten castlevania, and this might give me a good excuse to do so!

I am more excited about attempting to beat it, than score for now

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Oct 13, 2013 at 11:28:07 PM
guillavoie (125)
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(Der Graue Kasten) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: mattyjmania

also, i have never beaten castlevania, and this might give me a good excuse to do so!

I am more excited about attempting to beat it, than score for now

I won't lie here, score gets quite boring cause it would imply some repetitive points pressing in about each 'clock' segment of the game.


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Oct 14, 2013 at 1:15:22 AM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
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Maybe we do this one as a 1 life only contest? We haven't done one for a while and it could possibly cut down on some of the point racking. Thoughts on this?

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

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


Oct 14, 2013 at 1:29:49 AM
EoTN (9)
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(Eskimo Of The Night) < Eggplant Wizard >
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Dear god, why? How masochistic do you think we are?

That aside, I'm OK with the idea, although slightly scared.

Oct 14, 2013 at 1:34:19 AM
ookii_risu (66)
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(Tonya B) < King Solomon >
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I think low score/progress would be good for this game, since high score was the focus last time.

Oct 14, 2013 at 2:39:26 AM
link463 (25)
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< Eggplant Wizard >
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I could probably get through the game in one life with some practice, so I can deal with that. But, everyone seems to be gung-ho with a low scoring contest, so we can experiment with that. I'll give it a shot either way.

-------------------------
Thanks for writing. I apologize for the delay in responding to your email during this busy time of year.
In regard to your email, it is great to hear that you have found a copy of Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64. Perfect dark was a first person shooter game that was released in May of 2000. I personally enjoyed this game a lot during my mid-teen years since it allows for up to four players to play at one time. All the Perfect Dark cartridges were black.

I hope this information is what you are looking for.

-
Response I received from Nintendo customer support when I asked if they knew any thing about a black Perfect Dark cart.

Oct 14, 2013 at 5:46:50 AM
Krunch (146)
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(My name's Krunch) < King Solomon >
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I don't remember the game well enough to know this: do you get points for extra time on the clock? Because that never makes for a good low score contest, since it's optimal to wait out the end.

As always, as long as the rules are done well, I have no stake in how we play it.

Also, to gutsman: Man up and don't quit!

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https://www.ebay.com/sch/bestpric...=
^^discounts for NA members^^

Oct 14, 2013 at 8:04:01 AM
bearcat-doug (34)
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(Doug C.) < Bowser >
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Originally posted by: bimmy_lee

Maybe we do this one as a 1 life only contest? We haven't done one for a while and it could possibly cut down on some of the point racking. Thoughts on this?

Given how frustrating the one life rule was during the Ninja Gaiden II portion of the tournament, I'd rather just see a low score contest. With the one life rule, there would still be tedious point racking involved and it only takes one small mistake to cost you an entire run.



-------------------------
2017 NintendoAge Weekly Contests Hall of Fame Inductee

Oct 14, 2013 at 9:05:28 AM
rdrunner (35)
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(Tom Votava) < Meka Chicken >
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This is a tough call. Every option that has been presented has its problems. Quite honestly, this is the kind of flaw that most NES platformers have when it comes to high score competitions. It's really difficult to come up with scoring system that is both fair and fun to play.

I would say that it would probably be best to do either the 1-life challenge or the low score challenge. Both are equally fair and equally fun. My one thought is that whatever you decide, the timer is going to be a pain. We are either going to be milking the clock down as low as possible while point racking or just running it to zero after every boss battle.

Either way it's going to be a grind, but like I said, most NES platformers are. Just pick your poison.


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

Tom Votava
http://rdrunner0077.blogspot.com/
 


Oct 14, 2013 at 9:13:29 AM
fatalfuryspecial (31)
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(cool shooter spaceship) < El Ripper >
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i would be cool with a lowest score/most progress type contest. play until life zero or one life only would be fine with me.

lowest score/most progress/one life sounds bad ass actually. lets do it!

Oct 14, 2013 at 10:31:15 AM
bearcat-doug (34)
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(Doug C.) < Bowser >
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I might as well get some practice in while the rules are getting settled. I gave it a quick run last night and I'm a bit rusty.

-------------------------
2017 NintendoAge Weekly Contests Hall of Fame Inductee

Oct 14, 2013 at 1:26:40 PM
Caleb47 (48)
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(Steve S.) < Meka Chicken >
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Originally posted by: TWarwick07

Originally posted by: gutsman004

Would love to play this week,but I'm quitting the competitions.
Dont quit,

i havent played in a couple weeks and saw something about the nonsense in last weeks contest but dont let some jackass stop you from playing games and having fun. participating is what makes the community contests so much fun

 
Wait, what? I haven't played the last few weeks, why? hope this is just some sort of joke.



Oct 14, 2013 at 4:52:37 PM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
Posts: 7072 - Joined: 08/10/2009
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You guys have spoke and it will be a furthest progression contest with the lowest score taking precedence. Good luck everyone!

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

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


Oct 14, 2013 at 10:50:17 PM
vcube1234 (31)
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< Kraid Killer >
Posts: 2008 - Joined: 04/06/2013
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Originally posted by: bearcat-doug

Finally a game that I own! I don't think I've ever looped the score, but at least I can beat this one.


Same with me, it seems as if I always get the current contest game right when the week ends

Oct 15, 2013 at 10:41:34 AM
bearcat-doug (34)
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(Doug C.) < Bowser >
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Updated 10/19: 113,060 (Game Completed)

-------------------------
2017 NintendoAge Weekly Contests Hall of Fame Inductee


Edited: 10/19/2013 at 11:08 AM by bearcat-doug