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I wrote a very good review of Streets of Rage 4 for Sega-16 when it came out. Aside from the retro soundtrack problems, I thought it was an excellent game. Personally don't understand why some hated on it. It is way better than Streets of Rage 3, and almost as good as Streets of Rage Remake.
I love SOR4, I still need to unlock a bunch of special moves in the DLC but I think it’s a great game. I haven’t played SORR yet but it is on my to play list.
oh man, who hated on SOR4? fuck those people, go play fighting force plebs
"Hated on" is used loosely here. Here it means some people did not love everything about the game, from what I've seen.
too repetitive and "modern" for my taste, although more knowledgeable people seem to praise this game. Just not a huge fan of modernizing old games on modern platforms, particularly on the presentation/graphics side.
I just used SoR4 as one example. You could pick Shredder's Revenge, River City Girls, or any number of other games that have better gameplay and a more consistent art style than Paprium. That's not even to say Paprium totally sucks, it has some good music and backgrounds, there's just a lot of other good 90s-inspired games out in the past few years for under $30.
People can do what they want with their money, I just don't think it makes much sense to fund Fonzie knowing it may take many years to receive your game (if ever) when you can support plenty of other legitimate indie studios with much better track records for supporting their products and their customers.
That's true, Axel. I think that's mainly because Paprium is a Mega Drive / Genesis game, and that's enough for many fans to overlook its shortcomings. This is not specific to Paprium. Other aftermarket releases get much more attention than they would have on modern platforms, or back in the days (Beggar Prince comes to mind, it's not awful but not really noteworthy, and yet I remember people being all over it).
well that's because at the time it was seen as a new game and Beggar Prince was one of the first aftermarket proper releases, if not the first one.
Also the technical prowess of Paprium, which blows out of the water any Mega Drive game both graphically and musically speaking, must be one if not the main reason (apart from the publicity budget + the added delays & drama) for it to be talked about so much.
EDIT:
I do vividly recall that many of us' first minutes of gameplay were "well, it really looks like an early-to-mid Neo Geo game" , which is what WM promised back then (the whole Pier Solar will have a SNES flair and Paprium a Neo Geo feel thing).
Also IIRC Beggar Prince is the only RPG with 32 MEGA POWER isn't it ? The original untraslated rom is also that size so it's not overhead due to the added English translation
Still, all of that is tied to the fact the game runs on the Mega Drive / Genesis. And the graphics, although big and colorful, are inconsistent and poorly animated, so whether it actually puts the competition to shame is debatable.Quote:
Originally Posted by chilled
Does that matter, or should that matter? I guess that just means the game is poorly optimized, does not rely much on compression, or somehing like that. If you play and finish a mediocre game, will your opinion of it change after you've learned it has loads of megabits?Quote:
Originally Posted by chilled
If you are just looking at screenshots then yes it could be mistaken for Neo Geo... but once the games are in motion, not a chance. SNK had some of the best animators around, that was one of the main things that made Neo Geo stand out against other consoles. Paprium is inconsistent here, for example take Tug, when he throws an enemy, the game uses his jumping sprite for no apparent reason. Did they forget to draw that one, or was there no room left on the cart? More importantly, companies like SNK had to create their own artwork, they couldn't get away with tracing other people's characters.Quote:
Originally Posted by chilled
Speaking of which, where's Luis lately? Anyone else remember the time on Twitter when people pointed out the similarities between Murdock and Rugal, and Luis claimed the traced artwork was from an unnamed Chinese contractor and that he had never heard of one of SNK's most famous bosses? Hmm... I wonder why he deleted those Tweets :rofl:
Although I don't think that Paprium looks like a Neo Geo game, to be fair earlier and some "mid" Neo Geo games don't have great animation. In particular several beat 'em ups.
But Paprium just feels like a regular Mega Drive game without typical media constraints. Like if the Mega-CD got the equivalent of the Arcade Card and had 18 megs of space to run content from.
The visusls are still a mixed bag and inconsistent, giving it much more of a homebrew, or unpolished feel. Where as Xeno Crisis is on a completely different tier and feels 100% like a professional production by a top level dev team.
I totally agree. A game like Burning Fight probably has fewer animation frames overall than Paprium, for example in Burning Fight the characters don't even have standing animations. They do have dedicated animations for throwing enemies though, which is why it's so strange that Tug can have an decent standing animation but re-uses his sprites from jumping or being stunned when he does a throw. Or that Murdock, a level boss with his own dialogue, has only two very basic, very similar attacks. A character like that should have an entire arsenal. With all the talk of people not being paid for their work, I think it's possible some artist never got their full compensation and so the game had to be put together with what they had. But who knows. What I do know is that a game like Paprium would never pass muster at SNK. Awhile back I got a copy of the developer manuals for the Neo Geo, they had all sorts of strict guidelines you had to meet to get your game approved. Being able to jump kick your way through the game wouldn't go over at all, since arcade operators are counting on getting a steady revenue stream, not having one person tie up the machine for an hour. Neo Geo games also tend to be much more colorful, with Paprium it's green and purple everywhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by Black_Tiger
Xeno Crisis on the other hand is a top tier game that would fit right in with AAA releases from back in the day. Tons of sprites on screen, fast action, great use of color, I consider it far more impressive technically considering it runs on stock hardware and doesn't need four enhancement chips.
At the end of the day I'm happy that anyone is still making games for these older systems. It's just that customers deserve better than what they've received from WaterMelon.
Murdock standing pose was so similar to Rugal that they had to change it to have a hand in pocket lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by axel
So now he's Rugal with a touch of Yamazaki. "There, now no one will find out!"Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryoandr
Anyone received a copy in the past few weeks?
Haven't received anything Kickstarter related yet.
Still haven't received anything from WM aka TM = ThiefMelon and likely won't ever.
Status site no longer works.
Ugh.
Fonzie posted an update on Kickstarter last week and the website being down is one of the items -
Subjects seen in the video:
1. We did partner with a company in France to have quality storage for our goods and equipment.
2. As worldwide situation do not improve we decided to move all our parts to our new warehouse.
3. We do postpone any electronics-related products for now as the component shortage do not resolve but we are progressing on everything else!
4. Our now-priority is to restore customer support (yes, there is a list)!
5. Yes, our websites are down, things are moving to a new server shortly.
I'll be back for another video next week, more fun this time.
lol man what a joke
"Our now priority is to restore customer support"
wonder where customer support was on the priority list
hint: it wasn't...Quote:
Originally Posted by datbuta
Correct. I got so hot for never receiving Paprium that I decided to send tickets every couple of weeks, for months, just to vent my frustration. If you click on Fonzie or others avatars, who actually answered tickets from years back, you can see the last time they were active. None of them were for quite some time, hence customer support was nonexistent. If they are actually looking at them now, they've got an earful from me to sift through.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightwolf
Still holding hope...
Thanks for sharing that update!Quote:
Originally Posted by Xhojn
I am still very much floored by Paprium. The amount of character sprites on screen with zero slow down, color use, music, replay value, secrets, tongue in cheek; I love it all.Attachment 16492
Still waiting for my Grand Stick III!!!
I have Xenocrisis too on my MD and Neo Geo CD. I find Paprium has better Grafx but Xenocrisis could have the best music of any video game ever. Also I find Xenocrisis unplayable unless you have the 6-Button so on the Neo Geo CD not so much.
the backgrounds in paprium are gorgeous but the pixelart in xeno crisis, in general, is way superior imo
henk nieborg is god
I mean it is good but not Earth Shattering.Quote:
Originally Posted by Goati
Attachment 16493
I cannot see your attachments (they're just generally buggy on this forum, as far as I know). The graphics in Xeno Crisis are not only quite good, but their quality is consistent throughout the game, which is not the case in Paprium. For example, the big character artworks visible in the Paprium intro look like unrefined MS Paint drawings. On top of that, some Paprium sprites are suspiciously close to sprites from other games.Quote:
Originally Posted by evilevoix
I'm coming up on my 11 year mark of not receiving Paprium. Even if, and I mean if Fonzie delivers on his Kickstarter someday, I'm thinking that I still won't get what I paid for so long ago. Very frustrating. It makes absolutely zero sense as to why some original backers have received nothing, while later orders were fulfilled.
I'm with you, Snowman (albeit 6 years for me). Also unnerving to see BNIB versions on eBay SOLD for $800+ USD. Other listings have tens of "watchers". So it seems more fruitful to sell there than fulfill orders at a cheaper price (i.e. the investors/pre orders). I'm not saying that's actually happening but it's a theory.
It's March 10, 2023 and that scoundrel still hasn't delivered! Wasn't his teaming up with another entity supposed to make his life of a crook come to an end? Seems to me he's still reaping all the benefits, meanwhile we're being ridiculed by our family and friends for wasting our money on a mediocre game that requires extra technology to make it run on "ancient" hardware. :?
I'm coming up on my 11 year anniversary of not receiving my Paprium pre-order. In 6 days I get to hear, once again, my wife mock me about never getting this game and rightfully so. Out of everything I have ever paid for, nothing else comes to mind, with so much scorn, than Fonzie and his cohorts stealing from us. Shame on you Watermelon. Shame, shame.Quote:
Originally Posted by GameUser-16-32-128
Unfortunately, I must declare that today marks 11 years of still not receiving my Pre-order copy of Paprium. While others have received their copies and have either enjoyed it or merely acknowledged it as mediocre, I have nothing. Surely I'm not the only one, or am I? Are there others out there like me, 10-11 years later who have been robbed of their currency? I know of others who have been stolen from more recently, if you count 6 years as recent! Fonzie, you have put a stain on the homebrew community that can never be cleaned off. You will be remembered for your failures, not your limited successes. Honor still exists in this brave new world. Will you ever attempt to try and restore some remnant of honor for yourself, by first sending out the remaining copies to your original backers? Then, possibly a little more honor redeemed by sending out the more recent orders, from years ago? And what of the Paprium Kickstarter? How long shall you string them along? How long Fonzie? Today, I speak for those you have abandoned and stolen from. Stop being a thief, Fonzie. Send out emails to everyone who has given you money and where you have given them nothing. Tell each individual how sorry you are for your abject failures. Tell each individual how much you appreciate them for funding your projects and give them an update of when they can expect to receive what they paid for. Be a man, Fonzie.
And now.......the moment some of you have been waiting for...........
My wife, from time to time, will comment on this sad tale of mine.
Her statement was as follows, "You are a loser and you will never get that game."
I don't know why Iced snowman all some people seem to do is Bitch, Bitch, Bitch, I say shame on you for Paying for something in expecting something in return your donation gratefully received. kind Regards WM
Its obvious that he doesn't have the funds to send the remaining games, which makes me wonder why he didn't go through with selling of WM.
I mean, its clear that after Paprium his reputation as a developer is badly tarnished. so selling off WM made complete sense.
but then he quickly backpedaled and tried to pull the same shit AGAIN but now with a dolphin shooter thingy?
Just sell off WM and use the funds to send the remaining games and then don't look back.
Lol...this post really made me laugh. Thanks for that!! And yes, it's pathetic that after all of these years there is still so many people that haven't received what they have paid for.Quote:
Originally Posted by Iced Snowman
Maybe Melf should make some sort of new article about Paprium, where he looks back on the game and its weird troubled development and how it ended with lots of people still not getting their game.
Might just show Fonzie that there's still lots of angry people who want the shit that they paid for.
Lol...that would be pretty funny if that somehow gets his attention. If it hasn't already been properly done I'd appreciate a detailed timeline that depicts the start-current status that discusses the announcement and the following red flags and radio silence.
Good afternoon everyone. Just checked my inbox and found a Kickstarter update. I'll copy and paste:
Posted by WaterMelon Co.
Jun 12, 2023
View on Kickstarter
For backers only
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for your patience. Attached are some news.
We are still awaiting for some greenlight to transfer manufacturing to France.
In the meant time working on the component shortage problem, some progress is being made.
On the manufacturing side, we are progressing with goodies but also tooling for plastic mould injection for Gamegear and GrandStick IV releases.
On the customer service side, we have successfully migrated to new servers and our websites will be back online in September.
More importantly:
We want everyone to receive their physical copies at the same time and because of the extended manufacturing delays, we are looking to release the game digitally ahead. A free copy (download code) will be provided to each of you (every baker).
More news will follow, thank you again.
Best Regards,
WM
Thanks for posting. I didn't get this message. Was there any contact information ?