Switch Funday - R.C. Pro-Am - My First Time

Welcome to Switch Funday!

For today's game i wanted to try out the NES game R.C. Pro-Am from Rare. This was a recent addition to the service and a game i've heard many people talk about for a long time now. I was quite eager to give it a go, but i didn't really know how it will play. I've got experience playing top down racers like Micro Machines and behind the car racers like Moncao GP, both games on the SEGA Mega Drive. But this was a side on isometric game with graphics that surprised me.

R.C. Pro-Am is a fairly early NES game so i was surprised by how good it looked. sure, there are few cars on track and not all the screen is used, but what is on screen is very clear. The only issue i had was that i felt like the controls weren't as tight enough for how narrow the tracks were.

On real highlight was the soundtrack to the game, all the music i heard was fantastic and i really enjoyed listening to it. I was caught of guard by the game going straight into racing. i imagine the game's manual would've explained things a bit more as i had to learn whilst playing. Early on, i didn't know that i had weapons, but once i learned there are weapons i fully enjoyed using the rockets.

I hope the sequel, R.C. Pro-Am II, comes to the service as i imagine it's a more refined and impressive game than this was. But R.C. Pro-Am is well worth trying, there are a lot of positives and using the #Switch save state feature means you don't have to worry about starting from the beginning. Tho i kept doing that as i felt like i was learning each time i tried again.

Switch Funday - Blaster Master - My First Time

Welcome to Switch Funday!

This week is another popular NES game that i haven't played before. for years i've been hearing people talking about how great Blaster Master so i was eager to try it for myself.

Going in, i was somewhat familiar with the basics. i knew the story revolves around a pet frog, but i was surprised how well it conveys that story with just pictures and no words. I knew there was a vehicle section as well as on foot sections, but i was also surprised how seamlessly the two gameplay styles were used in an area. it was cool when the level moved to focus on just the character. it was zoomed in and a new perspective. the high level of detail was surprising and everything controlled brilliantly. 

But i didn't really make much progress in this video. i don't know if i'm still in the starting area, but i suspect i am. i came across a green statue that couldn't be killed. there was a giant raspberry looking boss that i couldn't kill either. at least with the boss it was clear i was doing damage, just never enough to defeat it. for being at the start of the game, this boss was much tougher than i expected. it has rocks orbiting around it and they're very dangerous. 

So i come away with mixed feelings. there's no denying that this game looks great, handles great, and has great music. but actually making progress in it seems much more difficult than i expected. the levels are big, but there seems to be no sign posting as to where to go or what's needed to progress past sections. I want to play it again, but rather because i want to solve the puzzle that the first area has turned into, rather than how good the game is itself. it's certainly well worth playing if you have NES as part of the Nintendo Switch Online service.