I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

[Marc]

Wow, even I'm finding Fighting Hawk easy

[Sima Tuna]

I'll probably get it. I'm a sucker for Taito shmups. Gekirindan remains one of my favorites of all time.

[Jeneki]

Awesome, can't wait to get home and pick this up.

... and then probably not play it since I just got Pocky and the Sharks in the mail. I guess having too many new shmup releases is a good thing?

Edit: This game could use an option to lower the volume on the player shot.

[Jeneki]

This version of Fighting Hawk might be counting areas differently, when I compare my scores on this release to the leaderboard here on system11. Link to my post on the hi-score topic: viewtopic.php?p=1491320#p1491320

In any case, seems like a game I can finish if I stick with it a while longer.

[Sima Tuna]

Having seen the game in action, I might have to skip it simply because of the intolerable soundscape. I know arcade games are often notoriously bleepy and bloopy (especially the very old ones,) but this shit makes my head hurt.

[BrianC]

Pocky and the Sharks

That would be an interesting collaboration. Sayo Chan/Pocky flying the blue plane from Flying Shark while shooting down mystical enemies and historic tanks and aircraft.

[BIL]

Having seen the game in action, I might have to skip it simply because of the intolerable soundscape. I know arcade games are often notoriously bleepy and bloopy (especially the very old ones,) but this shit makes my head hurt.

Mute it and bust some SPK instead ;3

[BulletMagnet]

Pocky and the Sharks

That would be an interesting collaboration.

With a soundtrack provided by Elton John, to the tune of "Benny and the Jets".

[BrianC]

Having seen the game in action, I might have to skip it simply because of the intolerable soundscape. I know arcade games are often notoriously bleepy and bloopy (especially the very old ones,) but this shit makes my head hurt.

Sounds like a typical Zuntata soundtrack to me (not sure who composed the music since the game lacks credits). I like the music quite a bit.

[Sima Tuna]

The noises the plane makes don't bother you? I normally love Zuntata, but not this.

[BrianC]

The noises the plane makes don't bother you? I normally love Zuntata, but not this.

Not really. They remind me of Arkanoid. Maybe not the most realistic sounds, but I didn't find them offensive.

[Jeneki]

I think I figured out the Area glitch in Fighting Hawk: In hi-score mode, the area counter doesn't reset when a new game starts. So as you post newer high scores, the area on the hi-score screen gets bigger and bigger over time.

This only appears to happen in hi-score mode, not the regular game. Hope for a patch I guess.

[BIL]

Yeah, definitely sounds like a bug. They'll get on it I'm sure, I'm always seeing notifications for stuff I didn't even know had issues. Good catch.

[Jonpachi]

Playing Fighting Hawk after playing the new Same!Same!Same! collection feels like watching one of those Asylum fake-out movies like Transmorphers. Nothing much going on here that isn't done better elsewhere.

[Mr. Cooper]

wow what a thread! I've been playing Puzzle Bobble 2, Blazing Star, Life Force, and Ninja Spirit quite a lot over the last couple of months. Looks like I have a ton of great games to try out. Omega Fighter and Orius/Xexex are high on my list, and Thunder Dragon 2 as well.

In general, is the input lag on Switch for most of these titles approximately the same as on other platforms? I've also been playing some stuff from the Capcom Collection, but the input lag when playing docked is pretty bad on some titles (Giga Wing especially) and it's left me a little hesitant to invest in emulated titles. From what I can tell, Hamster is generally good about that, but are there any really bad titles I should avoid?

[EmperorIng]

It's not coming out till June, but Tower of Druaga has been announced. I am fond of the game despite its aching obtuseness, and heartily recommend its far more approachable PC Engine remake which makes progressing through the 60 maze-like floors far more bearable.

On the original game the furthest I've made it in a single credit is possibly floor 23 or 25, I can't remember. It has some of the most vicious enemy rng/ai that you've ever seen, on top of the cuck-you-in-a-moment treasure requirements that can totally screw you.

That being said, what's the likelihood of having some hints along the side of the screen as you play to reveal the treasures? Something tells me I'll need to have my Namco Museum vol 3 hint book on my lap as I play...

[BIL]

Finally got some time to sit down with Fighting Hawk. As jehu suggested, this is a game that really benefits from having its obvious inspiration available on the same platform. It's an entirely competent Hishouzamesque, but being able to fire up the real thing on a whim effectively blows away that inevitable "Nice but wish [X] had a port this good" vibe.

Like trap said, it's formally very competent indeed. Stage design is particularly nice, with consistent care shown to sniper tanks' essential counterpart: cartography. I always think back to Ghost Pilots as my absolute bargain basement Toaplanesque, the palest imitation I can stand. it has the aesthetic, and the tension, mostly, but fumbles with its maps. You can't just dump a bunch of tanks and gunboats onscreen and call it a day - those bits work as interludes, not the body of the work. Taito clearly understood the charm and utility of Hishou's rambling tank-infested landscapes, and the paradigm shift beyond Xevious they brought. Lots of pesky varmints crawling out of the woodwork from the off, I love it.

Big fan of locked horizontal scroll too. Just can't be arsed groping around blind edges these days. I'll do it, I don't really have a choice with so many excellent games demanding it, but I'm never sad to see it go.

Use of low/rear attackers is agreeable, given the decent ship speed and more importantly the homing bomb. Other than the somewhat lukewarm intensity - I'm certainly keeping on my toes, but it doesn't quite hit the sense of vise-grip onslaught Hihsou comfortably maintains - I think the weak link here is actually the OST. Zuntata's characteristically off-kilter, trepidatious weirdpop works a treat in Darius's surreal melancholias, but this iron-jawed aesthetic demands similarly balls-hard marching music.

OTOH, sticking something like Gun Frontier or Night Striker's blistering weird requiems woulda been overkill, so maybe not too bad on balance. :3 Visco's Taito-published Ashura Blaster woulda gone well, I think.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Big fan of locked horizontal scroll too. Just can't be arsed groping around blind edges these days. I'll do it, I don't really have a choice with so many excellent games demanding it, but I'm never sad to see it go.

Agreed. Being able to "seal" bullets by scrolling an enemy at the edge of the screen off-screen seems amusing, but it's not really fun in the situations where you can do it, and having to deal with sniper taking shooting you as soon as you scroll them on isn't really appealing. I've sometimes wondered how different a CAVE style Dodonpachi would be without horizontal scroll... then realized I had already played games exactly like that. Blue Wish Resurrection, Leiria Stargazer, Rolling Gunner... even CAVE's own Progear. I really don't miss the screen scrolling when I'm playing any of those.

Horizontal scroll also makes multiplayer impossible, or at least disorienting as all hell.

[BIL]

Thunder Dragon 2, Dangun Feveron, and Ikari are my go-tos for the excellence of monoaxial scrolling in Hard Action. The former two are rare balances of generosity (ship speed, shot, bombs, it's all deluxe) and utter fury (also, dem announcers). No fog of war bullshit, all is in sight. Ikari's the same in its diametrically opposite domain of death-marching tactical run/gun.

I often point out the de facto third Ikari, Guevara aka Guerrilla War... whose last two stages, while technically the hardest to execute, are paradoxically easier to learn, since they drop the hori pan bullshit and keep their murderous cards on the table. It's all about player service. Imma do it til I die but you best keep that mahfuckin camera on-target you lousy pricks!

Quick spin with *glancing at game monitor to confirm spelling* Youkai Douchuki, OMFG TEH AESFETIX Super lovable chibi hell world! Immediately apparent where the CERO B rating came from! UNHOLY PERKY BUBBZ OF THA DAMNED Action feels very agreeable too. Offhand, I perceive a bit of that characteristic late 80s/early 90s Namco input latency, but as usual, it's well within adjustability.

I'm mostly just hyped they gave us an English version, did one even exist BITD? Manual is nicely give-a-damn too, just like ACA Genpei Toumaden's. EDIT: Aha, seems the EN language version was an Asian release BITD. Excellent of them to include it, regardless.

Still got Valkyrie and Pac-Land to get to, and I need to MAME that Tennis game and longtime kusoge nemesis Wonder Momo too. More optimistic on the former than the latter but miracles do appen! Jebus, lots of content lately, between ACA, ShotTriggers and the PS4 releases of Rolling Gunner, Andro Dunos II and Eschatos. ING I was lukewarm on Druaga, but your writeup has disabused me of my foolishness Only played the FC version a bit, but it's the sort of game whose dastardly rep precedes it and draws me like a moth to a flamethrower.

I love seeing all this vintage AC stuff gathering under one platform via Hamster and M2. When the world ends I'm gonna chuck my PS4 into a briefcase and retire to my jenkem-powered nerdbunker to rack up a mighty Gaijin clear list to rival master ben_shinobi he very self.

[Jeneki]

One thing I'll say about Fighting Hawk: The base firepower feels fine. Sure it's got checkpoints and you lose everything on death, but I never feel unable to kill stuff due to this. Five bombs is also pretty nuts.

[Steven]

Finally got some time to sit down with Fighting Hawk. As jehu suggested, this is a game that really benefits from having its obvious inspiration available on the same platform. It's an entirely competent Hishouzamesque, but being able to fire up the real thing on a whim effectively blows away that inevitable "Nice but wish [X] had a port this good" vibe.

Like trap said, it's formally very competent indeed. Stage design is particularly nice, with consistent care shown to sniper tanks' essential counterpart: cartography. I always think back to Ghost Pilots as my absolute bargain basement Toaplanesque, the palest imitation I can stand. it has the aesthetic, and the tension, mostly, but fumbles with its maps. You can't just dump a bunch of tanks and gunboats onscreen and call it a day - those bits work as interludes, not the body of the work. Taito clearly understood the charm and utility of Hishou's rambling tank-infested landscapes, and the paradigm shift beyond Xevious they brought. Lots of pesky varmints crawling out of the woodwork from the off, I love it.

Big fan of locked horizontal scroll too. Just can't be arsed groping around blind edges these days. I'll do it, I don't really have a choice with so many excellent games demanding it, but I'm never sad to see it go.

Use of low/rear attackers is agreeable, given the decent ship speed and more importantly the homing bomb. Other than the somewhat lukewarm intensity - I'm certainly keeping on my toes, but it doesn't quite hit the sense of vise-grip onslaught Hihsou comfortably maintains - I think the weak link here is actually the OST. Zuntata's characteristically off-kilter, trepidatious weirdpop works a treat in Darius's surreal melancholias, but this iron-jawed aesthetic demands similarly balls-hard marching music.

OTOH, sticking something like Gun Frontier or Night Striker's blistering weird requiems woulda been overkill, so maybe not too bad on balance. :3 Visco's Taito-published Ashura Blaster woulda gone well, I think.

You've basically convinced me to try Fighting Hawk now. I typically prefer locked screens myself, but I think Hishouzame generally does it very well, as that massive play area combined with the size of your tiny little biplane give you a nice feeling of relative freedom and comfort, and I don't think I've ever been sniped from scrolling the screen in that game, although I have come close. Hishouzame... I guess the best way to describe it is as having a comfortable and enjoyable tension.

There are a ton of things I have been meaning to buy on ACA, though: Fighting Hawk, USAAF Mustang, Thunder Dragon 2 (yeah, this is the part where I admit that I tried it on MAME when everyone was talking about it and I haven't gotten around to buying it yet. Still feel kind of bad about it...), Gradius III, and all of the stuff that I have on Switch that I also want to buy on PS4, like the Konami arcade collection with Gradius, Gradius II, Thunder Cross, and everyone's beloved (?) kusoge Haunted Castle. Between M2 ShotTriggers, ACA, and wanting to pick up some Toaplan PCBs, I'll probably go bankrupt buying STGs this year...

ING I was lukewarm on Druaga, but your writeup has disabused me of my foolishness Only played the FC version a bit, but it's the sort of game whose dastardly rep precedes it and draws me like a moth to a flamethrower.

I'm actually very interested in trying it because of Koshiro's love for its music and its influence on him: https://youtu.be/tLqbixY5H0s

[BIL]

Hishouzame's own hori panning is indeed relatively harmless, I would say due to its pitch-perfect player speed VS enemy shot speed, and its tight sprite-to-screen dimensions. Super cleanly-readable game, and just a preternaturally well-done STG on the whole. It's sort of the Kunio-kun of STGs, imo... not technically the first, and not as flashy as later efforts, but it schools a whole slew of younger games on those fundamentals, and that same stripped-down nature makes it a snap to pick up and get lost in.

It's really the later stuff like Same3 1P ver, Raiden and Trigon that get my back up, with the ship/bullet balancing creating some lethal patches of offscreen space. I totally forgot to mention Video System and Psikyo here, games with truly hellacious bullet speed that I nonetheless find comfier than the aforementioned (granted they tend to have faster ships, smaller hitboxes, and kinder bombs, and are ultimately balls-hard as all hell anyway ).

Hishouzame... I guess the best way to describe it is as having a comfortable and enjoyable tension.

Yeah, precisely. Where Fighting Hawk unfortunately can be a little sleepy by AC standards, and later Toaplan/esques can be just harrowing, Hishou's got an excellent cruising speed to it.

Ah yes, I remember Koshiro mentioning Druaga... that's exactly the sort of thing that'll draw me to games like that, which I've very little personal attachment or history with. Xevious is another, when there's so many legendary figures swearing by a game it's impossible not to want to check it out firsthand.

There's so much good stuff on ACA now. The one caveat of their being digital-only aside, something I don't really sweat with modern conosoles (I kill for CIB 80s through 2000s stuff, but stopped caring as much once it was all discs and day 1 patches), I would say it's the single-best source of arcade gaming on console we've ever had. Hamster have all but mastered a balance of essentials, obscurities, volume, and no-frills but disciplined, low-lag emulation. I hope they stick around a good few years yet, it'd be amazing to see them tackle these publishers' mid-90s hardware at the same standard. The past gen has really worked out brilliantly, with M2 as the unrivalled kings of super-deluxe boutique releases, and Hamster covering myriad smaller but no less essential titles.

I would've bought TD2 blind as a bat (a practice ACA Athena has otherwise disabused me of, I find it mortifyingly bad ), just on the sheer number of good peeps that swear by it, but I too hit TEH ROMZ a week before release because I couldn't wait. The jewel of the whole ACA shooter lineup imo, and there are some other real killers in there too.

(slight tangent) Haunted Castle is legitimately a very weak game imo, though not the total mess it's popularly known as (it's a mess, just not a total one >_>) You may be aware, but if not, it had a memorably tragic dev cycle. It was actually only given the then-new Dracula name as a last resort, being a random horror sidescroller falling behind in development. They roped in devs from other projects to help out, but they left before playtesting, and uh...

YEAH ROCKDUDE, THAT MAKES SENSE

Spoiler

DR. WANKENSTEIN PLS

Spoiler

One thing to be said though, it pioneered a surprising amount of recurring enemies, setpieces, BGMs, and general aesthetics (reaching as far as M2's Dracula Rebirth for Wii), making it worth at least one playthrough for series fans. I really like its unique take on the traditional end-stage HP restore, too. Here, each hitpoint costs you one ammo... so going unscathed is richly rewarded with much more ammo for those chokepoints. (unfortunately, the only subweapon worth using is the Stopwatch - still, nice in theory >_>)

Anyway, all this to say, if you've not already I would go for Argus no Senshi aka Rygar first (JP ACA release has both; they're only subtly different, but always nice to see). Very STGesque balance of razor-sharp handling and dominating firepower with shock 1HKO deaths. The i-framed chainable head-stomping is inimitably joyful - for purveyors of such unremittingly hardcore action, Tecmo's AC division had a lovably playful side.

Also Saigo no Nindou, another decidedly STG-influenced classic from IREM (obligatory caveat - will see you through its infamous 11th-hour kusomemoriser, which would kill lesser games dead, but merely knocks this wicked gem of tactical/improv intensity from 11/10 down to plain ol' 10 ).

I happily picked up ACA Akumajou Dracula (w/ the brutally unfair Haunted Castle rev bundled) to replace Hamster's own rather jankier PS2 version, but I'm a Dracula weirdo like that. As far as arcade Dracula goes, VS Castlevania (also on ACA) totally outclasses it. If you've played the NES/FC ones, you've also played VSC, barring its tighter damage+time allowances... but as a "master course" affair, it's an excellent way to definitively bury the fiend (and then move onto the real oldschool CV Nightmare: Castlevania III (NES) Loop 2 Trevor-only.

[Steven]

Hishouzame's own hori panning is indeed relatively harmless, I would say due to its pitch-perfect player speed VS enemy shot speed, and its tight sprite-to-screen dimensions. Super cleanly-readable game, and just a preternaturally well-done STG on the whole. It's sort of the Kunio-kun of STGs, imo... not technically the first, and not as flashy as later efforts, but it schools a whole slew of younger games on those fundamentals, and that same stripped-down nature makes it a snap to pick up and get lost in.

Yeah, Hishouzame is the basics of shooting perfected. It's basically perfect in every way. I think the only thing that I've been able to critique about the game is that sometimes the enemy bullets blend in a little too well with the trees, so just be a little more careful than usual when flying over trees and there you go.

Other than that one little thing, which might just be me being super ultra picky, and possibly the huge wave of tanks and planes at the end of stage 5 being almost like a giant screw you to the player from the devs (and it isn't really even that bad at all once you know it's there, but the first time I killed the boss I thought I was done and then OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT -> game over yeah~!), the game design is extremely tight and it has that Toaplan attitude when you chop an enemy plane in half with your shot and half of it lands on a tank and the tank explodes. Takes half of the game to fully power up, but then if you die at the beginning of stage 4 I think it's possible to get fully powered up or 1 step away from it before finishing the stage. I know for a fact that you can recover on stage 5 and go from death to fully powered before the huge plane at the end. Excellent balance, great music, perfect sprite proportions combined with a massive area to fly around in, fun and endlessly replayable... good shit, Toaplan.

Ah yes, I remember Koshiro mentioning Druaga... that's exactly the sort of thing that'll draw me to games like that, which I've very little personal attachment or history with. Xevious is another, when there's so many legendary figures swearing by a game it's impossible not to want to check it out firsthand.

Yeah, Xevious was heavily influential on Yuge, and I believe he had it in mind when he was making Slap Fight, and Koshiro loves Xevious as well. I have it on 3DS, but my d-pad doesn't work that well anymore for some reason. It's perfectly clean and the membrane is fine, so I don't know what's up with it. I should get it on ACA and spend some time with it.

There's so much good stuff on ACA now. The one caveat of their being digital-only aside, something I don't really sweat with modern conosoles (I kill for CIB 80s through 2000s stuff, but stopped caring as much once it was all discs and day 1 patches), I would say it's the single-best source of arcade gaming on console we've ever had. Hamster have all but mastered a balance of essentials, obscurities, volume, and no-frills but disciplined, low-lag emulation. I hope they stick around a good few years yet, it'd be amazing to see them tackle these publishers' mid-90s hardware at the same standard. The past gen has really worked out brilliantly, with M2 as the unrivalled kings of super-deluxe boutique releases, and Hamster covering myriad smaller but no less essential titles.

Yeah, I really want to see something like ST-V or Taito F3 or something on ACA even though I know it's not possible as is, which is disappointing. I'd love to see Soukyuugurentai, RayForce, or even stuff like the ST-V version of Hanagumi Taisen Columns show up (that game's Dreamcast-exclusive sequel is better, though). I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again: the lack of R-Type/II/Leo/Gallop on ACA is both strange and disappointing, especially given that Irem has a few other titles on there already. Yeah, Dimensions, but I'd still insta-buy any/each/all of those R-Type games if they were on ACA.

I do absolutely need to check out Saigo no Nindou. I always forget it's on ACA and I always think of the PC Engine version, so I'll definitely look into getting it on ACA since Hamster deserves my cash anyway. Might as well pick up Thunder Dragon 2 while I'm there.

As for Dracula, I credit fed my way through Japanese version a few years ago on ACA and... lol. Like you said, the Japanese version is actually not too unplayable, and I think I could actually see myself enjoying it if it had gotten a few adjustments/better collision detection. The music is awesome and some of the art is really good, but it's both unfortunate and very clear that they rushed the game through development without proper testing. It's also one of those victims of that thing that companies used to do where they made the international version stupidly difficult. Between Dracula and Xexex (another great ACA release, for that matter), I'm not sure which one got the worse localization, but it's pretty close either way.

I need to go finally play X68000 Dracula, as well, now that I think about it... I have the MiSTer and the game runs very well (but not perfectly, as there are some minor graphical glitches) on there, so I might as well play that instead of the PS1 version that I bought a few months ago.

[Udderdude]

Quick spin with *glancing at game monitor to confirm spelling* Youkai Douchuki, OMFG TEH AESFETIX Super lovable chibi hell world! Immediately apparent where the CERO B rating came from! UNHOLY PERKY BUBBZ OF THA DAMNED

Oh yeah. https://twitter.com/sukerock360/status/ ... 3360317440

Cute chibi characters + vaguely defined humanoid figures endlessly writhing in pain = lots of fun. There are also translation patches for the PCE and FDS versions.

[OmegaFlareX]

Youkai Douchuki isn't on FDS, but the FC cart does have the special Namco chip in it with the extra sound channels.

[Udderdude]

Oops yeah, my mistake. There's a translation patch for the Famicom version.

[Sengoku Strider]

Like trap said, it's formally very competent indeed. Stage design is particularly nice, with consistent care shown to sniper tanks' essential counterpart: cartography. I always think back to Ghost Pilots as my absolute bargain basement Toaplanesque, the palest imitation I can stand. it has the aesthetic, and the tension, mostly, but fumbles with its maps. You can't just dump a bunch of tanks and gunboats onscreen and call it a day - those bits work as interludes, not the body of the work.

This is really interesting. I never thought of it at all as a Toaplan-take, primarily because I had no idea who Toaplan were back when it was out in arcades. I just thought it was just SNK trying to fill the 194x void. But going back and looking at video of it now, yeah, wow, it's a straight-up xerox. The glowing craters, the powerups running away from you, Toalike everything.

It's always been on my AES wishlist, but this kind of makes me want to get it more now. I know most rag on it, but I always liked it back in the day. The big chunky style of everything & the music were cool, and the first couple of stages were manageable making it a decent return on a quarter's investment. It got plenty out of me back when the convenience store near my place had it.

Prices on it are completely out of whack these days though. It's in the ~$500 range in Japan, and on eBay everyone's asking like $700-800 or more. I might just need to ride with ACA on this one unless I get insanely lucky or stumble onto an affordable conversion.

[Skyknight]

Tomorrow will see Trio the Punch published, for the curious. Yes, I know it’s not a shmup. Thy point?

(Still waiting for Cadash to be announced on my end.)

[Steven]

Bought a few ACA games yesterday: Saigo no Nindou, USAAF Mustang, Fighting Hawk, and Thunder Dragon 2. EEEEE-HURRRRRR!!!! It's time to put in more coins, man.

Haven't gotten much time into them due to Kiki Kaikai also showing up in the mail yesterday and the typical Toaplan distractions, and Snow Bros. Special is coming in the mail tomorrow, but I hope to put some decent time into all of them eventually.

[BIL]

Astute choices all! hit me up if you ever want to talk Saigo (or click my sig for a humble primer )

Tomorrow will see Trio the Punch published, for the curious.

Oh rad, finally! I thought it was Flipull this week, which would've been ok, but it's the Run 2 The Right Killing Motherfuckers that is MUH JAM As was DECO's wont, while it has a dodgy rep, Trio's actually a pretty solid action game. As the Shinobi, anyway! His rolling jump is rad. I never used the POPPIN FRESH Gangsta Thug or Black Rastan much. They look cooler at least!

Another precious DECO release... here's hoping M2's ambitions see the light eventually, too (wasn't all that long ago people were wondering if the Toaplan stuff would ever land, and now look at 'em go ). For the love of God and all that is holy I hope someone else out there loves their Thunder Zone as much as I do, it's possibly the apotheosis of the entire SNK/DECO topdown run/gun rivalry that kicked off with Ikari and Heavy Barrel. Certainly the most amusing of the canon. "SAYANORA, PAL"

Technically Trio's second outing with Hamster, for those of us keeping track since the PS2's Oreteachi Gesen Zoku days, though we don't talk about those.