SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

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Sengoku Strider
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SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Sengoku Strider »

Now here's one of these things I can finally get excited about. Just owning a version of that case would be awesome:

Image

No real details announced yet, it says Oct. 8th will be the date for that. But I think it's pretty safe to assume there will be STGs. It says preorders will open on the same day.


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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Ghegs »

That's all kinds of crazy and unexpected. Hopefully they'll reveal the game list before the pre-orders open.

Having the original Cho Ren Sha on that would be funny as hell.
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Koa Zo
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Koa Zo »

Here's hoping the new reissued Micomsoft Cyber Stick gets another production run or two.
Last edited by Koa Zo on Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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BrianC
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by BrianC »

Zuiki straight up distributing it this time around.
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subcons
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by subcons »

I’m not into minis either, but making this library easier to play is reason for me to absolutely buy one of these.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by pegboy »

First time I've legit been interested in one of these. Hopefully the game list holds up.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by jehu »

BrianC wrote:Zuiki straight up distributing it this time around.
I'm not familiar with Zuiki. Do they have a record of doing good work?
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by SuperDeadite »

I'm curious, but my expectations for this are rather low. Lol.
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BrianC
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by BrianC »

jehu wrote:
BrianC wrote:Zuiki straight up distributing it this time around.
I'm not familiar with Zuiki. Do they have a record of doing good work?
They were responsible for the hardware for some of the previous minis, including the Astro City Minis. I heard they had some involvement with the Egret II Mini, as well.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Steven »

Yeah, I saw this a few days ago. Not much info on it until the 8th, but they were teasing this some months ago.

Uemura-san took a picture of it next to a real X68000, so you can see how big it is with that picture: https://twitter.com/u_brand_/status/1570693772668968966

Looking at the picture of it next to the real thing, it does seem that the 3.5mm headphone jack on this new thing is actually a real headphone jack, as well, which is always nice.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by kid aphex »

The rumors were true…

I hope this thing is an STG beast.
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parodius
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by parodius »

Charcoal grey version plz.
I'll buy it either way :mrgreen:
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Creamy Goodness »

This is one mini I am actually keeping an eye on. From my little experience emulating the X68000 is kind of a pain. Rather just pay a few bucks for ease of setup and QoL features.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Jonpachi »

What are some shmups from the console we could look forward to?

I only really know of Cotton, and we already got the great port in the Cotton Reboot pack.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by PFG 9000 »

Jonpachi wrote:What are some shmups from the console we could look forward to?

I only really know of Cotton, and we already got the great port in the Cotton Reboot pack.
Nemesis 90 Kai. It's a Gradius spinoff that I've been wanting to try for 20+ years. If it's the only game on this thing I'll still buy it.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by SuperDeadite »

Lots of great shooters on X68000:

Scorpius: This game will kick your ass, and you will love it.
Last Battalion: Remake of Override from PCEngine.
Nemesis '90 Kai: Remake of MSX Gradius 2 (Totally different game than arcade Gradius II)
Bosconian: Features Yuzo Koshiro arranged soundtrack. Some of the best FM music you will ever hear.
Kyukyoku Tiger: Not quite arcade perfect, but worth it for the crazy fun full analog (mouse) control.
Cotton: Best version of the original game. Hopefully they include the Beep version which has a few new updates.
Dragon Spirit: Supports true tate in both 15khz and 31khz modes.

Phalanx, Granada, Sol-Feace, are all better on X68000 than the console ports.
Parodiusda, Gradius II, Detana Twinbee all have fantastic exclusive MIDI music options.

Considering the timing, I'd be shocked if the new USB Cyberstick isn't supported. Meaning, Space Harrier, After Burner II, Thunder Blade,
should have true analog HOTAS support and are all nice ports for their time.

There are tons of great doujin shooters as well...
Chorensha
Dive On
Y2
Illumination Laser
Angel Dive
Blue Wings 1 and 2
and many many more.

Of course we have no idea what this thing will include yet. They have been keeping the ports secret, so I'd hope there will be a din5 MIDI connector on this thing. If not, I'd assume they will support USB-MIDI if nothing else. Roland charges a fortune to license their sound banks, so I highly doubt this thing will have internal MIDI sound banks, but nobody really knows yet.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Steven »

X68000 also has the real version of Thunder Force II, which has never been released anywhere else. It's more difficult than Thunder Force II MD, as well; X68000 version wants you dead the moment you start the game. The Saturn could have easily done great justice to this game, but nope, it got Thunder Force II MD instead.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by BrianC »

I hope those disc slots are SD card slots. They look about the right size for that. So far, the Egret II Mini is my favorite of the minis that Zuiki was involved with, and it got better after the firmware update. I like the Astro City mini, as well, though I'm not sure about the Astro City V since I heard it has more lag than the others.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Ghegs »

Looking at lists of the system's games, this is actually bit of a hard sell for me, despite my general enjoyment of Mini systems. Many of the more famous games are already officially available via other means (recent Hamster ports, for example), so I'm more interested in the system's exclusives and games otherwise not easily available via official means. I'm concerned stuff like The Cockpit is going to be included, and many of the exclusive shmups just don't look that interesting. And it's a fairly safe bet there's going to be a version of Street Fighter II in there, because it's a big name and they were solid ports for their time, and I don't care at all about them.

Still, personal wish list:

Akumajou Dracula
Aquales
Cho Ren Sha
Daimakaimura
Genocide 2
Granada
Image Fight
Mad Stalker
Naious
Nemesis '90 Kai
Overtake
Phalanx
Sol-Feace
Thunder Force II

Coincidentally, Granada is also getting released in Mega Drive Mini 2 next month. And it'd be funny to have Thunder Force II here, since that'd mean I could play that game on X68000 Mini, Thunder Force III on Mega Drive Mini, Thunder Force AC on Astro City Mini, and Thunder Force IV on Mega Drive Mini 2. And having Akumajou Dracula would include the system on the list of Minis that have a Castlevania game in them, which is a pretty large number as well.
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BrianC
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by BrianC »

I'm guessing the Cyberstick for the MD Mini 2 will also be compatible with this. Wouldn't be surprised to see some SEGA ports like After Burner II in there.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by pablumatic »

Here's to hoping for lots of shooters and few Japanese language heavy RPGs.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Sengoku Strider »

parodius wrote:Charcoal grey version plz.
Image

That version's gotta be the most badass computer of the retro era. If I knew it existed I would have lusted after it so bad. Importing one would've cost as much as a used car at the time, though.
SuperDeadite wrote:Of course we have no idea what this thing will include yet. They have been keeping the ports secret, so I'd hope there will be a din5 MIDI connector on this thing. If not, I'd assume they will support USB-MIDI if nothing else. Roland charges a fortune to license their sound banks, so I highly doubt this thing will have internal MIDI sound banks, but nobody really knows yet.
The sound banks were internal, not module based? But I'm gonna go with a 0% chance on the din5. Even a lot of hardware synths these days forego that in favour of USB-MIDI. If it does support external stuff like that, they'd probably require people to use a USB adapter rather than raise the unit price for a port almost nobody will use.
pablumatic wrote:Here's to hoping for lots of shooters and few Japanese language heavy RPGs.
I'm hoping for the version of Ys with squished goth lipstick Bruce Willis TBH.

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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by SuperDeadite »

Real computer used external modules of course. For a modern system like this they could use Roland's software synths internally, but that would cost a lot. So far the Mini's ports have been hidden, so there is a chance a true din5 might be there. As an XVI owner, I have no personal interest in this machine, just curious how they will approach the extras, as that's what makes the system worth owning imo.

Considering the Cyberstick, I'd hope the system exclusive Neural Gear gets included as it's a great one.

I'd guess that Etoile Princesse, Geograph Seal, Genjyuuki (Undeadline), and Die Bahnwelt should be no brainers as well.

The MIDI aspect will be interesting to see though. Daimakaimura on a modern synth like Dreamblaster is just mind-blowing.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by kid aphex »

I’ve also got my fingers crossed for Neural Gear.
The soundtrack is one of my favorites…
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by SuperDeadite »

Chojin and Hellhound will hopefully make the cut, both were Takeru only releases, but some of the best.

Gemini Wing would be another good choice... if MIDI support works...

Also, I'd bet that Gradius III, which is a doujin port that is finished but not released yet will be there.

EDIT: Midgarts (Gold) will hopefully be there. This was an RPG on other computers but remade into a shmup for X68000 (yes, seriously). It's a bizarre organic shooter that will keep you saying "wtf?" until the end.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Ghegs »

I went and read the interview about it, and apparently they're not currently planning on selling the unit through Amazon at all, only via their own website. If they accept international orders, it'll be a small miracle. Not that this isn't understandable, it's not like the system has much of a presence outside Japan.

They also said the set will include both keyboard and mouse.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Steven »

I have a feeling that this thing is going to be expensive and produced in extremely limited quantities, too, although I have no specific reason for feeling this way.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Hazuki »

I'm not very familiar with X68000's library. Never had the opportunity to mess around with it much due to being busy with other systems and emulation also being kind of a pain to setup. What I do know though is that there are a lot of perfect/quasi-perfect arcade ports. Those can be emulated on MAME though, so I'm more interested in the system's original titles. Does anyone have a complete list of that? If it's not too much of a bother to share it here, it'd be appreciated.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by To Far Away Times »

This is simultaneously one of the systems that I'd love to explore, but also one that I am extremely squirmish about.

Most of the X68000 standout games are homebrew / indie titles, which likely won't appear here. But the X68000 is a fascinating case of how computers could have evolved and what could have been.
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Re: SHARP X68000 MINI !!!

Post by Ghegs »

New tweet announces that tomorrow's opening of pre-orders and reveal of further details has been postponed, with no new date as to when it's happening.
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