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

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

Post by espibara »

Daft question how can you play ACA games on PC in the UK? They aren't on steam?
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Ms. Tea
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Ms. Tea »

They're on the MS store, but not Steam, for some reason. Also mostly/only the Neo Geo ones it looks like? e.g. https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/aca-n ... m96zcxpmm2
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Klatrymadon
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Klatrymadon »

Yeah, it's just the Neo Geo stuff, sadly. You can also buy them through the Xbox/Game Pass app on PC, although I find many won't show up on there if you just type "arcade archives" or "ACA Neo Geo" - best to search for them individually.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

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Rastan78
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Rastan78 »

Awesome. Great memories of playing this in arcades in the day. I gotta play as the dude who looks like Hulk Hogan or not at all.
velo
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by velo »

How censored was Crime Fighters 1 and how much is CF2 likely to get hit with?
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BIL
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Only thing I noticed altered in ACA CF1 is Hardgay-kun's taunt. In the Japan 2P board (not sure about other revs), he humps the air menacingly, while on ACA he just stands in place. Otherwise, all the sleazy posters, st3 hooker, st6 homeless dudes drinking in the trash, etc were intact. Even st7's gay dog still gets his freak on, at least if you get caught! A ribald affair all told.

EDIT: Out now! And so is my hog! CERO B with sexy warning (AND gun+knife :shock:), that's promising I guess!
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Marc
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Marc »

Awesome!
Like many, I discovered MAME around 20 years ago, and spent weeks downloading ROMS over dial-up to eventually amass more than I would ever play (and spending a few days working out that not one of them was working due to the way I'd painstakingly re-named them all as the DL'd. Oh, how I laughed.). Even at the time though, I spent many an hour on this. Enjoyed the original's AA release, but dropped it on ST5 more due to its lack of pace than anything else, so just hoping this is as punchy and zippy as I remember.
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DenimDemon
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by DenimDemon »

Downloaded Vendetta on Switch. At first I had the sensation of the game feeling a bit floaty...then got used to it. Use to have the pcb of a friend around and really don't remember it feeling like this.. Or maybe it is and its just my memory playing tricks...or maybe its to much SoR4 lately wich feels very responsive... Even if im not a huge fan of the game.
They included both 2P and 4P versions for each region, thats cool.

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Creamy Goodness
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Creamy Goodness »

MAME may give you a better frame of reference. I have Trigon on ACA as well as the rom and there was a very noticable difference in the sound between the two with the rom sounding much better. You may find the emulated version is more accurate and can be a point of reference.
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OmegaFlareX
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by OmegaFlareX »

DenimDemon wrote:Downloaded Vendetta on Switch. At first I had the sensation of the game feeling a bit floaty...then got used to it. Use to have the pcb of a friend around and really don't remember it feeling like this..
Might be input lag. Emulation on pretty much any platform is going to have some, plus the Switch isn't exactly known for stellar response time. PCB + CRT is likely going to feel much snappier.
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BIL
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Not noticing any appreciable lag on PS4 via low latency monitor, nor did I expect any. Double Dragon II, Zero Team, Ninja Gaiden and Crime Fighters all feel tight too, to name the beltscrollers I've put the most time on. Sunset Riders, Ninja Spirit and Rygar likewise, for sidescrollers, all of them full of pixel/frame-tight maneuvers from start to finish.

The only ACA release I've ever noticed lag in on this setup is apparently a native 5F PCB: The Lord Of King (ShmupMAME and the latest MAME both give 5F, and handle identically). An easy game by AC standards, but the latency puts a subtle pressure on simple moves that'd become effortless in tighter sidescrollers, like avoiding the penultimate boss's lightning.

Actually, Sunset Riders also has a bit of native hardware lag, though it's thankfully kept away from the vital mechanics. Ducking takes around four frames of unbroken input to trigger. Try feathering [down] - your character will never leave neutral state. By contrast, the slide input - [Down + Jump] comes out next-frame. Landing from a jump while holding [down] will likewise put you in crouch the instant you make ground contact. I've confirmed this one on hardware, and again, all versions of MAME reproduce the delay, too.
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DenimDemon
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by DenimDemon »

Yeah i own dozens of ACA releases on Switch and they feel great. Just the sensation i had booting this up for the first time today...
Love this OST, it sounds so cool and dangerous.

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Rastan78
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Rastan78 »

Looks like the JP version of CF2 is censored on ACA as the creepy leather daddy enemies don't appear in stage 3.
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DenimDemon
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by DenimDemon »

Thundercross 2 got a patch on Switch. Any ideia what for?

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

Post by BIL »

Same on PS4, the update history just says "fixed bugs."
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Creamy Goodness »

DenimDemon wrote:Downloaded Vendetta on Switch. At first I had the sensation of the game feeling a bit floaty...then got used to it. Use to have the pcb of a friend around and really don't remember it feeling like this.. Or maybe it is and its just my memory playing tricks...or maybe its to much SoR4 lately wich feels very responsive... Even if im not a huge fan of the game.
They included both 2P and 4P versions for each region, thats cool.

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Going back to the Trigon example I decided to give it a go for the first time in a while on Retroarch and it made me realize the ship in the ACA version (PS4) is slow af making the game really hard. Playing it on Retroarch on my phone no less the ship moved at a much more reasonable speed making the game a lot less frustrating and overall more enjoyable. Not sure though if the ACA version is more accurate, but I am getting the impression there may be some control issues in the ACA emulation.
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BIL
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Creamy Goodness wrote:Going back to the Trigon example I decided to give it a go for the first time in a while on Retroarch and it made me realize the ship in the ACA version (PS4) is slow af making the game really hard. Playing it on Retroarch on my phone no less the ship moved at a much more reasonable speed making the game a lot less frustrating and overall more enjoyable.
Trigon's ship isn't particularly slow, compared to its peers. Movement speed is about the same as Hishouzame, Kyuukyoku Tiger and Raiden. However, its hitbox is big, bullets are fast, and the Rank is mean, all of which can make things seem worse than they really are. Particularly if you're hoarding bombs, which are plentiful and devastating.
Not sure though if the ACA version is more accurate, but I am getting the impression there may be some control issues in the ACA emulation.
Trigon's world record holder, Tsuiimaru, gave the PS4 ACA release his endorsement, after 1-ALLing it at release. I'm reasonably confident the ACA one is fine. (FWIW, I don't notice any control differences between Trigon in ShmupMAME and PS4 to begin with)

Historically, the series has acquitted itself well in comparison to MAME. After Omega Fighter Special's disarmed zako (fixed shortly post-ACA), and Contra's broken 3D stages (fixed just recently - even M2 screwed this up), it wouldn't surprise me to hear Task Force Harrier's lightning-fast MAME ship is an emulation issue. (which sucks, as I prefer it to ACA's more conservative speed)

I should say, I've no idea about the Switch side of things. A couple years ago, I wanted to play The Ninja Warriors Once Again, and had a choice of Switch or PS4. Didn't care which. I only went with the latter because Switch seemed synonymous with input lag discussions, like this one. :lol:
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Creamy Goodness »

Hmmmm. Maybe I need to actually go back to the PS4 version. Been a few months since I've fired it up and even then I only played it casually, but I seem to remember the ship being a little on the slow side. In Retroarch with the FB Neo core it just seemed a little faster. Maybe I'm just better at shmups these days so the ship just feels easier to control or FB Neo is just inaccurate.

I do know at first I wasn't really into the game, but now that I am getting more into the old Toaplan games I am gaining a new appreciation for it as it feels very similar to stuff like Twin Hawk. May have to give it a little more commitment.
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BIL
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Oh no, I'd definitely put Trigon on the slower end of the scale - just that I'd put Hishouzame, KT and Raiden there, too. Others I'd name from outside the Toaplan school would be Metal Black, Rayforce, and Hacha Mecha Fighter. All games where you're just slow enough that twitch reaction isn't always sufficient - you might see a bullet and start moving, only to get clipped anyway, necessitating the kind of tactical sweeps and cutbacks Rastan mentioned being a Raiden signature.

(one rung down is where I'd put SNK's truly glacial Ikari & Dogosoken, where unattended shooters can cut down the moving player at truly cruel range - but it works out, because they move just as slowly as you do, and you've got plenty of means to pre-emptively squash them)
DenimDemon wrote:Thundercross 2 got a patch on Switch. Any ideia what for?
Besides the aforementioned bugfix, they added Konami Code, apparently. Image (most of the earlier, Gotch-developed Konami ACA titles have this too, as does the more recent ACA Gradius III)
Fingolfin
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Fingolfin »

Finding Darwin 4078 a blast!

Confusing/puzzling at first then just very challenging once the weird dust starts to settle.

Would anyone know how the stop fire mechanism works?

I refer to how if player is hit player ship won’t fire for a while.

Found this evolution tree guide but nothing on how the player ship stop fire works.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/arcade/58 ... faqs/25555

Dust still settling obviously.

Thank you for any insights or info for Darwin 4078.

Did try the Super Darwin and enjoyed the game but not the emulatio!
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DenimDemon
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by DenimDemon »

Had no ideia they added Contra Code on Thundercross 2. Lol thats so funny.

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

Post by Jeneki »

Anyone try Sea Fighter Poseidon? Randomly spotted it on psn and not sure how I missed it. The theme looks super cool (Thunderball maybe?).

Also recently got addicted to Burnin' Rubber (Bump n Jump). Playing this game like a psycho is pretty satisfying, screw the no-crash bonus! :P
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BIL
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Jeneki wrote:Anyone try Sea Fighter Poseidon? Randomly spotted it on psn and not sure how I missed it. The theme looks super cool (Thunderball maybe?).
Yep! Very cool game, has that Elevator Action sense of creative mischief. And indeed it's the Bondiest shooting this side of Spy Hunter. :mrgreen: (I guess it owes as much to classic Jules Verne etc, but I don't remember those professor dudes shooting quite this many thugs in the face!)
Also recently got addicted to Burnin' Rubber (Bump n Jump). Playing this game like a psycho is pretty satisfying, screw the no-crash bonus! :P
I thought the same :lol: Seems a tricky, disciplined scoring game, and also just a brutally good destruction derby.
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Marc
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Marc »

I caved over the weekend and picked up Guerilla War. Not played yet, but I've a few cold ones in the fridge to calm me when it inevitably tears me a new one later :D
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BrianC
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BrianC »

BIL wrote:
Also recently got addicted to Burnin' Rubber (Bump n Jump). Playing this game like a psycho is pretty satisfying, screw the no-crash bonus! :P
I thought the same :lol: Seems a tricky, disciplined scoring game, and also just a brutally good destruction derby.
I first got in to Bump 'n Jump via the home ports. I actually found the intellivsion version to be much better than the Colecovision port. CV version suffers from unresponsive controls on top of the choppy scrolling. 2600 version is pretty good, though extremes were taken to reduce flicker. I also have the NES version, which is more of a sequel (named Buggy Popper in Japan), despite being renamed Bump 'n Jump in the US.
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Flashman
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Flashman »

This could be old news but I’ve just noticed something a little disappointing with ACA - I’ve never been a huge user of save states, but I caved in as I was trying to perfect my technique for the later spring stages in Donkey Kong, after getting bored with repeating the same level over and over I played on to a game over and to my surprise the option to update my score on the online scoreboard came up. This means the scoreboard allows for updating scores from reloaded games, essentially making them a joke.

I was getting quite into them on certain games but this has caused me to loose all interest now.
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OmegaFlareX
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by OmegaFlareX »

I'm probably not thinking about various use-case scenarios where it could be acceptable, but I'm really perplexed why a lot of score attack or other online leaderboard modes will allow continues or save states.

Select Score Attack, you get 1 credit (or 2 for 2p), no continues, no savestates, and it uploads the score and input replay at the end if you're online. It seems so simple yet no one is doing it that way. Keep normal arcade and practice modes off of the leaderboards and just save the in-game score tables locally.
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Flashman
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Flashman »

OmegaFlareX wrote:I'm probably not thinking about various use-case scenarios where it could be acceptable, but I'm really perplexed why a lot of score attack or other online leaderboard modes will allow continues or save states.

Select Score Attack, you get 1 credit (or 2 for 2p), no continues, no savestates, and it uploads the score and input replay at the end if you're online. It seems so simple yet no one is doing it that way. Keep normal arcade and practice modes off of the leaderboards and just save the in-game score tables locally.
Problem is some of the games don’t have a score attack or caravan mode - Donkey Kong for one, and I’m pretty sure the original Gradius doesn’t either - I think they leave it out with games where several regional releases are included in the package, or it’s just an older release thing.
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