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

[dojo_b]

This all makes me very happy as, by pure coincidence, my PS4 Hishouzame should be arriving tonight and I'd completely overlooked its gratis helping of sweet puzzle action.

[Herr Schatten]

@Steven: Thank you for the Teki-Paki info, much appreciated.

TBH I didn't know WTF I was doing and kept dying seemingly at random to screenloads of kanji But that in itself is, indeed, alluring! Current status is Intriguing Cube Game, and gaining!

In case you haven't figured it out yourself in the meantime, here’s how Flipull works. It’s not the most intuitive of puzzle games, unfortunately, but very rewarding once you get into it.

You move your little guy up and down, then shoot your block either directly at the formation of blocks or indirectly from above, using the walls to deflect it down into the correct column. (Watch out for tubes that let your block only pass through either vertically or horizontally.)

Your block clears all blocks with the same symbol on its way until it hits a block with a different symbol. It will then take the place of the different block in the formation snd said different block gets flipped back to you in exchange. The idea is that you don't just blindly clear blocks but do it in a way that always leaves you with a new block that enables you to continue. Otherwise you have to use one of your yellow lightning blocks that can interact with any symbol. Those are your equivalent of lives in this game.

The goal is to clear a certain amount of blocks in each level. (Not all if them, thankfully.)

The problem with this game is that it has a crucial design flaw in that the time limit always stays the same three minutes or so. While that's plenty of time for the earlier stages, later ones are basically impossible unless you know the exact sequence of moves beforehand and execute them with machine-like accuracy. I seem to remember that the Game Boy version removed the timer, so if you end up enjoying the game's mechanics, it's probably worth checking out that one.

[BIL]

Excellent guidance, cheers bud. The ACA manual is quite substantial, as is Hamster's wont, but I was just too tired and bleary-eyed to really get anything out of it. That makes perfect sense now, thinking a few moves ahead basically.

EDIT: Blimey! It's bizarre. and brutal, and perversely lovable. Especially after a couple months taking it easy with them thar FromSoft games! Good stuff those. However my heart remains with the coin-operated killing floor.



Between this and Dragon Buster (plus Genpei Toumaden somewhat), early 80s Namco really gave the coinop ARPG thing the ol' college try. Must've been an interesting time, with their early established dominance in STGs and arguable pioneering of sidescrolling action/platforming via Pac-Land.

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...

ING-san I am a complete and utter Druaga noob who's never so much as grabbed a rod But I think they may have done something along those lines! There's dedicated "map info" button, assignable anywhere on the controller. Press it to bring up nice dossier on your current floor, with enemy and treasure data, plus secret reveal triggers. You can freely flip between each floor's dossier, even.

A tap of R1 brings up Floor 1's dossier:

Spoiler

A couple taps of [down] later, here's Floor 21's:

Spoiler

As I'd hoped, this is completely disabled in Hi Score Mode, which I see is already full of crazy Nihons as I would expect of such an august institution. Practice in normal mode, get REAL ARCADE FEEL in HS Mode!

I'm guessing ACA Return of Ishtar isn't too far off, would be nice to see it get similar onboard guidance for we Western latecomers!

[Rastan78]

As I'd hoped, this is completely disabled in Hi Score Mode, which I see is already full of crazy Nihons as I would expect of such an august institution.

I love how these new console ports bring the OG arcade heads out of the woodwork to post some crazy scores.

[BIL]

Ha, same. Feels like a little window into times and places most of us just weren't around for. It's especially cool in something like Druaga's case, with it being explicitly designed around a communal game center spirit. In some small way, I think the internet's helped bring a bit of that back, ala the new Kiki Kaikai's thread.

[Zach Keene]

...how do the jet boots only get 3 stars of importance?

[Skyknight]

We have Motos tomorrow.

[BrianC]

We have Motos tomorrow.

My first experience with that was Microsoft Revenge of Arcade. Very fun game.

[SPM]

^ Very fun! I've just checked youtube and to my surprise there are 62 levels!!! I never got past level 17...

[Udderdude]

I never really got into Motos, or Grobda either. Never got the appeal, watching a playthrough doesn't change my mind. lol

[velo]

CLASSICS THAT WELL DESERVE AN OFF-MUSEUM RELEASE

--Thunder Ceptor
-

Thunder Ceptor is coming June 30. I've never heard of it, but looks like Namco + Space Harrier, winning combination

[Steven]

Thunder Ceptor looks interesting. It is destined to be compared to the legendary Space Harrier, so I wonder how well it compares. Space Harrier is a difficult game to be compared to given how awesome it is, so hopefully Thunder Ceptor manages to stand out in some way. PS4 doesn't have Space Harrier, but on Switch, if you had only $7.99 to give to either Space Harrier or Thunder Ceptor, I wonder how many wouldn't choose Space Harrier.

I still need to find a Saturn Space Harrier that works on my Skeleton Saturn so I can play it with my Mission Stick, for that matter. The one that came with my Mission Stick and the only ones I can find are the bugged version that only works on the grey Saturns. I guess I could just go get a grey Saturn, but I really don't need another Saturn just for Space Harrier.

[Sengoku Strider]

Thunder Ceptor looks interesting. It is destined to be compared to the legendary Space Harrier, so I wonder how well it compares. Space Harrier is a difficult game to be compared to given how awesome it is, so hopefully Thunder Ceptor manages to stand out in some way. PS4 doesn't have Space Harrier, but on Switch, if you had only $7.99 to give to either Space Harrier or Thunder Ceptor, I wonder how many wouldn't choose Space Harrier.

I still need to find a Saturn Space Harrier that works on my Skeleton Saturn so I can play it with my Mission Stick, for that matter. The one that came with my Mission Stick and the only ones I can find are the bugged version that only works on the grey Saturns. I guess I could just go get a grey Saturn, but I really don't need another Saturn just for Space Harrier.

I'm generally not one to suggest ROMs, and I don't actually know the legal particularities of backup copies in Japan. But if you already own the disc, I think you should be within your rights to use a burned disc with a compatible version. Especially if it's a Sega game where Sega mistakenly released a version that doesn't function with the Sega console that it says it's for right on the front cover.

[BrianC]

Thunder Ceptor looks interesting. It is destined to be compared to the legendary Space Harrier, so I wonder how well it compares. Space Harrier is a difficult game to be compared to given how awesome it is, so hopefully Thunder Ceptor manages to stand out in some way. PS4 doesn't have Space Harrier, but on Switch, if you had only $7.99 to give to either Space Harrier or Thunder Ceptor, I wonder how many wouldn't choose Space Harrier.

I still need to find a Saturn Space Harrier that works on my Skeleton Saturn so I can play it with my Mission Stick, for that matter. The one that came with my Mission Stick and the only ones I can find are the bugged version that only works on the grey Saturns. I guess I could just go get a grey Saturn, but I really don't need another Saturn just for Space Harrier.

Do you have any other Model 2 Saturns? Not all Model 2 saturns are incompatible, just later models. I have the earlier versions of Space Harrier and Outrun and both work great on my white Model 2 Saturn.

[Steven]

Thunder Ceptor looks interesting. It is destined to be compared to the legendary Space Harrier, so I wonder how well it compares. Space Harrier is a difficult game to be compared to given how awesome it is, so hopefully Thunder Ceptor manages to stand out in some way. PS4 doesn't have Space Harrier, but on Switch, if you had only $7.99 to give to either Space Harrier or Thunder Ceptor, I wonder how many wouldn't choose Space Harrier.

I still need to find a Saturn Space Harrier that works on my Skeleton Saturn so I can play it with my Mission Stick, for that matter. The one that came with my Mission Stick and the only ones I can find are the bugged version that only works on the grey Saturns. I guess I could just go get a grey Saturn, but I really don't need another Saturn just for Space Harrier.

I'm generally not one to suggest ROMs, and I don't actually know the legal particularities of backup copies in Japan. But if you already own the disc, I think you should be within your rights to use a burned disc with a compatible version. Especially if it's a Sega game where Sega mistakenly released a version that doesn't function with the Sega console that it says it's for right on the front cover.

I don't have a way to play fake games on my Saturn, and with the MiSTer core almost finished, that's what I will likely use instead.

Thunder Ceptor looks interesting. It is destined to be compared to the legendary Space Harrier, so I wonder how well it compares. Space Harrier is a difficult game to be compared to given how awesome it is, so hopefully Thunder Ceptor manages to stand out in some way. PS4 doesn't have Space Harrier, but on Switch, if you had only $7.99 to give to either Space Harrier or Thunder Ceptor, I wonder how many wouldn't choose Space Harrier.

I still need to find a Saturn Space Harrier that works on my Skeleton Saturn so I can play it with my Mission Stick, for that matter. The one that came with my Mission Stick and the only ones I can find are the bugged version that only works on the grey Saturns. I guess I could just go get a grey Saturn, but I really don't need another Saturn just for Space Harrier.

Do you have any other Model 2 Saturns? Not all Model 2 saturns are incompatible, just later models. I have the earlier versions of Space Harrier and Outrun and both work great on my white Model 2 Saturn.

It's the VA11 motherboards and later that have problems with Space Harrier and Out Run. I think. Maybe it was another motherboard revision (probably VA10 if it isn't the VA11. It's somewhere around that range where those games stop working), but I forget which one it is. I do have an extra white Saturn that I was going to put a MODE in, but it stopped working. I believe I need to recap the PSU or something. Still, with the MiSTer core coming soon, there's really no point in buying a MODE since I already have a MiSTer.

[Fingolfin]

Taito’s Space Seeker 1981 this week!

[Sengoku Strider]

I don't have a way to play fake games on my Saturn

Really? I just figured an Action Replay or a black all-in-one cart was a standard fixture of every Saturn these days. I just use the Ai1 for the convenience of getting around region locks and always having 1 meg & 4 meg RAM expansions + an external memory card plugged in. Well worth the $35 or whatever it was on eBay.

[BrianC]

Taito’s Space Seeker 1981 this week!

Definitely looks interesting. Seems to have some influence from the Intellivision's Space Battle, which also had a map with enemy targets (probably one of the first to do so).

I don't have a way to play fake games on my Saturn

Really? I just figured an Action Replay or a black all-in-one cart was a standard fixture of every Saturn these days. I just use the Ai1 for the convenience of getting around region locks and always having 1 meg & 4 meg RAM expansions + an external memory card plugged in. Well worth the $35 or whatever it was on eBay.

Action Replay only plays imports, no bootlegs. What's Ai1? I tried searching for it and got something completely unrelated. I'm guessing you mean 4 in 1? It's great for most RAM cart games, but I heard some carts have issues with some of the 1 meg games. I can test with Real Bout since it's one of the problem games. I don't remember having issues with it, but I'm not sure if I tried it with the AR cart. I also have the actual RAM carts and a couple JP Saturns.

Edit: Guessing Ai1 is Pseudo Saturn All in 1.

[Sengoku Strider]

Action Replay only plays imports, no bootlegs

Ah, ok. Never had one.

Edit: Guessing Ai1 is Pseudo Saturn All in 1.

Yep.

[BIL]

Whoa, Space Seeker looks fascinating! Only just had a chance to sit down with it, didn't recognise the PSN Store banner at all from the gallery STG I was expecting. Hori bits are kinda Gradius-lookin', despite being from the relatively ancient 1981... cool.

EDIT: Man, this must've blown minds in its day with the furious subgenre-hopping pace. The hori phases really do feel like a bridge from Scramble to Gradius, combining traditionally precise bomb placement with much more aggressively-paced air combat. Neat game.

I wonder if they were going for an informal series aesthetic with Space Invaders / Space Cruiser / Space Seeker. The latter two obviously have little in common with the legendary gallery STG, but I do get a very similar vibe from them. Colourful and rippingly fast subgenre-hopping shooting predating Salamander by a good five years.

Seems Chack n' Pop finally has a confirmed release date, about a month down the road in July. Nice to see, but I gotta repeat, where for the love of God and all that is holy is Rainbow Islands: The Story Of Bubble Bobble 2? My PCE-CD one is nice, my MD Special is... kinda fugly tbh, but it's nice too, but c'mon bros, get ur DEFINITIVE on already pls

[Sengoku Strider]

Chack n' Pop and Space Seeker were included on the Taito Milestones collection released a couple of months back (which uses the Hamster ports), if you're really burning for them.

Space Seeker is impressive for its time; making the Millennium Falcon gun pod scene from Stars Wars into Space Invaders was pretty inspired. With the map screen & multiple engines you can tell they were going all out for a AAA-type experience. I don't know if there was any staff overlap or direct inspiration, but the scenery, shot+bomb and rock tunnels in the horizontal stages definitely give me major Darius 1 vibes.

The downside is that it was one of those games with audio engineered to pierce through the din of a noisy arcade. Certainly benefits from a bit of EQ in the high freq ranges.

[BIL]

Space Seeker was released Wednesday afternoon on PSN (and I think the eStore too), that's the version I was playing.



It's Napalm Death From Above, Charlie Brown!

Definite Darius feels with those "schools" of zako (all they need is a little "100pts" blurb for sweeping the lot) - I wonder if there really was some connection, either staff or inspirational. Also the ship design is a dead ringer for Thunder Force II's Exceliza. For a relatively undersung title, feels like a fair bit of historical portent in this one.

Rather like Capcom's Mobi-chan, Mr. Chack'n enjoys mad seniority with all his cameos in later Taito games, but tbh I'm ambivalent on the game itself. I'm sure it's good stuff though. The Fairyland Story is a gem from those pre-Bubble Bobble days, super adorable with the perfect balance of pickup n' play to longterm tactical options you'd expect of Taito single-screeners. They gotta get RI on there though, jeeze louise.

TBH, I regarded Thunder Dragon II's release as the epochal moment of their STG lineup - there's lots more to do, of course, but as far as I'm concerned they hit a peak for the ages, getting that one its first official home release. I'll be the same with their run/gun and beltscrolling, if they can secure Mystic Warriors and Violent Storm, respectively. RI is that sort of affair for the single-screen platformer (technically not a single-screener, ofc, but IMO it's like saying Kunio's not the same genre as Double Dragon because it uses arenas rather than unfolding stages).

[CRP]

Dragon Spirit" update patch has been distributed. With this patch, we adjusted the rate of fire.

[BIL]

As expected of Hamster. Nice.

EDIT: Sweet Jesus The max autofire is nuts. Seems to behave itself even in stage 3's infamously CPU-grinding vine section.

[Skyknight]

We get Soldier Girl Amaterasu (fine, Amatelass) tomorrow.

[BIL]

Blimey, that was a long time coming (for Switch). Neat topdown run/gun (I particularly like the vehicle stealing... rippingly fast bikes and brutally dominanting tanks alike), though the slightly delayed aiming controls ala AC Contra+Jackal will take some adjusting to. I should give it another go.

[BrianC]

We get Soldier Girl Amaterasu (fine, Amatelass) tomorrow.

Ahh. That's why it just got updated on PS4.

[velo]

Chack'n Pop on July 21...

Currently 50% off on PSN/Switch:

Arcade Archives KOUTETSU YOUSAI STRAHL
Arcade Archives MAGMAX
Arcade Archives RADICAL RADIAL
Arcade Archives TERRA CRESTA
Arcade Archives TUBE PANIC
ACA NEOGEO AERO FIGHTERS 2
ACA NEOGEO METAL SLUG
ACA NEOGEO SAMURAI SHODOWN IV
ACA NEOGEO STAKES WINNER
ACA NEOGEO THE KING OF FIGHTERS '98

[Koa Zo]

Chack'n Pop on July 21...

Currently 50% off on PSN/Switch:

Arcade Archives KOUTETSU YOUSAI STRAHL
Arcade Archives MAGMAX
Arcade Archives RADICAL RADIAL
Arcade Archives TERRA CRESTA
Arcade Archives TUBE PANIC
ACA NEOGEO AERO FIGHTERS 2
ACA NEOGEO METAL SLUG
ACA NEOGEO SAMURAI SHODOWN IV
ACA NEOGEO STAKES WINNER
ACA NEOGEO THE KING OF FIGHTERS '98

Sweet! Thanks for the heads-up.
I've been wanting to try Tube Panic and Radical Radial.
Curious about Stakes Winner now too. Do I want to risk $4 on that?

What's up with KOUTETSU YOUSAI STRAHL?
I can't search for it from my PS4 - no results found.
Searching google brings me to the US PS store listing, but trying to purchase it returns an error.

[BIL]

Here's the JP store page; when all else fails I just use Hamster's site, there's individual links to each game's PSN page in there.