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

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

Post by Steven »

Thunder Ceptor is up. Anyone try it yet? I wonder how well it compares to Space Harrier.
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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 »

Getting it on right now. :cool: I usually nab ACA stuff the instant it goes up Weds night (GMT), but we are truly in an era where there's Too Many Damn Games. And that is beautiful. ;-;7

EDIT: Holy fuck this is intense. :shock: Not just in speed terms, though it is quite nippy from the off. It's the first ACA title I know of with true analogue control, on both the left (pitch/yaw) and right (throttle) sticks, with shot on L1/R1 and bomb on L2/R2, respectively (functionally identical; the manual suggest it was designed for easier "l/r/l/r" tapping, on non-autofiring cabs).

You can also control digitally, which might be viable (I find Space Harrier very enjoyable on pad, with its twitchy 9000mph tree-dodging, but Afterburner II effectively unplayable, owing to its more precise targeting - so we'll see).

I highly recommend autofire on your main shot, tapping gets old and distracting fast - super smooth on auto. Game performance is likewise buttery-smooth - doesn't look quite as gorgeous as the immortally trippy Harrier or crisply iconic Afterburner, but it's easily-read and quick. At the moment I'm hopping to the dpad for the more hair-raising terrain dodges.

As to the game design, anyone familiar with HAL's early SFC effort HyperZone will get massive deja vu. That weird feeling where a game you associated with one platform was arguably doing homage to a far earlier one, the joy of gaming archeology. :mrgreen: You're on a narrow "strip" with force field walls, very unlike SH/AB's open field, but they cram in a Harrier-comparable level of obstacles from the get go.

The SEGA title this reminds me most of actually came out after it: Galaxy Force II. As there, you're on an ever-decreasing fuel gauge, which doubles as a "bump" meter; scuffing the side walls will eat into it. Seems like direct hits from enemies, and certainly running into obstacles, causes a costly instadeath. Ala traditional racers, it doesn't seem like there's a limit on deaths, but too many will quickly put you out of contention to finish the course.

Norio Nakagata (original composer) contributed a brand new song for this release, enabled under "Game Preferences." :cool: I like it, switched over after finding the OSV a little anonymous compared to Harrier/ABII/GFII's unforgettable tunes.

TLDR: Very cool game that should appeal to fans of third-person AC shooters; more of a Galaxy Force x OutRun hybrid than a straight Space Harrier riff, and also a nice step forward for ACA with some decent analogue steering and throttle.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Steven »

That sounds fucking awesome. I think I know what I'm going to be playing this weekend.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Recorded a very quick n' basic demo of the first track, which I think is more of a training course (I get the feeling this is where Burning Force's "space cadet" concept may have originated, albeit you're in a functionally anonymous Alliance bomber, not controlling a spandex animu girl on a jetski :mrgreen:).

And here's my current control layout, after a lunchtime's muddling about:

Spoiler
Image


I really like the effort they made to reproduce the button+stick placements on a controller; you can easily visualise the cab from the defaults. TBH, I'm most used to playing this sort of game via console flight stick, and might look into similar for this one (assuming options are available, ofc), with pad as a second choice. So for now, I simplified 'em a little.

I like that there's 1) an option for slower fuel drain, but 2) it disqualifies you from uploading scores, and is barred from HS mode :cool: Could be a very useful practice tool.

EDIT: Damn! :shock: Difficulty curve shoots up quick after the first stage, with the game now addressing you as Lieutenant. Career advancement: easy come, easy go, in this time of brutal war! Image The second course really emphasises something I was only tentatively aware of, before: your main shot nullifies enemy bullets, and also provides a comfy barrier between you and would-be kamikazes. The tactile sense of counter-offense, as if holding an aggressor at arm's length is very Metal Black, I dig. :cool:

Since switched to the lowest main shot, 7.5hz, with L1 for manual tapping. Generally speaking, it's better to shoot down than dodge, with how tight the surroundings get. Putting out pre-emptive salvos that'll neutralise enemy fire and blow away its senders, as you steer into life-saving turns, seems a reliable tack.

Definitely feels like the energy meter is tuned to boot noobs off that expensive deluxe cab, even a run with relatively few mistakes got me the charming little "Coshon! Ennajee Emputee!" chirp.

EDIT2: Oho, I see. There's four stages, or "Commands," each topping out at around 1m50s apiece. In other words, MEIN HEAD ASPLODEN at stage 3. :shock: Wicked intense stuff, clearly enamoured with Empire's asteroid dogfight. Or was it Jedi's? I dunno. For all its carny-ride glitz, this thing's out to kick your ass! Yet infernally no-missable, as with any quality arcade game.

Handles impressively well, given the primitive scaling. The hitboxes and visibility of those asteroids isn't the most generous - this is something Galaxy Force II really capitalised on, with its seamless hybrids of open air battles, ground-skimming assaults, and wickedly tight tunnel-dives allowing it to deploy its own nightmarish barrages of obstacles with appropriately-tempering breathing room - but they're an undeniable rush to navigate at speed, against the ever-dwindling timer. First time I really used the throttle feature here.

EDIT3: Christ this thing can buck :shock: Command 4, the last, is wicked tough. In classic Salamander escape sequence fashion, a single crash at the barricade section will see you merrily dragged to hell. :lol: Managed a quickie survival clear with conspicuous lack of turret takedowns in the middle section. No idea if you're realistically meant to go for those.

This game is relentless and tough enough, I get the feeling that merely nailing a survival clear on command would be an arse-tightening prospect, with real risk of successful patrons inadvertently stealing cushions from the host arcade! They definitely went all-out chasing that sense of Han Solo / Last Starfighter prestige.

I do think the collision detection could've been a tad more forgiving. It's fair, you need to be visibly touching an obstacle to register contact - but in the heat of the moment, it doesn't always feel that way; a little more give would've made for a smoother game. As for post-respawn invincibility, it could've used some; there literally is none. :lol: I'm used to comically brutal antics like Ikari and Dogosoken's respawns, both of which will literally march you directly into minefields if you're unlucky enough to die at the wrong spot. So it didn't really faze tbh. Image Don't expect to slum through tough sections, or easy ones!

A substantial arcade game with the USP of willfully tight course design and runtime. Not as good as SEGA's Harrier/AB2/GF2 triple crown, but a fine alternative with its shorter, white-knuckle intense run. I'd like to go for a proper 1ALL, at the least.

Ultimately, this made me pine even more for ACA: Assault, another deluxe cab, but with a much sturdier classic topdown seek and destroy inside.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by velo »

Are GF2 and AB2 semi-doable 1ccs? I can 1cc Space Harrier, but those two are intimidating. I'll stick to Super Thunder Blade, where it's nice and safe.

Also: Dragon Saber July 14
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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 »

velo wrote:Dragon Saber
Image

Image Image
velo wrote:Are GF2 and AB2 semi-doable 1ccs? I can 1cc Space Harrier, but those two are intimidating. I'll stick to Super Thunder Blade, where it's nice and safe.
I've 1CCd Galaxy Force II's arcade mode, on M2's PS2 release. Pretty sure it's arcade-accurate. Rather merciless with the timer. Much harder than Space Harrier imo, which is already quite tough with its blistering speed. GF2 and Thunder Ceptor really play more like quasi-sims than pure STGs, being at least as much about analogue piloting as twitch shooting.

ABII I've never gotten close to, but there's been videos around forever of people just camping in the corner and blowing through the whole thing - I enjoy the mystery. :lol: (edit: then again, maybe I'm nearer than I thought? I can reliably hit the second bonus stage before eating dirt. I mostly play Rutubo's Saturn ver, been a while)

I've never played Super Thunder Blade's AC version, I should fix that. I still think of the MD cart whenever it's brought up, one of those early-days releases that defies any and all attempts at charity. Of course it wouldn't approach the arcade version, but there's no way it had to run THAT badly, holy cow. :shock:
Last edited by BIL on Sun Jul 03, 2022 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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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 »

Thunder Cepter, oh hey it's stage 2 from that megadrive Cotton game :D . I imagine this game would've been impressive to see in 1986. Also see Arcade Archives Tube Panic for more cool 80s scaling effects.
Typos caused by cat on keyboard.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Skyknight »

Now to wait for Night Striker on this front, and Cadash on the Taito front in general...
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BrianC »

BIL wrote: I've never played Super Thunder Blade's AC version, I should fix that. I still think of the MD cart whenever it's brought up, one of those early-days releases that defies any and all attempts at charity. Of course it wouldn't approach the arcade version, but there's no way it had to run THAT badly, holy cow. :shock:
Yeah, not a fan of "Super" Thunder Blade. I like the 3DS port of Thunder Blade quite a bit and the PC Engine one seems to be a nice port, as well. Space Harrier port is also good stuff and even made it to the US TG-16.
Jeneki wrote:Thunder Cepter, oh hey it's stage 2 from that megadrive Cotton game :D . I imagine this game would've been impressive to see in 1986. Also see Arcade Archives Tube Panic for more cool 80s scaling effects.
I also thought of that when I first saw it, but it plays more like Galaxy Force. Definitely enjoying it quite a bit. I hope to see more pseudo 3D games in AA as well. I hope Burning Force comes to it.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Sengoku Strider »

BIL wrote:I've never played Super Thunder Blade's AC version, I should fix that. I still think of the MD cart whenever it's brought up, one of those early-days releases that defies any and all attempts at charity. Of course it wouldn't approach the arcade version, but there's no way it had to run THAT badly, holy cow. :shock:
Not just early days, but the earliest day. It and Space Harrier II were the entirety of the Japanese launch library on Oct 29 1988.

Sega only managed to put out 2 other Mega Drive titles across the last two months of 1988: Altered Beast Nov. 27, & Osomatsu-kun Dec. 24. All four titles were victim to the legendary 1988 ROM shortage. Osomatsu-kun's devs commented that they had to cut half the planned content midway through because of management's ROM cutbacks.

Since the MD had no scaling hardware, Super Thunderblade would need its scaled frames on the ROM cartridge. After Burner for the Mark III had been marketed as 'The 4 Mega Cartridge' even though it required smaller sprites, so combined with learning the ropes of the new hardware and the rush to get the game on shelves for launch, at 512kb Super Thunderblade didn't ever have a prayer. For all the criticism it takes, of the 1988 titles Altered Beast made it out the most unscathed owing to its brevity.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Steven »

Osomatsu-kun, the PC Engine, and the Mega Drive's own garbage launch library are three of the biggest reasons the Mega Drive failed so miserably in Japan. It's got to be one of the absolute worst console launches in history, along with the SuperGrafx.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

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Sengoku Strider wrote:Since the MD had no scaling hardware, Super Thunderblade would need its scaled frames on the ROM cartridge. After Burner for the Mark III had been marketed as 'The 4 Mega Cartridge' even though it required smaller sprites, so combined with learning the ropes of the new hardware and the rush to get the game on shelves for launch, at 512kb Super Thunderblade didn't ever have a prayer. For all the criticism it takes, of the 1988 titles Altered Beast made it out the most unscathed owing to its brevity.
Jesus, what a cock-up. :shock: Altered Beast may be only middling as a scrolling action game, but its MD version has never come across as compromised. Lots of next-gen panache with its legendary voice samples, and it even has a bit of Arrange Mode charm with its beast randomiser.

It's a shame they didn't focus on more non-scalers. I guess STB really does have an excuse to run that poorly. :lol:

I actually find Space Harrier II a lot less grueling. I might've thought it's because I grew up with it, but even going back after the infinitely smoother AC original, it's got some decent stage design. You can tell they knew the AC's sheer set-the-cab-on-fire speed wasn't an option, instead going for more calculating obstacle layouts and ambushes.

Admittedly, its best feature is the strangely darkened aesthetic. I'd kill to see an M2-styled rebuild of SHII for Super Scaler Hardware... where the original is rainbow-cheery, colourful and trippy, unmistakably akin to Fantasy Zone, the sequel is like they parachuted David Lynch in circa Dune. :cool: "Where's the cute bonus round critter?" "He died of AIDS, it was the 80s" "Oh right." No goofy "ouch!" to offset that epic dying scream as your avatar hits a stone pillar at 9000MPH beneath a brooding claret sky.

Wicked OST tracknames too. :shock:

THE STAIRS TO Z
NUCLEAR SHOCK
HANDCUFF
JELLY SYNDROME
OUTSIDER
REVERSE INFECT

AN EPITAPH

Underratedly moody member of arcade canon.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by OmegaFlareX »

Steven wrote:It's got to be one of the absolute worst console launches in history, along with the SuperGrafx.
What games did SGX launch with?
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Steven »

OmegaFlareX wrote:
Steven wrote:It's got to be one of the absolute worst console launches in history, along with the SuperGrafx.
What games did SGX launch with?
Battle Ace
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Tragic console launches and scaling arcade action, name a more iconic duo Image

Battle Ace is aight imo, as is Granzort, but neither are a patch on the launch prestige of killer 1941 and Daimakaimura ports, nor the superb original effort Aldynes (along with the FC's Metal Storm, one of the finest "IREM for Console" works around; balls-hard yet finely-tuned). In a just world, the SGX would've cranked out a couple more sets of those (poor Super CD Strider >_< I wanted another belated MD grudge match after Dai! though at least SCD Forgotten Worlds is quite rad. holy fuck I gotta stop, could rabbit on about 16bit port wars all day...)

RIP SuperGrafx, or as I like to think of it, the JohnCazaleGrafx. Tragically short career. Tiny catalogue. Kinda funny-lookin', and forever attached to more iconic names. But for bang/buck ratio it's hard to beat. Image
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Steven »

Yeah, Battle Ace itself isn't actually terrible. It has arguably worse problems than that; it's just kind of whatever, but it's an expensive whatever that retailed at 6500 yen on launch day. Your 6500 yen didn't get you anything that couldn't really be done on the regular PC Engine as far as I've seen from when I played it, and that's the biggest problem with it.

Now that absolutely incredible 1941 Counter Attack port is worth owning the SuperGrafx just to play and is easily the best game on the system, but it's the last SuperGrafx game and by that point NEC/Hudson knew the system was dead, so I don't think they made many copies of it, so it's pretty rare and expensive now. Aldynes is really cool, as well, aside from the weird last boss that I have yet to figure out how to kill safely.

The SuperGrafx has some serious potential to throw a massive amount of super colorful sprites around effortlessly, but we sadly never got to see it outside of a few spots in 1941 Counter Attack. I'd love to see a SuperGrafx-exclusive Arcade Card game to show what kind of insane things the SuperGrafx is capable of with the extra Blast Processing™ of the Arcade Card and the UNLIMITED STORAGE of the CD format. I've been thinking about learning how to make a game just so I can do that myself, but I've never gotten past the "that would be cool to do" phase, so I'll probably never do it. It would be fun, though. Or maybe not, I don't know lol.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

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That last boss in Aldynes, and the checkpoint cock-slap for dying at it. >_< I resorted to emulator savestate practice for the 1ALL, something I basically never did back then. (this was before getting into arcade clears, which calloused me into an any-means-necessary cutthroat optimiser Image Forge your mightiest run in thermonuclear OCD fire, then haul off and plunge it straight through the bastard's black coin-operated heart! Image From Hell's heart, I stab and stomp at thee! Image)

Even then, I just barely squeaked past, wondering WTF the designers were on. Looked up a Japanese superplay, and could only bask in mute reverence at... TEH ZEN.

Image

I won't spoil it but yeah. :lol: Super cool game... really one of the few truly AC-tough IREMesques for console, now I think about it. Has the production values of the Thunders, but is most definitely not of their freewheeling ilk. Brickwall tough, and there's an M72-spec loop, too!

Not a fan of Stage 4's muddy visibility (or lame Sonic-esque art deco), but the rest is gold. Penultimate stage has a helluva mood, with its eerily-lit crawling claustrophobia, and the BGM's uncanny phasings of the bleakly alien and bone-drivenly valorous. A sturdily-built STG, but that's the iconic memory it always brings up.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by OmegaFlareX »

Steven wrote:Battle Ace
I see what you mean. Yikes.

I heard recently there's a romhack of PCE R-Type that has SGX support. I haven't seen footage of it but I'm guessing there's significantly less sprite flicker.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Steven »

BIL wrote:That last boss in Aldynes, and the checkpoint cock-slap for dying at it. >_< I resorted to emulator savestate practice for the 1ALL, something I basically never did back then. (this was before getting into arcade clears, which calloused me into an any-means-necessary cutthroat optimiser Image Forge your mightiest run in thermonuclear OCD fire, then haul off and plunge it straight through the bastard's black coin-operated heart! Image From Hell's heart, I stab and stomp at thee! Image)

Even then, I just barely squeaked past, wondering WTF the designers were on. Looked up a Japanese superplay, and could only bask in mute reverence at... TEH ZEN.

Image

I won't spoil it but yeah. :lol: Super cool game... really one of the few truly AC-tough IREMesques for console, now I think about it. Has the production values of the Thunders, but is most definitely not of their freewheeling ilk. Brickwall tough, and there's an M72-spec loop, too!

Not a fan of Stage 4's muddy visibility (or lame Sonic-esque art deco), but the rest is gold. Penultimate stage has a helluva mood, with its eerily-lit crawling claustrophobia, and the BGM's uncanny phasings of the bleakly alien and bone-drivenly valorous. A sturdily-built STG, but that's the iconic memory it always brings up.
lol you're really tempting me to hook up the SuperGrafx and play Aldynes. I played it a little bit on the MiSTer yesterday, but I think I want to try playing it on my Trinitron, as I don't think I've ever actually used my SuperGrafx on the Trinitron and I've been meaning to get away from using the OSSC and RetroTINK and stuff and play on the CRT anyway.

You're absolutely right about that final boss checkpoint; die on the final boss and you're basically completely screwed. I was stuck on that one checkpoint for almost 2 hours before I gave up and let the game win. I don't remember how long ago that was, but my skills have significantly increased since then, so I think I'll try it again soon. It's a really nice game other than a few weird little areas like that. You also won't find many other HuCARD games with music better than what you'll hear in Aldynes. 1941 Counter Attack is also one of the top HuCARD soundtracks, and it sounds better than the arcade version since the sound effects aren't stupidly loud, which actually lets you hear the awesome music on the SuperGrafx version.
OmegaFlareX wrote:
Steven wrote:Battle Ace
I see what you mean. Yikes.

I heard recently there's a romhack of PCE R-Type that has SGX support. I haven't seen footage of it but I'm guessing there's significantly less sprite flicker.
Yeah, Battle Ace is... uh, weird. G-LOC was released after Battle Ace was, so it's almost like they took After Burner and decided to make a super awkward and clunky first-person After Burner. That's the only game the poor SuperGrafx had at launch and you had to buy it separately, as there was no bundle with the game or anything. I don't know if it actually ever uses the power of the SuperGrafx for anything. I got bored with it after a while and turned it off. I have a goal of eventually finishing every SuperGrafx game (only one I've finished is 1941 Counter Attack...), so I'll return to it eventually, but...

Wikipedia says the system itself was 39,800 yen on launch day and the back of the cardboard sleeve for Battle Ace says the game was 6,500 yen. I imagine that people who paid 46,300 yen for the system + game were probably not very happy with what they got, and it would be 5 months before the next SuperGrafx game got released.

I have played the now-abandoned SuperGrafx R-Type. The best part about it is that the screen doesn't scroll vertically in the few stages that have SuperGrafx enhancements. Since it's abandoned, I doubt it will ever get finished, and I'd honestly rather just play it on the PS1 anyway to get the actual arcade music (seriously, WHY did they have to completely ruin R-Type Complete CD with that horrible cacophony that they tried to pass as "music" instead of just putting the arcade music? R-Type Incomplete CD is a better title for that thing, sadly.), but what's enhanced on SuperGrafx is pretty good.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by PC Engine Fan X! »

Steven wrote:Yeah, Battle Ace itself isn't actually terrible. It has arguably worse problems than that; it's just kind of whatever, but it's an expensive whatever that retailed at 6500 yen on launch day. Your 6500 yen didn't get you anything that couldn't really be done on the regular PC Engine as far as I've seen from when I played it, and that's the biggest problem with it.

Now that absolutely incredible 1941 Counter Attack port is worth owning the SuperGrafx just to play and is easily the best game on the system, but it's the last SuperGrafx game and by that point NEC/Hudson knew the system was dead, so I don't think they made many copies of it, so it's pretty rare and expensive now. Aldynes is really cool, as well, aside from the weird last boss that I have yet to figure out how to kill safely.

The SuperGrafx has some serious potential to throw a massive amount of super colorful sprites around effortlessly, but we sadly never got to see it outside of a few spots in 1941 Counter Attack. I'd love to see a SuperGrafx-exclusive Arcade Card game to show what kind of insane things the SuperGrafx is capable of with the extra Blast Processing™ of the Arcade Card and the UNLIMITED STORAGE of the CD format. I've been thinking about learning how to make a game just so I can do that myself, but I've never gotten past the "that would be cool to do" phase, so I'll probably never do it. It would be fun, though. Or maybe not, I don't know lol.
I've always wondered what the SuperGrafx was capable of pulling off, until I saw a real-time demo of the classic SFC stg of Konami's Axelay's mode 7 scaling effects running on the SGX console. Wow, so the SGX can do SFC/SNES's Mode 7 scaling effects without a hitch. To fully realize such an SGX Arcade Card with an Arcade CD-Rom2 disc would be ace in my book -- what kind of proper original stg title could it do with the afforded 16 megabits of RAM of such an dedicated SGX Arcade Card setup? Hmmm... I see that the SGX runs the sole Arcade CD-Rom2 stg title of Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire without any problems (of course with the obligatory PCE Arcade Card Duo or Pro inserted in the Hu-Card slot).

Where can we d/l this fabled SGX enhanced port of R-Type? I'd like to try it out on my SGX, indeed.

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

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

If you mean Axelay's cylinder effect from the vertical scroll areas, that's not mode 7 nor scaling, actually, but a line scrolling effect which I think has been replicated even on the Famicom.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Sengoku Strider »

BIL wrote:Jesus, what a cock-up. :shock: Altered Beast may be only middling as a scrolling action game, but its MD version has never come across as compromised. Lots of next-gen panache with its legendary voice samples, and it even has a bit of Arrange Mode charm with its beast randomiser.
Altered Beast was Sega's big arcade hit for summer 1988, and it was the game they gave the Mega Drive product code G-4001 to (Harrier & Thunderblade were 4002 & 4003 respectively). Yet it wasn't there launch day, arriving a month later, which leads me to suspect they gave it a bit more time in the oven as their lead title.
It's a shame they didn't focus on more non-scalers. I guess STB really does have an excuse to run that poorly. :lol:
It's always struck me as odd that they didn't go with a 16-bit version of Shinobi for launch. The arcade game hit November 1987 and the Mark III Shinobi was June 1988, so it's not like it was old news by that point; in October 1988 it would have been less than a year old. The Super Shinobi didn't hit Japan until Dec 1989, so it's not like that was in the works instead.

Wonder Boy in Monster Land was another strong non-Super Scaler candidate, but that was a summer 1987 title which had been a PC Engine launch game in Oct '87 in the guise of Bikkuriman World. Then the Mark III port hit Jan '88. So they might have felt like that one would come across as a rehash by Nov/Dec '88.
I actually find Space Harrier II a lot less grueling. I might've thought it's because I grew up with it, but even going back after the infinitely smoother AC original, it's got some decent stage design. You can tell they knew the AC's sheer set-the-cab-on-fire speed wasn't an option, instead going for more calculating obstacle layouts and ambushes.
Harrier II will always remain in my good books if only for that almost alien, weirdly mellow title screen.
Steven wrote:Osomatsu-kun, the PC Engine, and the Mega Drive's own garbage launch library are three of the biggest reasons the Mega Drive failed so miserably in Japan. It's got to be one of the absolute worst console launches in history, along with the SuperGrafx.
There's a Japanese magazine article somewhere online where someone reminisces about going all over Osaka trying to find a Mega Drive at launch and them being sold out everywhere. He finally got the last one sitting in a store, in line right in front of some poor kid who had to go without. I can't find it for the life of me right now, but I'm sure it was translated into English.

So anyway, I wouldn't pin the Mega Drive's lack of Japanese success on the launch; the SC-3000, SG-1000 & Mark III had all been short-lived also rans, and it wound up lasting longer than any of them did. So it's not as though there was some established pattern of Sega home hardware success to disrupt. Ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that Sonic didn't explode in Japan the way he did in the West, and Mortal Kombat being irrelevant there. Those were the two biggest factors that catapulted Sega into compete-with-Nintendo territory in the West. That and the PC Engine providing stiff competition as the #2 in Japan, while in North America the TurboGrafx-16 was practically dead in the water from launch, and wasn't even released in Europe in any meaningful capacity.
OmegaFlareX wrote:
Steven wrote:Battle Ace
I see what you mean. Yikes.
The completely insane thing about this isn't that it only launched with the one crummy game. It's that from the November 1989 launch onward it was literally the only SuperGrafx game on shelves for 6 months (!) until Granzort hit in April 1990. What's even worse is that the SuperGrafx launched at the equivalent of ~$650 in present day USD. Given that it only ever got 5 dedicated games in its lifespan which themselves cost $200-$230 each in today's money, it might well be the biggest mass-market ripoff in gaming history.

I don't know if the real story behind it ever came out. I know it was intended as a bulwark against the Super Famicom, which Nintendo had been teasing since at least 1988, but then NEC got rope-a-doped when Nintendo held back on it while the NES exploded in North America across 1988-90. And then the PC Engine CD format took off, so they went with the Super CD RAM card instead.

But everything about the SuperGrafx feels like some manager/executive at NEC lost a (potentially nasty) internecine power battle. There's no sane reason it should have been thrown out onto the market in the form it was, and with zero library, given the fundamental challenges it was facing.
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Sumez
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Sumez »

Bassa-Bassa wrote:If you mean Axelay's cylinder effect from the vertical scroll areas, that's not mode 7 nor scaling, actually, but a line scrolling effect which I think has been replicated even on the Famicom.
Yeah, I was confused for a second there, AFAIk there's no bg scaling on SuperGrafx. Axelay's "horizon" effect looks cool, but it's definitely not scaling anything. If it had used Mode 7, it wouldn't have been able to do multiple background layers, but on the other hand it might have been able to give an actual depth effect, rather than the confusing cylinder like perspective it has.

The only thing the SGX Axelay demo is showcasing that wouldn't be doable on a regular PC Engine, is the two overlapping background layers. :)
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Sengoku Strider
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Sengoku Strider »

I mean, it's not entirely dissimilar to the effect from 1983's Exerion, except somewhat less convincing.

Image

Something even the primordial Sega SG-1000 kinda managed to pull off back in 1984:

Image
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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 »

Sengoku Strider wrote: Something even the primordial Sega SG-1000 kinda managed to pull off back in 1984:

Image
A very similar port was also on MSX1. There was also a MSX1 sequel that was pretty much a re-skin with missing stuff from the arcade version added.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by dingsbums »

Dont get me wrong ACA is great but why in the world is Mystic Warriors still not ported yet? They did Sunset Riders so why not Mystic Warriors ? Its such a shame because way more people should know about this gem & play that game. Rant over :D .
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

Much more complex hardware and way too unknown to be worth the effort (and license). I guess it's the same reason why it's so unfinished in Mame after all these... decades?
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by jehu »

EmperorIng wrote:Among the many announcements made today, the new shmups revealed for ACA are Rabio Lepus and... the venerable Gradius III! That's an exciting one. The first 'port' in over a decade.

I really hope Hamster pushes some of the options of the PS2 version, as unlikely as that is.
The prophecy of Rabio Lepus is finally coming to pass. I had even forgotten about its announcement, but I'm glad it's coming. I've always wanted to like the PC-Engine version, but its clear inferiority to the Arcade OG is pretty universally acknowledged.

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https://www.4gamer.net/games/642/G064245/20220706030/

In other news, I've been dumping serious time into Zed Blade for the first time in my life. A really fun ride, but a bit of a shame about the scoring system. Back when I hung around the Neo-Geo community, it always took a backseat to Pulstar and Last Resort in the unofficial Neo-Geo STG canon. Zed Blade is a clear winner for me - eases you in with the first few stages, but doesn't let you take the clear for free. For the time being, it even edges out Blazing Star for my top Neo-Geo STG. Stage 2/5 theme is pure bliss. But I digress, tomorrow it's all about the carrots.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by BIL »

Oh damn, great to hear. :o It's an odd one... or maybe not. I was about to say "cute but hard as coffin nails," but it came out around the same time as Parodius Da!, so maybe it was just following protocol? :mrgreen: One thing that does stick out is the innate rarity of a Video System/Psikyo hori. As with their later ones, there's a clear fondness for short/mid-ranged melee attacking, notably visceral game.

Zed Blade / Ragnarok is good stuff! I don't care about the scoring much tbh, I just like the subtle freshening up of classic Darius-styled multi-angled fire, combined with the "weaponised bomb" ethos most associated with Yagawa. Hectic yet generous with firepower and maneuverability, that's how I like my STGs. It reminds me a bit of a horizontal Thunder Dragon 2 that way, actually, down to Namiki's customarily stellar OST.
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Re: I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

Rabio Lepus predates Da! by almost 3 years. It released right after R-Type and Dragon Spirit, though I don't think neither was an influence for Video System's. It was oddly successful in Japan, though.
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