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

[OmegaFlareX]

I was looking through 1994 EGMs and found this.

https://i.imgur.com/ITs6vS1.jpg

Heh, they were right then and all the years since. it never released here in the U.S., nor in arcades, PS1/Saturn or even PSP.

EU got them. At least Da and Gokujyou. SNES, Saturn, possibly PS1, even the arcade games where Gokujyou was called Fantastic Journey.

SHAVING IS BORING
TEETH IN ME SOUP

^ reason to play those versions right there.

[OldSkoolShmuper]

I was looking through 1994 EGMs and found this.

https://i.imgur.com/ITs6vS1.jpg

Heh, they were right then and all the years since. it never released here in the U.S., nor in arcades, PS1/Saturn or even PSP.

EU got them. At least Da and Gokujyou. SNES, Saturn, possibly PS1, even the arcade games where Gokujyou was called Fantastic Journey.

SHAVING IS BORING
TEETH IN ME SOUP

^ reason to play those versions right there.

Looked for reviews of the Saturn version in various UK mags,
found a bunch, including Diehard Gamefan from


https://i.imgur.com/iSaxy4p.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/mznuhwm.jpg https://i.imgur.com/9jNRPtN.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/y4gccWN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/OLRkRNs.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KbRDQAs.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1ef3ism.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/acMVbol.jpg

[BrianC]

The NES and GB versions of Da also got EU releases, including a re-release of the GB version for GBC in one of the EU Konami GB Collections.

[Sumez]

Weirdly enough, a review of the SNES port of Gokujou Parodius was posted in a magazine here, that's how I first heard about the series. They even called it "Ultimate Parodius" as if it'd been given an English title already.

Of course it never came out here until the Saturn, but I'm still wondering if it's just the reviewers of that mag being a bit too import happy (they also reviewed Chrono Trigger), or if it was actually slated for European release at some point.

[headlesshobbs]

Has anyone tried experimenting to see if either the ossc or retrotink5x can get more accurate scanline options then the default filters or is that impossible?

[Sumez]

What's "accurate scanline options"? OSSC will add one or more dimmed lines for each analog scanline in the source signal.
It's probably as good as you can do it with a line doubler, and yeah it sorta approaches a similar appearance to what you get from a progressive scan CRT signal, but even using advanced GPU shaders I'm not sure I've ever seen fake scanlines that correctly replicates the physical appearance of CRT scanlines.

[Rastan78]

Looks like the ACA Neo Geo series is coming to iOS/Android starting with Alpha Mission II, Samurai Showdown IV and Metal Slug 5.

[Sengoku Strider]

What's "accurate scanline options"? OSSC will add one or more dimmed lines for each analog scanline in the source signal.
It's probably as good as you can do it with a line doubler, and yeah it sorta approaches a similar appearance to what you get from a progressive scan CRT signal, but even using advanced GPU shaders I'm not sure I've ever seen fake scanlines that correctly replicates the physical appearance of CRT scanlines.

I mean, CRT scan lines will differ from set to set. I've never tried it with PS4 or Switch because I don't even think it has the necessary input, but OSSC gets some miraculous images out of my Saturn that I'm not sure I'd want to trade for some ephemeral 'accuracy.' I will agree ACA's filters are surprisingly lame given that every game gets the same wrapper.

By comparison I've been really impressed with the options in Ratalaika's recent Mega Drive ports (Gley Lancer & Gynoug):



M2 does some eerily good stuff in the Sega AGES games too:







It's quite something in motion.

[Rastan78]

The annoying thing with ACA and scanlines is they don't let you turn off the blurry filtering and use scanlines only. Also it's difficult or impossible to get pixel perfect scaling so that the scanlines are evenly spaced. The effect of uneven scan line spacing can range from barely noticable to ugly AF depending on the game and how the resolution is set.

Oddly enough the ACA stuff will output to 720p native on Switch in portable mode. That way you can adjust the scaling to get pixel perfect with a little trial and error.

What's cool about M2 stuff on Switch is not only do you get pixel perfect scaling option in both modes, it will dynamically change to the right scaling for 720p or 1080p when you dock or undock.

They did do a good job on the vintage filters for Sega Ages, but they're a little heavy handed for me. I kinda like the look of a new RGB monitor rather than something that looks like the monitor is old and needs to be recapped or is running through an RF signal.

but even using advanced GPU shaders I'm not sure I've ever seen fake scanlines that correctly replicates the physical appearance of CRT scanlines.

Yeah I tend to like just a basic scanline filter that darkens every other line with otherwise clean pixels. An LCD will never look exactly like a CRT anyway. Even modern panels do have quite a bit of motion blur compared to CRT. You can really notice on games with fast moving bullets like Raiden or Psikyo games. As well as on games with super fast scrolling backgrounds.

Anyone else think the scanlines in Sonic Mania looked pretty damn nice? They tried to suggest the look of the CRT phosphors like some of the more advanced shaders, not just the scanlines.

[Sengoku Strider]

The annoying thing with ACA and scanlines is they don't let you turn off the blurry filtering and use scanlines only.

Is it not the case that filter A has the image softening, and B does not?

Also it's difficult or impossible to get pixel perfect scaling so that the scanlines are evenly spaced. The effect of uneven scan line spacing can range from barely noticable to ugly AF depending on the game and how the resolution is set.

This. It's bizarre, considering how well versed in this stuff they must be. Compare to Ratalaika's host of options:

They did do a good job on the vintage filters for Sega Ages, but they're a little heavy handed for me. I kinda like the look of a new RGB monitor rather than something that looks like the monitor is old and needs to be recapped or is running through an RF signal.

The ones I posted were using the most intense preset (that "Mission 1" screen is amazingly true to life), but they do have much less dramatic options.

[velo]

Looks like the ACA Neo Geo series is coming to iOS/Android starting with Alpha Mission II, Samurai Showdown IV and Metal Slug 5.

Yeah those are out now. I wonder if they have anything new besides touch screen controls? Don't think I'm in the market...

I think the ones I want most are the arcade versions of the NES games in the Namco Archives, e.g. Dragon Spirit etc. They did Mappy so maybe there's hope.

I sort of got my wish... after Liquid Kids comes Dragon Buster.

[BIL]

Nice, been meaning to revisit Dragon Buster since getting the Genpei 1CC nailed down. Never put much time on it, back on Namco Museum Vol 2.

[Rastan78]

Is it not the case that filter A has the image softening, and B does not?

IIRC the only difference is that the B filter had this pointless scan refresh effect that looks like a band moving up and down the screen? On an actual CRT this isn't something you ever really see. It's been a while since i fiddled with it though, and some games are different. The newer ones handled by Gotch (like Salamander and Gradius II on Switch) have amazingly clean scaling even when not pixel perfect.

This. It's bizarre, considering how well versed in this stuff they must be. Compare to Ratalaika's host of options:

Yeah it's especially funny given how fine tuned you can get with the display size. You can always get like 1 pixel away from pixel perfect scaling but there will always be a little bit of shimmer or uneven pixels somewhere. Like they went out of their way to make sure you couldn't do it lol.

To me the ideal solution is 1:1 scaling on the vertical axis for nice even scanlines. Then if the game didn't use square pixels at 4:3 use interpolation only on the horizontal axis to get the right aspect ratio without shimmer or too much blur. It really shouldn't be that hard. Kevtris, the guy who programmed the FPGA for the Super NT etc said he figured out how to add interpolation in like one day.

[BIL]

It's good to be back. Time to cash in on me Saturn ver! PFFFT YE RITE (like all my stuff, it's perpetually on sale for the low low price of Fuck You dollars and Choke On My Balls cents)



Kick down doors! Show mahfuckas that you bout it bout it!

ACA's first Taito F-system release, if I'm not mistaken. Here's hoping for Metal Black and Gun Frontier! Mostly the latter because (as discussed a few months back), unlike VING's beautiful handiwork, its Saturn ver never approached PCB accuracy.

[Rastan78]

That stuff will all be on the Egret mini. Along with Elevator Action Returns and many others. Anyone getting it? Out of all the mini consoles this looks by far the best to me. The trackball controller, the games list and all makes it look pretty good. Kinda makes we could get the games and peripherals as normal releases for existing consoles tho.

My fam is just at ages where I can't be bringing temptations like that into the house. Being able to completely hide your console from curious and highly destructive toddlers makes the Switch the ultimate Dad console.

[DenimDemon]

A few ACA games on sale on PSN. Their Armed F, Ninja Kid, Atomic Robo, KoF97, Crossed Sword, Ninja Masters and Power Spikes 2..

[seattlexc]

A few ACA games on sale on PSN. Their Armed F, Ninja Kid, Atomic Robo, KoF97, Crossed Sword, Ninja Masters and Power Spikes 2..

Is this in the US psn store? I had trouble finding any arcade archives on sale.

[DenimDemon]

A few ACA games on sale on PSN. Their Armed F, Ninja Kid, Atomic Robo, KoF97, Crossed Sword, Ninja Masters and Power Spikes 2..

Is this in the US psn store? I had trouble finding any arcade archives on sale.

My store is Asia (ex HK) store. Maybe still not up on other stores? Its under End of the Year sales..

[velo]

A few ACA games on sale on PSN. Their Armed F, Ninja Kid, Atomic Robo, KoF97, Crossed Sword, Ninja Masters and Power Spikes 2..

Those and a couple of others are now on sale on Switch.

[CRP]

next week's Arcade Archives release is Namco's Mirai Ninja

[BIL]

Nice - getting into the later, non-PS1 Museum stuff. (which Libble Rabble technically was, but it always shoulda been on those!) I don't really know this one, other than the AC poster being by Keita Amemiya (Zeiram, Hagane).

[velo]

I'd never have predicted this one. If the manual translates the lifebar, that would be a big help!

The tie-in movie is here, free of charge: https://archive.org/details/CYBERNINJA_201812

Robot ninjas and M.U.S.H.A. tanks

[BIL]

StrategyWiki is really good for that sort of stuff, I've found Some spoilers (I assume anyway) in Mirai Ninja's article, so will copy/paste here:

Mirai Ninja's life meter uses Kanji numerals instead of Arabic ones, which had previously been used in Namco's own Genpei Tōma Den two years earlier for the score display (along with the Ken and Zeni counters in the bottom-left corner of the screen); for those of you who haven't played the earlier game, here is what they mean: 〇 = 0, 一 = 1, 二 = 2, 三 = 3, 四 = 4, 五 = 5, 六 = 6, 七 = 7, 八 = 8, 九 = 9. At the start of the game Mirai Ninja will have 99 (九九) energy points, and will lose 12 (一二) to 15 (一五) of them each time he gets hit - however, each time he clears a stage he will gain 25 (二五) to 30 (三〇) of them back.

Sounds very Genpei, with the end-stage HP refills... I'm curious as to how this plays, will have to give it a quick spin in MAME. I was enjoying blind-buying stuff, since getting into much cheaper+convenient digital releases. Then I ran smack into SNK's Athena, the dead-worst thing I've bought in twenty years, and I learned that acquiring bad games hurts one's pride no matter how cheap or space-efficient. (its ACA release is great work as usual, I hasten to add - just an innately hateful game, though some real diehards seem to love systematically demolishing it)

[trap15]

It's supposed to be a spiritual sequel of sorts to Genpei Toumaden, if I recall correctly? Like Finest Hour, I think it's a bit of a strange game to play but atmospherically insanely cool and easily makes up for it. At the very least, the tie-in movie is really fun and enjoyable

[velo]

It's kinda like Ninja Spirit or Legend of Kage: jump 80 feet in the air, spray shurikens without breaking stride. The first few levels at least aren't too tough, but I never played very far into it.

[Marc]

Balls up

[BIL]

Hell yeah, Mirai Ninja is super cool. I'm surprised at how committed it is to run-and-gun, or more accurately sprint-and-gun. I'm sure the balance might shift further in, but for now it's reminding me of a manually scrolling Edono Kiba (SFC, another "cyber ninja perpetually on the run" affair). You're fast as hell by default, dings don't hurt much, and weaponry seems geared for en-masse mowdowns.

Gonna grab this one for sure next week. That third stage battleship raid screams Amemiya, with its dwarfing scale against a formidably ambivalent landscape... even if they don't seem to play much alike, it totally feels like a Hagane spiritual prequel. (the stoical title image will instantly ring a bell for anyone who's finished a loop of that SFC gem)

"THE DESERTER" - badass opening stage title

The camera is a minor handful - has Super Shinobi II / Alien Soldier's system, where it'll offset to maximise your incoming screen. Handy except for the tracking speed, which can't keep up with a rapidly-pivoting player. Still, as with those games, it seems more than adjustable to.

Particularly happy to see a bunch of rad stuff shares the Namco System 2 hardware, including the inimitably badass seek/destroy tanker ASSAULT, and best of all, its cruelly never-ported spiritual sequel, the 360' heli STG Metal Hawk. Nabbing those on sight. I think Phelios is also onboard, though I've never so much as seen the AC one. Definite point of interest, the MD cart was only ever mid-tier imo. I liked it until it yelled at me to stop trying to skip the ending cutscene, then I sold it.

Also my much-wanted mecha sidescroller Finest Hour. Didn't realise it was 1989 trap! Very interesting, much nearer Leynos's debut than I'd thought.

[Marc]

What I meant to say above, is it wrong that I now intend buying Athena after watching that replay BiL linked?

[BIL]

Quite possibly. That's a replay by Korean badass Janet, who knows where all the stuff is, and steamrolls through with perfect gear progression. That coinop ARPG breadcrumb trail, I actually enjoy. Problem is the basic scrolling action chassis, which is all kinds of boned. Collision and camera tracking are both godawful. Also, fugly game. Give it a spin in MAME first, you might be unpleasantly surprised ( ).

[jehu]

If the goal is to hurt yourself, you may also consider sticking with the NES port.