Favorite single-screen games

[BrianC]

Is Robotron acceptably playable via Midway Arcade Origins on 360? (Or egad, should I buy a fuckin' Lego game for the PS4, inside of which it's allegedly playable?) The wiki page paints an undignified picture of the game's stewardship over the years, repeatedly appearing and disappearing from online services.

I heard it plays too fast, which was fixed in MAME prior to Arcade Origins releasing.

[null1024]

Man, I popped in Mad Planets in MAME to see if I could get a reasonable home setup with what I had on hand. Nope. I patently require a spinner, it's just a much lesser game without it. Trying to speedkill everything like a lunatic while not being able to turn on a dime is miserable.
Could muck about with trying to build my own with an optical mouse like this one, I guess. I have a spare one with a busted USB cable, I could rig something up if I really felt like it.

Great to see you pick it up! It really is a wonderful oddity. #1 BASHISHI GAME

Yeah. It's remarkably difficult for a game that has you almost constantly within reach of a very long lasting [and dead useful] invincibility.
Farm plants, spend the time looking for treasure, try to not bloody screw up catching the little dudes in the treasure chests, and try not to die during the moments you aren't yet invincible.
The scissors have killed me more than anything else at this point, putting me in the jaws of the death that I was inches away from averting. I feel like the game has a grudge, although at least the scissors seem to show up less as a level goes on?

[Stevens]

Punch Out, any of them.

[Randorama]

Block Out, Technos' three-dee tetris.

Dark, psychedelic backgrounds; groovy jazzy music, a bald Max Headroom-like character as your virtual antagonist; what else you need?

Somehow, I really like this iteration of the Tetris concept but not the 2D versions.
As a teen I could clear up to 80-100 levels; these days I am happy with 20-30.
This and DJ Shadow's Midnight in a Perfect World are my Linus' quilts for the darkest hour of the night,

[Randorama]

Double post and bump: sorry about that.

Would anyone care to read something in the vein of "weekly kuso-notes on single-screeners from Randorama?".
I feel like I am hijacking a few threads with my own personal musings and memories, so I wonder if someone wants to say "nay" for reasons that I overlooked and deserve any consideration.

[BIL]

I can't imagine anyone objecting to more of your writings. ;3 Well I could, but they would be knobheads of the least-washed order.

[Randorama]

Shishio, arigatoo!

Then, giet soeme! (said with a NZ English accent). 902 words of comments on a game that is currently driving me nuts. I achieved an early 1-CC and then struggled to repeat it a second time. I would like to get them on a regular basis, but my success rate is a measly 3%. Why? Maybe the 902 words below contain an answer to this question that however escapes me, at the moment. By the way, I suspect that we could discuss Cabal-esque games (and arena shooters?) in this thread while at the same time being on-topic.

EDIT: If I write on a word file and paste it on the forum, it seems that I can create readable texts with a decent amount of time: 40 minutes for 902 words? i wish that I could do that for work!. If only the forum would format the text in "justified" rather than "flushed left" format, I would be a man full of joy...

Anyway:

Dead Connection is a Cabal-esque, arena shooter-like title from Taito (1992). The game tries to evoke the atmosphere of the U.S. roaring 1920’s and prohibitionism, with a group of four cops fighting against the mob and a boss called “Nerozzia” (I don’t think it is a real Italian surname; I couldn’t find it the opportune databases). The game tries to have a cinematic feeling, as the “Taito movies presents” attract screen suggests. I believe that the fast pace and the text-rich cut-scenes are quite successful in achieving this result, and the relatively good Zuntata OST contributes to the overall effect (“Yagishita” and “Sousukun”? See link below).

The game has 8 stages, each of them taking place in fixed location/arena (e.g. a restaurant, an abandoned theatre). Your character needs to kill an increasing number of mob zakus before facing the stage boss and two henchmen helping him. Characters can shoot and roll in various directions; the shoot button can be used to also pistol-whack enemies at close range. All sprites are small and enemies can shoot and move quite fast; a semi-lock on function seemingly helps players to correct their aim and ensure that most bullets are on-target (more or less).

The roll button also acts as a dodge button (don’t input a direction) and as a jumping button. Some stages have two or more planes of movement that can be reached in various manners (climbing on st. 2; stairs on st. 4, 5, . Players can jump to and from other planes, and can also enter rooms to hide and/or kill enemies (st. 4, 5, . Boxes and other containers can be smashed via kicks, activated via the jump button. Bonus are items that can give 500, 1000 and 5000 points (one per stage, usually hidden). A player starts with 10 hit points, with certain attacks causing 2 or 3 hit points damage (e.g., respectively, heavier gun hits and shotgun hits). Food and booze can give characters energy back (1 HP for hot dogs; 2 for booze; 3 for pure alcohol!), so we have a case of coppers drinking whisky at work during the prohibition era, and getting better because of it. I kinda feel bad for Nerozzia, being chased down by hypocrite coppers…

The game could have been a perfect precursor to a certain Elevator Action Returns if Taito bothered to test it more, but apparently it was unpopular, anyway. Certainly it features a painstaking attention to detail, as also mentioned here. All characters have fluid animations, the scenery is very detailed and can be blown to pieces in many interesting and tactically useful manners.

The game revolves around enemy waves and the player’s ability to quickly dispose of enemies before they shoot (hey, it’s an arena shooter!). If enemies start shooting and the player also starts shooting, the game may slow down, sometimes considerably, and give priority to early attacks. This means that the object count must go down before players can actually shoot back, which in turn means that being overwhelmed is not a rare occurrence in the second half of the game. I remember that Cabal was similar, and maybe this is a feature that appears in more than one game within this micro-genre and its caravan mode-like approach to enemies.

The logical consequence of these design issues is that players need to memorise the enemy sequences, shoot down mobsters ASAP, and generally trim down and/or seal the object count and the enemy waves as much as possible. For a 1992 game, players can also expect quite a bit of Danmaku action: many enemies have machineguns, shotguns and other semi-automatic weapons that can easily flood the screen with bullets. Boss battles can also be frustrating affairs, because bosses will drop their weapons if knocked down, and being hit by a dropped weapon causes 1 HP and a few frames of stun. Furthermore, the use of planes, rooms and other “vantage” positions is a double-edged sword.

Difficulty and damage levels seem also really tricky factors to handle. Enemies can kill characters within seconds if they have a powerful weapon (e.g. a shotgun) and a good advantage angle. The game seems to have a rank system that skyrockets the longer the player can avoid hits, and that plummets if the player gets pummelled but does not die quickly (extra energy appears if a player can survive long enough, from what I can understand). This approach to rank in Taito game should harken back to Operation Wolf, I believe, so it is not surprising; it may give the impression that difficulty and rank follow a rollercoaster-like pattern.

Overall, the game is quite fun and hectic, and a careful use of the layout of each stage is indispensable. Shooting while moving, rolling when bullets are incoming and killing enemies as soon as possible are necessary skills to master, too, so the learning curve is quite graded. Learning how to handle the semi-automatic aiming feature seems a frustrating but necessary step, too. The last stage is a long boss rush (7 minutes max), with the stage layout being rather tricky to exploit properly. The game usually does not take more than 20-25 minutes to complete. The ending is…intriguing, and in perfect cinematic style. Playing for score seems not a particular intriguing matter. There should be an upper limit to how many RNG items players can collect in a stage, but collecting items is almost invariably a risk.

[Koa Zo]

Just for the sake of mentioning some neat single screen games, can't go wrong with Crazy Balloon 2000 and Hansha de Spark.

And has news of the Snow Bros remaster circulated yet?
SNOWBROS. NICK & TOM SPECIAL

[BrianC]

“Nerozzia” (I don’t think it is a real Italian surname; I couldn’t find it the opportune databases)

They probably saw a place named Nero's Pizza and decided to name the mob boss after that, not realizing that the combination doesn't make much sense in other languages.

[Randorama]

BrianC, thanks a lot! It also makes perfect sense because in Japanese blend compounds (aka portmanteau words) are really common (e.g. brunch from breakfast and lunch). Mildly hilarious factoid, I'd add

[Randorama]

I am half-tempted to spam some more in this thread with e.g. lovely bits such as a write-up of Funky Jet.

This, and a small request for BIL-sensei: if you are reading this, would you be so kind to spam...ahem, double-post any precious knowledge about the Cabal-esque titles from the 2MRFKWTF thread (spelling?) to this very fine but rather underappreciated thread?

[BIL]

TBH Rando, the only Cabalesque I've put serious (that is The Hard Gaming ) time on, besides lovable Wild Guns, is good ol' NAM-1975, which technically scrolls quite a bit - though it does stay put on occasion, and during bosses. Happy to repost my 1LC writeup here!

Regarding R2RKMF, it's grown into an anthology thread, with a small but deliberate scope beyond its hard core of sidescrolling/beltscrolling/topdown. Bubble Bobbles, Operation Wolves, Cabals and more are welcome; basically, if it's got badass action, and could run on a Famicom, fire away. Even with stuff like arcade puzzlers, racers and sports, which boast similar intensity sans running anywhere / killing anyone - let alone motherfuckers, rightward or otherwise! - if someone's got quality posts to share, I'd much rather see them than not. Some excellent Highway Star and Gomola Speed posts in there from Vanguard and Skye, to name a couple.

As Metal Slug 3 concluded: All About Love. R2R will always be around - we've a happy band of fine fellows, and I for one will be caning it until I fall off my chair - but it's not meant to replace dedicated threads for any game or genre. IMO, anything posted there is welcome for use in smaller, more concentrated threads.

Anyway Rando-dono, without further warbling from your old colleague Dr. Biruford, here is the secret history of the Vietnam War, as told to Eikichi Kawasaki and co.

---18/04/21---

Been enjoying the early Neo stuff. Was gonna move onto Raguy next - seems pretty impressive. Controls are tight, visuals are vibrant and charming, pacing is brisk. But, being an incorrigible lover of militaristic carnage, I decided to go Back To The Hell with NAM-1975. It's a game I've put some time on, but never really gotten to grips with, as recently as a year and change ago.



I remembered the random ambush bosses being insanely difficult - happy to see they're tough but reasonable, as is the game at large. There are four, attached to the first, second, third and fourth stages, with a 20% encounter rate. The first is a simple matter of dashing to the screen edge, waiting to the last moment, then dodge-rolling straight through his bullets and claws (too early, and you'll be snatched). The second should be blown up cab-first - it'll open fire if you destroy the trailer instead. The trailer's an easy kill on its own. The third is a simple rhythm game, I no-missed it blind first go. Speedkill the middle roller with grenades to create a nice breathing niche.

The fourth is visually overwhelming - the trick is, the boss itself's not targeting you, merely carpet-bombing in a static pattern. He and his supports are easily defeated by a simple right/left/right rolling pattern. Helluva rush every time.

That last point brings me to my favourite element - the selection and interplay of aimed, static, and "fuzzy" attacks. Some enemies' tracking is ruthlessly tight, others tangibly struggle to keep up with a moving player, still others have an unnerving mixup of potshots and lethal snipes - you'll often be facing some or all at once. Your dash maneuver is lightning-quick, making improv surprisingly viable when paired with the dodge roll. The roll is terrifyingly punishable on recovery, but also quite rangey, a good balance of freedom and accountability.

While the utilitarian vistas don't excel, the machine designs rock, and characters are superbly animated - ghastly death throes boosting the NAMsploitative air. Player and enemy alike collapse plaintively, incendiaries leaving red-hot ashes lost in the wind. Apart from the audibly bone-crushing fates dealt by the monstrous ambush mechs, most striking is the ghastly WMD kill. These fuckers' warheads are most definitely ready to rock.

(puking.wav intensifies)

Spoiler

A small ray of light is found in one CHRIS HELPER, who will intrepidly machinegun your foes while the recoil makes her big ass bounce.

WAR IS HELL YO

Spoiler

CHRIS HELPER, the Angel Of Saigon

Spoiler

---29/04/21---

Speaking of Cabalesques! Bagged a NAM-1975 no-miss yesterday. Tough but very fair game, tightening the screws in its closing third. The fifth boss is an RNG viper's nest, even after careful dismantling - the sixth stage's waves will crush if not decisively countered. The last boss's mixup of lazy mortars and vicious snipes exemplifies groove-based design, showcasing the excellent dash/roll mechanics. Simple yet almost tangibly unruly pattern, a pulse-pounding finish.



From casual credits over the years, I'd regarded NAM as utilitarian - trading on launch fanfare and ruefully hilarious cod-Kubrick. Finally getting to grips, I was pleasantly surprised. While the action is workhorse, it's a serious, polished game, with some very smart i-frame use; not merely for easy outs, but to facilitate otherwise impossibly fierce attacks, with a wicked double-edged recovery. The roll is a deathtrap, if not integrated with the bullet-herding walk and explosive dash - a deft juggling act, giving NAM more articulated handling than its 80s forebears, while staying far clear of the monotony than can afflict overly i-frame reliant games. In an excellent touch, advanced enemies have their own invincible rolls, which you can deliberately bait/punish with a quick MG burst; plug 'em with a grenade as they recover for a quick kill.

GOOD FIGHTING IS REQUIRED (■｀ω´■)

Spoiler

I see why NAM annoys scoreplayers - goddamn random minibosses not comin' out to play! 3; They're relatively easy, short battles, tbh - especially with their generously refilling your grenades beforehand. Nowhere as dangerous as the final two stages and their bosses. Still, I love seeing them - their machine designs have an obscenely chunky, flame-belching aspect rarely found among the "normal" enemies.

Spoiler

I wish the sprites were a bit beefier, nearer the proportions of the attract sequence. Additionally, it's only the (brilliant) final stage where enemies make use of the bush, attacking and disappearing with quickness. Weird, for a game modeled on one of the most infamous jungle conflicts in living memory. On the other hand, I do like the practicality of its small sprites - easy to track, and facilitating some massive onslaughts. The end of stage 4 (airfield) is a real handful, with its deeply layered sniper/grenadier/heavy mixups. They're also exceptionally well-animated, a fine tradeoff. Ultimately, it's always a treat when my primary criticisms of an arcade game are aesthetic.



BACK TO THE NIGHTMARE. (♫)

A few run notes:

Spoiler

• The stage 5 boss gang is probably the single deadliest threat. Took a bit of practice to figure out a safe strategy, and even then, it'll merely get you over the initial hurdle. This is my model opener - it'll consistently wipe out both Heavies. Get in the right corner, grenade Heavy #1 to death. Roll out as the others close in, dash to the left corner, then kill Heavy #2 with focus fire. Even with both dead, the fight has only begun - the bosses' barrel mixups are lethal RNG, and panic rolling will quickly see you shot/gassed - but you'll be on vastly stabler ground.
  
  At this point, the bosses will be closing in again - I'm very proud of discovering the left corner dodge on my own. As shown, with good roll timing, they have a very hard time hitting you. It's not to be abused - eventually, you're gonna get a barrel chucked at you - but it's a reliable stopgap, when lingering clouds make the center too hot to handle.

• You can actually manipulate Chris (poster girl and lady helper)'s position - let her follow you to a desired spot, then hold [shot + dash] and she'll freeze in place. Dash away and resume firing; she'll cover the spot, as long as you're either firing, or holding [shot+dash]. She only appears in even-numbered stages, and it's only in stage 4 I make use of this trick - the second round of hangars is a bit easier with Chris covering the opposite end of the screen, rather than bunching up next to you. Still, gotta take what you can get.

• Heavy blue bombers seem more easily shot down if you target the space just above them - parking the crosshairs at the top screen edge will do the trick. This seems to apply to st4's boss heli, too, but not st6's midboss carrier, or the smaller "Huey" helis.

• Metal Slug vets (and Ikari/Guevara ones) will instantly recognise the learning curve attached to Grenade expenditure. Finishing a stage with grenades in stock? Having trouble with a chokepoint? Figuring out where to spend those munitions will make life dramatically easier.

• Brown zako rifles aren't to be underestimated - but neither do you need to undly prioritise them. If you're busy with other targets, simply stay out of their conical firing zones.

• Grey special forces, found only in the final stage's grasslands, can be speedkilled with a well-timed grenade as they emerge. If they survive to enter the fray, you can force them to somersault with a shot - this'll leave them wide-open for a fatal grenade. Pink SFs, while not as deadly, can be set up similarly.

• Don't be scared of the ambush bosses. They put up intimidating onslaughts, but all are low on HP and simple to dodge. Here are takedowns of the three not seen in this run:
  
  https://youtu.be/gXmQhTnSbTQ BULLDOZER BODY CRUSHER O_O
  https://youtu.be/rt52_1e5050 ROAAAD ROLLA DAAA :3
  https://youtu.be/PfOuXQ5QCeo TOTAL ONSLAUGHT X_X

[Ed Oscuro]

Focusing on the "Shooting Gallery" genre: NAM-1975 is a neat upgrade to the Cabal-style with its scrolling gameplay field.

I like (or at least, I think I like - I've forgotten how to play it when trying it in MAME just now) Data East's 1985 "Shoot Out," which is probably the originator of the genre. Also fun to check out 1988's Blasted, a very late '80s production.

I'm a big fan of all of the TAD Corp productions - and also its geographically distant twin Exidy Corporation. I have a Dead Connection PCB sitting around but I'm more likely to just load up Chiller, or even Crossbow and Cheyenne, truth be told.

Fans of Dead Connection should also check out Flame Gunner by MAPS from 1999. It's a 3D third-person game with semi-free movement but it feels a bit like Dead Connection, although usually you're fighting at range rather than all across the screen. Unique feeling but fun to play.

[SuperDeadite]

Metal Orange EX. Still the best arkanoid/breakout style game ever. It's smart use of the Gradius power up system removes all the random luck nonsense these games tend to suffer from.

Saboten Bombers. NMK does Taito. This game absolutely destroys me every time, but its a lot of fun.

[spmbx]

Calling nam1975 a single-screen game is a bit of a stretch imho.

[Ed Oscuro]

Mad Planets is weird to play with a mouse, but almost doable...I really have to pay close attention to where the ship's pointed. Almost doubled the default hiscore on my second play. Snax'n Jaxon is a more idea game to play with just a mouse.

Some news: Black Widow Reloaded and Centipede Reloaded were recently free games on the Epic store. Black Widow Reloaded requires a connection to a server and some social login nonsense to even start a game, though.

[Randorama]

BIRRU-sensei: thanks for the repost. It's always a pleasure to read your creations, especially when I missed them the first time around (Eh, admission of guilt ).

Ed: all good, but could you please add publisher and year for Blasted? I am struggling to find info on it.

SuperDeadLite: +1 for Saboten Bombers. I remember trying it a few times and finding it hilariously funny, with all the zany humour and the hectic action. I wouldn't be surprised if Trap15 would know the game extremely fun, since he's an NMK admirer (...and if you are reading this, any comments on this title are much welcome).

I am half-tempted to ask if you may have a list of breakout titles hanging around...this is a sub-genre of 1-screeners that I never learnt to play. I really liked Puchi Carat (and I have OST and PS1 version!), but it always kicked my ass very hard

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

I've been playing a lot of Parasol Stars recently if that counts? I know some of the screens scroll a bit but it still feels like a single screen game to me with it's individual arenas. It's a bloody great game and I think I prefer it to Rainbow Islands even.

[Sumez]

Parasol Stars has a lot of two-screen rooms, but that's still a hard limitation. In terms of design and gameplay I'd definitely file it under single-screen games. It's such a fantastic game, though I'd never file it above Rainbow Islands. There are very few games in the world I would file above Rainbow Islands.

NAM-1975 I can't possibly see as single-screen though.

[SuperDeadite]

BIRRU-sensei: thanks for the repost. It's always a pleasure to read your creations, especially when I missed them the first time around (Eh, admission of guilt ).

Ed: all good, but could you please add publisher and year for Blasted? I am struggling to find info on it.

SuperDeadLite: +1 for Saboten Bombers. I remember trying it a few times and finding it hilariously funny, with all the zany humour and the hectic action. I wouldn't be surprised if Trap15 would know the game extremely fun, since he's an NMK admirer (...and if you are reading this, any comments on this title are much welcome).

I am half-tempted to ask if you may have a list of breakout titles hanging around...this is a sub-genre of 1-screeners that I never learnt to play. I really liked Puchi Carat (and I have OST and PS1 version!), but it always kicked my ass very hard

Saboten is truly nuts. Some stages you can stand in one spot and just mash the fire button. Others you die in seconds. Still keep the pcb around.

For breakout style games, Metal Orange EX is truly perfect. It is the pinnicle of it's genre.

For Volfied fans, take note that the FM Towns version actually has unique redbook music created directly by Ving.

[BIL]

trap posted the very useful Saboten Bombers Handbook in R2R, which was apparently part of the PCB kit? Pretty rad of NMK, including a strategy guide with the board. Even the Attract Mode makes a point to demonstrate the basics:



A total gem, particularly in the standout 2P mode. Couldn't believe it when the ACA release popped up out of nowhere. Like all of the great Taito single-screeners, even casuals can have a good time hopping about whacking its adorably devious varmints and snaffling goodies, while the hardcore dig in for a manful scoring odyssey. I really dig the tactile physicality, being able to shove enemies about for maximum impact.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ed: all good, but could you please add publisher and year for Blasted? I am struggling to find info on it.

Oops! Blasted is by Bally Midway, 1988. Very American looking compared to most games on this list.

[it290]

I'll toss out some forgotten classics and 2 newer games:

Star Castle is a classic vector game that combines the likes of Asteroids and Yar's revenge. Blast through the enemy's shields to destroy the ship at their center, but be wary of counterattacks. Barebones but as fun as Asteroids IMO

Fortress of Narzod is another vector game; single screen shooter that unlike many of its bitmap-best brethren at the time makes use of environmental geometry as an obstacle. You should enemies in sort of a Galaxian style, but your shots can ricochet and with a misplaced shot you can easily kill yourself.

Vectorblade another vector game for the Vectrex, but modern this time, it's inspired by the Amiga classic Deluxe Galaga which takes the classic Galaga formula and mixes it up with numerous enemy types, minigames, currency system, and mini- and full-bosses.

Xeno Crisis, the best single screen twin stick shooter that isn't Robotron.

[Randorama]

Ed & Birru-sensei: thanks! For some mysterious reason, my uncle hated Western arcade games so I really need to try Blasted. The Saboten Bombers manual is delightful

[m.sniffles.esq]

Pyro II

A DOS game I keep waiting for an update/ripoff/something for, but it never seems to materialize.

[davyK]

Star Castle is a classic vector game that combines the likes of Asteroids and Yar's revenge. Blast through the enemy's shields to destroy the ship at their center, but be wary of counterattacks. Barebones but as fun as Asteroids IMO

Yars' Revenge started life as a port of Star Castle but they couldn't do the game justice - so they built an original game. Good thing too as Yars is one of my favourites from that era. Of course modern homebrew efforts have since successfully ported Star Castle.

[it290]

Star Castle is a classic vector game that combines the likes of Asteroids and Yar's revenge. Blast through the enemy's shields to destroy the ship at their center, but be wary of counterattacks. Barebones but as fun as Asteroids IMO

Yars' Revenge started life as a port of Star Castle but they couldn't do the game justice - so they built an original game. Good thing too as Yars is one of my favourites from that era. Of course modern homebrew efforts have since successfully ported Star Castle.

There's a 90s-era Amiga freeware version that is really good, which is how I first became acquainted by the game. It was developed by ASDG as a Christmas present— the company was mostly known for producing 'Art Department Professional,' an early 24-bit image processing program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVtXlQV2oc0

[Randorama]

Query: Does anyone have links to good overviews on Pac Man through the decades?
I am feeling a bit intimidated about exploring (again) a series that spans decades...

[sunnshiner]

Is Robotron acceptably playable via Midway Arcade Origins on 360?

It plays fine

Donut Dodo is pretty good fun.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Query: Does anyone have links to good overviews on Pac Man through the decades?
I am feeling a bit intimidated about exploring (again) a series that spans decades...

I'm not overwhelmingly into Pac-Man personally, but I have several local friends who are, so I picked up a PCB of Namco Classics Vol 2, the one with Pac Man and Pac Man Arrangement at a pretty reasonable price. Pac-Man Arrangement is legitimately a ton of fun (especially in co-op!). It has just enough modern touches to make it feel more approachable to play while still retaining much of the classic Pac-Man pacing and strategies. I'd strongly recommend checking that one out if you haven't.