shmups.system11.org

What about my "lipstick"?

However, your statement is quite well timed. My hair is shorter now than it has been in some 15 years. The Jesus length went away in July and it's been getting shorter and shorter.

You mean you don't actually look like the guy from Arrested Development?

Only in spirit.

Beautiful seating.

Selvarias

Indeed he looks like a very good boy. What's his name?

Jetson.
You can find him on instragram (jetson_thepug).

Yeah they're real radial WW tyres but they're 12 years old and need replacing - there's still one large manufacturer of them using the original molds, and another company who modify off the shelf ones by bonding a thin rubber strip to the side. I'll probably go with the former, it's not a car you drive quickly anyway, drum brakes all round and for UK roads it's HUGE. There are enough danger variables far ahead of whether or not the tyres lose grip.

I got hit with a Switch retrogasm this week. Bought R-Type Dimensions EX on eShop, got SNK 40th Anniversary Collection in mail and I got the Toki "Retrollector Edition" with the build-your-own cardboard arcade cab.

The first two are great examples on how to bring older games to current systems. R-Type with its options for prettied-up graphics and a more forgiving gameplay mode, while still also having the original available, and SNK 40th with not only a nice selection of games, but the ability to choose between their US/World/Japan versions AND the game's home ports, and including all sorts of information and scans of the company's pre-Neo Geo history.

And then there's Toki. It has updated graphics. And that's literally it. There's no options of any kind. No option to play the arcade original, not to mention the NES port or the Genesis version. No button reconfiguration. No autofire. Not one bit of info about the game's history. The only thing you can do is change the difficulty between Easy/Medium/Hard/Hardest. The game saves only your highest score for each difficulty. The new graphics are alright, even nice at times, but the UI looks like it was cobbled together in five minutes with its font and color choices, it brings to mind a Flash game.

I know this re-release was supposed to come out way back in 2011 but something happened and now it's a Switch exclusive. It will be absolutely panned in reviews, if anybody even bothers to make one. Luckily I only paid ~€30 for it.

I still like the underlying game, though. I 1LC'ed the Famicom port some years ago and will try to do the same here. It's a bit different under the hood compared to the arcade and Famicom versions. Some enemies spawn in slightly different places and the power-ups seem to time out faster.

From what I have seen from what little gameplay I could actually find on YouTube, the game plays pretty much exactly like the arcade game! Since I wasn't controlling it I couldn't really judge wether it was exact, but the stage layouts and enemy locations all seem 1:1 to me, which I was really impressed about. I wager they might have been going the arcade code through in details and probably ported stage data over directly, which I'd commend if true.

I've never played the Famicom version, but seen some footage of it, and it doesn't look like a good port to me*. But if it's fun, I'll give it a try some day.

The MegaDrive version is really a different game entirely. I've always looked at is as a sequel, but it does reuse too much from the original game to really feel like one.

*) Clarification, the Famicom version actually looks pretty good, like they took the game and converted it into something that feels more like a Famicom game. It has the same enemies and basic stage layouts, but everything is smaller and a little faster, etc. with less stuff coming at you from all sides. So kind of like a reenvisioning of the game, which I guess is the correct way to go about this kind of port.

Hmm now I'm kind of interested in this, though I'm presuming 'home port' means mainly NES versions in this case?
Shame about Toki, probably wait for a sale on that.

It's very close, but not quite 1:1. In the first stage, after the miniboss thing with the fists and the two monkies pedaling, there's a jump over a pit, with a crumbling ledge, when you're going left. Right after landing the jump, a zombie monkey spawns. In the arcade and Famicom versions the enemy spawns to the very left of the platform, giving you plenty of space and warning. In the Switch version he spawns closer to the right so he's in your face right away. You can see the difference here:

Arcade
Switch

As far as powerups go, the helmet especially seems to disappear faster in the Switch version.

But yeah, this is pretty nitpicky. I only noticed it because after playing a few credits I went and re-watched my Toki FC 1LC video, to see if I could spot any obvious differences. Overall the Switch version does feel to be an accurate port.

Speaking of, I do think the Famicom port is a good example of competent arcade-to-Famicom conversions.



Only NES versions, yes.

Picked up some goodies the last couple weeks:
- Nanao MS9-29 chassis w/ remote board and shield + cap kit. i have been having issues with my NAC's monitor and figured a swap would be the quickest way of getting back up and running while repairing my original chassis.


Great success!

- Raiden PCB
- Flipgrip for Switch
- Saturn HSS-0130, this came modified to take real sega panels. has MC Cthulhu's as well as db15/neo geo output for connecting to a supergun. the wiring was hacked up and wasn't able to easily swap panels. i had to return it to the standard wiring so that i can attach my Smash TV panel. (i love playing smashTV and Robotron, but its a pain in the dick swapping panels/boards into my cab)

so sexy with this panel:


ports

Most recent Switch games! Really been enjoying the Flip Grip this past week! Makes playing all the Vertical Shooters more fun!

A reproduction copy of Chaos Field for $20. Cause' fuck resale prices.