Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[BIL]

i'll try and remember this! but i think i've got my heart set on a jp megadrive dakimakura. can't pass up on that cool box and it's a decent price! sorry grook & all, i am a sucker for cartridges and clamshells :B

I just got both, they cheap. Then sprang for the SuperGrafx one a bit later, but I'm a bit nuts.

In all seriousness, if it's a great port of a great game, for a system I'm already heavily into, I'll happily double/triple up. Heroic ports are just as integral to a console's library as its original games, imo. This goes especially for an iconic killer app like MD Dai, a singular proclamation of the machine's demi-arcade ethos. NEC were clearly responding to Sega with their own challenge a bit later... ah, SuperGrafx. The John Cazale of Japanese gaming hardware. ;-;7

Needless to say, shoddiness like Raiden Densetsu (SFC) can eat a dick! 凸(｀ω´メ) Gimme Parodius Da instead pls.

Daimakaimura MD artworks gon melt your face

Spoiler

Even the NA/EU Ghouls n' Ghosts box went mostly unbothered, though they lack the fiery back cover with Arthur and PrinPrin looking all Orpheus/Eurydice. Yuji Kaida's beautiful painted boxarts seemed to make the JP-US transition pretty well. Whip Rush and Soldier Blade were left alone too, if memory serves. His eminently robo-manly E-SWAT got ruined but eh, three outta four ain't bad.

in other news, i played a bunch more rocket knight adventures, today. i have the 2nd hardest difficulty down to a no miss! hooray for me! i think i'm going to tackle the extraordinarily notorious "hard" mode tomorrow (crazy hard in other regions), which starts you with but a single life and everything kills you in one hit. i honestly believe it was already harder than no missing hard corps just to do the no miss on the previous difficulty, but then they have something like THIS in the game? bleeding hell.

for the record, i bring up hard corps because of the shared staff implying it was designed by the same team. there are a lot of similar design sensibilities. if you've not played this one, don't be confused by your first couple minutes and the cutesy stuff, this game gets just as over-the-top and thrilling as a lot of the best stuff on the megadrive

RKA is signature Nobuya Nakazato - blitzkrieg sidescrolling action, and another game no MD library should be without! Out of curiosity, have you seen Shin Contra's secret ending?

Yes MD Dai Makaimura looks like it's a great, fun port! I think I'll grab that also, even if I just got the PS1 arcade port. A complete MD copy isn't super expensive so that won't set me back

Aww hell yeah This reminds me, MD does enjoy one definite advantage over PS1: zero loadtime, baybee! Particularly handy if you get clobbered early on.

[Sumez]

I always enjoyed the Master System covers for their absurd laziness and overall just embarassing artwork up until the later years when someone got the great idea to put -actual- artwork on the boxes.
I'm not sure how much of it was intentional though. The Master System version Ghouls n Ghosts was one of those games caught inbetween the old "quick stick figure in the lower corner of the box" era and the later full artwork games, and features a hilariously horrible rendition of the amazing MegaDrive artwork:

Spoiler

Obviously this must have been done intentionally to match with the rest of the Master System library.... But why?

(ftr, though I'm sure most people already know, the Master System version is a different game altogether, based on the same stages and enemies, but features upgradeable armor and other weird stuff like that)

[Bloodreign]

The only thing that has ever bothered me about the Genesis GnG port, hitting certain objects with your weapon makes an ear splitting CHING sound, while the other ports have a far softer sound when metal hits solid object. That's about the only downside to that port.

[BIL]

Obviously this must have been done intentionally to match with the rest of the Master System library.... But why?

Suprised they didn't just go with the standard blank chequerboard plus a pair of dirty drawers on SMS. It'd fit their usual laziness, and promote the game! Some battles will make your blood boil - this one will make you shit your pants

(ftr, though I'm sure most people already know, the Master System version is a different game altogether, based on the same stages and enemies, but features upgradeable armor and other weird stuff like that)

Wut?! But that high-quality and very reliable boxart says "ARCADE" !!

The only thing that has ever bothered me about the Genesis GnG port, hitting certain objects with your weapon makes an ear splitting CHING sound, while the other ports have a far softer sound when metal hits solid object. That's about the only downside to that port.

Yeah, the MD SFX aren't great unfortunately. st1 guillotines sound bad too. SuperGrafx wins that one. SGX wins a lot actually, but then it's a later port on newer hardware. OFC, MD doesn't require a painfully obscure boutique machine!

Daydreaming a bit, I would've loved to see impressive but decidedly early-gen MD ports like Dai and Strider on the machine circa 1994, in the hands of the magicians at Sega, Konami or Treasure. Or hell, just a Magic Sword port from around that time. MD Chiki Chiki Boys is cool but I want blood and fire.

Or on the 32X, ala its Afterburner II and Space Harrier deluxe ports. Then we could have great Dai ports on two tragically ill-fated stopgap machines. >:3

[Blinge]

Ah what the hell man I just saw in a video you can insta-rek the final bosses of NG with the spin slash!
I'm kinda glad I didn't know this before because I would've definitely tried to abuse that

[BIL]

Only if you die and come back though! But yeah, that is why I SHOW NO LOVE TO NG SCRUBS (I mean, I do show a little I told Edmans he shoulda just JS Jaquio all up in he grill already!)

[Sumez]

I had no idea you could jumpslash Jamiroquai. I need to try that some time, but I don't really feel like intentionally being sent back :3

[Shoryukev]

I had no idea you could jumpslash Jamiroquai. I need to try that some time, but I don't really feel like intentionally being sent back :3

Lucky for me every time I get sent back it's involuntary

[Immryr]

my latest run: no deaths until act 5, then lost two lives in stupid ways in 5-2, then died to the machine gunner in 5-3 at the end of the section you can use the firewheel on. i jumped too early and got knocked back into the pit.

continued and cleared act 5 on my next life. made it to the infamous part of 6-2 with a couple more deaths.

i'm slowly inching forward.

[BIL]

Professor Biruford's Doki-Doki Import Gaming Review presents:
TOTAL NON-STARTERS Episode 01
Makaimura Gaiden: Red Arremer II - The Demon Darkness (Capcom, GB 1993)

I was gonna give this miniaturisation of the second Arremer game (from FC) a shot! :O I already got the rovely FC game but I do love me GB softs, and the boxart is sha-weeet! Then I start the first stage, change direction sharply, and 'arry carries on in the same direction. ಠ_ಠ Yes, it's a small but distinct control glitch right out of the gate, and with a GB port of an established FC favourite already on thin ice, I'm not encouraged to continue.

Verdict: GET THIS CRAP OUTTA MY FACE CAPCOM I ain't got time for damage cases nowadays. Well no it's not crap, I'm sure it might be ok if you can't play the FC version for some reason. I demand my ports control at least as tightly as the source material though!

---

Sumez, Bloodreign and other Taito-literate friends, pls halp me learn 2 Bubble Bobble I definitely like this game but I want to rove it like I do Rainbow Islands! How do I get big fruits killing stuff on sight like in my ninja videogames isn't working too hot AFAIK!

edit: aww sheeit I think I kinda get it, let em bunch up then bust 'em! Balanced breakfasts and big moneys, here I come! That silver door shit is way beyond me though 3;

[Sumez]

You can never rove it like Rainbow Islands, it is a very different game. You can love it for what it is, however!

Every stage in Bubble Bobble is a puzzle in its own, and must be trained individually. There are very few guides on the internet for that unfortunately, and the best one (adamdawes.com) is based on bootleg behavior, which trivialises some of the biggest challenges in the game.

Big fruits show up when the tens and hundreds digit of your score is aligned, much alike powerups in Gimmick! You can adjust the score by blowing bubbles into a wall to pop them instantly for 10 points for each bubble. Just make sure there are no empty bubbles in the group you are popping, and your score will be in the thousands so it won't interfere. They will also appear if you pick up a Cane, or just every time on certain levels.

The majority of your score will probably come from the secret doors, but there's a substantial extra amount to be found from various other things - such as the big fruits. You will need to prioritize these based on how much they are worth, and some times it's better to skip a a bonus item if there's an opportunity for something better. The big fruits and candy aren't worth as much as they are delicious looking. Diamonds are usually worth more, even if they can't be eaten.
The second highest point maker aside from the secret rooms, is popping eight enemies in a single group. There are a lot of stages where you can easily force this if you know it well, and how the bubbles move, while in others it's best to just move on as fast as possible. In the end, survival is your highest priority, due to the secret doors.
Popping large groups will also lead to more letters appearing, and thereby more extends. You should be able to get your first around round 5.


All bonus powerup items that appear are based on internal counters that are based on your actions - details here.
One point item (based on how fast the previous stage was cleared) and one bonus items appears on each stage, though the bonus item requires one counter to be "ready" when you enter the stage, after which it is reset (so from a clean reset you won't get one on the first stage). Each powerup has a priority, and usually the more rare ones have higher priority, while any other counters you have ready will be queued for the next stage when they have the highest priority. Am I making sense? Basically this means that you want to force your primary powerups (the running shoes and rapid+fast fire especially, but also the long shot) to appear as early as possible, as when you have a lot of "better" powerups lined up, they won't show up until everything else is exhausted.

So on the first few stages make sure to waste a lot of time jumping, running back and forth, and blowing a lot of bubbles. This isn't that much fun, but through experimentation you can find a rhythm where you'll get the powerups early enough to be comfortable. The game is, however, much more fun when you do have the powerups.
Ideally you want to no-miss (and thereby keep your powerups) all the way to round 50 so you can get every single bonus room. The final room at round 50 will take you ahead 20 levels, which is actually ok, as those 20 are some of the hardest in the game, with a very low scoring potential. After round 70, every other level is pretty much a setup to get a full 64,000 bonus for free.

Avoid taking the umbrellas that skip ahead unless you know ahead of time that you are skipping some super hard stages, or just stages without much scoring potential.

[BIL]

omg

Thanks - that's a huge help on both system and more general levels.

Currently just messing around with the SMS version, but probably going to go with the Taito Memories Joukan (NTSCJ PS2) emulation eventually. The former seems like a lovingly done port but, the sprite flicker is really severe and I wonder if hairier later stages might suffer. If you've played the latter, is it decent? The Memories set usually aren't my first pick, but it seems they're the least worst option for AC Bubble Bobble on a disc.

The stories around this game's lost source code are heartbreaking. 3:

[Shoryukev]

Professor Biruford's Doki-Doki Import Gaming Review presents:
TOTAL NON-STARTERS Episode 01
Makaimura Gaiden: Red Arremer II - The Demon Darkness (Capcom, GB 1993)

I was gonna give this miniaturisation of the second Arremer game (from FC) a shot! :O I already got the rovely FC game but I do love me GB softs, and the boxart is sha-weeet! Then I start the first stage, change direction sharply, and 'arry carries on in the same direction. ಠ_ಠ Yes, it's a small but distinct control glitch right out of the gate, and with a GB port of an established FC favourite already on thin ice, I'm not encouraged to continue.

Verdict: GET THIS CRAP OUTTA MY FACE CAPCOM I ain't got time for damage cases nowadays. Well no it's not crap, I'm sure it might be ok if you can't play the FC version for some reason. I demand my ports control at least as tightly as the source material though!

This is disappointing, especially considering how the spinoff got its start on the GB. I would have never thought it would have those kind of control issues.....weak! I need to get myself a FC adapter for my frontloader NES so I can start enjoying some imports like this one (NES variant Gargoyle's Quest II is approx 5x the cost). Maybe I'll get lucky and opening some of my 5 screw black box cartridges will reveal an adapter lol

[kitten]

Hi kitten. Welcome to the shmups forum!

thanks! :p hey, are you the same brian i used to chat with on AIM a few years back?

I just got both, they cheap. Then sprang for the SuperGrafx one a bit later, but I'm a bit nuts.

wahhhh, i want a supergrafx. maybe some day, when i'm rich. at least lie to me and tell me it's not the coolest thing

In all seriousness, if it's a great port of a great game, for a system I'm already heavily into, I'll happily double/triple up. Heroic ports are just as integral to a console's library as its original games, imo.

sometimes i care about ports a lot, sometimes i don't. generally, if there's an arcade accurate way to play it otherwise, i discount them (r-types makes pce r-type obsolete, imo), but sometimes the port is quirky enough for me to still like it. megadrive and arcade daimakaimura probably both use fm synth, so i'm expecting a good soundtrack.

nothing will ever beat out the famicom and its huge amount of "ports" that are basically totally goddamn awesome, redesigned games. gradius 2, contra, super c, nes jackal, nes legendary wings, etc.

on a slightly different note, i just learned today that capcom did an arcade game for the little nemo property - anyone here play that? it looks okay.

RKA is signature Nobuya Nakazato - blitzkrieg sidescrolling action, and another game no MD library should be without! Out of curiosity, have you seen Shin Contra's secret ending?

of course i almost linked it here for fun. it's pretty tough to earn that thing, in-game, but i loved doing it. shin contra is damned good, but i feel it wears its incredibly-long-sitting to get it down both as a plus and minus. i never go back to it casually because of ift, like i do a few of the other games (particularly the fc ones), but it left an arguably bigger impact in quite a few ways.

you ever bother with this one-hit kill mode, BIL? i played a bit before i went to bed last night and it seems kind of on par bucky o hare's in terms of what it does to the design: a few parts are a bit more interesting but most of the game was very clearly not designed with it as the intent and it trods over some of the game's finer points. really makes you scared to bleeding death to do boss speed kills, too, which are such a critical part of the game. the big difference between those two modes is that it doesn't have the generosity to give you infinite continues that bucky o hare does i feel like just one step down on the difficulty ladder (jp/eu "very hard," us "normal") is about perfect, for this game. most non-negligible stuff kills you in 4 hits, lots of stuff will kill you in just 3 hits, a few things in just 2 - enough wiggle room for a couple of mistakes. given that on the original cartridge you had to unlock 2nd hardest before you could unlock hardest, i'm willing to mostly dismiss this like bucky o' hare's "HARD!" too. it just seems like something the programmers put in when they'd gotten bored with their high level of competency in playtesting. bucky's i'll still recommend over this due to the infinite continues, though - just pretend it's some modern platformer like super meat boy, where the levels are all short and self-contained super challenges.

still going to try to beat it like i did bucky's hard i managed to get through a sizeable chunk without dying last night, until i hit that stupid fucking fish & spikes tunnel and proceeded to lose every life that i had. this game is just too danged long for a mode like this. i feel pretty satisfied with my very hard/normal no miss, though. i don't think i'm going to get much better at performing this game, just memorizing it.

Makaimura Gaiden: Red Arremer II - The Demon Darkness (Capcom, GB 1993)

I was gonna give this miniaturisation of the second Arremer game (from FC) a shot! :O I already got the rovely FC game but I do love me GB softs, and the boxart is sha-weeet! Then I start the first stage, change direction sharply, and 'arry carries on in the same direction. ಠ_ಠ Yes, it's a small but distinct control glitch right out of the gate, and with a GB port of an established FC favourite already on thin ice, I'm not encouraged to continue.

Verdict: GET THIS CRAP OUTTA MY FACE CAPCOM I ain't got time for damage cases nowadays. Well no it's not crap, I'm sure it might be ok if you can't play the FC version for some reason. I demand my ports control at least as tightly as the source material though!

i could just never enjoy arremer 2. i felt like it was just redoing the formula from the first game, but worse. i think the biggest thing that screws the design in that game is the little whirlwind platform step - because it's so easy to abuse, it feels like the level design of the entire game bends over completely backwards in really bad ways to accommodate how freely you can move. feel pretty much the same about demon's crest - absolutely gorgeous game (maybe the literal strongest aesthetic on the entire sfc), really startlingly weak platformer and action design. i honestly think that mechanically, demon's blazon is the worst of the three, it does some really dire balancing around your constantly increasing attributes. if only the series had gone less rpg and upgrade oriented and more toward just refining its action, i feel like it could have been legendary. it broke my heart that this series never had the game to match its art. i'd love to know the staff behind demon's blazon, so i could see what else they did, but it seems like it's still, to this day, a mystery.

if you're unaware, gb arremer 2 does have some exclusive content in the form of - i believe - 2 additional stages. no unique bosses, but i do think they use some unique tiles. i think one of them (maybe both?) add some unique upgrade, too, but i can't remember what it does and it's probably just some negligible late-game bonus. i played through this a few months ago, praying that it somehow fixed what i disliked about the original, but it didn't, really.

[Sumez]

omg

Thanks - that's a huge help on both system and more general levels.

Currently just messing around with the SMS version, but probably going to go with the Taito Memories Joukan (NTSCJ PS2) emulation eventually. The former seems like a lovingly done port but, the sprite flicker is really severe and I wonder if hairier later stages might suffer. If you've played the latter, is it decent? The Memories set usually aren't my first pick, but it seems they're the least worst option for AC Bubble Bobble on a disc.

I don't have a lot of experiences with the PS2 set, but I HAVE played the Rainbow Islands on it, and there's an awful lag that makes me completely unable to play it. I don't know if Bubble Bobble is as bad in that respect.
For the most exact arcade replication aside from recent MAME builds (booh), I can absolutely recommend Hamster's digital release for PS4 on PSN. It's very cheap, and a thoroughly solid "port" of the game, even comes with a score attack mode that prevents continuing and always starts you from a clean reset.

Btw, I wrote a large writeup on the game a couple of years ago. I never completed it (lacking general flavour, as well as a lot of details on how you can use the various bubble types to your advantage and other general stage clearing + scoring tricks), but I just gave it a read, and I think I actually covered all the most important aspects as well as why I consider it a masterpiece. Dumped it here for your enjoyment: https://pastebin.com/7F8ba3Uz

I also started writing a long guide for every single stage, featuring individual tactics for survival or for scoring purposes, based on my own experiences. I never got too far in it, but got a draft for the first 45 stages. I'll see if I can clean it up for some pastin' later, if you're interested.

[BIL]

you ever bother with this one-hit kill mode, BIL? i played a bit before i went to bed last night and it seems kind of on par bucky o hare's in terms of what it does to the design: a few parts are a bit more interesting but most of the game was very clearly not designed with it as the intent and it trods over some of the game's finer points.

Nope, never played RKA's ultimate difficulty more than a few stages - TBH I'm not surprised to hear it gets dicey, always struck me as a warts n' all deal. Don't know how I never made the connection between it and Bucky's "HARD!" all these years. Definitely sounds like some designer continuity from Nakazato, there.

i honestly think that mechanically, demon's blazon is the worst of the three, it does some really dire balancing around your constantly increasing attributes. if only the series had gone less rpg and upgrade oriented and more toward just refining its action, i feel like it could have been legendary.

As action/platformers, the Arremer trilogy definitely got weaker as it went on. I played them in reverse order and was pleasantly surprised by the GB game's intensity, having wrongly assumed that the generally only serviceable (but always solidly-handling) SFC game would be its peak action. I like the FC game the most overall, but it's not a distinction I have the strongest feelings about tbh. Ultimately all three games are relatively easygoing ARPG-leaning experiences, the sort I like having a few of to embellish my more militantly hardcore stuff.

if you're unaware, gb arremer 2 does have some exclusive content in the form of - i believe - 2 additional stages. no unique bosses, but i do think they use some unique tiles.

Thanks - yeah, I'd heard about the extras. TBH I was just looking forward to seeing the FC game in a more RA1 aesthetic context. There's such an art to the GB's harsh limitations... it sometimes produces beautiful work. That blindingly obvious glitch quickly torpedoed my optimism, though!

I don't have a lot of experiences with the PS2 set, but I HAVE played the Rainbow Islands on it, and there's an awful lag that makes me completely unable to play it. I don't know if Bubble Bobble is as bad in that respect.
For the most exact arcade replication aside from recent MAME builds (booh), I can absolutely recommend Hamster's digital release for PS4 on PSN. It's very cheap, and a thoroughly solid "port" of the game, even comes with a score attack mode that prevents continuing and always starts you from a clean reset.

Btw, I wrote a large writeup on the game a couple of years ago. I never completed it (lacking general flavour, as well as a lot of details on how you can use the various bubble types to your advantage and other general stage clearing + scoring tricks), but I just gave it a read, and I think I actually covered all the most important aspects as well as why I consider it a masterpiece. Dumped it here for your enjoyment: https://pastebin.com/7F8ba3Uz

Thanks again, on both counts! It was your posts on Hamster's release that got BB back on my mind, now that I think back. I'll probably end up going with that one at some point, once I finally sort my woefully dated hardware situation out.

I also started writing a long guide for every single stage, featuring individual tactics for survival or for scoring purposes, based on my own experiences. I never got too far in it, but got a draft for the first 45 stages. I'll see if I can clean it up for some pastin' later, if you're interested.

Most of it would probably go over my head at this stage, to be honest (I am an absolute noob) - but I'm sure it'll be a valuable contribution regardless.

[FinalBaton]

Oh man this reminds me that I've played Bobble Bubble on NES soooooo much when I was a kid. That one is super nostalgic for me, just got hit with a huge nostlagia wave of young Baton with his mullet sitting on the basement floor at my best friend's house, playing this game with him almost every day along with some others. Must have been around 8 to 10 years old. Oh, the memories... I can still visualize that basement in great detail; the furniture, how every thing was set up... BIL you mind if I borrow your teary-eyed emote?

And I wasn't even going for score and all that, just trying to reach the highest level. That right there is a testament to how fun the game is even on a basic pick-up and play level. It also help that the game is gosh darn cute, too. Those little chibbi dragons are the coolest

[BIL]

BIL you mind if I borrow your teary-eyed emote?

Not at all, I encourage cultural smiley appropriation wherever possible.

[Squire Grooktook]

Hey BIL how do you recommend playing Red Arremer 2? JP or Western Gargoyles Quest II? If the former, are there any guides or patches I should know about, I imagine the rpg elements could result in some annoyances with no knowledge of what's going on.

I also have Bubble Bobble since childhood. Should revisit it based on these recommendations.

[BIL]

TBH, I'm completely in the dark as to regional changes - but where language is concerned, there's definitely enough reading that things could get confusing. I was happy to muddle through with a random text dump from GameFAQs, but I hesitate to recommend my shambolic method to others. For now I'd say GQII is the simplest option. Will give TCRF a look to see if there are any region changes (can't recall the game having much worth spoiling, but it never hurts to be careful!).

[kitten]

I need to get myself a FC adapter for my frontloader NES so I can start enjoying some imports like this one (NES variant Gargoyle's Quest II is approx 5x the cost). Maybe I'll get lucky and opening some of my 5 screw black box cartridges will reveal an adapter lol

i strongly suggest getting yourself an AV famicom (same as the NES2, but with the same AV out that sfc/snes/n64/gc use, they rule). i didn't think i could play that generation any more than i already did until i got one! its ease of use is the same as the sfc's - rarely any finagling required to get the game to work, and you get a nice view of those wonderful fc carts + labels while you're playing. front-loading nes's are prone to problems even with cleaned/replaced PIN adapters, the lockout chip disabled, etc. the pressure from putting them on horizontally like that can very slowly damage the pins on the carts, too. i still use my childhood one, but have been wanting to get a good nes -> fc converter for a while, now. then, i could finally retire the faithful hardware and just stick it on display on a shelf, it's certainly earned its place.

the converter i own now i can't even get to work - it's damned finicky!

AV famicom is easily one of the best purchases i have ever made, though, seriously. it's even small, lightweight, and easy to pack up for travel! you can save yourself a chunk by using your NES power adapter and a/v cables from one of the aforementioned systems and just buying the console all by itself, too, if you want. i only paid about 8000 yen for mine, and it came with all attachments and about 30 pieces of famicom cart trash for me to take joy in figuring out what was famicom collecting is damn fun - soooo many fun colors, shapes, etc. i own more garbage for my famicom than any other console because not only are the offbeat titles quirkier and more interesting ot me, but they just come in so many delightful packages. even a bad game probably has a neat cart with just a little bit of unique character - ain't like collecting sfc where the label art is frequently ugly and the carts are so goddamn uniform.

i don't think there's a thing i own that i love more than my famicom collection

I like the FC game the most overall, but it's not a distinction I have the strongest feelings about tbh. Ultimately all three games are relatively easygoing ARPG-leaning experiences, the sort I like having a few of to embellish my more militantly hardcore stuff.

my fav thing about the fc game, by far, is red arremer's walk cycle. it is the goddamn best.



i spent way too long making this. here's an emoticon-sized one that i think is pretty good + worth using

There's such an art to the GB's harsh limitations... it sometimes produces beautiful work.

i definitely agree with this!

there are some rare instances where i like a gb version more than an fc version due to small changes - e.g. i think darkwing duck has slightly spruced up level design on the gb and is a better game because of it. way less of that obnoxious, pace-halting turtle enemy, too.

Hey BIL how do you recommend playing Red Arremer 2? JP or Western Gargoyles Quest II? If the former, are there any guides or patches I should know about, I imagine the rpg elements could result in some annoyances with no knowledge of what's going on.

pretty sure they're identical, aside from the text. go for GQII, imo. there's not a LOT you need to look up for the jp version, but it's enough to fuck with the pacing.

[BIL]

Nice. I heartily approve of tastefully magnified sprite gifs! I should've kept the uncaptioned files for this chap. I like to think I made amends by loaning him the third mic spot in my avatar though.

Spoiler

[FinalBaton]

Haha, I agree that this is the fucking best. So surly... so perfect

I need to get myself a FC adapter for my frontloader NES so I can start enjoying some imports like this one (NES variant Gargoyle's Quest II is approx 5x the cost). Maybe I'll get lucky and opening some of my 5 screw black box cartridges will reveal an adapter lol

I tried the black-box adapter way (actually mine was from an oldschool multicart) and it didn't work well. The reasons were : 1-The carts need to be pushed as close to possible to the door to have the best chances of making good contact(mine works 100% of the time when handled like this), as I'm sure everyone with a front loader knows. Well, with a converter it becomes very hard to get the cart in the same spot, since it's shorter than a legit cart. You got nothing to guide you! Do you get what I mean? And 2-Pulling the cart is extremely difficult. In that regard the third party adapters with a ribbon work much better. But they're still not the same height as a legit NES cart, so you still have no guide as to how deep you gotta insert it into the system.

kitten I agree that an AV Famicom is much better in that regard buuuuuuuuut, there's a problem : the NES I got RGB-modded is my childhood front loader and there's no way I'm parting with that! Nor RGB-modding a second console

[BrianC]

Needless to say, shoddiness like Raiden Densetsu (SFC) can eat a dick! 凸(｀ω´メ) Gimme Parodius Da instead pls.

I have the US Raiden Trad, but only because it was given to me for free. Definitely agree on Parodius Da. I have the AC version on Saturn and can play the SFC version with SD2SNES. I also like how it can play that Shubibinman game mentioned earlier in the thread.

thanks! :p hey, are you the same brian i used to chat with on AIM a few years back?

Yup, that's me.

I also recommend the AV Famicom. However, if you want to play Zapper games, you will need a JP gun or makeshift adapter since only the expansion port is wired for the light guns on the AV Famicom (though it's possible to wire port 2 for light guns, as well). I also have the AES, which is also nice, but is NG for light gun games. It does let you use the US Arkanoid controller with the JP Arkanoid games, though (the controllers aren't normally compatible since they are wired differently).

[Shoryukev]

The walking animation is indeed incredibly epic. I love it!!!

AV famicom

This might be chat for the hardware section, but I would be inclined to get an AV Famicom if my NES weren't already RGB modded,. It would be pretty hard for me to go back to using composite video for FC games now that I'm spoiled. It's had the lockout chip disabled and has a blinking light win in it so it's incredibly reliable...the only time I have a game not load the first time is when I just got it from a store or yard sale and I open the cart and it's filthy beyond belief.

I would like to be able to see the carts while I play though, the artwork on a lot of FC games is really cool and I'm a fan of how they are different colors. I am super jealous we got almost nothing but grey carts here in the US!!!

EDIT: I've got the same problem as FinalBaton! I had my childhood NES modded too

black-box adapter

Hmm that sucks to hear. I'm sure the adapter found in blackbox games would work fine if you took the PCB out of each cart and stuck it in the 5 screw cartridge....but man would that be a pain in the arse!!! I'm curious to how the ribbon style ones would work with my blinking light win, since the force on the cart pins is much different than the original design.

[BrianC]

I have a FC to NES adapter, but I couldn't get it to work properly on my US NES without a blinking screen and the Everdrive N8, which would probably work due to a CIC chip, doesn't fit properly with the adapter.

I love that Gargoyle's Quest II walk. Too bad the GB one wasn't released here. At least it has a fan translation.

[FinalBaton]

It would be pretty hard for me to go back to using composite video for FC games now that I'm spoiled.

Same. I just can't stand the dot crawl on the NES/FC's composite output now >w< There's so much of it! Although I didn't care at all when I was young. I guess I'm spoiled, as you said. haha

I'm sure the adapter found in blackbox games would work fine if you took the PCB out of each cart and stuck it in the 5 screw cartridge....but man would that be a pain in the arse!!!

Yep.

I'm curious to how the ribbon style ones would work with my blinking light win, since the force on the cart pins is much different than the original design.

Ah, maybe with a blinking light win it won't be an issue. This is worth a try IMO

[Squire Grooktook]

I'm very much a fan of Arremers walk cycle combined with their occaisionally trollish antics in Cho

[Shoryukev]

Same. I just can't stand the dot crawl on the NES/FC's composite output now >w< There's so much of it! Although I didn't care at all when I was young. I guess I'm spoiled, as you said. haha

It's funny to think that now, since I've spent probably 97% of my time with the NES using RF....but we get spoiled so easily.


I didn't play Gargoyle's Quest on the gameboy for a long time because of how trollish those firebrand sumbitches can be. That clip was pretty hilarious.

Young me - "Why would I ever want to play a game where I take control of that dickhead? Grrrr!"

[BrianC]

Young me - "Why would I ever want to play a game where I take control of that dickhead? Grrrr!"

You weren't fooled by the green Firebrand on the box?