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

[Marc]

Ah. OK. Another miss then....
Even at these prices, I'd still refund the last utter turd I picked up on a whim.

[Arino]

is rs2 not good?

[BIL]

Has a biblically horrible rep, particularly being the sequel to a canonical legend. But tbh, the only time I played it was as a wee lad who could barely see over the controls. I remembered it looking a lot nearer something like Magician Lord... Back to awaiting Thunder Fox, a bonafide cutting-edge killer.

By god, that OST and sound design are bangin tho.

I'm gonna have to give it a look, I can get along with basic barbarian sidescrolling if it's at least responsive. Ultimately, I'm glad it's out of the way... I was half-convinced it'd beat the original to launch. Warrior Blade has always looked rad, wouldn't be surprised to see that this year.

Star Luster is badass, at least. GAMEST bro loves it, I knew that was a good sign!

[Arino]

I'm gonna have to give it a look, I can get along with basic barbarian sidescrolling if it's at least responsive.

Yeah! I will also play it as soon as I can

[BIL]

Oh nice, looks like Warrior Blade is already confirmed.

I hope this means Dead Connection at some point, while my wishlist is getting fulfilled.

[Arino]

Ah. OK. Another miss then....
Even at these prices, I'd still refund the last utter turd I picked up on a whim.

You are such AGermanArtist

Oh nice, looks like Warrior Blade is already confirmed.

I hope this means Dead Connection at some point, while my wishlist is getting fulfilled.

Yeah I can't wait for these two

[hamfighterx]

Hamster, why you gotta do me like that? Tomorrow is my anniversary and I'm going on a trip, was all happy to load up the newest Arcade Archives and enjoy on my travels... and it's Rastan Saga 2? What a gift, thanks so much.

I'll still play it lol. But I might have to have a backup ready. The last time I went to the same place is when I got hooked on Halley's Comet via Arcade Archives (and also found a nicely maintained Snow Bros. cab in the wild, score!), so maybe that's an appropriate one to have on deck.

[Sima Tuna]

I still need to pick up Rastan 1 and Volgarr for a nice weekend of LIZARD HITTING ACTION.

Spoiler

[pablumatic]

is rs2 not good?

I think a lot of folks hate it, but not me. I used to play it every chance I got back in the day.

Its a slower game, but I had fun with Altered Beast which is an even slower side scroller. The anime-ish looks and sounds help out a lot too. Kinda reminds me of The Ninja Warriors a bit with the visuals, sound and gameplay speed, but with a Conan The Barbarian ripoff motif.

[Marc]

is rs2 not good?

I think a lot of folks hate it, but not me. I used to play it every chance I got back in the day.

Its a slower game, but I had fun with Altered Beast which is an even slower side scroller. The anime-ish looks and sounds help out a lot too. Kinda reminds me of The Ninja Warriors a bit with the visuals, sound and gameplay speed, but with a Conan The Barbarian ripoff motif.

That's one obe AA title I'd return if I could.

[Udderdude]

My worst nightmare has come to life. Fuck off, Nastar. lol

[pablumatic]

That's one obe AA title I'd return if I could.

Are you talking about The Ninja Warriors?

Man. This is a tough crowd.

[Marc]

That's one obe AA title I'd return if I could.

Are you talking about The Ninja Warriors?

Man. This is a tough crowd.

Yep, I think it's fucking awful.
And I own Athena!

[BrianC]

I still need to pick up Rastan 1 and Volgarr for a nice weekend of LIZARD HITTING ACTION.

Spoiler

What version of Rastan is this? The font is not familiar.

Edit: Amiga WIP fan port

[Arino]

Idk where to post this so I will post it here.

https://youtu.be/NHKUzQWRG78?si=i0bNT2qkhWkMOQ9T

Is this just a reprint or some kind of new game? Or is it a new port of the same game?

I have always wanted to play Wardner (properly, like seriously) because I love "the genre" but I still haven't but I am glad it has already been M2ed.

[Ms. Tea]

Just a reprint of the original Mega Drive port that came out back in the day. Their advertising text is talking about the new cover art but nothing else - if anything were new or changed I'm sure they'd be talking about it.

[Arino]

Just a reprint of the original Mega Drive port that came out back in the day. Their advertising text is talking about the new cover art but nothing else - if anything were new or changed I'm sure they'd be talking about it.

Thank you.

[Sturmvogel Prime]

Konami's Jackal/Top Gunner is this week's game.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202406/9060

[BIL]

Wanted this one forever.

[Marc]

Never played this, other that a few piss-poor home computer versions in the day. Nice.

[BIL]

I'm hoping the usual Manhattan 24 / Jail Break aim lag's not too rough. I found that game an ordeal at first, though it's very adaptable to. Jackal is a game with huge cachet for Contra fans; bangin' NES port was a close contemporary of Umechan Team's iconic cart, and Super Contra/Sunset/Mystic director Hideyuki Falco worked on its AC ver. But by that same token, I'm expecting a bit of a learning curve on the controls.

Still, the contiguous map always looked so cool. NES ver switched to discrete stages with horizontal panning, something of a double-edged sword that I think mostly worked out. (some nasty off-camera surprises you have to memo around; locked pan 4 life imo ) And I vaguely recall my few MAME credits playing pretty agreeably. Jumping in blind, at any rate.

All this is reginting my curiosity about Final Commando: Akai Yousai, the odd FDS interpretation that was the basis of the NES Jackal. I seem to recall that one is locked hori pan.

Just on previous ACA Konami precedent, I'm tentatively listing it in the directory as having all three regions. (Special Forces Jackal JP / Top Gunner US / Jackal EU) Will know for sure this afternoon, or maybe a bit later, going on recent PSN timing.

Good time to repost the killer AC flyer!

Spoiler

ACTION - EXCITEMENT - DESTRUCTION

Also my humble tribute!

[Fingolfin]

Jackal/Top Gunner

Very glad for this and most worthy of a



Always thought there were strong similarities between this and 3DO’s most excellent Return Fire — although not arcade games, maybe Silent Software took some inspiration from Jackal/Top Gunner for their Fire Power for Amiga and later Return Fire?

Return Fire https://youtu.be/X9JxXRvbQ1Q?si=zPSR9m766YJe-x48

Return Fire’s greatest strength besides its kick ass classical OST was its multiplayer.

Selections of classical music that comprise the 3DO Return Fire OST: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE9F ... nf3ac2qkdS

[More than] A bit off topic…
Played a lot of real life Capture-the-Flag in deep woods growing up and always enjoyed a good game! Return Fire’s take on Capture-the-Flag is possibly the best simulation of that game ever!

Edit misspelled deep woods as deep words

[BIL]

Don't know how I got it in my head that the AC version was locked vertical pan; scrolls just like the NES cart. It's the FDS version that's locked, hmm.

SUPER DISABUSAL EDIT ~ A MAN DISABUSED OF CHARITY

Oh well, never mind. (how your fren Biruford felt a few hours ago, enjoying a break from grappling with a Gun Frontier 1LC)

Sadly no Top Gunner in this release; I wonder if they were ducking out of potential political slapfighting, with its MURICA V COMMIE SCUM aesthetic. Still, it includes the World release, which shares TG's locked vertical machinegun. Way comfier, imo; a rare instance of my preferring an overseas Konami revision. (the only one that comes to mind, actually)

Locked MG does leave you reliant on the slower RPG to attack vehicles at your flank/back, so it's an interesting rebalance.

The usual mid-80s Konami aim lag is definitely noticeable, but with your jeep being so agile, and able to run over infantry, it feels way less burdensome out of the gate. I see why it didn't bug me as much as Manhattan 24, where you're rather slow and everything is contact-lethal. Same goes for Super Contra's topdown stages, now I think of it.

One thing I miss is the NES's expanded OST. It's not as big a deal as Green Beret, whose austere AC OST, while undeniably apropos, really pales next to the controlled driving fury of its FDS/NES counterpart. You still get the catchy st1 BGM. It makes me realise how spoiled I was on NES though, with its inimitably fiery st2 BGM, and its blurring of the stoic and battle-furied. At least I think AC has just the one tune... only been five minutes.

EDIT: FUCK YEAAA I'm delighted to be wrong That very track is here too. Still prefer the warmer NES tone, but goddamn - either way, borderline Toaplan levels of adrenalised GAMUSHARA

Speaking of five minutes, this is definitely a game of AC Contra's kinship; my favourite badass Korean superplayer, Janet, has a 5min 1ALL up. (no rescues beyond weapons dudes, naturally) Easy to imagine both games' home teams were given similar orders, done to perfection, at that.

Still really digging the AC's contiguous little warzone, scenic whether methodically liberated or demolished foot-to-floorboards. I wonder if it might lend itself well to Caravan Mode.

I've never had my estimation of a game nosedive so violently. This is Screen Edge Riding: The Game. Whatever ill feelings I've had for the NES game's third stage camera tracking, I rescind them. This game actually made me less annoyed by friggin Guevara's tracking. That's a brutal game with intermittent FOV issues. This is a brutal FOV issue with intermittent game.

Spoiler

^ everything from 1/3rd in is a straitjacket blindfold memoriser. No room nor time to dodge anything. A likeably short duration packed full of astonishingly cynical camera traps. Now I really wonder where I ever got the idea this was a locked horizontal pan title... it wouldn't be the same game at all.

This is technically not irredeemable, on the strict condition you enjoy carving sleek routes out of straitjacket blindfold memo. With aforesaid tight runtime, it might make for a fun bomb disposal 1ALL. I really see why Janet turned it into a speedrun project.

I can't recommend it outside those parameters, sadly. The pixel art, soundtrack, and overall sense of a contiguous little warzone is wonderful; I'm glad the NES version captures this essence so well, in an categorically superior production. There are other annoyances, chiefly the aim lag, but it's barely worth mentioning compared to the sheer unplayability of the FOV and tracking.

Never played this, other that a few piss-poor home computer versions in the day. Nice.

I'd give it a tryout first Marc, honestly. Or consider the NES version; it's a delightful little drive n' gun. If you've played that system's Contra, it's a similar model of consolised excellence.

[Fingolfin]

“This is a brutal FOV issue with intermittent game.”

Thanks for the proper 411 down low BIL.

Will check out in MAME — never played much in arcade BITD — but if someone of your skill and enthusiasms is finding this as unplayable as you’re saying/finding and a memo straight jacket deal…well then…

Again not an arcade game but will have to stick with Return Fire — if I can figure out 3DO emu (have tried a couple of times) — or something else altogether.

If you’ve never played Return Fire or heard its glorious OST then you need to find a way to make it happen!

[BIL]

“This is a brutal FOV issue with intermittent game.”

Thanks for the proper 411 down low BIL.

Not wishing to create a Tonal Whiplash Hurricane. But yes, it's genuinely pretty cynical, imo. This is often how I feel getting to grips with a new arcade game, or comparably hard console action games. Or hell, any worthwhile challenge. It's just part of the territory, to take a bump or two while learning the ropes.

(the coyote is his, in case the lack of bloodshed didn't give that away )

But I have to draw a distinction when the game feels busted; I really didn't want poor Marc running into this blind after my unwitting hype. I was initially going to remark that, while the aim lag is a chore as always, I get how they balanced around it. But as I say, it's barely even worth mentioning next to the FOV problems. It exacerbates them for sure, but they'd be almost as bad without it.

Oh well! As I say, I'll probably come back to this for at least a passable 1ALL. It's all very executable, just not well executed, if you know what I mean.

I'll only blind buy stuff this way if it's something I've a longstanding personal connection with. That way, even if I get PWNed hard, I'll at least come away disabused. Can say without reservation, now, the NES port is a classic; no caveats or asterisks required. (other than its own brief glimpse of FOV trouble, in Stage 3's laser corridor... which now feels like a cheeky nod to the AC ver, haha)

I always thought Return Fire looked great in the EGM previews - really hit the same aesthetic nerve as Jackal! Will give it a look for sure, before I return to tussling with dear ol' Gun Frontier.

[Skyknight]

Thought of the day--Has anyone done a Fantasy Zone II treatment with NES Jackal, by remastering it with the kind of arcade tech Konami had then?

[BIL]

I don't believe so. It's a nice thought, the arcade's pixels really are beautiful. While I think Contra and Super Contra have aged a little poorly - the detailing is superb, but the animations and palette choices feel dated - Jackal's a class act, visually. I particularly like the plaintive detail of enemy infantry falling with their trusty RPGs by their side, from multiple perspectives, even. The final stage's attack helis look wickedly imposing, too. The NES's monstrous original bosses would look amazing with this shading and resolution.

...the attack helis should impose, I guess, since if you don't perfectly memo-snipe them, you're already dead.

What I'd really love is the AC version with locked central framing and no aim lag. It'd still be onerously unforgiving, but nowhere as offputting. It really feels like they were compensating for its brief duration with absolute bloody-mindedness.

Even as-is, I'm having some fun figuring out the back half. Noticed that stationary enemies at the very edge of the screen won't fire on you. Mobile ones will enter the screen and attack, but this is better than running smack into them. Audio cues help a bit, you can hear when tanks are about.

I wonder who popularised the notion of high-intensity run/guns where returning fire is a gruelling ordeal, at Konami... and which higher-up they had a stack of compromising Polaroids of? Manhattan 24, Jackal, Contra, Super Contra, that's at least four high-profile productions with the curse. It's even in a few contemporaries; Holy Warrior Amaterasu (Nichibutsu), Senjou no Okami's FC port (Capcom), and Saigo no Nindou (IREM, shuriken-only, offset by its wide spread) all have varying degrees of aim lag.

Umechan Team, their Jackal colleagues, and Nobuya Nakazato's Team SFX seem to have collectively killed it stone dead... Tsujimoto's Sunset Riders and Mystic Warriors show no trace. Shock Troopers and Metal Slug have a bit of sweep delay on their machineguns, but it's so deftly done as to avoid the heave of Konami's mid-80s set; merely a little inflection on your scything fire. It's an idea I have some grudging respect for - making you work to outflank and vanquish foes, rather than relying on pure twitch - but ultimately, it's just not kinesthetically pleasing, having your avatar's aim lagging a chunk of time behind their onscreen orientation.

Anyone wanting to see heavier run/gun handling done right should fire up Grobda. A fiendishly tricky, expertly-balanced topdown arena battler from Masanobu Endo. It feels appropriately vehicular, yet bullseye-accurate on attack, evasion, and defense alike. I'd kill for a Jackal-style contiguous map starring the eponymous Zako On Roids.

[Sima Tuna]

I'm feeling in the mood for some hacky slashy barbarian action. I've got Rastan and Volgarr, and I was thinking of adding Rygar to the list. Maybe along with some action-rpg arcade stuff like Valkyrie no Densetsu, Cadash and Vandyke. I know BIL loves Rygar. What are people's thoughts on ACA Cadash and Valkyrie?

[Jeneki]

Cadash is worth at least one playthough as it has some neat stuff throughout, but otherwise just ok. There's a couple parts where you need to guess where to go while the timer slowly ticks down, which can be annoying. Also see Legend of Makai which I'd have similar comments about but plays a bit more like NES Wizards and Warriors.

Valkyrie is great fun and an easy recommend, but has Japanese language only with some important in-game text. You might need to reference a translation guide to get the most out of it.

As far as less-discussed hacky slashy murder titles, Vandyke, Astyanax, and Ninja Kazan were pleasant surprises and better than expected.

[Sumez]

Played my firend's Jackal PCB only a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't even remember it having horizontal panning, lol. That it's even an issue for the gameplay is a surprise to me, but then I didn't really play for a 1CC. Also, I'm the guy who actually really likes horizontal panning in my shootahs.

I also had no idea there's a version of the game where the machine gun isn't fixed to a vertical direction, that does sound kinda painful.