Ninja Gaiden [NES] + R2RKMF: Scrolling Action Monogatari

[BIL]

Loving the Howard talk. I was introduced to the books around the same time as Fleming's Bond, having grown up with the more popular film versions of the characters. Felt instantly familiar.

Operators, in a word. There is a clear power fantasy element, but it goes far beyond the usual vices of easy sex and all-vanquishing violence. It's about mastering one's environment, and one's own self. Neither character goes untroubled by their violent worlds, just never (IIRC) to the detriment of performance.

This is something the Craig Bonds woefully overstepped, turning the man from a thoughtful introvert into an outright clinical depressive who fucked up his work and his life. By comparison, I found Ahnuld's Conan actually pretty respectable. Those long brooding shots of the big fella gazing over the wilderness speak to me, y'know? Alright, let's run to the next city and get some cardio done. Yuzo Koshiro stole masterfully for ActRaiser.

Incidentally, I took a little TENGEN TAX picking up 007 SHITOU for MD last year, because I rabu Timothy Daruton :3 Game's just alright imo, might punt a review in sometime. I really just wanted to put it next to Rambo III! A snapshot of late 80s/early 90s realpolitik gone VG KULTUR.

Jimmy & Johnny - AND Their Valiant Al Qaeda Friends! - VS Ivan Teh Grouchy Bear! *stock children Yaaay! sound*

Man I am loving Green Staff in Ninja Kids. Preposterously aggressive hyper-hopping ground slams... time it right, you can swat an enemy out of the air (LOOKIN AT YOU KKK GHOSTS), then smash them into the floor while blowing away their supports in one move! SMOOVE. I still love Blue Katana's peerlessly crowd-scything/boss-shredding dash attack, but I might actually give the 1LC a crack as this brutally clubbing Shinobi Bert Sans Ernie, instead.

I notice Yellow Kusarigama (or Kusari & Kama :3) has some pretty nice air attack frames. Red Shuriken (you're right Rando, Akane!) is clearly a dangerous dude, I'm guessing he'd be the surest survivor. Even so, he doesn't feel like a cheese pick; nice thrill of danger, raining those shotgun overheads upon the crowd. I just can't sit back n' snipe, ain't how I was raised naw mean. ;3

The combination of aggressive 8-way movement and classical zoning is so goddamn good. I knew this one had a fine rep from trusted peeps, but I'm genuinely surprised at the sheer quality. Easily on par with fellow early 90s gems Crime Fighters 2 and Zero Team, and a huge asset to the ACA lineup.

[Randorama]

ST:

I know the stories in a different and probably apocryphal order (whence my "If I remember correctly,..."), and from 30 years ago, more or less. I read a translation edited by some (Italian) guy who decided to put them in a order in which said story with the ledger scene gives an insight on the character, though the editor indeed mentioned that the original stories were out of sequence ("Here is my proposed order:[...]"). I do not remember if there is an Howard story in which it is mentioned that Conan develops wanderlust in his final years and abdicates, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is also apocryphal.

I agree in how Conan grows with age, from what I recall, but my comment about his "natural" education is to underline that he is an actually amply educated person, though not via standard, "urban" methods (the "decadent cities" in the stories). He has an education that by our contemporary standards would qualify as "broadly scientific", though he definitely grew up in the wilds.

Besides, linguists tend to be a bit "wild", in my experience: people doing field work in anthropology or linguistics or other "human sciences" can indeed "work in the wild", so having a "barbarian" streak can help in tense situations (e.g. aggressive natives, attacks from wild beasts, and so on ). I also think that "barbarian" sold well to nerdy fantasy readers from "the city". As someone who would perhaps qualify as "rural" in Anglophonic contexts (though my hometown has Roman roots and a top 500 university), "barbarian" is a lovely compliment to underline how our urban future has healthy wild roots. Big city boys from Milan and Rome can stuff it, pose less, read some books and wrestle bears during reading breaks like we do

On Moorcock: hmm, I don't want to defend an author I loved dearly as a teen, but mostly for his work outside fantasy (e.g. Behold the Man). His fantasy work was quite influential across manga and anime, anyway, but that's another topic, sorry.

I do remain attached to Rastan, though, so:

The Rastan games should contain quite a few visual references to Frazetta's works and also to Kull stories indeed. I remember the snake-men but also some other creatures in the game being traceable to specific illustrations. I remember that I had this friend who was crazy about Frazetta and who spent entire credits ranting about "obvious homages" instead of focusing on killing MFs (to the right, of course). Warrior Blade, in particular, gives me this vibe of a game in which the illustrators tried to faithfully recreate some drawing style, or perhaps blend Frazetta's style (e.g. those 3% body fat bodies) with other inspirations.

If you have acquaintances who know well classic Fantasy illustrators like Frazetta, you can lure them to check the games and report on visual references for us, of course

BIL:

Ahnold would have been perfect if they could have continued with a movie every 2-3 years or so, chronicling the character as he grew mature and then senior. I believe that he was a fan of Howard's work after having read it and, besides, he's a "barbarian" from a small city in Austria (but with at least a BA...), who made it big in Tinseltown after a life "in the wild" of US immigrants' life (OK, as a white, regular immigrant but still). Something about the character must have spoken to him, I guess. Bond is indeed another anti-hero/operator/reluctant hero, and one whose principal weapon is his combination of wits, knowledge and ruthlessness. Moviies focus on him getting laid and shooting everything on sight, though.

...We however need more "tactical action ga(y)ming discussion" to be on topic (ah!), so maybe I will prepare some rants about relevant games to somehow justify this specific streak of ranting.

The Ninja Kids: Akane becomes dangerous to use in close-range fights, because his defensive close-range moves are designed to create a last stand, but not to open up a path. if enemies overwhelm him, the last resort is a proper but dangerous high jump. Shuriken zoning is trickier than it seems and the jumping attack requires precise timing or Akane won't shoot anything. Typical rule for long-range characters: "don't get boxed, ever".

Also, fun factoid in PC Engine Fan X-like style:

I just remembered that a friend of mine hated this game because the game discriminates against BNWOHM (...'80s metalheads) and Satanists. As a self-confessed metalhead and secular Satanist, he resented this fact and his friends playing this game (e.g. me, yes). Exactly how a teenager can be a "secular Satanist", I don't know, but he wore Union Jack jeggings, Maiden and Leppard shirts (and the occasional Megadeth jacket!), and Converse shoes all the time.

He still dresses like that at 47, actually. We went out for dinner two days ago and he bitched about Death Metal being full of casuals, these days ("you like Opeth?! They're the Taylor Swift of Death Metal!", and me: "I like some songs, and the singer says that he is the Eros Ramazzotti of Metal, actually"). Not sure if he is still a secular Satanist, though ^__-;

[Sima Tuna]

I just remembered that a friend of mine hated this game because the game discriminates against BNWOHM (...'80s metalheads) and Satanists. As a self-confessed metalhead and secular Satanist, he resented this fact and his friends playing this game (e.g. me, yes). Exactly how a teenager can be a "secular Satanist", I don't know, but he wore Union Jack jeggings, Maiden and Leppard shirts (and the occasional Megadeth jacket!), and Converse shoes all the time.

He still dresses like that at 47, actually. We went out for dinner two days ago and he bitched about Death Metal being full of casuals, these days ("you like Opeth?! They're the Taylor Swift of Death Metal!", and me: "I like some songs, and the singer says that he is the Eros Ramazzotti of Metal, actually"). Not sure if he is still a secular Satanist, though ^__-;

Those who adopt the mantle of secular satanism must prepare their anuses for a lifetime of misunderstandings and poor press. If they don't wish to be maltreated on the face of their religion, then pick one that people feel less angry about. I say "pick one" because my understanding is "satanism" is not a true religion and many of the church of satan members are actually just atheists trying to make a point about separation of church and state. Just as many so-called Pagans are Viking LARPers. I may as well call myself a Buddhist since I like Zen Koans.

The presentation of Ninja Kids is great. I love the little puppets. Taito had some very creative people working there. I'm impressed by how many of their games achieve a completely distinct, yet appealing graphical style, backed up with fairly solid gameplay. Growl, Rastan, Ninja Kids, Bubble Bobble, Ninja Warriors... Some arcade developers ended up with a sort of "house style." Capcom and Nintendo games, for example, tend to look rather similar. But Taito goes from extreme to extreme, visually. Anyway, I just think that's cool.

[velo]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had 8-way jumps all the way back in 1989, complete with midair velocity changes. Ninja Gaiden had a more restricted z-axis jump in 1988 (no attack and only goes in one direction, but very useful). Ninja Kids does have the earliest double tap vertical dodge I've seen, and maybe the only one that functions as an attack.

Ninja Kids has a resemblance to KoD and Ninja Combat, but its nearest sibling that I know of is Arabian Magic: two characters have a ranged default attack and a double-tap-to-dash attack.

[Lander]

Rastan 3 in particular beefs the characters up to levels where you could only compare them to a Frazetta painting.

Though also slides a little into Conan The Destroyer territory by appropriating its irritatingly chipper sidekick. Should've stuck with Subotai, and the cracking my god is better than your god banter!

I agree in how Conan grows with age, from what I recall, but my comment about his "natural" education is to underline that he is an actually amply educated person, though not via standard, "urban" methods (the "decadent cities" in the stories). He has an education that by our contemporary standards would qualify as "broadly scientific", though he definitely grew up in the wilds.

This is a cornerstone of earnest barbarian portrayal, in my book - not the hulking meat-slab that's big on muscles and small on cognition, but a canny survivor with the requisite knowledge (and, yes, physical power) to live in a savage world entirely by his own means.

Psygnosis' Barbarian games are an interesting barometer for pop culture's perception of the genre over time. The first is played straight, with protagonist Hegor on a quest to defeat his sorcerous kinslayer uncle and save his childhood home. But come the second, it's all put on your dented helmet and sweaty loincloth, Hegor - it's time to bumble through another quest! - a tragic victim of irony poisoning. Shame too, since the second is a notable jump in ambition and production quality.

I say "pick one" because my understanding is "satanism" is not a true religion and many of the church of satan members are actually just atheists trying to make a point about separation of church and state. Just as many so-called Pagans are Viking LARPers.

Or Jedi becoming a begrudgingly-recognized religion in UK census for a time, owing to a veritable nation of sarky piss-takers

[Sima Tuna]

Psygnosis' Barbarian games are an interesting barometer for pop culture's perception of the genre over time. The first is played straight, with protagonist Hegor on a quest to defeat his sorcerous kinslayer uncle and save his childhood home. But come the second, it's all put on your dented helmet and sweaty loincloth, Hegor - it's time to bumble through another quest! - a tragic victim of irony poisoning. Shame too, since the second is a notable jump in ambition and production quality.

Yeah, I think it's only appropriate for this thread that we bemoan the lack of sincerity in much of today's media. Hell, much of today's world.

Whatever you do, you should give it your best shot and make it something you can believe it. Shouldn't you? That's why we waste our lives grinding for the 1cc in difficult games, isn't it? Anybody can play Ninja Saviors for five minutes, come up with a pithy quip about Ninjers and saunter off to upload some youtube adbucks fodder. Only the realest of the real mothafuckin' G's sit their asses down to grind out Jubei on all characters!

The Chad Sincere Fan vs the Virgin "Ironic Enjoyer."

[BIL]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had 8-way jumps all the way back in 1989, complete with midair velocity changes. Ninja Gaiden had a more restricted z-axis jump in 1988 (no attack and only goes in one direction, but very useful). Ninja Kids does have the earliest double tap vertical dodge I've seen, and maybe the only one that functions as an attack.

Can't believe I forgot the TMNTs! I'm only passing familiar with the AC games, but the 8-way jump is in the FC port and its original sequel, too; and ofc the SFC port and its MD redux.

Ninja Gaiden's vertical evade is very interesting, doing double duty as a Rolling Thunder tier switch. Contrasts sharply with the game's heavier-than-usual movement speed; but with it being one-way, you need to plan ahead, lest you go out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Episode of Tactical Violence with Commentary Attached (■｀w´■)

1) Would-be backstab gets bodybagged n' tagged via FLYING GUILLOTINE (｀w´メ)
2) But now, his buddy's ready to put his shoe ROIGHT UP ME FOOKIN ARSE M8! (◎w◎;)
3) It's a good job we have that Rolling Thunder Ougi! 凸（＾w´ ）凸 Or is it Shaolin's Road? Maybe even Ninja-kun, progressively more apropos! A venerable constellation of classic mid-80s jams via messrs. Kishimoto-sama and STRONG SHIMA

I still wonder if NG has the genre's original flying throw, later seen in Double Dragon III (AC+FC), and Zero Team.

Wild Fang does some novel things with its jumps, too. Besides tying them to its brutal grapple, you're also nigh-invincible during. The exceptions are certain boss attacks, making you work for those devastating rodeo combos. Within stages, you're largely free to rushdown the deadliest foes with a well-placed hop; i-framing through their strike, and demolishing them during their cooldown. Almost recalls the SoulsBorneRings, where a sniper levelling their weapon is typically best dispatched with a deft advance, straight through their fire.



Of course Tecmo's games - ala Ninja Kids - do one better, folding attack into movement; letting you defenestrate/decapitate foes in one lethal swoop. Taking a swing at the protagonist one moment, getting hurled off a tall building or being savagely de-bonced the next. Typically fine-brushed mechanical detailing from Tecmo's AC division.

HOP N BOP TIL THEY ALL DROP (｀w´メ)

There was a lot of diversity in the genre's first decade, particularly the late 80s/early 90s patch as Technos's rivals started to find their feets. Red-hot impact crater cooling off vibe.

[Randorama]

Velo:

Yes, TMNT is also the first game I know of, having the highly dynamic z-jump. It might also be the one that gives players the most options - I remember that Raphael can do some sort of gliding attack, too.

ST:

+1 for "atheists trying to [...]". I definitely am a "worshipper" of "The Satan" (TNK-style!). "Viking LARPers" will be my new bookmarked comment for late night chuckles, definitely!

Lander:

To be honest, I only knew this conception of "barbarian", since my knowledge of Fantasy is actually limited to some classic works and the occasional "modern" book or comic. I might say that Conan influenced my career path, also, due to his skills (linguist/wanderer, not thief/pirate/monster slayer ).

Rastan: Warrior Blade: Rastan can be more or less invincible when he is back against a wall. Have a wall on one side, all the enemies on the other side, and tap quickly but with a proper rhythm - Rastan will either hit the enemies, or destroy their shields or weapons, or counter weapon swings with his broadsword. I believe that this aspect is close to how Conan's "back against the wall" fights are portrayed in the stories.

The Ninja Kids:

the double vertical attack can be quite useful, when properly timed: I forgot of its existence. I am a minimalist when it comes to killing MF's to the right: if I can win with one move, so be it! (OK, I just forgot about this move ). By the way, isn't "The Satan" partially a recycled sprite from Bonze's Adventure? The eyes and the face look a bit like Lord Enma's. Maybe these underworld creatures have blood ties after all - or they visit the same plastic surgery scalpel artist

The main graphic designer should be Keppel Maekawa, who worked on a lot of cutesy Taito games (but I cannot find complete lists). I believe that Taito simply had more designers who in turn were able to cover a broader range of styles - "Western-looking" games like the Rastan trilogy, the Darius tetralogy, but also very anime-ish works (e.g. Kiki KaiKai) and more unique styles like The New Zealand Story and Pu-Li-Ru-La (aka the "Fido Dido games", as I called them as a child). I personally believe that they targeted different market segments via these styles, but it is probably just a hunch (...and anyway I played each title I would have access to, from them).

[Kaiser]

I haven't posted in a long, long time but holy fuck I gotta recommend Shadow of the Ninja Reborn, got my physical switch copy a week before it hits store shelves.

First off, I do recommend checking out the manual because the controls are expanded, you've got dedicated buttons to both sword and the hook, also managing your sub-weapons/items. You've also got wall climbing, pogo stab, extending your jump midair which is useful in places. This game is pixel art heaven, the new arranged OST is awesome and..... it's actually NES HARD!? Damn right it is, they've cranked the difficulty up the ass requiring lots of hard memo and precise reactions with the right attacks in right places, especially on the bosses. Yeah um, don't expect the old Kage boss tactics to work here, no spoilers from me, you will see.

They also added a brand new, heavily Shatterhand inspired stage, even the boss would fit in that game, the said stage is also really hard lol it took me quite a bit to get through all of it's dickish traps.

The game might be a bit more budgeted than Wild Guns Reloaded or Pocky and Rocky Resrhrined as evidenced by the lack of a remade intro but it FUCKS like a Natsume game should. Go play it when you get a chance to get it.

[Randorama]

1-CC'ed The Ninja Kids with Akane. Again, because I 1-CC'ed the game when it came out, and then when it was released on PS2 in the Taito Memories collection. Not a 1-LC because the fourth boss is really annoying and decided to give me trouble just for the sake of it. The red bird appearing at time out actually killed my character during the boss' dying animation. "Thank you Taito", with the announcer's voice.

Akane is the easy-peasy character, I am sure of it. Red, fire element, shuriken, keep your distance, spam shuriken from above when jumping! Any decent player can land a clear with this guy.
Hanzo is the intermediate character, I guess. Blue, Water element, katana with a good reach, quickly dispatch your enemies by exploiting speed, but be careful when jumping: aerial attacks are not so good! For fast players.
Genta is the intermediate-advanced character, I guess. Green, Earth, stomping jump attack with a Bo, a bit slow but high priority when hitting? Aerial attacks seem devastating but the footwork is so-so. For zoning players?
Sasuke is the handicap character, I believe? Yellow, Wind, Kusarigama that does not hit much unless it's close range and...uh? Aerial attacks seem not to hit? I get the impression that only the brave can master this one.

Wolf boy on stage 1 is an annoying boss; the flame creature on stage 2 throws cinders/flames that are hard to dodge properly but can be dodged; the third mecha-like thing is annoying but you can just jump-attack, with Akane; the fourth boss gets really annoying when he mimics Shredder from the first TMNT game and creates up to six clones; THE Satan on stage 5 is not difficult but you need to be fast to avoid timing out.

The city is safe and gratuitous Engrish cherishes life of player free of charge! See you next title! Say no to THE Satan and Def Leppard! Or, honestly, just Def Leppard! The Four Devas of NWOBHM are Sabbath, Motörhead, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, after all! (According to Rob Halford, at least).

Ah, whatever, thanks to Taito for everything (I still want my Pet Shop Boys belt scroller from Atari, though )

[BIL]

It's my headcanon this is AD1982, and the Satanists are all rockin High N' Dry A rare and soon-forgotten show of balls from the swiftly de-dicked Leps, back when they hung out with AC/DC and blasted Pat Travers - not whatever godawful AOR shite Mutt Lange put them on! (now to be fair, Mutt produced HnD; but that only makes his crimes yet worse )

An LP I keep on the shelf with Mob Rules, Overkill, Stained Class n' S/T. Commence battle on each legendary band's TRVE signal work of the era.

1-CC'ed The Ninja Kids with Akane. Again, because I 1-CC'ed the game when it came out, and then when it was released on PS2 in the Taito Memories collection. Not a 1-LC because the fourth boss is really annoying and decided to give me trouble just for the sake of it. The red bird appearing at time out actually killed my character during the boss' dying animation. "Thank you Taito", with the announcer's voice.

A deft return! Marked for index.

I'm liking Sasuke's bunnyhopped air attack; hitbox seems active throughout, reflecting its cyclonic visual.

Hold still Burger-kun! I'll whoop The Satan right outta you boy! (｀w´メ) (◎w◎;)

Fond memories of a certain other bunnyhopped Kusari & Kama（＾w´ ）

Was getting Silhouette Mirage-prefiguring vibes from Burger Bro. Reluctant Werewolves are always fun... I only just noticed, making these GIFs, the shrouding moon doubles as his life meter.



True each frame a painting energy.

The freeform crossups are so damn good. The collective aerial suite is supremely responsive to technique; no monotony, ala Datsugoku's jumpkick ad infinitum. A conductor's baton for furied direction, risk and bodycount spiralling both. Invading crowds, doing hellacious damage, then vanishing from the clawing reprisals before launching another banzai raid, all in the same digital heartbeat... who is ninja? YOU IS NINJA

I'm probably sticking with Genta for my first clear attempts. Nice reach+speed on his pokes, and his ground pound is a particularly nice touch. Those who aren't swatted by the pipe will be laid low by its seismic landfall! The really unlucky, or rather well-targeted ones will eat both! Could happily go with Hanzo and his dash game, too, but I really dig ShinoBert's x-shaped air-to-ground pipe massacre.

[Randorama]

Please wait a bit before indexing, Birru-dono! I can certainly write up something better than a few notes. Or, alternatively, when I write it, we swap indexes.

AOR is good; play it loud and no enemy will survive unscathed, but be sure to insert leaden earplugs before commencing attack (alternatively, just become temporarily deaf or - shall I say it? - "Def"). No one should survive and no cues will remain of the slaughter: electronic devices will also melt into nothingness, thanks to the eldritch notes.

Genta is good but technical (and a bit slow: Earth element), and Sasuke's hitting frames give me headaches. Playing Fairy for the 1-CC in Gaiapolis gave me headaches to no end, so I will refrain from trying out another handicap/technical character for a while.

If we want to alpha-test the concept, I would give this game a 5-10/50, following the shmup wiki chart. From the original page ([here), Titles within the 1-10 range are described as being: "1～10 「低難易度：初心者にも安心してお勧めできるタイトル。平均して数ヶ月以内でクリア可能」( auto-translation says: Low difficulty: A title that is safe to recommend even to beginners, can be completed within a few months on average').

It didn't take me months, but I'd recommend it to a beginner without a worry. It's up to them to practice and git gud, after all, but I suspect that I may lose my temper at posts in the vein of "but I played a credit and I didn't win!!1!". I believe that anyone older than 5 should understand the concept of 'month', I guess.

[BIL]

Please wait a bit before indexing, Birru-dono! I can certainly write up something better than a few notes. Or, alternatively, when I write it, we swap indexes.

No worries, can always edit; I'll be loafing about this place for a while yet.

Not a 1-LC because the fourth boss is really annoying and decided to give me trouble just for the sake of it. The red bird appearing at time out actually killed my character during the boss' dying animation. "Thank you Taito", with the announcer's voice.

Ah jeeze, I see what you mean there. Got my first one-life run to the fifth stage. Or so I thought! Victory over the 1st Heir of Parthenogenesis-ryuu was snatched away by surprise birdstrike. To my chagrin, you can actually dodge the birds with a jump, but I wouldn't bet a run on it. The problem is, of course, the bastard's final phase, where he disappears for seconds at a time between each hit. Trivially easy, but temporally exorbitant.

I suspect this might've been an oversight on the devs' part. At the very least, it's something Hamster noticed; the ACA release has a customarily well-observed Preference Option, to either delay the timeout, or disable it entirely:

Top Secret (■｀w´■)

I might experiment with the delayed setting, if the defaults prove truly unsurvivable. I could see an extremely lucky and fast run just about making it, but given the arrant timewasting in that final phase, it's not something I'd feel bad about correcting. The other answer is, ofc, Taito were just being dicks. :3 Given the game's high generosity overall, I don't think that was it.



I told myself after Majuu no Oukoku - which as you know, will happily lifedrain the player during the last boss's ambling death sequence - I was done with that shit. Other favourite example being Guevara, which will drop the traditional Ikari timeout nuke on your ass during the ending sequence, if you were slow at dismantling the final stage. Sometimes, I kinda wish could un-see the exploit I learned from the great Pete Hahn, which turns the final boss from a total white-knuckler into a victory lap at the end of a brutal Ikari sendoff... on the other, nahhh, worra piss-take. Imma put on Search And Rescue instead.

Thing What I Learned 2day: Seems Wild Fang isn't the only one with invincible jumps! That's a certain earlier boss taken care of, then. Bastard was giving me a warm time! (geddit ) Shades of body-ramming straight through bullets in Compile's STGs, always a tactile satisfaction.

[Randorama]

No worries, can always edit; I'll be loafing about this place for a while yet.

...I mean, in the upcoming weeks or so. Re-indexing should take seconds anyway, so no worries indeed.

Ah jeeze, I see what you mean there. Got my first one-life run to the fifth stage. Or so I thought! Victory over the 1st Heir of Parthenogenesis-ryuu was snatched away by surprise birdstrike. To my chagrin, you can actually dodge the birds with a jump, but I wouldn't bet a run on it. The problem is, of course, the bastard's final phase, where he disappears for seconds at a time between each hit. Trivially easy, but temporally exorbitant.

I suspect this might've been an oversight on the devs' part. [...]The other answer is, ofc, Taito were just being dicks. :3 Given the game's high generosity overall, I don't think that was it.

Well, Taito had a few other titles with unpleasantly short timeouts in the 1980's: Darius (1986), Rastan (1987), Bubble Bobble (1986), Rainbow Islands (1987). Some titles had really low time limits: for instance, Crime City (1989 or 1990?) gives 2 minutes per stage: the clock item adds another 20 seconds, but it mostly appears on stages 5 and 6.

In Cadash (1989) you either are impossibly fast, or you will time out if you don't buy extra time. Already Thunder Fox (1990) and Warrior Blade give players way more time, but playing for score requires fast runs (in Warrior Blade all extra stages should require strict time requirements). I

Their attitude "back in the day" often felt like: "move on lads, credits should be short and sweet! Git gud and learn 2 play!". I am sure that they wanted players to play this one at speed and give them trouble for the 1-LC, even though Hamster programmers realised that this was going to be a feature causing poor reception, in the 2020s. Times and attitudes sure change (or the ACA director had a 34-years old grudge to solve...).

I told myself after Majuu no Oukoku - which as you know, will happily lifedrain the player during the last boss's ambling death sequence - I was done with that shit.[...]

Argh, my liver, that game, No ~___~!

Jokes aside, I think that these are all cases of programmers exploring mechanics to push people to speed up and focus, when playing. Programmers were usually stuck with short feedback sessions from "loke tests", so they *might* have had little feedback on what counted as "unfair/annoying/poorly thought/screw you bastards, I am gonna torch the whole f*&^ing cab!" design.

I suspect that the whole "time-out/speed-up choices" would turn into publishable peer-reviewed material, if one pursues the topic and starts discovering how on Earth programmers came up with some of their weirdest choices (one name: Rolling Thunder and revisions).

Well, I suspect that one could eke out a career out of reconstructing all those wonderful, mildly absurd "design ages and philosophies". Can you say: "Rank" and not scratch your head for at least two minutes?

[BIL]

Oh yeah, I do recognise the speed incentive. I'm not a speedrunner, but I enjoy learning games for seamless advance, or near it. Metal Slug's bridge is not to be waited on! Nor is Metal Slug X's! I still burn with shame at not facing Ninja Gaiden's st4 horde head-on. Figured it out later on.

(though I at least got the common solution independently, lame as it is and shinobi are kinda known for pulling sneaky bullshit, I guess )

Trouble is when the game is deliberately wasting vital time, no advance possible. If the st4 boss's final phase was a straight duel, it'd not only be deadlier - his tracking divekick is hawt! - but I probably wouldn't know the timeout existed. Either I'd kill him, or he'd kill me. Instead, every time you land a hit, he vanishes for... reasons? He can't attack you; you can't attack him. It's just several seconds of dead air. He doesn't even return with some treacherously back-spearing riposte, in established Hawt Manga Taisen style! As meaningful as disconnecting the controllers mid-SFII.

Conversely, I had a great time learning Cadash last year, the budgeting of Timeups a big part of that. All about the simple pleasure of plotting an efficient journey, or death. Had a mostly great time with Majuu no Oukoku, too - though I never did figure out its Key+Life/Timeup RNG, despite scouring every JP-language source I could find. So each 1LC attempt was mildly haunted by the spectre of Mandatory Miss.

(edit: mildly proud to say I figured out the volcano's collision bullshit, after several game center veterans mentioned it happening at the cabs, too! I might've thought it was an ACA version bug, otherwise)

I actually got a couple nomisses before calling it a day. First was the, uh... Good End? The rarer one, at any rate. Second got unlucky key RNG in the lava sea stage, which I thought produced a much cooler run. Got the more common ending, which I didn't care about, but would you look at this absolute fuckery.

[Lander]

Whatever you do, you should give it your best shot and make it something you can believe it. Shouldn't you? That's why we waste our lives grinding for the 1cc in difficult games, isn't it? Anybody can play Ninja Saviors for five minutes, come up with a pithy quip about Ninjers and saunter off to upload some youtube adbucks fodder. Only the realest of the real mothafuckin' G's sit their asses down to grind out Jubei on all characters!

Indubitably; the best stuff takes an obvious passion to make. Inspired nutter in shed versus the messy you don't give a shit? heh yeah cool me either, totally mega-scale peer pressure complex of 21st century culture.

Funny, the thought's been idling in my head recently - I think one of Sagan Hawkes' videos had a section on it, maybe in reference to unfictional dark comedy characters like Henry's Kitchen and Alan Tutorial; easy to mock from a position of naievete, since they're intentionally incompetent, but - on the flipside - easy to root for if taken at the intended face value.
Plus the double-irony counter of being weird ARG stuff and tricking irony-enjoyers into ironically enjoying... Sheesh, post-[thing] media is a rabbit hole.

To be honest, I only knew this conception of "barbarian", since my knowledge of Fantasy is actually limited to some classic works and the occasional "modern" book or comic. I might say that Conan influenced my career path, also, due to his skills (linguist/wanderer, not thief/pirate/monster slayer ).

I suppose RPG systems can to some extent be blamed for the big smash good image of a barbarian, certainly for perpetuating it, at any rate; wizards and rogues already have the monopoly on wisdom and cunning, leaving the melee combat classes (ah, such a narrowing term...) left to bicker over who gets dibs on the good STR and CON.

But then, stats and nuance never were the best of friends - I always found the best works across tabletop, CRPG the like to be ones that quietly sweep the numbers off to the side, and let the storytelling take center stage.

[Sima Tuna]

Whatever you do, you should give it your best shot and make it something you can believe it. Shouldn't you? That's why we waste our lives grinding for the 1cc in difficult games, isn't it? Anybody can play Ninja Saviors for five minutes, come up with a pithy quip about Ninjers and saunter off to upload some youtube adbucks fodder. Only the realest of the real mothafuckin' G's sit their asses down to grind out Jubei on all characters!

Indubitably; the best stuff takes an obvious passion to make. Inspired nutter in shed versus the messy you don't give a shit? heh yeah cool me either, totally mega-scale peer pressure complex of 21st century culture.

Funny, the thought's been idling in my head recently - I think one of Sagan Hawkes' videos had a section on it, maybe in reference to unfictional characters like Henry's Kitchen and Alan Tutorial; easy to mock from a position of naievete, since they're intentionally incompetent, but - on the flipside - easy to root for if taken at the intended face value.
Plus the double-irony of being weird ARG stuff and tricking irony-enjoyers into ironically enjoying... Sheesh, post-[thing] media is a rabbit hole.

I've come to realize in recent years the value of sincerity in everything. Even in comedy. Whether a movie ends up good or bad, that may not be entirely within the director's control. But what is in his control is his and the cast/crew's level of sincerity. People who laugh off old movies because they're old and maybe the effects look creaky today are cheating themselves. Those old shows were trying their best to achieve something. Not only were they exceptional in their day, but they are still breathtaking if taken on their own merits and approached with a genuine heart. I think Godzilla is a good litmus test for if a person has been irony-poisoned to death by pop culture. Can they look past the history of the name and cultural ubiquity to accept the movie on its own merits? Kung fu films are much the same way. People think are they are cheesy trash, but they're so much more. Not all of these films are masterpieces of course, but they are sincere. They are trying to reach for something exceptional. The same can be said of many older sword-and-sandal epics. In scope, scale and ambition, they're not to be equaled. No matter if the acting or script is always of the highest quality.

Spoiler

It always pisses me off a little whenever a commentary track for a movie I'm watching has the dude doing the commentary shitting on the production. Motherfucker, it was good enough for you to talk about, wasn't it? You treat it like a joke, but a lot of people gave their all to bring that story to life, and maybe it's better than what you think.

Older games are probably the best example of irony-poisoned folks writing off (thing) because (thing) isn't new and shiny. Or because (thing) doesn't conform to the very strict set of universal button layouts that all game genres have now by law. Us oldheads will have the last laugh, because their new and shiny games will become "old and crusty" faster than they think, in this age of hyper-accelerated consumerism.

[BIL]

Well, I suspect that one could eke out a career out of reconstructing all those wonderful, mildly absurd "design ages and philosophies". Can you say: "Rank" and not scratch your head for at least two minutes?

I always took Rank as a grim compliment, a sinister recognition of player prowess, if you will. Player is [Private/Officer/General] priority target - allocate resources accordingly.

Yagawa: WHAT would you do, to SOMEONE who DECIDED to... (・｀W´・) (・ω・´)

( ・｀w｀・)>⌐■-■ (◎w◎;)

(■｀w´■) (◎w◎;)

FUCK WITH YOU IN YOUR OWN HOUSE (■｀w´■)(◎w◎;)"I, I'd b-buss some boss_hp+10!"

Also! Curse my illiteracy and lack of initiative! Hamster had Hiroyuki Maekawa on their weekly Arcade Archiver show to talk The Ninja Kids, with fellow Taito veterans Toyama and Obayashi.

Burger Boy Confidential (■｀w´■)

I'm gonna archive the whole series for future reference, there's likely a goldmine of information there. Some incredibly cool stuff pops up in these broadcasts. Like a comprehensive directorial breakdown of Daioh's Rank, aka OYAJI SYSTEM. (ACA ver later added an optional display, by directorial request )

Notes from livestreamed Oyaji Seminar

(all credit to EZ_Takayoshi!)

Marvel Land & Gun Frontier goodies

[Randorama]

Lander:

Ah, RPG's, yes. I was used to RPG's in which the "barbarian" model simply didn't exist on purpose, so I was forgetting that. I do remember that creating a character like the books' Conan in AD&D was near-impossible, but then again I played other titles simply because I liked flexibility (...or I introduced it myself, if needed). I was OK with rolling dice, though! People doing pantomines to decide winners in fights was not my cup of tea

Birru-dono:

Ohhh, Cadash and Dark Adventure 1-CC/1-LC, uh? I think that the list is growing to cumbersome proportions, I guess. Let's keep it a secret or the masses will start wondering if we are fictional characters, as only figments of imagination can really master NIN-hard games [/silly]

The Ninja Kids: I admit that stage 4's boss battle unnerves me, but I guess that it had some specific design goal. Maybe rile up players? Anyway, let's see if I can speed up and get the 1-LC, sooner or later.

My two cents on Rank:

Rank is a game mechanic. The designers who introduced it had some purposes, but I do not know who they are and why they introduce it. I don't believe that there are written interviews on the matter, but I am happy to be proven ignorant. Each designer who implemented the mechanic apparently had their approach to said mechanic, so a player's ability to handle rank can be...volatile.

Some people spent years[ crusading against the mechanic because they believe that Japanese programmers creating games for the arcades in the 1980s and 1990s had to carefully explain the mechanic to US players (illegally) buying import console versions of those games in the 2000s.

Democracy is at stake! The people have the right to know! Let's just say that this behaviour was awarded with a "moderator" title, by an administrator whose ideas of videogame design plateaued at the early 1980s, and at purely reaction-based videogames (because thinking outside work is something "the bolshies do", or something like that).

Some progress about understanding of Japanese videogame design has been made on this forum: if anything, some people STFu'ed and spent decades debating apocalypses and the like, instead (...gud on ya, mates).

[Lander]

Going pure Punch & Judy for combat resolution would probably be a bit much, unless the crew is a Vox Machina style gang of professional actors - memories of playground "I pull out my infinity plus one sword to beat your invincible shield... (no fair!)" shenanigans!

Though there are systems out there that do a nice job of curtailing the spreadsheet factor, like Dungeon World or its contemporary Apocalypse World; still numbers and dice rolls to measure success, but 'zoomed out' so as to be less rigidly statistician. Instead of hit-for-hit number jousting, you roll to ex. "Seize by force" or "Read a situation", and spend the result on descriptive modifiers like "Take definite hold of it", "Take little harm", "Deal great damage", "Instill fear in your enemies" that curtail a degree of Bad Stuff the DM is allowed to ad-lib in response - really nice and flexible.

I've come to realize in recent years the value of sincerity in everything. Even in comedy. Whether a movie ends up good or bad, that may not be entirely within the director's control. But what is in his control is his and the cast/crew's level of sincerity. People who laugh off old movies because they're old and maybe the effects look creaky today are cheating themselves. Those old shows were trying their best to achieve something. Not only were they exceptional in their day, but they are still breathtaking if taken on their own merits and approached with a genuine heart.

The Deathstalker series nails this for me; the first one is roughshod Barbarian goodness that leans into the sword and sorcery angle with an interesting angle on the genre - you don't have to be a saint to be the hero - and then promptly slides into heavy 'sploitation territory for the remainder, the actors barely able to avoid cracking a grin mid-shoot. The heart's gone, replaced with shoestrings and cheap-to-shoot excavation sites.

Motherfucker, it was good enough for you to talk about, wasn't it? You treat it like a joke, but a lot of people gave their all to bring that story to life, and maybe it's better than what you think.

Stuff like MST3K always baffled on that front. I remember 'acquiring' the MST version of Krull instead of the proper version on accident, and immediately wrinkling my nose at the Wheee, look at me, I'm the Glaive! which accompanies the opening. Keep it down, willya!
Now, granted, Krull is pretty fucking campy and really doesn't pay off the Glaive like it should given the spotlighting, but there's still an appreciable hero's journey in there.

Older games are probably the best example of irony-poisoned folks writing off (thing) because (thing) isn't new and shiny. Or because (thing) doesn't conform to the very strict set of universal button layouts that all game genres have now by law. Us oldheads will have the last laugh, because their new and shiny games will become "old and crusty" faster than they think, in this age of hyper-accelerated consumerism.

That part hurts, as an ergonomics nerd. Homogenize everything into standard TPS controls, then steadfastly refuse to innovate your input devices (beyond battery-draining tertiary gimmicks that nobody uses) for the rest of time. Ech!

[Air Master Burst]

My two cents on Rank:

Rank is a game mechanic. The designers who introduced it had some purposes, but I do not know who they are and why they introduce it. I don't believe that there are written interviews on the matter, but I am happy to be proven ignorant. Each designer who implemented the mechanic apparently had their approach to said mechanic, so a player's ability to handle rank can be...volatile.

Some people spent years[ crusading against the mechanic because they believe that Japanese programmers creating games for the arcades in the 1980s and 1990s had to carefully explain the mechanic to US players (illegally) buying import console versions of those games in the 2000s.

Democracy is at stake! The people have the right to know! Let's just say that this behaviour was awarded with a "moderator" title, by an administrator whose ideas of videogame design plateaued at the early 1980s, and at purely reaction-based videogames (because thinking outside work is something "the bolshies do", or something like that).

Some progress about understanding of Japanese videogame design has been made on this forum: if anything, some people STFu'ed and spent decades debating apocalypses and the like, instead (...gud on ya, mates).

Rank isn't some opaque Japanese mystery, it's literally just adaptive difficulty. The better the player does, the harder it gets. American games have done this since the 70s too. It's also how Garegga works, even if nobody knows the exact numbers it uses.

I'm not even going to touch your seemingly years-old personal forum grudge.

[Randorama]

Lander:

I am old enough that I witnessed "Punch & Judy", freeform-style RPG sessions and...I was close to start drinking. At 14. My senior RPG fellows apologised for bringing me to that Lucca Comics & Games. I am OK with dice-light games (e.g. the "Basic" system used in Chaosium games), but I guess they are "old stuff" by now.

Fun fact: we have a tabletop thread, somewhere *nudge nudge, wink wink*

AMB:

Oh, I agree on both points (rank being adaptive difficulty...I called it once "dynamic difficulty"), and on you not touching my personal "grudges". All set then!

Of course, Rank is truth, beauty and justice, as our Lord Yagawa taught us

[Air Master Burst]

Stuff like MST3K always baffled on that front. I remember 'acquiring' the MST version of Krull instead of the proper version on accident, and immediately wrinkling my nose at the Wheee, look at me, I'm the Glaive! which accompanies the opening. Keep it down, willya!
Now, granted, Krull is pretty fucking campy and really doesn't pay off the Glaive like it should given the spotlighting, but there's still an appreciable hero's journey in there.

MST3K never did Krull, you probably found a Rifftrax. Rifftrax is basically the inferior final hosts of MST3K phoning in an absolute torrent of lazy content to avoid getting real jobs.

I'm not going to get into the who was better debate; but it was always very clear that Joel and Trace actually loved the old movies they were riffing on, while Mike and Bill hated them. The tonal shift with the host change was very distinct. It's the same thing with Beavis and Butt-Head, where you can always tell which of the bands they were ripping on Mike Judge actually liked.

[it290]

The Deathstalker series nails this for me; the first one is roughshod Barbarian goodness that leans into the sword and sorcery angle with an interesting angle on the genre - you don't have to be a saint to be the hero - and then promptly slides into heavy 'sploitation territory for the remainder, the actors barely able to avoid cracking a grin mid-shoot. The heart's gone, replaced with shoestrings and cheap-to-shoot excavation sites.

Deathstalker 2 is too much fun for me to hate it. "I'll have my revenge and Deathstalker 2?" I mean c'mon. I'm a sicko Wynorski fan so I have to love that stuff. His first movie, The Lost Empire, is still his best, though.

At any rate, I have a huge softspot for the sword 'n' sandals genre in general. Weirdest one I've seen lately is Lucio Fulci's Conquest, which is just one completely insane film with a crazy ass Claudio Simonetti score. Definitely recommended!

[Randorama]

...I still want to obtain the 1-LC on The Ninja Kids with Akane, but stage 4 and the fourth boss really require a speedy approach. Alternatively, I need 2-3 health bars just to be sure that the red birds appearing at "time out" do not kill my character off.

Out of curiosity, I timed the average times it takes me to clear each stage: 3 minutes (stage 1) - 5 minutes (stages 2, 3) - 4 minutes (stage 4) - 6 minutes (stage 5). I have this impression that Taito games were often designed to last around 25 minutes or so, if players were able to 1-CC them and would perhaps also watch cut-scenes/ending credits. This may hold just for a sub-set of actual Taito games, but The Ninja Kids seems one of them.

Question: Has Taito's Crime City been ported to anything, so far? Are Hamster planning to port it, but I am blind and I don't see it in their upcoming titles?

[BIL]

...I still want to obtain the 1-LC on The Ninja Kids with Akane, but stage 4 and the fourth boss really require a speedy approach. Alternatively, I need 2-3 health bars just to be sure that the red birds appearing at "time out" do not kill my character off.

I get the feeling it's a tight squeeze. Bomb stock RNG may be critical, too. Haven't done any more gaming since my last post, but will give it another go for sure this weekend. I'm wondering if targeting the boss himself extra-aggressively is the way to go? Easier said than done, ofc, with his dangerous horde and deadly moves. But even a slightly quicker attack might close the gap. The stage is set for GAMUSHARA, reckless valour!

I didn't know you could survive the birdstrike at all - that's valuable info! I think you can evade it with a bomb or a jump, too... it's a real motherfucker, this. I'm gonna do my best before tapping out with ACA's slower timeout option; much research to be done.

Question: Has Taito's Crime City been ported to anything, so far? Are Hamster planning to port it, but I am blind and I don't see it in their upcoming titles?

Not mentioned by them, afaik - but I wouldn't be surprised to see it in the next six months. They've been in a tight Namco/Taito/Konami/Other [Tecmo/Nichibutsu/VideoSystem/Athena] groove, the last year or so. Some say it's a harbinger of great change, the fabled leap to current-gen hardware... others, a sign of the end. Mostly, they bitch about too much Namco, while I tell them to play their games for a change.

At any rate, the ninja ambush release is a fond ACA tradition.

Some news:

HARD TECHNICAL VIOLENCE (■｀w´■)

Ah, jeeze. >w< Shinobi non Grata got not just one, but two updates. Fixing bugs I didn't even know about. But neither fixes the godawful frameskip on certain bosses; namely st2's Zangetsu, st4's rematch, and st4's Karakuri.

Look, it's right here. WTF m8s! How does a game get within touching distance of Saigo no Nindou and Alien Soldier, only to fuck up its framerate? Curse my illiteracy. I'll use my fading lifeforce to become JP-fluent, then hound overworked devs from beyond the grave. It makes the game feel so tatty and cheap, and causes me to stay away from better runs. Worth a 1CC for sure though, the other 99% is consistently rad.

Onto happier news!



Out now! Bloodborne-prefiguring eldritch cyborg-chan is back again! I've been waiting on this for a decade, god damn. Has a bunch of other stuff too, ty Morty!



Out tomorrow! My only question is which to get between PS4 and PS5. I would normally stick with the former on past good performance, but I'm still a bit curious. Could get either on physical later, I suppose. I've been mostly digital here at Crackpipe Ave. on the corner of Rumpypumpy BLVD.

[Randorama]

Sensei, just to be sure I go via quote marks:

I get the feeling it's a tight squeeze. Bomb stock RNG may be critical, too. Haven't done any more gaming since my last post, but will give it another go for sure this weekend. I'm wondering if targeting the boss himself extra-aggressively is the way to go? Easier said than done, ofc, with his dangerous horde and deadly moves. But even a slightly quicker attack might close the gap. The stage is set for GAMUSHARA, reckless valour!

With a bit of luck, you can get two bombs. You can thus bomb during the first phase (boss on the kite, zakos moving around) and quickly activate the second phase. During the second phase I use the low-height plus shuriken jumps tapping left and right, to land hits as frequently as possible (risky). Once there are five-six shadow clones, I bomb to reach the third, time-consuming phase ASAP. I still cannot avoid timing out, though. Which brings us to...

I didn't know you could survive the birdstrike at all - that's valuable info! I think you can evade it with a bomb or a jump, too... it's a real motherfucker, this. I'm gonna do my best before tapping out with ACA's slower timeout option; much research to be done.

You can evade the strikes or bomb, even if by the third or fourth strike the birds will be too fast. The strikes are supposed to end once the boss' dying animation ends, so evading the strikes 3-4 times and having some energy left might be the only option anyway. The game does not give any points for leftover bombs and players lose bombs in stock after each stage (i.e. no carry over through stages; start at one scroll each stage). Bomb happily for great ninja justice!

Not mentioned by them, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it in the next six months or so. They've been in a tight Namco/Taito/Konami/Other [Tecmo/Nichibutsu/VideoSystem] groove, the last year or so. Some say it's a harbinger of great change, the fabled leap to current-gen hardware... others, a sign of the end. Mostly, they bitch about too much Namco, while I tell them to play their games for a change.

I hope so. To cut a long story short: I habitually leave my PS4 in Italy so that my retired father and grandchildren (not mine)/nieces/nephews can go arcade mode. My father DEFINITELY likes the whole ACA enterprise: his brother owned an arcade where we went to play games, and he is also retired now. When going back for holidays, we have tons of games to play with and choose from, but my father is also very partial to Taito and Konami. For him, they should re-release their whole 1978-1993 (or so) catalogues at once, including Crime City ("Hey, Taito's games based on Miami Vice were great!"). While in The Middle Kingdom, I use emulation: I do own the games, after all (but I am also thinking of using Steam once I get a proper PC).

Re: Namco.

Randorama's middle-aged end-of-summer daydream! In my ideal world, Folk Universities would have four semesters of "developing 1-CC videogame skills". I'd place the 1-CC'ing of a Namco game of their choice for e.g. the third ("advanced") level semester, as a final exam. SNK pre-Neo Geo would feature in the fourth and final ("master") semester, of course. I am open to suggestions for first ("beginner") and second ("intermediate") level semesters.

Failure to obtain a 1-CC at the end of the course would result in beheading, of course (on Wednesdays, please clean your neck!); success, in an official ceremony at Town Hall, in the presence of the Mayor, with a shiny testamur to be awarded to all graduating students. For the initiated, a fifth semester would involve the 1-CC'ing of shmups with two or more loops, and in general games that trigger pyromaniac urges in players.

[BIL]

Haha, interesting timing... not only do we get a surprise Dracula NDS collection this week, but also ACA Finalizer: Super Transformation, which I see was programmed by one Akamatsu-sama. Gothic horror/action auteur. International man of mystery. Admirer of cinema, and The Maze of Galious.

Incidentally, earlier this year, we also got his Rolling Thunder x Die Hard In Orbit, Surprise Attack, which reminds me that it's time to bump the Attract Modo thread.

[Randorama]

Incidentally, earlier this year, we also got his Rolling Thunder x Die Hard In Orbit, Surprise Attack, which reminds me that it's time to bump the Attract Modo thread.

"Name: Jack Ryan. Grade: Sergeant Major. Code name: Red Thunderbolt. [...] Do you feel lucky, punk?" (camera shot of eyes that could obliterate black holes with the amounts of sheer grit they exude).

(From memory: Am I getting it right? Red Thunder, from stage 7-1, is a spectacular action track that works a charm for tense training moments).

A mini-article would be nice, I admit it

[BIL]

Incidentally, earlier this year, we also got his Rolling Thunder x Die Hard In Orbit, Surprise Attack, which reminds me that it's time to bump the Attract Modo thread.

"Name: Jack Ryan. Grade: Sergeant Major. Code name: Red Thunderbolt. [...] Do you feel lucky, punk?" (camera shot of eyes that could obliterate black holes with the amounts of sheer grit they exude).

(From memory: Am I getting it right? Red Thunder, from stage 7-1, is a spectacular action track that works a charm for tense training moments).

Spot on. One of the most bloodeningly oldschool-manful attracts.

MISSION: LIBERATE ORBITAL BASE FROM TERRORIST GROUP "BLACK DAWN"
"YOU AND WHOSE ARMY, PUNK?!"

I like to remain in the dark on such unported gems; feels like getting brand-new games from legendary names, y'know? :3 I only knew its flyer, which is superb, but decidedly more reserved. The game's darkly gleeful McTiernan-esque totally surprised (bahahaaa!) me. Everyone looks so archly comfy in this preposterously lethal scenario, the MAN CALLED RED THUNDERBOLT no exception. You gotta be a bit cracked for this one-man army business! Nom de Guerre suggests this isn't the first time he's strapped on the ol' man-portable fusion reactor.



(all credit to Kuros Paladin!)

Juxtaposed by that action figure-ready early 90s Konami style. Sunset Riders, Mystic Warriors, Crime Fighters 2, Violent Storm, Metamorphic Force... all might pass for another uncannily high-quality licensed title. The exceptionally good industrial shading actually made me think of Akio-sama and co, at IREM/Nazca. Fond resemblances to Undercover Cops, GeoStorm, and Kaitei Daisensou, the former another winningly characterful action game.



The set detailing is so rad, too. Infiltration point giving a nice view of the station's onboard greenhouse, projectiles having jet propulsion and stabilising wings, the wheeling canvas of the Earth and cosmos during the spacewalk... like Nakatomi Plaza and Predator's Bolivian green hell, the setting's a character unto itself. (frequently making its presence known with those fiendishly tricky anti-grav layouts). Everything's got this bravura hyper-reality, from the rumbling engine decks to the elegant photovoltaic arrays.

Also those stage intros are smooth AF. I'd not thought about it, but I suppose its Moonraker resemblance ties right back to Namco's game, haha.

EDIT: whoa!

I haven't posted in a long, long time but holy fuck I gotta recommend Shadow of the Ninja Reborn, got my physical switch copy a week before it hits store shelves.

How'd I miss this? All this hyperlinking givin' me tunnel vision. Good to see you again bud! Looking forward to it, busy weekend ahead.