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

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Viper Phase 1 Switch updated today. I wonder what that was.

Yes, it was an 107mb update d/l and updates from version 1.01 to version 1.02, indeed, with the Switch port of Viper Phase 1.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[hamfighterx]

Rastan's back!
Taito's last game of 2024 is Rastan Saga III: Warrior Blade, closing the Rastan collection.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202412/28031

What a great Famitsu headline (Google Translate edition): "[ACA] Warrior Blade" is a belt-scrolling action game with muscles and violence, released on December 19th."

Also... this means there was only ONE Namco release in the final three months of the year. Guess the All Namco Archives are a thing of the past.

[Jeneki]

Easy pickup. Rule of cool incarnate!

[Randorama]

My absolutely shameless plug-in is this one. Please enjoy the game in excess, and do not forget to get bronze-tinted and barely dressed before playing it. Is the "always access secret stages" dipswitch accessible?

[OldSkoolShmuper]

Wow that's a good way to end the year with the final Rastan game, an instant purchase like last week.

Hopefully Taito releases continue into the New Year, I still want Thunder Fox!

[BIL]

Dear God this game's a blast. Pleasantly surprised at how hyper-hop kinetic it plays; you can really tear into crowds. Though ofc, swashbuckling death from above fits Rastan to a T. That scheissvogel GIFTKRAAKEN is a lot less troublesome when you Helm-Splitter the bastard.

Speaking of heavy strikes! ala ACA Crime Fighters 2, got that good [attack+jump] option, for a bonafide 3-button panel. Super comfy! There's an Extra Joy button for bombs, too; sensibly disabled in Hi Score / Caravan mode. (as the manual notes with Hamster's customary verisimilitude, on the real board, you gotta waggle!)

Also surprised to see it arrive so soon after Milestones 3, but I ain't complaining! Bring on ACA Dead Connection and Thunder Fox! Nice to call 2024 the Year of Rastan, as opposed to leaving it at Nastar.

My absolutely shameless plug-in is this one. Please enjoy the game in excess, and do not forget to get bronze-tinted and barely dressed before playing it. Is the "always access secret stages" dipswitch accessible?

I think so - there's an option for "10-14 stages" (default), or a mandatory 14. I got a laugh out of the BAD FORTUNE mechanic, so authentically Howardesque.

[BrianC]

Mahadidekaradi? Is that the Belgian comic character that looks like a cross between a dog and a monkey, has yellow fur with spots, and says "Houba!"?

[BIL]

Mahadidekaradi, most committed of allies! ;w;7 Insists you kick his ass for help. I wonder what the dev lore is on him. Feels like an incomplete Mage class they made mirthfully canny backup to Warrior, Shinobi and Thief.



I had no idea he was an ally initially. Assumed he was a trap spawn, and the MP gauge was his lifebar. Instant full-blast Tiger Knee in his grill. He obliged by summoning Medusa to create a screenload of easily-shattered lawn ornaments! Thought it was a friendly fire mechanic at first. Later, not knowing he nopes out of bosses, I was trying my damndest to finish off a straggling enemy and conserve MP, only for homie to hobble into the line of fire and catch a shoe up the ass... which, ofc, brought literal hellfire down upon our poor acquaintance. So rad.



What a bro! He'll even give you a proper burial with battlefield cross and epitaph / helpful advice for your next life!



"Fear a pack of wild dogs more than a lone wolf. Fear being surrounded with no way out." - Wall inscription, Warrior's Tower. He's right you know! Footwork and spacing are beltscroll fundamentals; also, you should kick his ass for more help! I mean he probably has designs on you taking out Big Bad, so the pointers make sense. A trilogy always evocative of its bracing pulp roots; even Nastar got that right.

ta @ GRIM, spritedatabase.net !

[hamfighterx]

So they're doing more Switch physical ACA Neo Geo Selection 10-packs: https://www.gematsu.com/2024/12/aca-neo ... for-switch

Newly announced Volumes 3 and 4 include:

ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 3
3 Count Bout
Baseball Stars 2
Blazing Star
Fatal Fury: King of Fighters
The King of Fighters 96
Last Resort
Ninja Combat
Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood
Sengoku
World Heroes Perfect

ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 4
Art of Fighting 3
The King of Fighters 2000
The Last Blade
Metal Slug
Neo Geo Cup ’98: The Road to the Victory
Ninja Commando
Pulstar
Puzzled
Ragnagard
The Super Spy


I sort of hate this, because it's irritating as hell to have the games mixed up so randomly. Oh you wanna play KOF 2000? Good luck remembering which volume it's on! Also a little annoying that they're releasing new "ACA2" Neo Geo series games on PS5/Xbox with network play and these versions won't include it.

Are they really gonna do 10-11 total volumes (108 games total on ACA Neo Geo)? Sure feels like they're spreading it out, there is one KOF game in each of the first four volumes (and 10 total on the Neo Geo). And they can't even get the KOFs in there with any consistency...
Vol 1 = KOF '94
Vol 2 = KOF '95
Vol 3 = KOF '96
Vol 4 = hmmmm feels like this should be '97, right? HAHAHAHA WRONG, we're giving you KOF 2000 lolllll


EDIT: Hmmm, maybe more likely that this is just gonna be the games that were actually published by SNK/ADK (including the SNK-published Saurus games), since that is all that is on the 40 games across these four volumes. That's still the vast majority of the 108 ACANG games though - 92 of the 108. The remaining 16 are from Data East (5), Face (3), Psikyo (1), Sunsoft (2), Taito (2), and Video System (3)

[Sima Tuna]

Mahadidekaradi, most committed of allies! ;w;7 Insists you kick his ass for help. I wonder what the dev lore is on him. Feels like an incomplete Mage class they made mirthfully canny backup to Warrior, Shinobi and Thief.



I had no idea he was an ally initially. Assumed he was a trap spawn, and the MP gauge was his lifebar. Instant full-blast Tiger Knee in his grill. He obliged by summoning Medusa to create a screenload of easily-shattered lawn ornaments! Thought it was a friendly fire mechanic at first. Later, not knowing he nopes out of bosses, I was trying my damndest to finish off a straggling enemy and conserve MP, only for homie to hobble into the line of fire and catch a shoe up the ass... which, ofc, brought literal hellfire down upon our poor acquaintance. So rad.

There is an evil mage in the Conan story "The Scarlet Citadel." This character looks very much like a straight ripoff of that character. He is kept in a prison by an even eviller mage, is set free by Conan and then helps Conan take his revenge upon their mutual enemy.

Anything that you see in the Rastan games that looks out of place is probably a rip of a scene, still or character from a Conan book or the Conan movie. Is it any wonder I love Rastan so much? The mage from Conan is called Pelias.

[hamfighterx]

There is an evil mage in the Conan story "The Scarlet Citadel." This character looks very much like a straight ripoff of that character. He is kept in a prison by an even eviller mage, is set free by Conan and then helps Conan take his revenge upon their mutual enemy.

Anything that you see in the Rastan games that looks out of place is probably a rip of a scene, still or character from a Conan book or the Conan movie. Is it any wonder I love Rastan so much? The mage from Conan is called Pelias.

This is the best thing I have read in months.

[BIL]

Anything that you see in the Rastan games that looks out of place

Oh no, the amoral ally of convenience is right at home. It's the whole "powered by bitch-slaps" thing that's near-Pythonesque.

Almost seems like a cancelled fourth character. (the full Cadash: Warrior/Mage/Shinobi/Broad - not to belittle mighty Priestess, but her flail does remind of Sophia's whip) I wonder if they thought he'd be out of place sprinting along with the live fast / die young 20somethings. I woulda had him scoot about on an evil cloud.

[Randorama]

Dear God this game's a blast. Pleasantly surprised at how hyper-hop kinetic it plays; you can really tear into crowds.

*With an anime voice actor-like tone*
BIL-kun, have I ever lied to you on crucial matters of brutal and virulent violence?

Re: DIPs. Good to know. I use the ‘all 14 stages’ out of laziness since I never really bothered to dig up all the conditions for entering the extra stages. This may be a matter of personal taste anyway, and in case we have the beat’em ups thread for discussion

[BIL]

Indeed you haven't! As promised, will print out your review for proper appreciation over the weekend.

[SavagePencil]

Any changes spotted between the ACA Rastan III and the Taito Memories 3? For example, I know a lot of folks are curious if Dead Connection will get the English ROM when it comes to ACA.

[Some-Mist]

sunk some more time into viper phase 1, and I gotta say the game rocks.

there's definitely something going on w/ my setup tho. switch joycons docked and undocked the game doesn't have any input delay, but when using my mayflash f500 elite, I get some input delay that I don't get with other games. I did some espgaluda II runs with the joystick directly after and it was buttery smooth. it's not a make it or break it for me, but it's got me scratching my head and I want to get a new stick to see if the same thing happens

[valziman]

I just credit fed Warrior Blade and cleared it on 5 credits. That was my first try and I suck at beatemups. Then I made it to the end of stage 3 (I played ship and then castle) on very hard with 1 credit.

First impressions of Warrior Blade: it's the Sunset Riders/Mystic Warriors of beatemups but with an excellent Conan theme and very wide screen.

In other words, it has lots of fun set-piece scenes, is very approachable, and it's very easy. It's maybe too easy. I suspect this is an AMAZING baby's first beatemup. I can't tell how much fun I'm going to find in the end, but it's been fun so far.

[BEAMLORD]

Yeah, the wide-screen aspect is very appealing, and a nice surprise going in blind. Immediately recalls Darius/Darius 2.

Man, I suck at beat 'em ups too, but too easy? These Kraut fucks are kicking my ass!

After the introductory stage, best I can do so far is one whole stage. Hordes really increase in number and strength, and I'm guessing that only increases as you progress. Granted though, it is resource-rich.

For my money, as a true and lowly beat 'em up scrub, The Ninja Kids is by far the easiest I've played so far. Made a lot of headway in that game, short of a 1cc. One thing that game shares with Rastan 3 is it's bounty of power-ups. Gotta get back to it at some point, so fun to tear around as blue katana dude.

[valziman]

Rastan 3 is easier than the Ninja Kids for me so far, but I've only given each game a few credits. Later stages are pretty similar to earlier stages in difficulty but have different gimmicks.

Edit: this is necessary.

[Sima Tuna]

They used a scan of '80s movie Conan but they gave him Robert E. Howard Conan hair. Woman on the right looks like Valeria.

[Daytime Waitress]

Thoroughly enjoying Viper Phase 1.
Got introduced to it a little while back by a buddy who isn't all that big into shmups, but he had a positive, one off encounter with it back in the day, and so shared the OST with me.
I'd listened to it, detached from the game, a couple of times over the year and dug it; but I gotta admit that when hearing it in play, I got the initial impression that it was too... peppy (?) for the bruising action-movie aesthetic and agonisingly-detailed, shrapnel-riddled explosions of Seibu.
Maybe not as lighthearted as something like Twinbee, sure, but perhaps more suited to the rounded edges of a Compile title.
And I'm typically one to prefer more visual variety in my shmups: a lava world here, a bio-mechanical nightmare there.
But I think BIL described it perfectly as a textbook example of a one-man assault on a series of enemy installations, convoys and, eventually, bases.
And so when the music let up on the accelerator just that little bit to add gravitas to the final chase on the enemy's last ditch missle/super weapon launch combo, it sunk in for me how beautifully cohesive it all was: a tight tale well told, not a single bit of meandering.

Getting on a bit better with Old Version, as the intensity of New Version is just a little bit too "modern" for my tastes, but I very much appreciate how different they are, and that Hamhams included both.

[Sturmvogel Prime]

Since NMK-Banpresto's Macross is this week's (and last of 2024) Arcade Archives title, I have a small question for all of you: What are your Arcade Archives predictions for 2025?

Here's my predictions for 2025

NAMCO / BANPRESTO

Spoiler

• Pac-Man Arrangement

• Dirt Fox

• Quester

• Blazer

• Final Lap*

• Final Lap 2*

• Final Lap 3*

• Suzuka 8 Hours*

• Macross II (although that's another NMK title)

• Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon

• Gee Bee

• Bomb Bee

• Steel Gunner

• Steel Gunner 2

• NebulasRay

• Dirt Trax*

• The Outfoxies

• Mach Breakers

• Galaga Arrangement

• Dig Dug Arrangement

• Galaxian 3

* = Sponsors removed
Didn't mentioned Final Lap R since that was a FIA/FOCA to Fuji TV licensed title, and it would be either Japan only or totally omitted like the infamous Marvel Land and F/A cases.

TAITO

Spoiler

• Space Invaders

• Darius Gaiden

• Sky Destroyer

• Space Invaders Part II

• Night Striker

• Operation Wolf

• Operation Thunderbolt

• Gridseeker: Project Storm Hammer

• Elevator Action Returns

• RayForce

• Cleopatra's Fortune

Yeah, only 11 since any month could be a "Namco Month" like the 2024 "Namco Spring Festival"

KONAMI

Spoiler

• Devastators

• Parodius

• Twinbee Yahoo

• Boot Camp

OTHERS

Spoiler

• Final Star Force (Tecmo)

• Raiden II (Seibu Kaihatsu)

• Dynamite Duke (Seibu Kaihatsu)

• Raiden DX (Seibu Kaihatsu)

• Tao Taido (Video System)

• Shienryu (Warashi)**

• Lethal Crash Course (Video System)

** = Rumored since Hamster's acquisition of Warashi and Shienryu's rights

[jehu]

Grid Seeker, Macross II, Rapid Hero, Raiden II, Nebulas Ray, Shienryu are my top.

After the surprise drop of Viper Phase One, none of these seem as unrealistic as they would have a year ago. Been another great year for Hamster.

[Marc]

Hoping for Gekirindan.

[Sima Tuna]

Gekirindan, Raiden II, Shienryu, Violent Storm, Undercover Cops, Ninja Baseball Bat-Man and Guardians would be my top asks.

I'll feel stupid if they bring over Elevator Action Returns after I spent money on the S-Tribute version. I only did that because I lost hope of Hamster ever porting it.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Hoping for Gekirindan.

Sacrificing livestock to the dark lord for Gekirindan

[Lemnear]

judging by how fast they are I find it really unusual that post on Twitter talking about Warashi, only to not release anything afterwards for all this time.
Also I have a feeling that some titles will be skipped like RayForce/Darius Gaiden, however there are still some Irem things that they might bring like R-Type Leo.

[Lord British]

Since NMK-Banpresto's Macross is this week's (and last of 2024) Arcade Archives title, I have a small question for all of you: What are your Arcade Archives predictions for 2025?

Here's my predictions for 2025

NAMCO / BANPRESTO

Spoiler

• Pac-Man Arrangement

• Dirt Fox

• Quester

• Blazer

• Final Lap*

• Final Lap 2*

• Final Lap 3*

• Suzuka 8 Hours*

• Macross II (although that's another NMK title)

• Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon

• Gee Bee

• Bomb Bee

• Steel Gunner

• Steel Gunner 2

• NebulasRay

• Dirt Trax*

• The Outfoxies

• Mach Breakers

• Galaga Arrangement

• Dig Dug Arrangement

• Galaxian 3

* = Sponsors removed
Didn't mentioned Final Lap R since that was a FIA/FOCA to Fuji TV licensed title, and it would be either Japan only or totally omitted like the infamous Marvel Land and F/A cases.

TAITO

Spoiler

• Space Invaders

• Darius Gaiden

• Sky Destroyer

• Space Invaders Part II

• Night Striker

• Operation Wolf

• Operation Thunderbolt

• Gridseeker: Project Storm Hammer

• Elevator Action Returns

• RayForce

• Cleopatra's Fortune

Yeah, only 11 since any month could be a "Namco Month" like the 2024 "Namco Spring Festival"

KONAMI

Spoiler

• Devastators

• Parodius

• Twinbee Yahoo

• Boot Camp

OTHERS

Spoiler

• Final Star Force (Tecmo)

• Raiden II (Seibu Kaihatsu)

• Dynamite Duke (Seibu Kaihatsu)

• Raiden DX (Seibu Kaihatsu)

• Tao Taido (Video System)

• Shienryu (Warashi)**

• Lethal Crash Course (Video System)

** = Rumored since Hamster's acquisition of Warashi and Shienryu's rights

I might be the only one excited for Blazer, lol. I play that every time I fire up MAME.

[Steven]

Has Hamster said anything about Viper Phase 1's unauthorized absence on PSN yet? I kind of want to play it and don't feel like going to Mikado because I'm lazy.

[Samildanach]

As BIL has mentioned earlier I believe, I found it by typing in Viper into the search engine. That is on PS4's PS Store however, maybe it isn't on PS5's at all.