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

[BIL]

You know who to call when you have ghosts.
But who you gonna call when you have gangs on the 'hood?

Konami's Gangbusters (Crazy Cop in Japan) is this week's title.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202504/39257

So, we have another "Namco > Surprise > Surprise > Taito" pattern again. Who will be next week? Video System, Warashi, Seibu Kaihatsu? I have no idea right now.

"I hope there's no Konami Aim Lag™!" Intro instantly shows off laggy bullet arc

I don't think I've ever seen this one. Looks like a diehard run/gun, aesthetic reminds me of the very cool City Bomber. I'll have to give it a tryout first, though. My charity for the mid-1980s' love affair with laggy run/gun aim is nil these days. I've done my time.

Rant spoilered

Anger Of Old Run/Gun SOULJAH (■｀w´■) (｀w´メ)

Particularly after the recent ACA Front Line 2, Taito's near-perfect Caravan game compromised by a hint of the blight. Nichibutsu were in on it too, with heavingly laggy Holy Warrior Amaterasu, and much better but still-compromised Youma Ninpo Chou. Konami were the reigning lords of blight, with Manhattan 24, both Contras, and Jackal. Probably more, oof.

Just put the bullets where I'm pointing FFS. It's a run/gun, not some existential exercise in delayed gratification. If you need ~MUH STRATEGY~ see Ikari, Dogosoken, and Gain Ground; diehard on-the-fly calculation and lethal consequences without a hint of brain-wronging delay.

And believe me, I know you can work with these games. But try as I might to rationalise it as merely another style of run/gunning, It's just a flawed concept that thrived way too long. God forever keep Shigeharu Umezaki and his UMECHAN TEAM for ending the scourge with FC Contra.

[Sumez]

So, we have another "Namco > Surprise > Surprise > Taito" pattern again. Who will be next week? Video System, Warashi, Seibu Kaihatsu? I have no idea right now.

Hopefully Namco

[BIL]

Hopefully Namco

*ahem* I mean harumph! HOW DARE YOU (■｀w´■) <-- here Vogel, use this (｀w´メ)

[Sturmvogel Prime]

Hopefully Namco

*ahem* I mean harumph! HOW DARE YOU (■｀w´■) <-- here Vogel, use this (｀w´メ)

No need for that.
1.- They're running out of Namco titles at this pace.
2.- As long as BNEI releases a shmup or something interesting for me, they can keep posting.
Final Lap, Winning Run, Steel Gunner or Galaga Arrangement would be nice. So, I'll give them a chance.

<----Assault/Assault Plus, Phelios and Metal Hawk

BTW, does anyone know how many Konami arcade games are left? Makes me want to know how far or close we are are from having Gradius IV and Salamander 2 on AA for those who prefer the standalone releases over the upcoming compilation (Remember the difference between Arcade Archives Contra and Anniversary Collection's port?)

[Sumez]

I doubt M2 are going to do Gradius 4 any time soon. It seems like a good contender for ACA2.

[BIL]

If nothing else, the last couple years have taught me that Konami have an absolute fuckton of late 80s obscurities. On par with Taito even. I never bother going on catalogue dives, it's more fun to encounter stuff organically.

(Remember the difference between Arcade Archives Contra and Anniversary Collection's port?)

I don't think M2 will bungle Gradius Origin's older arcade titles like they did Contra Anniversary Collection's. If nothing else, Origin is officially part of ShotTriggers, and it'd be a terrible blow to a proudly decade-honed name. A bizarrely poor arcade Contra & scuffed Super Contra remain rare pratfalls from them. It doesn't excuse it, but I suppose the rationale was Contra's console outings - for Nintendo specifically - being the main draws, with the arcade duo seen as curios.

It still wouldn't surprise me to see standalone ACA Salamander 2 somewhere way down the line. But I mean like half a decade down the line, as it was with ACA Super Contra. Plenty to be getting on with, in the meantime.

I'd guess this year's ACA Konami marquee is Violent Storm, just like Mystic Warriors and Metamorphic Force in 23/24. Gaiapolis next year perhaps. I assume Macross 2 is gonna be this year's traditional Christmas STG. Got a kick out of seeing NMK's first game hobnobbing with Dragon Quest and Elden Ring in the sales charts a few months back.

Get that bag AND superior Time Attack Shooting, muhfucka! (*'ω' *)

(all credit @ Kamikaze_2000)

---

I find the question of Parodius interesting. Could see M2 busting out a similar ShotTriggers anthology for Paro. Possibly Twinbee, too. Would be rad to see each cover their console entries too, given neither's arcade canon is quite as vast as Gradius & Salamander's.

---

Hm. So Crazy Cop (Maniac Cop? great title ) is pretty much Super Contra x Jackal. Which I guess makes sense for a conceptual sequel to Manhattan 24. 16-way aim lag and bad camera tracking, sadly. Always reminds me of what I took for granted, growing up with the NES ports of not just Konami's games, but also standouts like SNK's in-house Guerrilla War. (never to be associated with Micronics' fuck-awful FC Ikari & Dogosoken) I assumed that pinpoint 8way fire and airtight camera were a rich inheritance from Konami's AC division, credited in NES staff rolls. Sorry kid! More a provincial rebellion that eventually toppled the old order; even ranking AC GENERAL Falco Tsujimoto recanting Lag Orthodoxy, raising the banners for Umezaki and Nakazato in Sunset Riders and Mystic Warriors.

That said, CC's pacing - at least early on - seems a little less furied than its AC peers'. Much easier to let the camera amble along while placing shots. Once my appetite for destruction outpaces the interface, that's when I tend to go Psh! BEST SUCK THIS DICK and put on Shock Troopers.

ST, incidentally, is also a 16-way run/gun! But besides its aim cycle being far quicker, it's also deliberately subordinate to character orientation. Ultra-cancellable, by design; so slight you not might notice it, and vanishes frame-instantly as needed. Enemy charging in on your flank? No problem. cf also Metal Slug's EDDY ME CHINGA, itself a deft correction of IREM forebear Saigo no Nindou's laggy 16-way shuriken.

16way snap DEEZ NUTS (｀w´メ)

Konami's 16way cycles, by comparison, tend to cling to besieged players like wet blankets of doom. Super Contra demands a very particular 8-way judo to counteract its lag. Oddly, or maybe predictably, Konami's topdown platforming Gauntlet-esque, Majuu no Oukoku, comes very close to Shock Troopers / Metal Slug quality. I wonder if that's in spite of, or because of, blasting not being its primary focus. Depends on how much of Konami's 16way lag you put down to design doctrine VS teething issue, I suppose.

Ah, anyway. I'll probably give this a go!

Really liking the Antonio Prohías-esque style; I bet it shared personnel with City Bomber. The balls-hard Super Contra / A-JAX font is a little jarring, but no harm done. Manhattan 24's Terminator-brawny SOOPER CAWP is one of my favourite run/gun sprites ever, a grim avatar of armed justice. But these little jester-hatted dudes are just as vivacious. Love the trailing POWerup dudes in their best Option Orange! Dead or alive yer comin' with me, asshole!

[hamfighterx]

So, we have another "Namco > Surprise > Surprise > Taito" pattern again. Who will be next week? Video System, Warashi, Seibu Kaihatsu? I have no idea right now.

Konami is no "surprise", they've been a consistent part of the usual 4-pack rotation Hamster has been using since August 2023 (when Konami games returned to AA after a lengthy post-2021 hiatus): Namco, Konami, Taito, Surprise in some order.

Hamster hasn't always used a specific release order among those four, but that is exactly what they've done so far in 2025. Since Jan 9, we've had 3 straight Namco-Konami-Other-Taito sets, in that order, and now maybe working on a 4th.

Taito(?) - TBA (Apr 24)
???? - TBA (Apr 17)
Konami - Gangbusters (Apr 10)
Namco - Assault Plus (Apr 3)
-----
Taito - Land Sea Air Squad (Mar 27)
Seibu - Senkyu (Mar 20)
Konami - Juno First (Mar 13)
Namco - Vs. Tower of Babel (Mar 6)
-----
Taito - Dead Connection (Feb 27)
Success - Othello (Feb 20)
Konami - Kitten Kaboodle (Feb 13)
Namco - Marchen Maze (Feb 6)
-----
Taito - Thunder Fox (Jan 30)
Tecmo - Final Star Force (Jan 23)
Konami - Escape Kids (Jan 16)
Namco - VS. Family Tennis (Jan 9)

[Sima Tuna]

Life is too short for aim lag.

Shock Troopers remains the goat as always.

[BIL]

I don't know how they get me every time. :/ Probably because these games are utterly hardcore gunners once adapted to, but then I think "In Commando's first stage controls like this would get you buttfucked clean through the windshield" and realise I am, indeed, playing The Real Concussion Simulator.

It's an ethos, just a very questionable one.

Pluses:

1) SUPER TIGHT stage design, in pace and arrangement alike. Perfect for wrecking at speed, probably a good Caravan title, will find out soon enough.
2) Doesn't attempt Manhattan 24/Contra/Jackal's tragically cool shot types, just a nice simpler piercer that won't set off the lag.
3) Amusing score/powerup system, perp-walk crooks to the paddywagon but if you're slow the cheeky fuckers try to run off.
4) A nice bit of Gun.Smoke technique in the limited player/enemy shot ranges. This is in Super Contra too but not as pronounced.
5) Genuinely cool art style, reminds me a lot of Buster Bros. (ta ohfivepro!)

The Deadliest Crime Syndicate Ever Seen

At least two Avatar+Username contenders there! Actually I've long gone by Robert Soul. Geddit lmao! Not Mr. Poo though, WTF? Preposterous.

Bads:

1) it's a Konami run/gun for the arcade circa 198X. Spread dem cheeks

For the uninitiated who still desire to brave DEEZE STREETS, an ACK (AC Konami) basic: moving in 4-way will cancel out lag. You have to get used to doing this when going for priority shots. Use diagonal movement to reposition.

I should probably give Jackal another shot in Caravan mode, sometime.

[Jeneki]

Wait why is a green dude throwing people into the Turtle Van? If this weren't Konami I might say something but they are more than welcome to do so.

[BIL]

Noticed that too.

I see now, the Rock item's not just for crushing enemies, that's only a secondary (and score-sapping) effect. You're supposed to hackysack it through the stage, right through the gate for an obscenely lucrative Special Bonus. Enemies are crushed on contact but deplete its HP; a couple barrels will total it in short order, so boss battles are also defensive affairs.

Seems like Caravan's 5min might be perfectly-positioned for three of these, or maybe just two. Even the two would be pretty intense, it's not easy to keep the thing in one piece with enemies flooding the boss arena. I know the game gives you a new one in st3, so perhaps the key is to suicide your first after the st2 boss? The routing and skill ceiling here might be formidably high indeed.

ACA very helpfully adds an optional HUD for both the Rock's HP and your ammo stock. Yeah there's ammo stock. In a sense, I think this is a more successful "run/gun+" than Jackal. That game's POW rescues are aesthetically satsifying, but superplayers tend to ignore them in favour of looping. Prisoner offload's lot more seamless here, and their ammo-restoring bonus is a much bigger incentive. Hilarious as the game's take on Rolling Thunder's "zero shot" is, you don't wanna be seeing it!

As always with this era of Konami run/gun, with the laggy aiming, it's all rather moot and CouldaBeen.

[SavagePencil]

Machine Gun Joe, eh?!?

[BIL]

Machine Gun Joe, eh?!?

I like to think MIAMI JACK is a reference to this deadly dude. Except here, he has not God Draw but God Step; juking faster than the eye can see while returning fire! Which is especially welcome in a game where you can barely shoot straight while standing still. Got a big laugh out of tester+superplayer Sanjuroichi waiting a bit before nailing him with a fucken rocket. Now that's respect! Finished him rightly - sarabada, MIAMI JYAKKU.

Ah jeez, tragic even by late 80s ACK standard, this one. Just enjoying the Archiver ep before calling it a day for now. Spoilers: wickedly flawed, and seemingly outright contemptuous in some regards, but not without some genuine appeal for diehard Konamasochists; particularly in Caravan. A really cool, unique run/gun could be hacked out of this one, if its schoolboy errors were cleared up. I almost wish it had a similarly superunknown sequel.

Firing up Caravan and seeing just Clob and a couple other regular killers with 700k+, I thought "Damn! They must've gotten that triple diamond!" No, that's just the borderline separating those who can tolerate the st2's Rock bullshit long enough to get the double. You could see the top ten moving up as everyone got routes down. I was happy with fifth on PS4 (fourth NSW), and I suspect I could challenge 850k in the long run - if you can make it to st3 with a Rocket for that Heli midboss, it's a nice fast-moving killathon, with no Rocks to worry about.

But unlike the superb Juno First (feeling an entire universe away for Konami, with its crisply accurate handling and flawless POV...) and Front Line 2, I've no personal desire to move up. It's more like solving a hateful puzzle. 3; This game has some serious technique and finesse to it, but the interface and camera are woefully unsuited, demanding painstaking routing and rehearsal. Ah fuck me, anyway, enough carping.

As with the similarly rueful Manhattan 24, and even hateful Jackal, I've enjoyed building up a working knowledge of this era... sometimes it really sucks, but it's good for perspective. Konami's 90s run must've seemed unfathomably generous and good-tempered at the time compared to some of their 80s antics.

[BEAMLORD]

Any better than Jackal BIL, or on par? If so I may take a punt, if it avoids the worst excesses of Jackal's aim-lagging, screen-riding bullshit

[BIL]

Any better than Jackal BIL, or on par? If so I may take a punt, if it avoids the worst excesses of Jackal's aim-lagging, screen-riding bullshit

I'd call it Super Contra Topdown Stages: The Game. Not as shockingly cynical as Jackal, but still plenty aggravating. It's a shockingly flawed game, to be sure... maybe Manhattan 24's the better comparison.

I often wonder how much was calculated design, vs naked cynicism, vs tragic overwork... it's always so easy to see a fantastic game just out of reach, in this era of Konami. Normally I'd accept a hearty round of "Yeah asshole, easy for you to say!" there, but surely being able to return fire on the enemy is fundamental? >_> In this set, it's a feat of concentration to be mastered with arcane 8way techs. When Uemura and Yuge say they never meant to give their players a hard time with Hishouzame and Kyuukyoku Tiger, I believe them. (likewise their regrets re: Same1P) I can't tell here. There's this great story of Super Contra's loke test, where the staff realised the Super Machinegun was OP, and considered nerfing it (aieee! ), but all the players hollering "KIMOCHIII!" as bosses detonated in glorious floor-shaking cataclysms moved them, so it was left it as-is. (phew! game saved AVOID OTHER WEAPONS FOR FUCK SAKE THOUGH )

So I don't think they were out to create the kind of dissonance they do in me. And at least one key figure here, Hideyuki FALCO Tsujimoto, went on to create some eminently well-tuned works in the same genre. This reminds me of an Other Gaming conversation a couple years back, regarding Konami's 80s standing vs revered luminaries like Namco/Capcom and the equally beloved yet undeniably scrappy brawlers like DECO and Technos.

All my carping aside, there is an undeniable masochistic thrill in CRAZY COP Caravan; specifically that JAIRU HOUSE ROKKU. At first it's a complete and utter shitshow, between the fuck-awful aim lag, the useless camera, and the astoundingly unhelpful footie mechanics. You can lose the Rock in so many ways it's comical. But by the same token, carving out a nice route has a certain heisting satisfaction... or maybe not. You know what I mean. Mercifully, you can punt the fucker straight into st3's opening horde, crushing them into mangled ruin as you lob a rocket straight through that fuckin heli's windshield in a HITLER NO FUKKATSU stylie. From there it's back to, uh... Super Contra Topdown Stage: The Game. I kinda want to go back tonight tbh.

TLDR: Conditionally not recommended. ~ Punished Konami Fan X! ^_o

[BEAMLORD]

Duly noted. Approach with caution, if at all

I'll sit this one out, maybe. I'm generally a sucker for top-down run 'n gunners, but a full-english of Super Contra flavoured overheads sounds hard to stomach.

[BIL]

I should also say I've not seen the fifth and final stage, as it kicks you out around Stage 4. Not sure if it's a # of continues or "no credit-feeding lategame" thing, but yeah.

Aaagh! Where's that great quote about handing a chimpanzee a machinegun? "Sometimes it's amazing, sometimes it's disaster." Always loved it. It describes my trepidation for Late 198X Konami to a T! All I can find is a similar, later quote from Better Call Saul. But yeah it might all go to utter shit. I think st4 looks pretty promising though.

EDIT: Aww yeaaa there it is. EDIT2: Ah fuck. Nah it's a different one. I gotta solve the case, crackin laugh that was.

[Randorama]

Fun little game. I remember 1-CC’ing it once and then forgetting it exists. I have this vague memory of my uncle wondering why I was even playing the game (duh, him being the person buying the board to begin with).


Konami 1986-1990 was really a strange company; I have no idea on why they released some games and whether they made any profit out of them. Ham-Chan guys must have a wide ultra-loyalist fan base, to afford this type of releases.

[Sturmvogel Prime]

This robot can fight in the sky.

Nichibutsu's Tatakae Big Fighter / Sky Robo is this week's title.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202504/39882

By far, Hamster's release will cover the Japanese version of the game, but I won't be surprised if they change their mind and add the overseas release just like they did with Ninja Emaki.

Since Hamster's following its usual routine of releases, it is more than clear that Taito's next. The question is what would be?
Space Invaders? Gridseeker? Darius Gaiden? some obscure game? Only time will tell.

[D]

This robot can fight in the sky.

Lol

[BIL]

Hardcore robo/jetfighter hori with BOOBS DISPLAY? (*'ω' *) This is surely the PRELUDE OF MACROSS 2 (■｀w´■)

Spoiler

Butsu's STG/ACT swan song. Was all table games after, iirc. Mad respects 2 The House Cresta Built. ;w;7 x93 must be raising a glass somewhere out there I'm sure!

Looks like some gratifyingly fast-moving heavy metal. I wonder if the robot form can strafe/lock aim? Player seems to be firing downward without moving at one point. That aura attack while transforming is hawt, at any rate.

[Jeneki]

I'll just assume the pilot is one of the dudes from Big Fight.

Looks rad though, if nothing else the music sounds very Nichibutsu.

[BIL]

I just realised the clever double entendre TA TA 帰る / RETURN THE TA TAS! It seems Taito's MEGABRASTO was not the only mecha-themed 1989 hori with such literary themes

[BEAMLORD]

Nice, looks cool. Had good times with Legion and Ninja Emaki both, idiosyncratic but charming affairs nonetheless. I wonder how straight Nichibutsu played it with this one? Either way, will be picking it up tomorrow.

[BIL]

Hmm, seems it's a couple days earlier on Switch. (17/04 vs 19/04) Shame, I've been enjoying those early Caravans. Not the first time we've seen that - Plus Alpha comes to mind - but I hope it's not a pattern going forward.

Rad flyer as per usual for Nichi's diehard 80s STG/ACT extravaganzas - ta ohfivepro! Butsu may have been shortly going full Butt-su, but they never slacked off.

Full Res, Sky Robo / Tatakae! Big Fighter

Full Res, Ninja Emaki / Yuma Ninpo Chou

Had totally forgotten about UFO Robo Dangar! That's another a bunch of my favourite people tend to rep. Will surely be along at some point, barring some godawful IP snafu. Speaking of which, their Koizure Ookami / Lone Wolf And Cub also enjoys good regard from trusted peeps... an early, unusual beltscrolling run/gun, AFAIK? Would happily pay that IP tax.

[Bassa-Bassa]

Kozure Ookami is like a Green Beret belt scroller, if that makes sense. With guard techniques as well. Bosses make you feel dumb for even trying, if I recall.

Dangar is a Terra Cresta spinoff, so it's similar, including the boring invariable graphics for the surface stage.

[BIL]

Ah yeah, Kozure Ookami always sounds so rad. I like to keep a little mystery in my life so I've never looked it up.

And now, to torpedo my own principles by watching footage from today's ARCHIVER - because I can't buy the damn game - BIGGU FIGHTA looks legit amazing. God dammit! Figures the first ACA Nichi since Emaki that I'm actually excited for got delayed. Ah well. One thing you can never say these days is you ain't got other games to play.

...I almost wonder if this is a sneak Kaneko game. >_> BEEFEH mecha designs and SUPA ROBOTO player recall Heavy Unit, which I used to exclaim "WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS TAITO" at; only to discover it was, in fact, not Taito! Love the chunky mechanical designs all over the place in both games. No shade at Taito, just can't recall them doing much mechtastic stuff, player-side. Syvalion's the closest that comes to mind, offhand. KANEKO kept that metal boner flying! And uh... the hentai table games too, come to think of it. Were they and Nichi the same company all along?

Nah jk. It reminds me of Armed F in some ways too, down to the slightly fruity palette. Never got into that one, dug the hefty sprites and trademark Nichi formation mechanics, but its pacing felt a bit slack in comparison to cracking Terra Cresta. Big Fighter looks nice and rampant.

[Jonpachi]

I'm weirdly excited for Big Fighter, but I fear it's mainly my 80s-kid brain being triggered by the Macross-at-home cover art. The videos I've watched look pretty bland, with ear-bleedingly-bad SFX, but I'll still be there day 1 when it drops.

[Sturmvogel Prime]

Like Sky Kid, Rompers and Jackal, Tatakae! Big Fighter is unavailable in Mexico.
Does Canada is having the same problem too?

[Jonpachi]

Spent some time with Big Fighter and it seems quite broken. Level 3 is littered with tedious point milking spots that really drag the pacing down. Luckily they all seem to time out, but there’s really no incentive to NOT just stop and camp above each spawner on the big battleship, with each taking about a solid minute to finally self-destruct and force you onward. Can’t see myself coming back to this one as it’s too flawed and boring to waste time on.