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

[BIL]

Maybe charge a bit extra ala their anime licenses?

I'd pay it!

Same Those remakes always looked so cool, nice tight pixelling to contrast the immortal originals.



Some intriguing lore between the ND-1 and early PS1, too. PS1-related arcade hardware has such a distinct epochal vibe in hindsight, much like ST-V's.

[NYN]

(I personally prefer the movement in Revenge of the Gator and especially Kirby's Pinball Land, but I feel like they're less well known points of comparison.)

KPL!! Only in DOT MATRIX with the stereo sound! Now that I am outed myself (again) as a weirdo I will add that it becomes obvious to me that I don't look for the Pin virtual simulation. The machines are just that. I aim for the video surreal, or so it would seem. Going to pick up the 'venge o' 'gator card for cheap round next week! I just had that feel. Again.

Do you play Pinball Action on Switch? If indeed I'll look out for your initials. And related, do you play Nintendo Pinball (1984) on Ham AC, what are your feels on that one?

[Daytime Waitress]

Quite the august STG-luminary roster of video pin dudes, now I think about it... Natsume (Gator's Revenge)

Nah, Revenge of the Gator was what HAL cut their teeth on before perfecting their craft with Kirby's Pinball Land.
Tail Gator was Natsume's delightful-looking/sounding side-scroller which I was ignorant about until your post got me thinking!

Wait a cornbread bakin' minute here...
Revenge of the Gator.
Tail Gator.
Bayou Billy.
Gator Panic (Namco's ubiquitous whack-a-croc).

When everything in Western 80's popculture was going ninja crazy, were... were there a bunch of fucking Westaboos in Japan buying up everything vaguely cajun related and quoting Justin Wilson?!

(I personally prefer the movement in Revenge of the Gator and especially Kirby's Pinball Land, but I feel like they're less well known points of comparison.)

KPL!! Only in DOT MATRIX with the stereo sound! Now that I am outed myself (again) as a weirdo I will add that it becomes obvious to me that I don't look for the Pin virtual simulation. The machines are just that. I aim for the video surreal, or so it would seem. Going to pick up the 'venge o' 'gator card for cheap round next week! I just had that feel. Again.

Best luck.
I recently got the itch again and can not for the life of me find so much as a loosey in my local Book/Hard-Offs.
Misery.

Do you play Pinball Action on Switch? If indeed I'll look out for your initials. And related, do you play Nintendo Pinball (1984) on Ham AC, what are your feels on that one?

You'll find me in the Hi-Score Mode top ten for the JP Switch as DTW
(Totally didn't luck into acing the green table on my first shot there after a sad bunch of Caravan attempts, honest >_>)
Are HamHam's leaderboards global and just segregated by platform?

And I let Nintendo Pinball pass me by, because I figured it was a bit primitive.
But that's daft af because I started pinnies with Midnight Magic on the A2600 and this here 1985 Tehkan title has been a standout of the week for me.
Will look into Nintendo's offering at the next given opportunity!

[BIL]

Quite the august STG-luminary roster of video pin dudes, now I think about it... Natsume (Gator's Revenge)

Nah, Revenge of the Gator was what HAL cut their teeth on before perfecting their craft with Kirby's Pinball Land.
Tail Gator was Natsume's delightful-looking/sounding side-scroller which I was ignorant about until your post got me thinking!

Ah shit, got me wires crossed! Too right, what an odd little epoch for scaly critters Get that TMNT / LEATHERHEAD GAIDEN money boyeee!

Glad there was some serendipity in Tail Gator - in SFC Kiki's stead, I'll sub in HAL's Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank aka Trax. A topdown tanker to rival any KK or indeed Namco/SNK rumbler. Super cute! SUPER DESTRUCTION! Lovely lovely, would call the lack of SFC followup a shame but the GB cart's so damn good I don't care. In the heat of urban sortie, when the enemy behemoths straight-up level entire city blocks to assail your little weapon that could, god damn... amazing craftsmanship and heart, utterly transcending its diminuitive format! STRONGEST RECOMMEND

[Sumez]

From GameFAQs: “Pinball Action has a strange control scheme. You use the left and right on the joystick to work the flippers, which means you can't hit both of them at the same time.”

Good way to teach new players haha
You really never want to flip both flippers at the same time in a game of pinball! Well, outside of multiball I guess. Being unable to cradle one ball while flipping the other is a bit of a dealbreaker, but I don't know if that's even a thing in this game.

Either way, sounds like a quick left/right successive flip is also gonna be annoying to pull off.

[NYN]

Best luck.
I recently got the itch again and can not for the life of me find so much as a loosey in my local Book/Hard-Offs.
Misery.

Here, in NYN's PALball Land (that adds the PINBALL: for emphasis to the title to separate it from mascot platformers), it's a flood, and perhaps the lowest in price for a loose cart. I wouldn't call that luck, just the way.
Yiiieh, and I like that, a lot!

From GameFAQs: “Pinball Action has a strange control scheme. You use the left and right on the joystick to work the flippers, which means you can't hit both of them at the same time.”

Is that supposed to apply to the PCB? That would be odd. In the Xbox port the flips are on the triggers. Suits it just fine, though there is no re-map for them. I would expect AA version to have the last word on this.

[Lord British]

Did anyone else buy the ACA2 KOF '98 on the PS5? I saw it on the store for $2.99 and and bought it. I didn't play around with it much, but it did feel like an upgrade of sorts bot in look and control. Can anyone articulate the difference on this?

[BEAMLORD]

Did anyone else buy the ACA2 KOF '98 on the PS5? I saw it on the store for $2.99 and and bought it. I didn't play around with it much, but it did feel like an upgrade of sorts bot in look and control. Can anyone articulate the difference on this?

Didn't pick this up, as fighters ain't really my cuppa. If it was any other kind of release from the catalogue I may well have nabbed it, as I am very interested to see how ACA2 shapes up in general. I see why they went with something that ideally showcases the online play, and KoF is a big name, to boot. So, I'd be interested to hear thoughts, too.

[Jonpachi]

Did anyone else buy the ACA2 KOF '98 on the PS5? I saw it on the store for $2.99 and and bought it. I didn't play around with it much, but it did feel like an upgrade of sorts bot in look and control. Can anyone articulate the difference on this?

Are you sure you didn't pick up THE KING OF FIGHTERS '98 ULTIMATE MATCH FINAL EDITION instead? That version is indeed an upgrade in many ways.

[Lord British]

Did anyone else buy the ACA2 KOF '98 on the PS5? I saw it on the store for $2.99 and and bought it. I didn't play around with it much, but it did feel like an upgrade of sorts both in look and control. Can anyone articulate the difference on this?

Are you sure you didn't pick up THE KING OF FIGHTERS '98 ULTIMATE MATCH FINAL EDITION instead? That version is indeed an upgrade in many ways.

Take my report of being an upgrade in look and control with a grain of salt, it might just be hopium.

This is what someone on Reddit posted

The price of ACA 2 NEOGEO is $9.99 USD, but if you already own the PlayStation 4 or XBOX One versions you can purchase it for $2.99 USD which is 70 percent off the regular price of $9.99 USD. This and all future ACA 2 games will also have these new features;

Get Fired Up Together with the “Passionate” Network Mode

Join the Competition in the “Expertly Crafted” Time Attack Mode

Save Anytime and Anywhere With the “Expanded” Save Feature

New Possibilities with the “Thoughtfully Designed” Rewind Function

Endlessly “Improved” Options Menu

A Variety of “Classy” Wallpapers to Choose From

User-friendly Controls with the “Carefully Designed” Screen Layout

Easy-to-Use “Adoptable” Menu for Vertical Screen

A More “Refined” Screen Filter

A “Deliberately Crafted” Skip Function to Save Even One Second

Fully Customizable “Detailed” Button Settings

No More Confusion With the “Default” Arcade Controller Settings

Save and Recall Your “Preferred” Button Settings

Faithful Reproduction with the “Thoughtfully Crafted” VRR Feature

[hamfighterx]

Hamster already gave three hints about the releases.
1.- Super difficulty
2.- First port to home console
3.- Sports

1. Uh... blanking on this one so I'm just going to copy velo's work and say Super Xevious
2. Blazer (one of the few System 1 games left)
3. Kyukai Dochuki? Maybe Final Lap if that counts as "sports"?

And they're kinda slacking on Namco "month", since this time it's apparently only every other week (plus the first week of June with Ridge Racer). May 8 and May 22 looking like non-Namco weeks. Weird.

Can't they dedicate a month to some one else? I mean a Taito Month or a Konami Month would be well appreciated.

Allumer month was RIGHT THERE.

[BIL]

Ha, was thinking Blazer there too. On my mind again lately, with it being one of the HS entries in Assault. (also GROBDA ofc, Endo's tank-battler masterpiece beloved of KUROBUTA-sama)

It looks so badass... at a glance, rugged heavy metal recalling Finest Hour. Dual-vehicle air/ground STG is a favourite concept of mine too, ala A-JAX and Silkworm. Not gonna look it up; this stuff feels like getting brand new arcade games from a scene at the height of its powers. Actually it reminds me of when I discovered import gaming in the 90s and suddenly a whole goddamn universe had opened up. A slight precious latterdays return. <3 I don't do nostalgia, it ain't that, it's about getting disciplined translations of lost gems, and seeing new things. Sometimes literally new!

Jumping Car Buzzsaws Enemy Helicopter (◎w◎;)

EDIT: Man. Revisiting my ACA Grobda launch posts, I'm reminded it's a game where 16way aim (and steering!) is not merely mitigated, but an outright USP. Both movement and aiming are handled with crisp finesse.

The SAMURAI BATORINGU (■｀w´■) (｀w´メ)

(granted it's not always smooth sailing... Finest Hour's last boss is a gaming war crime worth it though to me anyway! admittedly I am the guy who made this )

Get Fired Up Together with the “Passionate” Network Mode

Ham-Hams, PASSIONE da GE-SEN! RAGAZZI ASSOLUTO UNA BELLA NETWORK BATTAGLIA!

...forgive me Rando-sensei, the wine is making me emotional

[Daytime Waitress]

Quite the august STG-luminary roster of video pin dudes, now I think about it.

Not just shmups, - turns out Pinball Action was the first arcade title Yoshizawa worked on.
Love uncovering these little pottery shards when on an archeological dig!

[BIL]

Quite the august STG-luminary roster of video pin dudes, now I think about it.

Not just shmups, - turns out Pinball Action was the first arcade title Yoshizawa worked on.
Love uncovering these little pottery shards when on an archeological dig!

That wavering yet unmistakable sunbeam connecting their AC and home divisions... Love it. Many personal pet theories on that rainbow cycling routine, as seen in a thread by none other than our young Vogel-kun! Recently illuminated a longtime blind spot of mine: Metal Yuhki's brilliant Dog Fight 2 and Dog Fight 3, from RAIGA and Thunder Cross 2. Where's Dog Fight 1? On that wacky FC-original Star Force sequel I ignored for lack of ~AC Credz~ SMARTEN UP GRAMPS

Reminded of how formidable an STG lineup they've assembled while revisiting my Grobda effortposts of 2+yrs ago; not only are both aiming and movement 16way, they are in fact finely interwoven. In Konami's games, movement tends to be 8way snap, vs aiming's 16way lag... I wonder if that's the real source of the disconnect, in my and many others' brainboxes. Hm, anyway.

And yes indeed, younger prettier me!

I'd much rather see them make the most of their existing licenses now, and make the jump to emulating higher-end hardware once they're ready for a transition to more powerful consoles. I would hate for them to bite off more than they can chew - but they've proven quite canny and slow n' steady, over the last gen and this one so far, so I don't think that's likely. They've already racked up a legendary slate, in the meantime.

To borrow a tack from DADSHUMP thread, these young bucks gotta slow it down! Everybody remembers that first encounter with the eternal frontier! GOGOGOGO, must make it over the line! NO FUCK THE LINE IS SHRINKING BACK INTO THE DISTANCE WTF! HNNNNNNNG! YEAHHH DONE IT *HWAAAAAAAA* And more importantly after when, no longer in a blinded agony of want, realising the line wasn't going anywhere, and had in fact been vanishing into the rear view mirror when you floored it into that haystack, and perhaps may be even better approached at more moderate pace next time around!

CITY CONNECTION NEEDED DAD KNOWLEDGE™ TO NOT GET SUCCESS TRIBUTE BUTTFUCKED (■｀w´■) (｀w´メ)
GET WELL SOON CC THAT WAS TOUGH (*'ω' *)
S-TV MORE LIKE BBC (◎w◎;)

I'm feeling this timescale. STAY IN CONTROL HAM-HAMS Got an almighty third leg in that back catalogue - many will be GrandDads before seeing the end of it! - but let's see where this goes.

NWS 32+ ONLY, EXTREME LEVELS OF DADFORCE™

^ Hamada-san's Stand "BROTHERS IN ARMS" surveying the foggy field of battle, while inking ACA Macross Plus for 2027

[Randorama]

Ham-Hams, PASSIONE da GE-SEN! RAGAZZI ASSOLUTO UNA BELLA NETWORK BATTAGLIA!

...forgive me Rando-sensei, the wine is making me emotional

It’s all good as long as it’s Italian wine.

I have vague memories of playing this as a kid. Somebody should post a link in the single screen thread, and maybe even add a few lines regarding pinball video games.

Oh well, tomorrow is Sunday

[BIL]

It’s all good as long as it’s Italian wine.

Ohohoho, saved! Even a salty beastman of the auld jungle colonies like mineself just about nails that one!

Oh well, tomorrow is Sunday

By coincidence, Psychic Five - one of several reads I owe you! - is as tragically apropos to CityCon's fumbling sophomoric assclownery as Success Tribute >w<;

Here's hoping for an ACA ver sometime eh? For NMK's valorous souls <-- rarer "to absent friends" toasting smiley; note the slightly subdued expression 3; Ah well. I hear Under Defeat HD is aces, ganbaru CC-kun, you'll get that staying power down eventually!

EDIT: Yo WTF (◎w◎;) Don't tell me accursed YELLOW is lurking about!

Spoiler

TECMO U KNOW US SO WELL >:3



EIEN no DONBURI

[BrianC]

Definitly liking Pinball Action quite a bit. I have a couple custom joysticks with iL parts with pinball buttons on the side (set to L1 and R1) and they work great with ACA Pinball Action.

[Daytime Waitress]

You ought to post pics - that sounds like a rad peripheral!
Did you construct it yourself?
Your post actually got me to searching out what the original cab looked like and... I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't that - good to see they made an effort towards the theme!

Some more thoughts on it after a few more short sessions:

Red is vindictive - a clear condition governed entirely by spinner-derived slot machine rotations (i.e.: RNG) and every single shot that's not dead-on to those spinner lanes is likely to result in a collision with a bumper and thus never knowing where you're gonna land next. And on top of that, add one of the target spinners being a bee's dick away from a separate lane catapulting you back to the main table before you get a clear. A proper casino heist, this one - get in, grab what you came for and then getthefuckoutahere.

Blue is menacing - probably the most orthodox table, with a mess of popups that can be knocked down whenever, but only cleared when certain stages are lit and hit in sequence. The urgency is driven by a solid hand of slightly threatening music and Pinball Action's hallmark Hungry Right Outlane. Slightly less prone to kicking you back to the main table than red because you're almost always aiming at targets in the centre, but the harlequin still delights in booting you before you've completed your objectives.

Green is joyous - the most lighthearted music of all tables, and a simple clear condition that involves nailing all rollovers on a group of bowling pins to score three "strikes" (just all pins in total, the order isn't strict). Doing so isn't particularly difficult, and the right outlane also seems less prone to guttering runs, so this one practically encourages endless milking in a safe zone away from every other table wanting to murder you.

In fact, maxing the green table and then milking it tae fuck saw me vault my previously anemic PB - after a certain point the gains became exponential, with the game simply vomiting bonuses and extra balls at me.
Even the red table saw the RNG gods smile upon me with not one but two cash ins.
But alas I was keeping an eye on the clock irl, and ended up half-heartedly yeeting a couple of goes just to be sure I wouldn't be late for work.

Despite playing an inordinate amount of digital pinball, I've never been the type to pick something up and set decent records immediately - my brainmeat requires that I spend a hell of a long time playing a particular title/table before I can intuit or feel out shots.
But while I feel that 800k is a generous stab at this stage of proceedings, it can definitely be improved upon.

At the very least, it ought to serve as a cautionary tale for my other Hamfans to not attempt anything other than caravan modo before they have to jog off for their morning commute!

[NYN]

Way I play now is to get at least a 2x or 10ADV on the main, open blue, warp to poker and play the cards right. Green strikes greed. On red I have no sense of control, so I go only for the RGB extra ball. Lands me on Top 30 Hi-Score for now. Ant mountain high enough, though the release is still young.

[BIL]

Did somebody say balls (｀w´メ)

Don't ask Hams what the price is / But it's less than pussy tickle devices

This soundin HAWT Regretfully behind schedule on funnins but feeling refreshed 4 weekend

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Quite the august STG-luminary roster of video pin dudes, now I think about it... Natsume (Gator's Revenge)

Nah, Revenge of the Gator was what HAL cut their teeth on before perfecting their craft with Kirby's Pinball Land.
Tail Gator was Natsume's delightful-looking/sounding side-scroller which I was ignorant about until your post got me thinking!

Wait a cornbread bakin' minute here...
Revenge of the Gator.
Tail Gator.
Bayou Billy.
Gator Panic (Namco's ubiquitous whack-a-croc).

When everything in Western 80's popculture was going ninja crazy, were... were there a bunch of fucking Westaboos in Japan buying up everything vaguely cajun related and quoting Justin Wilson?!

(I personally prefer the movement in Revenge of the Gator and especially Kirby's Pinball Land, but I feel like they're less well known points of comparison.)

KPL!! Only in DOT MATRIX with the stereo sound! Now that I am outed myself (again) as a weirdo I will add that it becomes obvious to me that I don't look for the Pin virtual simulation. The machines are just that. I aim for the video surreal, or so it would seem. Going to pick up the 'venge o' 'gator card for cheap round next week! I just had that feel. Again.

Best luck.
I recently got the itch again and can not for the life of me find so much as a loosey in my local Book/Hard-Offs.
Misery.

Do you play Pinball Action on Switch? If indeed I'll look out for your initials. And related, do you play Nintendo Pinball (1984) on Ham AC, what are your feels on that one?

You'll find me in the Hi-Score Mode top ten for the JP Switch as DTW
(Totally didn't luck into acing the green table on my first shot there after a sad bunch of Caravan attempts, honest >_>)
Are HamHam's leaderboards global and just segregated by platform?

And I let Nintendo Pinball pass me by, because I figured it was a bit primitive.
But that's daft af because I started pinnies with Midnight Magic on the A2600 and this here 1985 Tehkan title has been a standout of the week for me.
Will look into Nintendo's offering at the next given opportunity!

There're the Vectrex pinball releases of "Spinball" for the USA Vectrex gamers and the UK Vectrex gamers were graced with "Flipper Pinball" -- both released in 1983 (not to mention proper tate to view the entire table in it's entirety). Despite having a MSRP of $29.99 usd at retail back in 1983, during the "Great Video Game Crash of 1983-1984 fiasco," a brand new copy of Spinball could yours for a mere $4.99 dirt-cheap ("mere pennies on the dollar" indeed). Sadly, there hasn't been another vector-based pinball title for the Vectrex gaming platform since then -- why is that?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Jonpachi]

Wait a cornbread bakin' minute here...
Revenge of the Gator.
Tail Gator.
Bayou Billy.
Gator Panic (Namco's ubiquitous whack-a-croc).

It wasn't cajun so much as Aussie Fever. Blame Mad Max, and more importantly, Crocodile Dundee who Bayou Billy is clearly inspired by. The rise of Outback Steakhouse is also directly linked to this anomalous period.

[Sturmvogel Prime]

The first of the bi-weekly Namco releases had arrived.

The "Super Hard" title hinted by Hamster was revealed.
Are you Super Devious enough to beat Super Xevious? The Arcade Archives game that you can play at home.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202504/41060

[Bassa-Bassa]

If #2 isn't Outfoxies hayters gonna hayte.

[Sumez]

Outfoxies is one of the few arcade games where I think making a home port and *not* offering a high-res mode would be a waste. Would fix one of the biggest issues with the game.

[Jeneki]

The "Super Hard" title hinted by Hamster was revealed.
Are you Super Devious enough to beat Super Xevious?

Denis Leary: "Only in Japan would there be a guy that Xevious wasn't good enough for. You know? One guy walking around Tokyo back in 1984 going, "You know, that Xevious' pretty good, but I want something that makes my heart explode as soon as I smoke it, ok? I want to take one suck off that Solvalou pipe and go *snort* *splat* Now I'm happy! I'm a Bacura, the ultimate high!"

[BIL]

The "Super Hard" title hinted by Hamster was revealed.
Are you Super Devious enough to beat Super Xevious?

Denis Leary: "Only in Japan would there be a guy that Xevious wasn't good enough for. You know? One guy walking around Tokyo back in 1984 going, "You know, that Xevious' pretty good, but I want something that makes my heart explode as soon as I smoke it, ok? I want to take one suck off that Solvalou pipe and go *snort* *splat* Now I'm happy! I'm a Bacura, the ultimate high!"

Hm. Was never overly hyped for this one, as a casual Xevious enjoyer with a like but not love for Endo's legend. Far more into his Real Battling Simulator Grobda, right down to its hilarious zako-turned-champion premise. (GROBDA's Battle Instinct Has Awakened!)

From ZAKO ZERO to BEAST OF BATTLING (◎w◎;) (｀w´メ)

But, by that exact token, I am glad it's here; to complete any future Xevious endeavours. I actually forgot it was ever on PS1, before being reminded of its spot on Xevious 3D/G.

Still haven't given Forrest no Nazo a try, since its arrival roughly 1yr ago. It's a lot easier to moot doing so with this one onboard. Hell, maybe Nazo's the cooler game.

[hamfighterx]

1. Super Xevious
2. S.O.S.
3. World Stadium

1. Uh... blanking on this one so I'm just going to copy velo's work and say Super Xevious
2. Blazer (one of the few System 1 games left)
3. Kyukai Dochuki? Maybe Final Lap if that counts as "sports"?

Velo in the lead! I'll take partial credit for knowing who to copy from for this test

[BEAMLORD]

Bi-weekly? Wassup, is there two games due this week?

[hamfighterx]

Nah, bi-weekly in this case just means that this time the Namco "month" is one Namco release every TWO weeks, alternating with non-Namco titles.

May 1 - Namco (Super Xevious)
May 8 - non-Namco
May 15 - Namco again
May 22 - non-Namco
May 29 - Namco