Salamander, Parodius, Twinbee Collections on PSP

Soldato J · Post by **Soldato J** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:37 pm

infested_ysy wrote:Just tried out twinbee collections. Seems kinda crappy. The mame-able ones has blurry sprites, no scanlines (how hard is it for them to put some decent 50% scanlines on 2D games that has its video enlarged? I find it impossible to cope with the hideous blurry enlarged sprites without some 50% scanlines on emulation thesedays).

Any TATE options on that Twinbee?

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:38 pm

shinsage wrote:I love the updated space snake for the Salamander box art.

I like it too, it's not as sharp and vivid as the original but it's cool that they show respect to the original theme.

elbarto · Post by **elbarto** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:53 pm

infested_ysy wrote:Is it supposed to be a new remake made just for the PSP?

Its a remake of the GameBoy game, hasn't been available before AFAIK.

Has anyone found anywhere selling the Konamistyle editions outside Japan? I really want that Parodius PSP skin

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:11 pm

elbarto wrote:
infested_ysy wrote:Is it supposed to be a new remake made just for the PSP?
Its a remake of the GameBoy game, hasn't been available before AFAIK.

Has anyone found anywhere selling the Konamistyle editions outside Japan? I really want that Parodius PSP skin

Wow, nice. When I heard they were putting an "enhanced" rev of Twinbee Da! on the pack I never dreamt it'd be a total makeover and look that good.

Shame they didn't also include Rainbow Bell Adventure though. I just started playing it on my PSP and it is a great little platformer so far. edit: Not to mention the Famicom Twinbees, especially Twinbee 3. Now can someone please finally confirm whether or not it has TATE?

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:09 pm

Dylan1CC wrote:Now can someone please finally confirm whether or not it has TATE?

My copies of all of these compilations arrived today.

Here are the screen options available in TwinBee, and Detana TwinBee:

RATIO: Original, or 4:3
ZOOM: Full (Widescreen Stretched & Zoomed), Normal (Not Stretched, Not Zoomed), or Large (Not Stretched, Zoomed Only)
ROTATE: Normal (Yoko), Right To Top (Tate), Left To Top (Flipped Tate)

Here are the screen options available in Parodius, Parodius Da, Gokujou Parodius, and Sexy Parodius:

SCREEN SIZE: Original/Arcade, or Wide (About 20% Wider, Not Stretched, Not Zoomed, Special display mode as seen on first two Gradius games on PSP Gradius Portable)
SCREEN ZOOM: Full (Widescreen Stretched & Zoomed), Normal (Not Stretched, Not Zoomed), or Large (Not Stretched, Zoomed Only)

Here are the screen options available in TwinBee Yahoo, Salamander, Life Force, Salamander 2, Gradius II MSX Arranged, and Xexex:

RATIO: Original, or 4:3
ZOOM: Full (Widescreen Stretched & Zoomed), Normal (Not Stretched, Not Zoomed), or Large (Not Stretched, Zoomed Only)

Here are the screen options available in Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius:

SCREEN ZOOM: Full (Widescreen Stretched & Zoomed), Normal (Not Stretched, Not Zoomed), or Large (Not Stretched, Zoomed Only)

I haven't been able to find any screen options in either Pop'n TwinBee or the brand new TwinBee Da! 2007 remake. Not a shortcoming for the TwinBee Da! 2007 remake, since it's using its own nice new hi-res display mode anyway. But strangely, Pop'n TwinBee seems to force a widescreen stretched & zoomed display mode. I can't find any option to play Pop'n TwinBee in original aspect ratio, perhaps I'm just overlooking it.

Soldato J · Post by **Soldato J** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:20 pm

*tears of joy*

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:16 pm

Awesome. Thanks, Thunderforce! btw, I assume in TATE mode you still have to use face buttons for firing and can't map to the analog nub?

I'll be ordering the Sal and Twinbee packs in a few weeks. Any recommendations on where I should get them from? I usually order from NCS who I have always had good experiences with but their shipping seems kind of sluggish.

Soldato J · Post by **Soldato J** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:22 pm

No Paro love Dylan 1cc?

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:28 pm

Soldato J wrote:No Paro love Dylan 1cc?

I have the PCE Hucard but never got as hooked on it as I did with Gradius and Twinbee as series. It's also a matter of time and money.

Soldato J · Post by **Soldato J** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 1:39 pm

Dylan1CC wrote:
Soldato J wrote:No Paro love Dylan 1cc?
I have the PCE Hucard but never got as hooked on it as I did with Gradius and Twinbee as series. It's also a matter of time and money.

Gotcha. Just remember--Sexy Paro= SHOOT TANUKI BALLS!

Doesn't get much better than that

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 11:33 pm

Thunder Force wrote:I haven't been able to find any screen options in either Pop'n TwinBee [...] strangely, Pop'n TwinBee seems to force a widescreen stretched & zoomed display mode. I can't find any option to play Pop'n TwinBee in original aspect ratio, perhaps I'm just overlooking it.

In this screenshot:

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/doc ... pstg07.htm

the game looks mighty fine. Either konami's own official screenshots are fake, or that option must be there, hidden in some menu.

If you could confirm this to me TF, it'd be awesome, as Pop is my favorite and I'd hate to have it screwed.

[EDIT:] from GameFAQs boards:

>So did anybody find a way to change the crappy stretched aspect ratio of Pop 'n Twinbee? Be a huge shame if not!

>You just need to hold start down for a few seconds to get the menu to pop up. Other than that, it works just like all the other games.

Awesome, problem solved! (kudos to BrianC for redirecting me there)

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 7:27 pm

Just called Fry's and had them hold the last copy of Salamander ^_____^

Nate · Post by **Nate** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:27 am

^^It's sooo good! You're going to love the Salamander comp.
You'll want to get used to the analog nub, though.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:39 am

Nate wrote:^^It's sooo good! You're going to love the Salamander comp.
You'll want to get used to the analog nub, though.

Well, i've already been playing Gradius Portable since it came out so no sweat ^___^

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:06 am

Are these collections really 1p only like the official web site suggests? It seems kind of odd that there wouldn't be any 2p, especially with Salamander and Twinbee.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 12:00 pm

Resurrecting this thread to add a bit of overlooked info:

-Gradius and Parodius packs were produced by Takanori Murayama; These two packs offer a wide degree of option customization: there's a difficulty setting shortcut ("original" and "tuned", which usually sets the game at the easiest), the option to play with a smaller hitbox, and the option to adjust the rate of increasing difficulty. Moreover, in these packs you can save your in-game progress.

-Salamander and Twinbee packs were produced by Toshiyasu Kamiko: these two packs are closer to straightforward emulation: the option menu is not in-game built, you have to "insert credits" by pressing select, and you can adjust the fire rate settings. In these packs you CANNOT save your progress.

-You can save your option settings and highscores in all four packs.

-all the games lack 2players action, with the exception of those games which offered non-simultaneous play. You can however, play with 2P ships by messing with the options.

-Parodius MSX is enhanced (some redrawn sprites and scrolling issues fixed, arranged music) and you CANNOT revert it to its original MSX form. (you can select the original music though).

-Parodius Da! I wasn't able to trigger the hidden train stage that is exclusive to the PS pack. I wonder if they kept it?

-Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius - Forever with Me retains the "3D" optional accident stages found in the PS release. By collecting faeries you can unlock Kid Dracula and his doppelganger.

-Gradius 2 MSX is enhanced, but you CAN revert it to the MSX original if you want. The graphical update is great, it's the closest you'll get to play Nemesis '90 Kai without an X68000, so don't miss out. The game even supports the classic combo cartridge cheats: Yumetairiku cart lets you play as Pentaro, Maze of Galious cart lets you keep your weapons after death, and Q*Bert cart enables cheat passwords:
"METALION" (temporary invulnerability)
"LARS18TH" (All weapons)
"NEMESIS" (jump to next stage)

-Xexex: I haven't played the original in the arcades, but this looks like a solid port - it has a "frame drop on/off" feature, and even when not zoomed it plays on a display big enough to offer quite a show. It also has an additional option to adjust vsync to either 54hz or 60hz.

-Twinbee: you don't have to set the screen to tate to play it in its vertical glory; the PSP screen resolution (480x272) is enough to reproduce it vertical (262x240) without scaling!

-Twinbee Da!: plays exactly like the GB counterpart, but adds a bell counter at the side of the screen, much like the one in Yahho-!

MUSIC

all the packs come with some extra soundtrack added for bonus. You can listen to them in the Music Gallery section. Here's a breakdown:

Gradius Collection/Portable

-Gradius X68000
-Gradius II X68000

Parodius Portable:

-unspecified remix tracks for Parodius Da! (if someone knows about their origin, please share info)

Salamander Portable:

-Salamander MIDI
-Xexex MIDI

Twinbee Portable:

-Detana!! Twinbee X68000 (which sports an awesome classical rendition of Gradius "warming up" theme!)

Too bad you cannot play the games using these extra soundtracks. Also, the music player gives every track both names (i.e. "Stage 3" and "Sky Fortress Laputa" in Detana). Parodius tracks often mention in the title their original reference.

MOVIES

So far, only Gradius Portable has a movie gallery. the two intro movies that were in Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus aren't in the PSP game, unless they can be unlocked later...

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 6:29 am

Turrican wrote:Too bad you cannot play the games using these extra soundtracks.

I agree, found myself wishing for that feature too, as I prefer some of the remixes (Salamander MIDI) more than the classic versions.

Good informative post, btw.

al138 · Post by **al138** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:13 pm

Turrican:

Thanks for the post and the extra information! With the redesign of the PSP, I'm finally thinking about picking one up. These collection titles seem like must-buys to me.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:26 pm

You're welcome

I'm playing them these days (borrowed a PSP from a friend of mine; I too think to buy the slimmer one), so I'll add info and trivial tidbits as I notice them.

For example:

Gokujou Parodius: unlike the PSone pack's sound test option, the sound gallery doesn't feature the three awesome songs by Akane and Hikaru.

Pop'n Twinbee this being the only Super Famicom native shmup on all packs [edit: well, there's also Jikkyo Oshaberi, although they used the FWM iteration for the pack. But that one thankfully has a simpler button layout], it tends to be a little more awkward than the others due to its control method which requires many buttons. I noticed that you can make things a littles easier to your thumbs by setting both the arm functions (throwing bombs and using punches) to R and L.

ALL: you'll be tempted to play in "original ratio" and "normal zoom" at first, for the awesome clarity of image that only pixel perfect can achieve. However, try to mess with options a bit. For ratio, avoid "4:3" in the Sala / Twin packs. In certain games, you can set ratio to "Wide" which adds some lateral room without stretching the image.
As for zoom, you'll find that most games are quite good even if set to "large". Just avoid "full".

If you want my two cents, here's how I'd rank these packs, from best to worst:

1. Salamander (because it basically gives you two very sought-after games, Gradius 2 and Xexex)
2. Twinbee (of course verts aren't as lucky as hories when it comes to PSP, but this packs features the best "extra" of the whole set: an entirely remade GB game, and nicely done!)
3. Gradius (cool for the sheer quantity of stuff you get for money. Too bad that Gaiden has not many zoom options, so you'd want to play it pixel perfect)
4. Parodius (it has the dullest menu layout, the less intriguing music bonus, and MSX Parodius isn't as cool as its sequels)

Bloodreign · Post by **Bloodreign** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:48 am

Turrican wrote:

-Gradius 2 MSX is enhanced, but you CAN revert it to the MSX original if you want. The graphical update is great, it's the closest you'll get to play Nemesis '90 Kai without an X68000, so don't miss out. The game even supports the classic combo cartridge cheats: Yumetairiku cart lets you play as Pentaro, Maze of Galious cart lets you keep your weapons after death, and Q*Bert cart enables cheat passwords:
"METALION" (temporary invulnerability)
"LARS18TH" (All weapons)
"NEMESIS" (jump to next stage)

---------
I've fiddled with this game a bit on the Salamander Portable game, how the heck do you get these cart cheats working anyway?

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 2:20 am

Bloodreign wrote:I've fiddled with this game a bit on the Salamander Portable game, how the heck do you get these cart cheats working anyway?

It's not exactly user friendly (then again, it could be much worse, like the MSX antiques were).

First, you select the cartridge you want to use. If you use Penguin Adventure or Knightmare II, you just have to select them, then select "apply and reset". The game resets and after that you can immediately appreciate the new features.

If you select the Q*Bert cart, you also need to "apply and reset". Then, start the game as usual. Put it in pause, select Game Settings. Now you can see the three passwords. Select the one you want to use. The game is automatically put in pause (F5). Just unpause it (default: square button iirc) and there you go.

Also, notice that while in the original MSX look the invulnerability cheat makes your Metalion green-coloured (so that you can easily see when you're invincible), in the "refined graphics" look the ship remains white. The code still works, it's just harder to notice when you become vulnerable again.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 2:21 am

Bloodreign wrote:it's the closest you'll get to play Nemesis '90 Kai without an X68000

but it is so freakin incredible. i don't remember who helped me set up my x68k emulator (sorry), but it was definitely worth the trouble...

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 2:33 am

captain ahar wrote:
Bloodreign wrote:it's the closest you'll get to play Nemesis '90 Kai without an X68000
but it is so freakin incredible. i don't remember who helped me set up my x68k emulator (sorry), but it was definitely worth the trouble...

Yeah... I recently saw that SPS is still around, and still works with Konami. I don't remember exactly in which credits I saw that, could even be Gradius Portable. That saddened me a bit - if there are no copyrights problems whatsoever, why the hell they never released '90kai on a more mainstream platform?

Anyway, the "refine" version on the PSP pack fixes Gradius 2's worst flaw: that atrocious scrolling. With that fixed, I have no problems playing with 8bit graphics.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:52 am

Can someone tell me which games are on the Twinbee collection?

henry dark · Post by **henry dark** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:50 am

Would you recommend the new 3000 PSP model or the last 2000 (?) one?

Love to play a bit of Salamander on the go

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 1:09 pm

henry dark wrote:Would you recommend the new 3000 PSP model or the last 2000 (?) one?

Love to play a bit of Salamander on the go

There's yet another one? The one that came out last year around Christmas is a huge improvement over the original model-- especially the dpad.

honorless · Post by **honorless** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 1:25 pm

henry dark wrote:Would you recommend the new 3000 PSP model or the last 2000 (?) one?

A sprite in motion on both systems:

IMO this is a dealbreaker, so get a 2000 while you still can.

But in the interest of fairness the 3000 has a wider color gamut, wider viewing angle, and is better in sunlight. It also has a matte finish and can do video out over composite cables. (2000 is component only.)

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:50 pm

professor ganson wrote:Can someone tell me which games are on the Twinbee collection?

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:29 pm

Twinbee (Arcade)

Detana! Twinbee (Arcade)

Pop'n Twinbee (SFC)

Twinbee Yahho-! (Arcade)

Bonus game:

a complete PSP remake of:

Twinbee Da! (Game Boy)

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:45 pm

Turrican wrote:Twinbee (Arcade)

Detana! Twinbee (Arcade)

Pop'n Twinbee (SFC)

Twinbee Yahho-! (Arcade)

Bonus game:

a complete PSP remake of:

Twinbee Da! (Game Boy)

Thanks, Turrican. Much appreciated. Sounds like I might have to get this at some point.