...wait... on purpose?szycag wrote:...when I play Williams games...
i kid. nice feature, can't wait for the contenders to start showing up.
Szycag's Game Boy 8-bit Shmups thread (DONE!)
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captain ahar
- Posts: 3182
- Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:03 pm
- Location: #50 Bitch!
Good call on Project S-11. I'd say you rated it perfectly. Good chip tunes, lots of eye candy, but little in the way of innovative gameplay. Only about 2 of the weapons are worth anything, & the life bar (while not a concept I loathe like most here) just wasn't implemented very well. Still, a decent game, & worth a look, especially if you have a GC w/ a GameBoy Player & can find it cheap. Playing on a larger screen makes some of the effects all the more impressive, when you think of what little they had to work with.
So it's taken me like a month. I'm not a machine, I had to pace myself. But a month? I'm sorry guys. I don't really have an excuse. But let's get this done with before the tourney starts. Here's the 6/10's, and I hope to have the 7/10's done tomorrow, then roll out the last few just as soon.
18. Aerostar
Bump N' Jump N' Shmup. Except not nearly as fast as Bump N' Jump. And just really weird. Nah throw that out, this isn't really like Bump N' Jump at all, I only said that because if you see that little road in these screens, that's the only thing you can move on. You sometimes have to jump from one part of the road to another. There's stuff on the ground and in the air trying to shoot you. Basically how you tell either kind of fire apart is that the aerial shots are bigger, since your view of the game is from the sky and what not. Makes sense, still tough to get used to. I'm not a huge fan of this, maybe if it was 200% the speed and on the Virtual Boy so the whole depth thing would make more sense. Oh wait, Vertical Force did that. I can't deny that this is a good game though. The concept is different and you end up with a pretty challenging little game that just needs a little patience. 6/10
17. Burai Fighter Deluxe/Space Marauder
You might know Burai Fighter from the Famicom. Here's the deluxe version, it's deluxe I guess because it's on a smaller screen with less colors. One of those multi-directional shmups like Forgotten Worlds, but not. You can point in eight directions, and holding down the buttons keeps you locked in that direction. Not a bad game, the stages can get a little drawn out though, and the bosses hardly take any hits to kill. Probably would have got a 5/10, but then I played the color version, renamed Space Marauder. This easily pumps the game up to a 7. The gameplay is faster and smoother. Tons of little fixes that make it a better game. This might even be some of the fastest action on the Game Boy. Although even with the speed up, the game's pace still feels kinda hindered because of the ho-hum level design and pushover bosses. I arrived at a 6/10 to give both, but I recommend the color version 10 times over, mostly because they did a great job of improving the original title with regards to the souped up hardware.
16. Dropzone
It's not quite Smash TV compared to Robotron, but Dropzone was pretty much a step up in presentation and gameplay to Defender. Not by Williams, keep in mind, but by a cool guy named Archer Maclean who thought he'd combine elements of Defender and Jetpac to make something that was his own recipe. Yeah most of you probably know this game already. Popularized on the C64 I guess. But the Game Boy version is nice too. But on the small screen, it looks a little more like Defender than something all it's own; we can excuse this because the gameplay is a little more suited to the Game Boy. A color version came later that took advantage of the GBC screen's sharper display and polished a few things up. As for my opinion, probably not one you'd find in my collection, but I had fun with it and definitely recommend giving either version a try. Similar to Burai from above, the color version plays a little smoother but not nearly as monumental of a change. 6/10
15. Galaga/Galaxian
What do you want me to say about these? If you're any kind of Galaga fan you can appreciate taking it on the go. There's no special options or quirks to speak of. 6/10
14. Macross 7 - Ginga No Heart No Furawa Somethin Somethin
Possibly the most unique shmup for the system, and a great discovery. If I had any reason to be glad I decided to do this thread, it's probably finding this. Not that it makes it a stellar game or anything, but... you know. Tons of Macross fanservice here, they've even got the screen split in half to tell parts of the story that I can't read. You can select between three characters at a time; I couldn't tell the difference this made on gameplay, but maybe it affects the story or something. Here's the cuh-razzy part. Look at those shots with the B and A and the square wave looking thing. These are the boss fights. The game plays a song from the anime (I'm guessing) and you have to press B and A in time to the music, by the indication of that bar. Doing this successfully is how you hurt the enemy, you don't use your normal shot at all. So you're keeping time to the beat with B and A while dodging the enemy's fire. FRICKIN WEIRD. Definitely gimmicky, I didn't play it long enough to see if it got really tough, but it was still enjoyable. Has there been anything like this since, I wonder? Anyways, it's a good game with plenty of fullscreen art, but the normal mode of play during the stages is pretty straightforward, making this mostly worth checking out if you like the gimmick or the series. 6/10
13. SWiV
It stands for (S)ilk(W)orm (i)n (V)ertical (thanks Ceph.) Mostly a popular series in Europe where it was developed, so I'm not too familiar with it, but apparently Firepower 2000 that came out here for the Super NES is a game in that series. This game unfortunately did not. Which is a shame because it's fairly good. You can play as a helicopter or this hopping jeep tank thing (forgot to get pics with that, whoops...) Lots of different weapons to pick up, I like the Ionic beam since it can wipe stuff out with a few shots, although the bullet size is small, shoots slow, and only one shot is on screen at a time. Nevertheless a good weapon to have if you have nice aim, since a lot of stuff swishes by you before you have time to put some good shots in. This game is tough... the bosses are hard even after you've learned their patterns. They shoot lots of quick bullets at you, and take a ton of hits to kill, with no energy bar to know if they're dead yet. Not even any flashing red weak points. DAMN those looping helicopters that come up from the rear and go all kamikaze on you. For the graphics, a little too much green... brown... greenish brown... but plenty of detail and variety of terrain at least, even if there isn't too much variety of color. 6/10... just nearly out of reach of a 7 though.
18. Aerostar
Bump N' Jump N' Shmup. Except not nearly as fast as Bump N' Jump. And just really weird. Nah throw that out, this isn't really like Bump N' Jump at all, I only said that because if you see that little road in these screens, that's the only thing you can move on. You sometimes have to jump from one part of the road to another. There's stuff on the ground and in the air trying to shoot you. Basically how you tell either kind of fire apart is that the aerial shots are bigger, since your view of the game is from the sky and what not. Makes sense, still tough to get used to. I'm not a huge fan of this, maybe if it was 200% the speed and on the Virtual Boy so the whole depth thing would make more sense. Oh wait, Vertical Force did that. I can't deny that this is a good game though. The concept is different and you end up with a pretty challenging little game that just needs a little patience. 6/10
17. Burai Fighter Deluxe/Space Marauder
You might know Burai Fighter from the Famicom. Here's the deluxe version, it's deluxe I guess because it's on a smaller screen with less colors. One of those multi-directional shmups like Forgotten Worlds, but not. You can point in eight directions, and holding down the buttons keeps you locked in that direction. Not a bad game, the stages can get a little drawn out though, and the bosses hardly take any hits to kill. Probably would have got a 5/10, but then I played the color version, renamed Space Marauder. This easily pumps the game up to a 7. The gameplay is faster and smoother. Tons of little fixes that make it a better game. This might even be some of the fastest action on the Game Boy. Although even with the speed up, the game's pace still feels kinda hindered because of the ho-hum level design and pushover bosses. I arrived at a 6/10 to give both, but I recommend the color version 10 times over, mostly because they did a great job of improving the original title with regards to the souped up hardware.
16. Dropzone
It's not quite Smash TV compared to Robotron, but Dropzone was pretty much a step up in presentation and gameplay to Defender. Not by Williams, keep in mind, but by a cool guy named Archer Maclean who thought he'd combine elements of Defender and Jetpac to make something that was his own recipe. Yeah most of you probably know this game already. Popularized on the C64 I guess. But the Game Boy version is nice too. But on the small screen, it looks a little more like Defender than something all it's own; we can excuse this because the gameplay is a little more suited to the Game Boy. A color version came later that took advantage of the GBC screen's sharper display and polished a few things up. As for my opinion, probably not one you'd find in my collection, but I had fun with it and definitely recommend giving either version a try. Similar to Burai from above, the color version plays a little smoother but not nearly as monumental of a change. 6/10
15. Galaga/Galaxian
What do you want me to say about these? If you're any kind of Galaga fan you can appreciate taking it on the go. There's no special options or quirks to speak of. 6/10
14. Macross 7 - Ginga No Heart No Furawa Somethin Somethin
Possibly the most unique shmup for the system, and a great discovery. If I had any reason to be glad I decided to do this thread, it's probably finding this. Not that it makes it a stellar game or anything, but... you know. Tons of Macross fanservice here, they've even got the screen split in half to tell parts of the story that I can't read. You can select between three characters at a time; I couldn't tell the difference this made on gameplay, but maybe it affects the story or something. Here's the cuh-razzy part. Look at those shots with the B and A and the square wave looking thing. These are the boss fights. The game plays a song from the anime (I'm guessing) and you have to press B and A in time to the music, by the indication of that bar. Doing this successfully is how you hurt the enemy, you don't use your normal shot at all. So you're keeping time to the beat with B and A while dodging the enemy's fire. FRICKIN WEIRD. Definitely gimmicky, I didn't play it long enough to see if it got really tough, but it was still enjoyable. Has there been anything like this since, I wonder? Anyways, it's a good game with plenty of fullscreen art, but the normal mode of play during the stages is pretty straightforward, making this mostly worth checking out if you like the gimmick or the series. 6/10
13. SWiV
It stands for (S)ilk(W)orm (i)n (V)ertical (thanks Ceph.) Mostly a popular series in Europe where it was developed, so I'm not too familiar with it, but apparently Firepower 2000 that came out here for the Super NES is a game in that series. This game unfortunately did not. Which is a shame because it's fairly good. You can play as a helicopter or this hopping jeep tank thing (forgot to get pics with that, whoops...) Lots of different weapons to pick up, I like the Ionic beam since it can wipe stuff out with a few shots, although the bullet size is small, shoots slow, and only one shot is on screen at a time. Nevertheless a good weapon to have if you have nice aim, since a lot of stuff swishes by you before you have time to put some good shots in. This game is tough... the bosses are hard even after you've learned their patterns. They shoot lots of quick bullets at you, and take a ton of hits to kill, with no energy bar to know if they're dead yet. Not even any flashing red weak points. DAMN those looping helicopters that come up from the rear and go all kamikaze on you. For the graphics, a little too much green... brown... greenish brown... but plenty of detail and variety of terrain at least, even if there isn't too much variety of color. 6/10... just nearly out of reach of a 7 though.
Last edited by szycag on Thu May 14, 2009 11:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
That is Galactic Dancing
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Mortificator
- Posts: 2864
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Shatterhand
- Posts: 4102
- Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:01 am
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Silkworm is not a series. Swiv is.
Swiv was originally made for Amiga by the guys who ported Silkworm to the system. The game (Swiv) was ported everywhere, and got different versions for different systems (Even a 'Swiv 3D' for PC that played most like Desert Strike).
Swiv has no oficial link to Silkworm, and it's title name is more a joke than anything. I am not even sure the authors actually claimed it means "Silkworm in Vertical" .
Swiv was originally made for Amiga by the guys who ported Silkworm to the system. The game (Swiv) was ported everywhere, and got different versions for different systems (Even a 'Swiv 3D' for PC that played most like Desert Strike).
Swiv has no oficial link to Silkworm, and it's title name is more a joke than anything. I am not even sure the authors actually claimed it means "Silkworm in Vertical" .
7/10 - Almost through finally!!!
12. Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS
You can't tell much from the screenshots, but ZAS is graphically pretty impressive for running on the original Game Boy Hardware. Parallax scrolling backgrounds with space stations, hazey star formations, comets and such float by while several enemies send bullets flying at you. The middle screenshot shows a boss that takes up nearly the whole screen, who flies on as a single pod and morphs into this monstrous thing before your eyes. That's just the first stage. The last screenshot shows one of the minibosses that slowly accumulates tetris-style blocks around the edges of the screen that you must dodge. From the same stage is that train car that I just barely missed; the tracks form and you have to make your way through or get ran over. It's more than just a looker though, hitting B throws out pods that spread out your firepower but make your hitbox bigger... don't think you won't use this, there are several ledges and enemy patterns that will almost demand you switch into this mode. This probably gets my vote for the most impressive Game Boy shmup that didn't get a color upgrade. One of a few games with a great presentation that will keep you coming back for more with excellent gameplay and challenge. A little too heavy on the sprite flickering in some parts, but no harm there. 7/10
11. Konami GB Collection 2 / Parodius
You knew they were coming! Here's the first game to review in Konami's excellent series of shmups for Game Boy. A surprisingly competent version of Parodius here, influences drawn mostly from the original game and maybe a bit of Parodius Da. You can choose between Vic Viper, Octopus guy, Twinbee, or my personal favorite, Pentarou (sigh). As we'll get into later on, these Konami collection games have some weird color palettes, not very many different colors on screen either, probably to provide backwards compatability. This works with Parodius though, because the colors are a lot of pastels and such anyways. The screenshots tell all, the look of the arcade games is captured as well as possible, with huge sprites and elaborate backgrounds. Oh yeah, I never talk about the music much in these, but I assure you it's also spot on. With all the hijinx of the series intact, this is also the best game to be found on this collection. Another thing I might forget to mention, all these collections only came out in Europe and Japan, not the states
don't let that stop you from importing, Game Boy is region free.
(Other games on cart: Block Game, Track & Field, Frogger)
10. Konami GB Collection 3 / Pop' N Twinbee (Twinbee Da!)
I DARE YOU TO FELL CYBER POPPO. This game was recently remade for Twinbee Portable for the PSP. From the ground up, all new sprites and stuff. How's the original fare? Well it's a lot better than regular boring ol Twinbee. There's some pretty cool stages, like the water stage with currents pushing you back and forth. The second stage even has Moai heads! This is still a Twinbee game, so you can expect some pretty easy-going action. Game's not too long, either. But something pushes it over the top that I can't really put my finger on. I suppose it's just a pretty enjoyable game. 7/10
(Other games on cart: "Starring Goemon", Bikers, Guttang Gottong)
9. Sagaia
Big fish on a little screen. I found this cart for 5 bucks at a Gamestop, even though this game was only ever released in Japan. Probably came in a lot from Ebay or something. It's not the most action packed Darius game ever, but it's a nice fit for the Game Boy. Pretty long too... eight stages, although the fourth and eighth stages are boss rushes of 1-3 and 5-7. The music ain't exactly Zuntata, but we can manage right? The boss themes can get a little aggravating because they loop so much. Without sufficient power-ups, the bosses can also take a hell of a long time to take down. The levels are kinda sparse, it's challenging but in an old-school way... who knows what you guys will think, but I like it. Even over GBA's Darius R. Yeah I said it. 7/10
8. Space Invaders (for GBColor, 2000, Crawfish)
Didn't expect much going into this one, but I was pretty surprised. More than meets the eye certainly. There's powerups, which you get by shooting down the fly-by UFO's, and even end-of-world bosses. The pacing never seems too downbeat, even at the start of a stage, and with power-ups, you can shoot more rapidly. Hey, maybe it's no Return of the Invaders, and it's nothing worth the full going rate of GBC games at the time, but this one caught me offguard with some updated gameplay to a classic that actually works. Comes recommended. 7/10
7. Solar Striker
This is basically Game Boy's Astro Warrior. Or maybe something of an Aleste Jr. What's it doing up here so high then? I guess the mass appeal factor, and maybe some nostalgia. This is a special game, after all. It's a shmup developed by Nintendo (gasp) if I'm not mistaken their first (and last?) after their almost crippling failure with Radarscope in the arcades. Not too much going on in the screenshots, but this is probably suited for the old greenscale screen. It's also painfully easy. But dammit, it's just special, ok? 7/10
6. Vattle Giuce
V...vattle gooeys. Vaytle guisse? Gweisse? Where do they get this stuff? This is a really good game though. Maybe the closest this system will get to GG Aleste 2. Nah, I kid, GG Aleste 2 whips practically 90% of the stuff on this list. Similar to Aerostar, it also has that two-plane thing going on, except no jumping thankfully. Looks like they actually put some thought into the enemy and bullet formations here, nice job! Some... interesting... boss designs on display too. I don't know what's up with this totem-pole robot guy. Sorry, this is one of the first games I played so I don't remember a ton about it. It left a very good impression on me though, and deserves the 7/10. Definitely.
12. Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS
You can't tell much from the screenshots, but ZAS is graphically pretty impressive for running on the original Game Boy Hardware. Parallax scrolling backgrounds with space stations, hazey star formations, comets and such float by while several enemies send bullets flying at you. The middle screenshot shows a boss that takes up nearly the whole screen, who flies on as a single pod and morphs into this monstrous thing before your eyes. That's just the first stage. The last screenshot shows one of the minibosses that slowly accumulates tetris-style blocks around the edges of the screen that you must dodge. From the same stage is that train car that I just barely missed; the tracks form and you have to make your way through or get ran over. It's more than just a looker though, hitting B throws out pods that spread out your firepower but make your hitbox bigger... don't think you won't use this, there are several ledges and enemy patterns that will almost demand you switch into this mode. This probably gets my vote for the most impressive Game Boy shmup that didn't get a color upgrade. One of a few games with a great presentation that will keep you coming back for more with excellent gameplay and challenge. A little too heavy on the sprite flickering in some parts, but no harm there. 7/10
11. Konami GB Collection 2 / Parodius
You knew they were coming! Here's the first game to review in Konami's excellent series of shmups for Game Boy. A surprisingly competent version of Parodius here, influences drawn mostly from the original game and maybe a bit of Parodius Da. You can choose between Vic Viper, Octopus guy, Twinbee, or my personal favorite, Pentarou (sigh). As we'll get into later on, these Konami collection games have some weird color palettes, not very many different colors on screen either, probably to provide backwards compatability. This works with Parodius though, because the colors are a lot of pastels and such anyways. The screenshots tell all, the look of the arcade games is captured as well as possible, with huge sprites and elaborate backgrounds. Oh yeah, I never talk about the music much in these, but I assure you it's also spot on. With all the hijinx of the series intact, this is also the best game to be found on this collection. Another thing I might forget to mention, all these collections only came out in Europe and Japan, not the states
don't let that stop you from importing, Game Boy is region free.(Other games on cart: Block Game, Track & Field, Frogger)
10. Konami GB Collection 3 / Pop' N Twinbee (Twinbee Da!)
I DARE YOU TO FELL CYBER POPPO. This game was recently remade for Twinbee Portable for the PSP. From the ground up, all new sprites and stuff. How's the original fare? Well it's a lot better than regular boring ol Twinbee. There's some pretty cool stages, like the water stage with currents pushing you back and forth. The second stage even has Moai heads! This is still a Twinbee game, so you can expect some pretty easy-going action. Game's not too long, either. But something pushes it over the top that I can't really put my finger on. I suppose it's just a pretty enjoyable game. 7/10
(Other games on cart: "Starring Goemon", Bikers, Guttang Gottong)
9. Sagaia
Big fish on a little screen. I found this cart for 5 bucks at a Gamestop, even though this game was only ever released in Japan. Probably came in a lot from Ebay or something. It's not the most action packed Darius game ever, but it's a nice fit for the Game Boy. Pretty long too... eight stages, although the fourth and eighth stages are boss rushes of 1-3 and 5-7. The music ain't exactly Zuntata, but we can manage right? The boss themes can get a little aggravating because they loop so much. Without sufficient power-ups, the bosses can also take a hell of a long time to take down. The levels are kinda sparse, it's challenging but in an old-school way... who knows what you guys will think, but I like it. Even over GBA's Darius R. Yeah I said it. 7/10
8. Space Invaders (for GBColor, 2000, Crawfish)
Didn't expect much going into this one, but I was pretty surprised. More than meets the eye certainly. There's powerups, which you get by shooting down the fly-by UFO's, and even end-of-world bosses. The pacing never seems too downbeat, even at the start of a stage, and with power-ups, you can shoot more rapidly. Hey, maybe it's no Return of the Invaders, and it's nothing worth the full going rate of GBC games at the time, but this one caught me offguard with some updated gameplay to a classic that actually works. Comes recommended. 7/10
7. Solar Striker
This is basically Game Boy's Astro Warrior. Or maybe something of an Aleste Jr. What's it doing up here so high then? I guess the mass appeal factor, and maybe some nostalgia. This is a special game, after all. It's a shmup developed by Nintendo (gasp) if I'm not mistaken their first (and last?) after their almost crippling failure with Radarscope in the arcades. Not too much going on in the screenshots, but this is probably suited for the old greenscale screen. It's also painfully easy. But dammit, it's just special, ok? 7/10
6. Vattle Giuce
V...vattle gooeys. Vaytle guisse? Gweisse? Where do they get this stuff? This is a really good game though. Maybe the closest this system will get to GG Aleste 2. Nah, I kid, GG Aleste 2 whips practically 90% of the stuff on this list. Similar to Aerostar, it also has that two-plane thing going on, except no jumping thankfully. Looks like they actually put some thought into the enemy and bullet formations here, nice job! Some... interesting... boss designs on display too. I don't know what's up with this totem-pole robot guy. Sorry, this is one of the first games I played so I don't remember a ton about it. It left a very good impression on me though, and deserves the 7/10. Definitely.
Last edited by szycag on Thu May 14, 2009 11:27 am, edited 2 times in total.
That is Galactic Dancing
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captain ahar
- Posts: 3182
- Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:03 pm
- Location: #50 Bitch!
I did make a review of it here: http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chri ... views/ZAS/captain ahar wrote:never heard of it before, all things considered it was pretty impressive. thanks.szycag wrote:7/10 - Almost through finally!!!
12. Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS
Someday it'll be incorporated into the Xenocide files...
http://www.chrismcovell.com
Chris' Journey
Chris' Journey
8/10, The cream of the crop.
5. Quarth
A non-violent shooter? Trust me, on any other system this wouldn't be rated nearly as high, but it's just the fact that, these games are on a small screen. And the formula just works here a hell of a lot better. I've been playing all these on emulator mind you, but on a Game Boy brick, shooters aren't quite as suitable just because you have to do a lot of squinting. Anyways, here's a shmup take on Tetris. You shoot bricks at other bricks to complete a rectangle and clear them all. If any bricks get to the bottom of the screen, you fail. Sounds easy enough? In later levels it can still get pretty frantic. If you've never played a Quarth game, give it a try, it's an odd idea but it's pretty interesting. 8/10 (wonder if I'll get any crap for rating it this high)
4. Magical Chase
An amazing port of the PC Engine original. It's known for being a bit easy, but that's maybe a good thing for something you take on the go. One of the few GBC shmups to make full use of the hardware, the framerate is excellent, the colors are vivid, and it sounds fantastic. Why didn't this come out over here? ARGH! It's the cult classic in all it's glory. 8/10
3. Konami GB Collection 1 / Nemesis / Gradius
So the color job is a bit botched, but this is a great nod to the original Gradius, with a bit of other stuff from the series thrown in. Some odd quirks, like a stage select and the ability to turn your lives in reserve up to 99? The framerate compared to some of these other games is a bit low, but you quickly get used to it. It's not the genius that Gradius: Interstellar Assault would be later on, but it's easily still one of the best shmups on the system. Konami really knew what they were doing with the Game Boy. 8/10.
(Other games on the cart: Castlevania Adventure, Konami Racing, and Operation C. The menu reads Probotector, but only the title screen has changed, no playing as a Cyborg. Arguably the best of the collection series, even though it doesn't have Gradius II...)
5. Quarth
A non-violent shooter? Trust me, on any other system this wouldn't be rated nearly as high, but it's just the fact that, these games are on a small screen. And the formula just works here a hell of a lot better. I've been playing all these on emulator mind you, but on a Game Boy brick, shooters aren't quite as suitable just because you have to do a lot of squinting. Anyways, here's a shmup take on Tetris. You shoot bricks at other bricks to complete a rectangle and clear them all. If any bricks get to the bottom of the screen, you fail. Sounds easy enough? In later levels it can still get pretty frantic. If you've never played a Quarth game, give it a try, it's an odd idea but it's pretty interesting. 8/10 (wonder if I'll get any crap for rating it this high)
4. Magical Chase
An amazing port of the PC Engine original. It's known for being a bit easy, but that's maybe a good thing for something you take on the go. One of the few GBC shmups to make full use of the hardware, the framerate is excellent, the colors are vivid, and it sounds fantastic. Why didn't this come out over here? ARGH! It's the cult classic in all it's glory. 8/10
3. Konami GB Collection 1 / Nemesis / Gradius
So the color job is a bit botched, but this is a great nod to the original Gradius, with a bit of other stuff from the series thrown in. Some odd quirks, like a stage select and the ability to turn your lives in reserve up to 99? The framerate compared to some of these other games is a bit low, but you quickly get used to it. It's not the genius that Gradius: Interstellar Assault would be later on, but it's easily still one of the best shmups on the system. Konami really knew what they were doing with the Game Boy. 8/10.
(Other games on the cart: Castlevania Adventure, Konami Racing, and Operation C. The menu reads Probotector, but only the title screen has changed, no playing as a Cyborg. Arguably the best of the collection series, even though it doesn't have Gradius II...)
Last edited by szycag on Thu May 14, 2009 11:29 am, edited 2 times in total.
That is Galactic Dancing
Odd, I noticed a TON of slowdown when playing via Kigb. The difficulty also seemed to be very toned down compared to the PCE version.An amazing port of the PC Engine original. It's known for being a bit easy, but that's maybe a good thing for something you take on the go. One of the few GBC shmups to make full use of the hardware, the framerate is excellent, the colors are vivid, and it sounds fantastic. Why didn't this come out over here? ARGH! It's the cult classic in all it's glory. 8/10
Some little things I noticed with Sagaia. It's important to note that hard mode makes a huge difference. It adds more enemies to the mix, which makes the levels a bit less sparse. Turning "auto fire" off actually gives you semi rapid fire, which means that there's a slow rate of fire when the button is held and the ship fires faster when you press the button rapidly. The music is basically GB versions of tunes from the original Darius, which I found to be very well done.
I agree with the high rating for Quarth. It's a very underrated game and a blast to play.
Last edited by BrianC on Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:57 am, edited 3 times in total.
Not denying the slowdown, there is plenty, but only about as much as R-Type DX in later levels. If it was really really bad I might try some other emulators? It was like butter for me 90% of the time.
I should add, it looks even better in motion than those screenshots.
I do believe the final two reviews will come tomorrow.
I should add, it looks even better in motion than those screenshots.
I do believe the final two reviews will come tomorrow.
That is Galactic Dancing
Edit: I tried it via various emulators, including Kigb with AIM off and noticed less slowdown, though there is some. My impressions are a bit better now. It is missing the hardest option from the PCE version and the other modes are toned down in comparison, though. I never had any issue with the look of the game and the parallax is cool. I wasn't too impressed with the music. It sounds like standard GB BGM to me. Nowhere close to the music of other GB games like SML or Nemesis.szycag wrote:Not denying the slowdown, there is plenty, but only about as much as R-Type DX in later levels. If it was really really bad I might try some other emulators? It was like butter for me 90% of the time.
I should add, it looks even better in motion than those screenshots.
I do believe the final two reviews will come tomorrow.
In my experience, Kigb is one of the better GB/GBC emulators. It runs problem games like the Genjin collection and Pocket Puyo Puyo~n fine. After turning AIM off (which didn't use to cause problems, it's probably the new version), I actually noticed less slowdown in Kigb for Magical Chase than other emulators I tried with AIM off.
I tried the JP GB b/w Burai Fighter. I expected it to be just like the US version, but it seems to be (edit: slightly) different. It seems to play a bit faster (not sure on this) and the first stage has a vertical section that doesn't appear to be in the US version. Edit: NM, the game just has an odd restart point that skips the vertical section if you get killed in a certain area. The JP one does appear to have enemies in areas were there are none in the US version, though (but not like the GBC version). That GBC version surprised me. Much more intense than the b/w GB version.
BrianC - have you tried VisualBoy? That's my GB/GBC/GBA emu of choice, & for the most part, it runs everything I've tried, though I can't say I've played too many "fringe" games or obscure Japanese titles. However, it will handle some of the more obscure games on your list like Vattle Giuce and ZAS.
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Shatterhand
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I tried it for other games, but not Magical Chase. Puyo Puyo~n has the garbage on some menus (though it's still playable) and Bomberman Collection doesn't run correctly. Vattle Giuce and ZAS work great in Kigb. When I tried Magical Chase, I played mostly in the harder mode, which is probably one reason why I experienced more slowdown. I doubt it's an emulator problem since I noticed the slowdown on multiple ones and ones like BGB, gunboy, and a couple others. Edit: I tried it and Visual Boy Advance. Same slowdown.FRO wrote:BrianC - have you tried VisualBoy? That's my GB/GBC/GBA emu of choice, & for the most part, it runs everything I've tried, though I can't say I've played too many "fringe" games or obscure Japanese titles. However, it will handle some of the more obscure games on your list like Vattle Giuce and ZAS.
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Mortificator
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I get occasional short bursts of slowdown in Magical Chase on VisualBoy Advance CE. I played on "wild," but only through the first stage so far. The game has a translation patch, by the way, but you guys probably already know that or downloaded a pre-patched ROM.
I agree that VBA's the best emulator overall for any Game Boy itteration. The biggest draw for me's the filtering; I run at 640x480 fullscreen with Super Eagle for GB/GBC games and Scale2x for GBA titles, and they look better than on any other emu. It's too bad the built-in screen and AVI captures use the raw video output, or I'd post some side-by-side comparisons. And VBA has fast forwarding, better cheat support, finer-tuning of custom color palettes, real-time clock support, and a black background in fullscreen instead of a blue one. On the downside, there are several games that don't run properly, like you mentioned. I know Shantae has problems in it too.
I agree that VBA's the best emulator overall for any Game Boy itteration. The biggest draw for me's the filtering; I run at 640x480 fullscreen with Super Eagle for GB/GBC games and Scale2x for GBA titles, and they look better than on any other emu. It's too bad the built-in screen and AVI captures use the raw video output, or I'd post some side-by-side comparisons. And VBA has fast forwarding, better cheat support, finer-tuning of custom color palettes, real-time clock support, and a black background in fullscreen instead of a blue one. On the downside, there are several games that don't run properly, like you mentioned. I know Shantae has problems in it too.
It's not a bad emulator, but I prefer the compatibility of others, at least for the GB/GBC side. I didn't try much of the filtering features, though.Mortificator wrote: I agree that VBA's the best emulator overall for any Game Boy itteration.
Last edited by BrianC on Thu Aug 02, 2007 1:43 am, edited 2 times in total.
DRUMROLL
2. Gradius: The Interstellar Assault
Konami GB Collection Vol. 4
Retitled "Gradius II: The Return of the Hero" on the Collection
Everything about this game is totally epic. From the initial chase scene through an asteroid belt, to getting stripped of your powers and held captive inside the core a huge battleship, then turning the tables and chasing down the final boss in the last stage, this game breaks many recurring Gradius themes but lays on it's own layer of style. It's kind of like a little Gradius V. Not really. But use your imagination!
The game has five levels, six if you count the final boss chase. I always thought there were only four and stage four was just long, but BrianC tells me stage four in practice mode ends when you beat that big core on the surface. The Xenocide files review makes the same mistake. Well, I stand corrected! Anyways, short but sweet. Gradius fans can probably loop it several times. You will want to though, since this might be the best 8-bit Gradius there is, at least that made it to the west. Just float through the fallen Roman-esque empire of the first stage and you'll be impressed by the detail.
Like all the Konami collections that came before, the color selection isn't the best, but at least it's um, creative... I would have liked some other color than Pink for the second stage, but we're good. Ah, don't let me forget the music! The music is to par with Gradius 2 for Famicom's, which is to say excellent. There's even a BGM test.
If you're a Gradius fan who has never picked this up, or maybe you've never even touched a handheld :O I think you owe it to yourself to try this, a unique entry to the Gradius series that stands on it's own. 1991 was a great time to be a Gradius fan, with this and the home port of Gradius III. I kinda wish it would have popped up as a remake on Gradius Collection, like Pop N' Twinbee did on Twinbee Portable.
9/10
Also features Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, Yie Ar Kung Fun, Antarctic Adventure.
2. Gradius: The Interstellar Assault
Konami GB Collection Vol. 4
Retitled "Gradius II: The Return of the Hero" on the Collection
Everything about this game is totally epic. From the initial chase scene through an asteroid belt, to getting stripped of your powers and held captive inside the core a huge battleship, then turning the tables and chasing down the final boss in the last stage, this game breaks many recurring Gradius themes but lays on it's own layer of style. It's kind of like a little Gradius V. Not really. But use your imagination!
The game has five levels, six if you count the final boss chase. I always thought there were only four and stage four was just long, but BrianC tells me stage four in practice mode ends when you beat that big core on the surface. The Xenocide files review makes the same mistake. Well, I stand corrected! Anyways, short but sweet. Gradius fans can probably loop it several times. You will want to though, since this might be the best 8-bit Gradius there is, at least that made it to the west. Just float through the fallen Roman-esque empire of the first stage and you'll be impressed by the detail.
Like all the Konami collections that came before, the color selection isn't the best, but at least it's um, creative... I would have liked some other color than Pink for the second stage, but we're good. Ah, don't let me forget the music! The music is to par with Gradius 2 for Famicom's, which is to say excellent. There's even a BGM test.
If you're a Gradius fan who has never picked this up, or maybe you've never even touched a handheld :O I think you owe it to yourself to try this, a unique entry to the Gradius series that stands on it's own. 1991 was a great time to be a Gradius fan, with this and the home port of Gradius III. I kinda wish it would have popped up as a remake on Gradius Collection, like Pop N' Twinbee did on Twinbee Portable.
9/10
Also features Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, Yie Ar Kung Fun, Antarctic Adventure.
Last edited by szycag on Thu May 14, 2009 11:33 am, edited 3 times in total.
That is Galactic Dancing
The game has four levels listed in the practice mode, but the game continues beyond practice mode. The game has more than four levels. The second and third part of stage 4 listed in the shmups review of Gradius: IA are actually stage 5 and 6.szycag wrote:DRUMROLL
The game only has four levels, but by regular Gradius standards these are pretty long, so it still feels like 5 or 6.
1. R-Type DX / R-Type 1 / R-Type 2
It's a secret to nobody. This is THE Game Boy shmup experience. It's R-Type 1 and 2 put together to form the ultimate challenge. And it's beautiful, look at the screen shots. Even stands up to some of the console ports if you ask me! Maybe just the Master System one. However, this one is also portable. Combine this with R-Type III on GBA and then you have the ULTIMA-- oh wait R-Type III GBA sucked. Well just get this then. What else could I say? There's a battery that saves your progress and scores. It's hard as tits. Clearly wins this bout. 9/10.
Last edited by szycag on Thu May 14, 2009 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
That is Galactic Dancing
