USING YOUR MANBOW

[Ed Oscuro]

First a question for any MSX2+ fans: With only two A/V ports, one for graphics, how are you getting stereo sound out of your MSX2+? I noticed that the connectors aren't white and red, but rather white and black.

Random details about getting the game:
Today 16-bit's (eBay seller) copy of Space Manbow showed up. Great item, shipped it out really quick even though I took over a weekend to start the payment, and it was better than the description had me believe (there was just a small crease on the cover of the manual, and some very small dings on the top of the outer printed insert along the top, and on some of the extra papers inside the game, so it's better than probably 90% of my X68000 games).

That was my fastest trip to the post office and dinner out ever (one hour total, including maybe half an hour's travel time). Anyway enough of the NEU GAMES JOURNALISM, here's some details.


- Fish the Sony MSX2+ XDJ out of bin from under boxes of worthless empty 5.25" floppies and a SC-3000.

- Find chair for sitting

- Find NES A/V cord and plug it in; Plug MSX2+ up to the TV and power supply

- Space Manbow cart goes into the MSX2+, I'm surprised because I thought the game had floppies, but it all runs off a single cartridge (I guess the SCC is part of the cartridge. Must not have helped adoption of the technology but at least they reserved it for good games, rite).

The demo is silly and uneventful (there's a much more complete story explanation via manga in the manual); just some ships moving across the face of Saturn while some unseen something makes little circular explosions appear onscreen, and then the ships move slowly offscreen. The main ship (whatever it's called; the Space Manbow is the ship you're fighting against) is pretty ugly, even from the top.

Hit "SPACE" key and then the game starts! (F5 for continues, thankfully the MSX2+ is a fullsize keyboard so the F-keys are separated into groups with F5 at the end of one group.)

I nudged "REN-SHA TURBO" (autofire setting) slider the slightest amount over from the left; any autofire setting causes the shots to bunch together quite closely. This game has a very strict shot limit, so it's only like two groups of spread shot or maybe four-six normal shots onscreen at any time (of course there's more when you add bombs and options).

The game makes me wonder what it would've been like if Space Manbow was the main series and Gradius was the odd man out (nevermind about Axelay). This game has pretty much all the features of Gradius but they're just presented in a different (more conventional, actually) way. But the weapons are similar: straight-down bombs that jet across flat surfaces, bombs (cooler than the Gradius Insta-Zap; a little pod appears in front of your ship and shoots forward), and different shot types. All that I think is missing is the force field (but who needs that anyway).

I was surprised how easy it is to zap all those ship-things that take off during the first stage when using autofire.

Got killed by flying into the missiles launched by the first boss and gave it a break. Will try it out some more later though!

[rolins]

First a question for any MSX2+ fans: With only two A/V ports, one for graphics, how are you getting stereo sound out of your MSX2+? I noticed that the connectors aren't white and red, but rather white and black.

The MSX is all mono, if you want stereo you need to do some modification. I know of the stereo mods for PSG and FM-PAC (MSX-Music) but I've never read anything about SCC stereo mod.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh, that makes sense then. A simple sound splitter will serve if I really need stereo, then.

Thanks!

[Shatterhand]

You had never played Manbow before? On my review in the shmups main site I state how the game indeed has some similarities with Gradius, but the action is a little bit faster generally.

This game is just amazingly good. Give it some time, you won't regret.

And if you are playing on keyboard, press M to change the direction of your options shots. On a joypad you can do it by pressing the button 2.