Chotesu Brikin’ger (Ironclad) coming to Wii Virtual Console

[neojma]

You may remember this as a really good hori that was released as a Neo Geo CD exclusive - one of the few notable CD-only Neo games (Crossed Swords 2 and Samurai Spirits RPG are a couple others). This will be the first Neo CD release on VC.

So far it has only been announced for Japan, but knowing the way Virtual Console releases have been in the US, getting an "import" shooter doesn't seem too unrealistic. We got Gley Lancer, Gradius II PCE, Star Parodier, Cho Aniki, etc.

News spotted on Siliconera: http://www.siliconera.com/2009/10/30/ro ... l-console/

[Battlesmurf]

Solid news

Hopefully this does one of two things- makes the Neo Cds more readily available, or makes the person/people who have MVS carts allow them to go out into the wild (I would buy one!)

Thanks for the heads up!

[undamned]

Wow, does this we will see Neo CD emulation on teh Wii?
-ud

[neojma]

Hopefully this does one of two things- makes the Neo Cds more readily available, or makes the person/people who have MVS carts allow them to go out into the wild (I would buy one!)

Wow. MVS would be one hell of a find When I saw you mention an MVS cart I thought "I didn't know it ever had an MVS release", and went hunting around and found a pretty interesting article on the saga of the super-rare MVS prototype: http://www.neogeoprotos.com/games/stories.htm.

Good luck with that!

Wow, does this we will see Neo CD emulation on teh Wii?

Looks like it, but that may be less exciting than it sounds. The CD system wasn't really different from the Neo AES (home cart) and MVS (arcade cart) as far as processing hardware - the big difference was long load times from loading data to internal memory. Anyone here who ever had experience with a Neo CD probably still has that damn juggling monkey loading screen etched into their brain. I know I do. The upside was that the CDs were much cheaper than carts, and they also allowed redbook audio soundtracks. I used to just pop my Last Blade CD into the stereo and enjoy, it was really high quality stuff.

There were only a few worthwhile games that were CD only and didn't get MVS or AES release. Ironclad is one, Crossed Swords II is another (and one I'd definitely buy - here's hoping for a VC release), and there was also a Neo CD version of Samurai Spirits RPG (which also got PSX and Saturn versions). Outside of those, there wasn't really anything special that was Neo CD only. For further reading, check out: http://fresa.tripod.com/proto/games/cdprotos.htm

[neorichieb1971]

I read a rumour the one and only Japhei has the MVS prototype


LOL @ http://apnaview.com/y/j-Lj52ZaHhM/Iron- ... -Brikinger

He is so proud and loved I bet.. lmao.

[TonK]

I read a rumour the one and only Japhei has the MVS prototype


LOL @ http://apnaview.com/y/j-Lj52ZaHhM/Iron- ... -Brikinger

He is so proud and loved I bet.. lmao.

He doesnt

[Estebang]

It's pretty much a given that the load times will be eradicated. With PCE-CD games on the Wii, you only see the "JUST A MOMENT" screen for a fraction of a second.

[8 1/2]

I dl'ed Ironclad last night on a gamble and ended up playing it late into the night and again today on my lunchbreak. I have a bit of a nostalgic soft-spot for this era of chunky DKC pre-rendered sprites, so perhaps visions of Blazing Star were dancing in my head and tainting my vision, but so far I really dig this game. Control is smooth even on the classic controller, and the emulation seems solid, even though it lacks any sort of options being a VC game.

It's a tough game to compare, as even though it has a "bit" that attaches to your ship, it's not the end-all defense that it was in games like R-Type. I'm actually fairly confused as to what protection the bit actually offers. It seems that the bit accquires its own power-ups and shields, though I'm unclear how they allot power-ups when you collect them between the player and the bit. At times it seems to absorb bullets, or cancel them when I shoot it through certain patterns, but then other times I get hit even though it seems like it should be blocking me.

Difficulty feels pretty on par for a Neo Geo game. I've been to the level 4 boss on a credit so far, and it seems pretty basic to memorize, though it does dip into Psikyo territory where you WILL die if you don't know what's coming no matter how clever you think you can dodge. They have a twist in their "lives" system in that you have an "energy" bar that depletes each time you get hit. The bar is completely refilled between stages and you earn extra energy mid-stage via blue orbs. It sounds like it should make the game too easy, but with your fairly large hit-box and ruthless boss patterns you'll need every vessel until you've mastered each level.

There are three ships to choose from, though so far I've been focusing only on the third selection, one that sacrifices speed for power and shot potential. I don't see much value in speed in this game so far, as most patterns are fired at a rather median speed; not as fast as psikyo, but faster than DDP. Bombs are present but seems quite under-powered against most bosses. It's even easy to take a hit coming out of a bomb, as they render the screen in sepia tones with your ship and enemies silhoutted in black against the background, and the transition back to full color can be jarring.

My gut reaction is a solid 7/10 and a worthy $10 download if for nothing more than the curiosity factor.

[Zeether]

I tried the game too and miserably failed on my first credit, dying midway into stage 1.

The one thing I don't like is the "BU-RI-KIN" that appears when you charge up is replaced with "POW1-POW2-MAX!". That's all. The rest of the game is pretty fluid. I can't tell what weapon is best though for the Brikinger (the force pod) but I love how it turns into a robot when you charge it. GATTAI!

Also the train boss is well animated.

And the game seems to be based off the MVS proto which means Japhei may have been involved?

[8 1/2]

My favorite weapon combo is easily dual green drills. This is the weapon that gives you homing missiles, and when you have them equipped on both arms you end up firing five at a time. Once I get this combo I pretty much just stop collecting any more weapon icons for the rest of the game, and just focus on leveling up with P+ orbs. One really silly thing I realized is that you use up your weapons when you fire off a bomb. The bomb is already rather weak, so giving up your power-ups seems like a cruel punishment for what should be a standard addition to the game. I'm still playing this quite a lot, though the stage 4 end boss is usually the end of my first credit.

[8 1/2]

I finally broke through into stage 5 on a credit last night (mostly going with the top row for my progression). I've had so little time to game lately as I'm working a PS Move game at work, and my girlfriend and I just brought a new puppy into the home a few weeks ago. Still, Ironclad is calling me back. I just got a PS2-->GC adaptor to hook up my as-yet-unused Neo Geo Stick 2 I got way back with Mark of the Wolves on PS2. Just never had much use for it in the face of the PS2 Saturn pad, but for virtual console Neo stuff it just feels "right" you know?

The stick:



The dog:

[Strider77]

there is a special place in hell for girls that dress their dogs.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yeah, those Neo-Geo sticks are quite ace for gaming with whatever platform you use. You might recall that the original Neo-Geo AES stick uses a special Seimitsu made super short-throw joystick setup. Only if they made them for candy cab use as well, that'd be awesome. Still, others swear by the Suzo 500 joystick setup as even better than Sanwa or Seimitsu ones for it's hands-down superior super short-throw actuation purposes. You definitely get what you pay for in the end.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[chempop]

there is a special place for girls, it's hell

FIXED

[Klatrymadon]

Just got around to playing this, and I'd generally go along with 8 1/2's appraisal; it's great fun. Interestingly, the version used here is the cancelled MVS/AES one rather than the CD release, but less interestingly, it runs in 50hz (in Europe, at least), despite being advertised as a 60hz game. It's unusually dark and muddy, too, and not just because of the use of colour; it's as though the brightness on your telly is turned right down the moment you start the game up.

[THE]

It's unusually dark and muddy, too, and not just because of the use of colour; it's as though the brightness on your telly is turned right down the moment you start the game up.

That can't be, they "forgot" to fix the shadow mode glitch for the EU version?
Or did you play it on Mame/MVS ?

[Klatrymadon]

Nah, I'm talking about the Virtual Console release, mate. As it's an import, it should be the same as the one 8 1/2 is playing, but it's definitely in 50hz and a bit dark.

[THE]

Nah, I'm talking about the Virtual Console release, mate. As it's an import, it should be the same as the one 8 1/2 is playing, but it's definitely in 50hz and a bit dark.

Yeah, the darkness is a known bug. If the EU version is selected the shadowmode/"screensaver" mode is activated. There is a thread on ng.com about it.
It seems SNKP never tested the EU version...

[8 1/2]

I've got the brightness cranked on my set in a special setting I made just for this game. Default settings for this game are GBA-like in dimness.

I keep reading how this is the mythical MVS version, but how does that explain the "Loading..." message that appears before the NEO GEO splash screen? It seems to be in the same font as other in-game text, which makes it seem like it's part of the original code. I can't recall seeing a loading message on an MVS game before.

[Estebang]

So I finally bought this. Tempted to start a hiscore thread once I figure out what I'm doing.

Why has no one made the Darius comparison yet? Recurring bosses, branching stages, not many environmental objects (you can't be killed by them anyway), vertical and backwards shots, psychedelic backgrounds...

Also of interest is that the credits confirm that the game was translated by a native English speaker, which would explain the high quality of dialogue!

[chronicdog]

Yes it is really dark. To the point that its distracting and makes the game harder, aside from looking much worse than it should. Basically it seems like a really cool game, but my old CRT doesnt have a way to save brightness/contrast presets so Im pretty boned as I dont want to have to menu dive just to play it. I do have a Wii VGA adapter, maybe I will try it on a super bright OLED monitor.

[IseeThings]

Yes it is really dark. To the point that its distracting and makes the game harder

It's actually a bug in the original game code, or a feature, I'm not sure. As mentioned, it only happens for the EU/Asia region. Same issue is present in the NGCD version code.

The pre-rendered graphics aren't pretty to look at anyway tho, Saurus seemed to enjoy it tho - Ragnagard, Pleasure Goal, Shock Troopers 2....

[FRO]

Anyone know if this is still available? Might be something to spend a bit of my eShop credit on, assuming I can still download it to the Wii portion of my Wii U. I've not purchased any VC titles on either my old Wii or my Wii U, but if I could get it on the Wii U and play in Wii mode, I might be interested in doing that.

[shmuppyLove]

You could just look in the store.

At any rate, it's still listed on the website:

http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/q2 ... VwdbDyyniz

[Pretas]

No reason why this would be de-listed, as the rights have not changed hands, nor is there any time-limited licensing contract involved.