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

[dmk1198]

Is there a AA list of releases and maybe a rating of each or. Best of list?
Thnx in advance

[BIL]

Is there a AA list of releases and maybe a rating of each or. Best of list?
Thnx in advance

Full catalogue @ Hamster's own site (JP/US/EU selectable)

As for recs, here's my last recposts ITT FWIW. 110% BIG BALLS GAMING ;3

Bit out of date, being from September 2022. Been largely killer since. Offhand, Metal Hawk is a wicked free-roaming time attack STG. Grobda is deceptively fiendish hyper-technical topdown arena shooting. Tank Force is a much easier, breezier but just as high-quality alternative, super cute chibi tanks and monster deathmachines. Metal Black like its tangential relation Gun Frontier is a perennial Marmite but they tend to grab people really damn hard, recommended if you can get along with idiosyncratic ships. Phelios is a relatively easygoing Salamanderesque with some superbly varied stage design. Rezon tends to enrage people with its crummy 5sec BGM loops but its streamlined IREMesque impresses many, I dig it a lot though I whack on R-Type II's BGM.

On the borderline, Senjyou is a seriously impressive carnival STG, classically fine-brushed Tecmo mechanics. Baraduke is a remarkably ageless early landmark in the Heavily-Armed Astronaut subgenre, pinpoint-precise controls and super-comfy hitboxes. For non-STGs, Wild Fang is the stealth AC Ninja Gaiden II, airtight ultraviolence. The New Zealand Story is a reliable classic, instant pickup/play precision action/platformer. Tetris The Grandmaster and its sequel TGM2 are streamlined perfection, absolutely white-hot technical intensity.

And of course Splatterhouse is out in a bit (JP now, rest of world tomorrow), bravura ultraviolencier / sidescrolling boxer.

It's been a really good year. The caveat that comes to mind is "albeit more heavily-focused than usual on a couple devs" but when those devs are Taito and Namco, I ain't complaining

[OldSkoolShmuper]

Splatterhouse is a pretty good release. I bought the TurboGrafx-16 version in 1991. I remember a few years later reading in GameFan magazine about the nearly perfect arcade port that came out on the 32-bit FM Towns/Marty.

I think the Megadrive/Genesis exclusive Splatterhouse 2 and 3 were more enjoyable, and always wished there had been an actual arcade Splatterhouse sequel.

[cfx]

Splatterhouse is a pretty good release. I bought the TurboGrafx-16 version in 1991. I remember a few years later reading in GameFan magazine about the nearly perfect arcade port that came out on the 32-bit FM Towns/Marty.

I think the Megadrive/Genesis exclusive Splatterhouse 2 and 3 were more enjoyable, and always wished there had been an actual arcade Splatterhouse sequel.

They said that a lot about FM Towns games. In general, they were lying. (I know, having owned many of those games, though not Splatterhouse.)

[Jonpachi]

Already have Splatterhouse on that Namco Museum Arcade Pac, but always happy to see the arcade original more widely available.

[Steven]

I will probably have to get Splatterhouse. I don't remember if I have ever played the PC Engine version, but I have played the arcade version a few times at various arcades. It's at Mikado in Takadanobaba right now and Super Potato in Akiba had it in their tiny arcade on 5F the last time I was there, which was a long time ago.

I did buy Gradius I-III yesterday, though. These seem to be somewhat inconsistent, as Gradius is one of the earlier releases and only lets you set autofire to on or off, Gradius II forces you to use the wallpaper and even playing on PS5 has circle as confirm while all of my other ACA games, all of them being the Japanese releases, use the system's default (which is unfortunately X on PS5, even in Japan, which everyone hates), and Gradius III is the typical later type with all of the options.

Is there a AA list of releases and maybe a rating of each or. Best of list?
Thnx in advance

BIL's lists are solid, as expected, but there is one thing missing from those lists that I think should be there: Irem's submarine game Kaitei Daisensou/In the Hunt/Metal Slug Submarine. Maybe also Image Fight. For non-shooting I'd also add Real Bout Special.

[BIL]

Holy cow, yeah, Kaitei Daisensou/In The Hunt/Metal Sub belongs there for sure! Badass yet accessible and gorgeously produced hardcore, as was Nazca's wont. Super stoked for Black Finger Jet.

While the first two games have had significant updates over the years, the ACA Gradius trilogy is pretty much a short history of the series, yep - right down to their filesizes, which trimmed down steadily. ACA Gradius III was deliberately produced as a landmark Christmas release, its practice and accuracy options going way beyond any other existing ACA title; almost like a budget ShotTriggers, with the hitbox viewer and super-granular stage practice options.

And tbh if any STG needs stage practice options it's that one.

[Sumez]

It was only well after I had Bloody Wolf on the TurboGrafx-16 that I found it it was also an arcade game.

Bloody Wolf's arcade PCB is using PC Engine hardware, and actually the only instance of arcade hardware based on PCE that I've heard of.
(the jamma-fied PCE people have reported running into featuring Parasol Stars is litterally just a PCE with a jamma adapter)

[Klatrymadon]

This'll be the first time I really sit down and try to memorise the stages in Splatterhouse. Any huge strats I should be aware of?

[BIL]

I half-remember many gory n' spoily deets ITT! Mind the dead account on the floor, don't wanna trip over it!

Just learning the ropes myself, made it to the \m/etal AF crucifix boss before calling it a night. BLACK FUCKEN METAAAAL Shoot Biggy Man until he dies. (well, shoot him then tackle the poor bastard's legs out)

Really impressed @ how smoothly this handles; nothing can replace Spartan X (certainly not Vigilante), but this is damn close.

[Steven]

Holy cow, yeah, Kaitei Daisensou/In The Hunt/Metal Sub belongs there for sure! Badass yet accessible and gorgeously produced hardcore, as was Nazca's wont. Super stoked for Black Finger Jet.

While the first two games have had significant updates over the years, the ACA Gradius trilogy is pretty much a short history of the series, yep - right down to their filesizes, which trimmed down steadily. ACA Gradius III was deliberately produced as a landmark Christmas release, its practice and accuracy options going way beyond any other existing ACA title; almost like a budget ShotTriggers, with the hitbox viewer and super-granular stage practice options.

And tbh if any STG needs stage practice options it's that one.

Definitely need Kaitei Daisensou. Pretty sure that was one of the first ACA games I ever bought on Switch, and I know it was in the initial batch of ACA games I bought when I started buying them on PS4, along with Xexex and... something else. Forgot what the third game was, but it was probably Saigo no Nindou. I'd love to get clears on all of those eventually.

Another thing that I think is worth adding to the non-STG list is Waku Waku 7. I don't really know why, but I really like this game. Might have to get it on ACA as well, as I've been playing on AES, but as of a few firmware updates ago the RetroTINK 5x has started to hate the AES, making it completely unplayable no matter how I configure it.

As for Gradius, I saw some crazy dude 3-ALL Gradius III the other day at Mikado. I also find it rather interesting that Gradius II apparently changed the location of the select button from Gradius I; shmups wiki says Gradius has it on C but Gradius II and III have it on A instead. That reminds me of another game that did exactly the same thing: Slap Fight's green non-JAMMA PCB has shot on A and select on B, but the more rare blue JAMMA version has select on A and shot on B. I asked Yuge-san about it a while ago when he signed my PCB and he said that it's something to do with the hardware on the JAMMA PCB. No idea how the fuck he remembers such minute and obscure details like that 37 years later, but he does. This is why I have difficulty playing Slap Fight at Mikado, though, as they have the non-JAMMA version and my muscle memory from my JAMMA PCB messes with my ability to play the non-JAMMA version.

Anyway, I think Gradius 1-ALL is probably not too hard after the brutal Kyuukyoku Tiger no autofire 1-ALL, so I think it might be my next 1CC target. It's either that or arcade Fire Shark, which I still have not cleared yet. I just wish ACA Gradius had some better autofire options, but I do have external 5, 12, or 20Hz autofire on my arcade stick, although the stick only lets me assign one speed at a time.

[Jeneki]

Of interesting note, I think this release is the first time I've seen the title as two words "Splatter House".

[MJR]

This'll be the first time I really sit down and try to memorise the stages in Splatterhouse. Any huge strats I should be aware of?

The game has two huge chokepoints, bosses of level 3 (chainsaw man/biggyman) and 5 (Jennifer) where your progress will stop if you don't know what to do. I developed these strategies myself back in 1988:

Biggyman: You have to keep your shotgun and shoot the biggyman with all the shells you got, then you must do sliding kick to kill it.
You do sliding kick by jumping forward, and just when Rick is about to touch the ground, you hit punch button.
It is possible to kill biggyman without sliding kick + shotgun, I have done it with no weapons, but it is very, very hard.

Jennifer: It will first jump around, and extend it's claws after every landing. Then it will eventually do series of very short leaps to get to you, and then extend it's claws.
When it jumps, you have to run towards it as it lands, then punch, and then run away before it's claws reach you. When it goes to it's last attack pattern, small leaps, you have to walk just close enough to be able to punch it, then turn away and retreat immediately, and it won't be able to hit you. Takes some practise, but works 100% every time.

Also about last boss, Hell Chaos:
You can avoid it's hands simply by jumping when they are smashing at you, you don't even have to move away. Count your punches, and start waiting for the blue orb before landing the final punch. When the final orb appears, deliver the killing punch to Hell Chaos, then let the orb kill you, and you will fight the boss again. This let's you milk millions of points.. if you have the patience

Those are the most important things. Despite owning the arcade board and Namco arcade pack, I am itching to buy this, simply to compete with scores.. again

[Jonpachi]

This'll be the first time I really sit down and try to memorise the stages in Splatterhouse. Any huge strats I should be aware of?

Nah, it’s piss easy. You’ll be done in three or four sessions once you get a few patterns down. It’s a very simple and clunky game, but it is fair and beatable on a credit.

[velo]

Biggyman: You have to keep your shotgun and shoot the biggyman with all the shells you got, then you must do sliding kick to kill it.
You do sliding kick by jumping forward, and just when Rick is about to touch the ground, you hit punch button.
It is possible to kill biggyman without sliding kick + shotgun, I have done it with no weapons, but it is very, very hard.

The easiest and cheesiest thing to do is bring two shotguns. If you pick up the second one while still carrying the first, he drops the old one a few tiles forward. You can keep grabbing one then the other until the end of the level. There's a rock hidden behind a bush or something on that level, before a pit I think, right where you need it to chuck at one of the vomiting monsters.

Easiest path on the branching level is straight down, also the coolest one because of Master Dead in the basement.

[BIL]

Master Dead is a fuckin G. Hard not to like a guy who enjoys his job that much!

It’s a very simple and clunky game

It may be the Genpei Toumaden PTSD talking, bless that game's mad heart, but even coming in blind I wouldn't describe SH as clunky. Attacks come out lightning-fast with fat hitboxes, and most things die in one shot, sometimes two after a heavy knockback while their head breaks off and/or they sprout a third dick. It's pretty Spartanesque as far as hitting without getting hit goes, right down to the sometimes awkard bosses.

Chunky, certainly. Rick's built like a Soviet-era fridge, and dodges things about as well. No need to dodge when you can splat, though

Without the generous attack mechanics, it'd play about as well as Haunted Castle, but anyone fearing something like that (all style, near-zero quality), or even a madly pinballing slugfest-by-design like Genpei shouldn't be deterred.

[MJR]

Because our little hobby game is inspired heavily by Splatterhouse, I've been analyzing it a lot - namely, why I am so crazy about it through all these decades if the gameplay is so simple.

Splatterhouse is all about atmosphere, it was the very first game that emulated 80's gore movies really well with it's large sprites, some all-over-the-wall gore and quite atmospheric soundtrack and sfx. At first, the game is mostly about "LOOK! I CAN CHOP HEADS OFF", then it's mostly about finding out what depravities it will offer once you get deeper in it. Looking at it today, it's not much, but you have to understand that in 1988 this was a huge deal, it would still be two years to Mortal Kombat and only Narc and Splatterhouse offered such visceral action.

There's a lot to like about this game, still, like the under-water monster making that menacing sound, branching level with the Master dead raising corpses, somewhat depressing storyline where you actually fail to rescue your beloved, inverted cross level that felt really ballsy back in the day, considering how taboo religious images used to be in games (and still are).

While the gameplay was nothing to really write home about, it was still functional and simple and easy to get into, and there still were some tricks to learn.

Mostly I feel the achievements of that game are artistic. I love the art direction and soundtrack. Enemies, zombies, tortured corpses vomiting on the floor, mutilated humans twitching on the floor of the first level.. everything feels still somehow totally over the top compared to any other game at any time. It has character and personality. If you loved 80's horror/gore-movies there is no reason to not love splatterhouse. It is playable enough and it gives an experience that no other game from it's era does.

I also loved Splatterhouse 2, and beat it on all difficulties on megadrive back in the day, though now I am no longer so excited about it. But Splatterhouse 3 was something I was never really able to get into, despite it had most gameplay of all of them.
Splatterhouse (2010) is fine, it had the right idea of going all-in with OTT gore effects (pulling out someone's guts through their arse? excuse me lol wut?)

While later horror/splattergames have long outdone Splatterhouse on the gore department, original arcade version of Splatterhouse still retains the personality and charm that channels so well of the horror movies of it's era. I may have some nostalgia tinted glasses, since the arcade game hit me hard when I was 15 (perfect age for such game), but I will forever think it as one of my favourite games. But yeah, I have no idea what I would think of this game if I saw it now for the first time.

[BIL]

While later horror/splattergames have long outdone Splatterhouse on the gore department, original arcade version of Splatterhouse still retains the personality and charm that channels so well of the horror movies of it's era. I may have some nostalgia tinted glasses, since the arcade game hit me hard when I was 15 (perfect age for such game), but I will forever think it as one of my favourite games. But yeah, I have no idea what I would think of this game if I saw it now for the first time.

Honestly I find it pretty credibly foul. The MD sequels are more vividly bloody, and have even more macabre, sometimes knowingly ridiculous monster designs (MAX BEAR's Michael Jackson scream goes here) - but by the same token, the first game's muted palette and corpse-strewn scenery has a horrid stale air of its own.

Like I look at SHp3 (JP ver is a must, US one's balance was shot by SFII mania)'s first stage and think "God damn, place gonna need a tear-down." I look at SHp1's and think "Motherfucker I can smell this place through the screen."

[BrianC]

Pole Position on July 6

[BIL]

Nice. That and Bosconian were my two big remaining wants from the PS1 Museum lineup.

[SavagePencil]

I hope they can get analog acceleration on the Switch. Might have to put it on the right analog stick, like they did with Virtua Racing.

[Jonpachi]

Let's be real. Splatterhouse is not a great video-game. Yet, like a classic B-Horror film, it has charm for days that more than make it worth it your time. But if I'm to dissect it as a piece of interactive entertainment, it's pretty poor in its execution.

[Skyknight]

So, regarding things like Bravoman and the Rolling Thunder games…? (And any other sufficiently similar Namco games.)

[Bassa-Bassa]

But if I'm to dissect it as a piece of interactive entertainment, it's pretty poor in its execution.

Exactly, how so?

[hamfighterx]

Pole Position on July 6

All right! I've been waiting for that one too. And we're that much closer to Final Lap

[pablumatic]

Let's be real. Splatterhouse is not a great video-game. Yet, like a classic B-Horror film, it has charm for days that more than make it worth it your time. But if I'm to dissect it as a piece of interactive entertainment, it's pretty poor in its execution.

I thought the gameplay was fine in 1989 when it released. The new games in the arcade at the time were it and the lumbering Altered Beast. Sure the gameplay isn't as tight as say, Shinobi which was earlier, but its a spot better than Castlevania 1 which I was playing a lot at the time.

Ghouls n' Ghosts was superior, but I never saw a machine until after I was playing the Genesis version in 1990.

[Sumez]

Ghouls n Ghosts and Castlevania 1 exist in a completely different stratosphere to Splatterhouse

[BIL]

^ and subgenre

Let's be real. Splatterhouse is not a great video-game. Yet, like a classic B-Horror film, it has charm for days that more than make it worth it your time. But if I'm to dissect it as a piece of interactive entertainment, it's pretty poor in its execution.

Let's be accurate too. I don't think anyone called it a great Spartanesque (to narrow down comparisons). Competent =/= great. But basic competence goes a long way with presentation like this.

As a walk n' twat, its attack mechanics are notably well-judged. There are plenty of peers without this explosive, coiled-spring snap. Taito's Kuri Kinton and IREM's own Vigilante come to mind. If belting motherfuckers across the face felt as good in those as it does here, I'd play them more often!

If doing so left them headless, or dashed against walls, people would talk about them more often. And that element is why Splatterhouse is iconic, you're absolutely correct on that count. I don't think MJR said any different.

[Atariboy]

I hope Pole Position has full wheel and pedal support on PS4.

[dmk1198]

Is there a AA list of releases and maybe a rating of each or. Best of list?
Thnx in advance

Full catalogue @ Hamster's own site (JP/US/EU selectable)

As for recs, here's my last recposts ITT FWIW. 110% BIG BALLS GAMING ;3

Bit out of date, being from September 2022. Been largely killer since. Offhand, Metal Hawk is a wicked free-roaming time attack STG. Grobda is deceptively fiendish hyper-technical topdown arena shooting. Tank Force is a much easier, breezier but just as high-quality alternative, super cute chibi tanks and monster deathmachines. Metal Black like its tangential relation Gun Frontier is a perennial Marmite but they tend to grab people really damn hard, recommended if you can get along with idiosyncratic ships. Phelios is a relatively easygoing Salamanderesque with some superbly varied stage design. Rezon tends to enrage people with its crummy 5sec BGM loops but its streamlined IREMesque impresses many, I dig it a lot though I whack on R-Type II's BGM.

On the borderline, Senjyou is a seriously impressive carnival STG, classically fine-brushed Tecmo mechanics. Baraduke is a remarkably ageless early landmark in the Heavily-Armed Astronaut subgenre, pinpoint-precise controls and super-comfy hitboxes. For non-STGs, Wild Fang is the stealth AC Ninja Gaiden II, airtight ultraviolence. The New Zealand Story is a reliable classic, instant pickup/play precision action/platformer. Tetris The Grandmaster and its sequel TGM2 are streamlined perfection, absolutely white-hot technical intensity.

And of course Splatterhouse is out in a bit (JP now, rest of world tomorrow), bravura ultraviolencier / sidescrolling boxer.

It's been a really good year. The caveat that comes to mind is "albeit more heavily-focused than usual on a couple devs" but when those devs are Taito and Namco, I ain't complaining

Thnx alot bil & Steven