Just got Duo. Absolutely shocked by awesomeness!

[captain ahar]

My duo arrived yesterday after a long wait. I cannot explain how cool it is.

-Gate of Thunder is amazing. I am very impressed by the control set-up. So much done with two buttons. Awesome bosses as well. Died at the Level 4 sub-boss with the bendy lasers.
-Cyber Core is like Dragon Spirit but fun!
-Soldier Blade is so much fun. Still haven't gotten past Level 5. I love homing missiles (ones that are shot at me)!
-Download is interesting. Still can't get past Level 2 boss (those lasers are hard for me to trace). Cool soundtrack though. And smooth paralax.
Also:
with the system i got two other games.
-Dekoboko Densetsu Hashiru Wagamana is a car racing game with cartoonish graphics. II is accelerate and I is jump. Also, you can upgrade your racer after each race.
-Sengoku Kantou Sankokushi is a strategy game set in feudal Japan (can't understand a thing).

[Rob]

-Cyber Core is like Dragon Blaze but fun!

Did you mean to say Dragon Spirit? Don't see the similarity to DB.

[captain ahar]

hell yeah! thanks rob. i'm a moron (really) and correction made.

[Ghegs]

Congrats! Duo is a mighty fine system indeed. I even got mine RGB-modded for that extra yummyness.

[captain ahar]

actually now have a complaint about Cyber Core. i wasn't expecting it to topple my favorite verts, but the power up system is wacked. every time you power up the ship gets bigger, and while you can build up a 3 hit shield, every hit still powers you down. this is a problem because their are a lot of fast shots, tiny enemies, and even some enemies that are hard to see (mostly on ground). as the ship gets bigger the hitbox obviously increases in size as well, but the "rank" system is kind of messed. enemies, especially bosses, spit out more bullets and give you no[/] room to dodge, with your wide ass ship.

Soldier Blade is still genius. Gate of Thunder keeps getting better and better (got to Crown for the first time yesterday). Getting less and less fond of Download. Every shooter that I love has some memorization to it, but they still manage to be fun and "adaptive." Whenever I give Download a shot, I don't feel like I can deviate from their pre-set path and that pisses me off (and those blind enemies from the back too, grr).

Oh and one complaint about the Duo itself. I don't like how it checks the Hu-card slot first, and then goes to the main menu where I start the CD. It makes me remove Soldier Blade, and this game seems really picky about starting up. I feel like I'm trying to get NES going.

[Dylan1CC]

Man, I will never forget the time I played Gate of Thunder for the first time way back in May 1994 (i have akiller memory for these things). The most eye popping (and ear popping) hori shmup I have ever seen. R-TYPE (GB and SNES Super R-TYPE) introduced me to shooters, GoT made me a fan 100%.

[captain ahar]

^ that's me as well. i have clear gaming memories since i played Fatal Fury at a local Burger King in '91 and JAWS on NES around 1988. my memories of Shenmue are play-realistic.

[Dylan1CC]

Yeah, I can usually narrow tedious thing I have done, parties, family get together by what half of a month in a year they occurred. My friends and family are always stunned i can remember that stuff so well. "When did we go to that one party/dance years ago?" "Ask Dylan, he was there so he'd know."

[tehkao]

I know this is OT, but did you get to try the cool hidden Bomberman game on your Gate of Thunder CD?

[Dylan1CC]

I know this is OT, but did you get to try the cool hidden Bomberman game on your Gate of Thunder CD?

Oh yeah, that was a sweet bonus when I found out about it.

Also, if you can find a reasonable price on it, Macross 2036 has an amazing soundtrack comparable to Gate of Thunder's. GoT is definitely the better shmup though of course. But Macross 2036 is solid too, especially if you're a Robotech/Macross fan, obviously.

[Ganelon]

I think Macross 2036 is the better game. It definitely looks better as well. Then again, I'm a biased Macross fan.

[GaijinPunch]

The Duo is great. If you're limiting yourself to shmups, then you're really missing out. Check out my site at http://dynamic5.gamespy.com/~japangaming for some info on tons of other games. Lots of great platformers!

[Blaine]

Gates of Thunder is a quality game.

Personally, I like Lords of Thunder even more.

[dave4shmups]

Glad you're enjoying the Duo Captain Ahar!

Here's hoping that it brings you plenty of years of enjoyment, and doesn't die on you the first week after you've gotten it, like mine did.

[tehkao]

Doesn't Macross for Duo cost like 500 bucks or some ridiculous amount???

I was collecting Duo games 6 years ago and even then it was REALLY expensive.

[OmegaFlareX]

You're thinking of Sapphire. Macross is pretty mid-range in price (between $40-60).

[nullstar]

You're thinking of Sapphire. Macross is pretty mid-range in price (between $40-60).

A few years ago Macross was running in the $100-$200 range, but it's come down considerably (I think OFX's price indicates the range for a used copy.)

[tehkao]

Really?...wow that's the first time I've heard of a collector game that actually DROPPED In price after time...maybe now I can finally get a copy.

[OmegaFlareX]

Yup, here you go:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... eName=WDVW

P.S. - that's the guy who runs The West Exit. Great guy to deal with, but when I bought Shienryu from him last week, he kinda dropped the ball on shipping. It was plenty fast, but it was just the game in 1 layer of bubble wrap, knocking around the sides of a small Priority box. It wasn't damaged, thankfully, but it definitely could have been. Thus, I'd reccomend that you request some additional padding if you buy from him.

[Ganelon]

Really?...wow that's the first time I've heard of a collector game that actually DROPPED In price after time...maybe now I can finally get a copy.

Actually, most franchised games have really lowered in price. Macross anything, DBZ anything, Sailor Moon anything. Former $80 games now command $25. No clue why though...

[Nuke]

Actually, most franchised games have really lowered in price. Macross anything, DBZ anything, Sailor Moon anything. Former $80 games now command $25. No clue why though...

Macross is geting old, they've lbeen milking a long dead cow with DBZ and Sailor Moon is still just a cult-phenominom.

And am I the only one who thinks the whole "Robotech" nonsence has realy hurt Macross as a franchise?

[captain ahar]

I know this is OT, but did you get to try the cool hidden Bomberman game on your Gate of Thunder CD?

i have the stand alone jp release. is it on this too?

Macross2036 could be interesting. at the very least the painting on the back cover is nice here

I bought it mostly for shooters but there are others (in other genres) I want. care to make some specific recommendations? Dracula X is a given and the Neutopias look cool!

[chtimi-CLA]

you need nexzr, winds of thunder, and pc genjin.
try splash lake by any means, especially if you can play it 2P.
parasol stars is a must too.

[captain ahar]

Summer Carnival Nexzr Special and Alzadick are already definites, as is Winds of Thunder. PC Genjin I've got as Bonk's Adventure on TG16. any other recommendations on non-shooters?

[BrianC]

you need nexzr, winds of thunder, and pc genjin.
try splash lake by any means, especially if you can play it 2P.
parasol stars is a must too.

Actually, he has PC Genjin/Bonk's Adventure. It's on the same CD as Gate of Thunder. That CD has Bonk's Revenge/PC Genjin 2 too. Bonk games rock! BTW, the Air Zonk games are PC Denjin and CD Denjin, not PC Genjin. The titles with Genjin are Bonk and the ones Denjin are Zonk.

I recommend checking out the Amiga PC Kid. It's a free download from Factor 5's website. It's very similar to the PC Engine/TG-16 version of Bonk's Adventure, but has some nifty remixed music from the same composer that did the music for the Amiga Turrican games. I couldn't get the two button control working and pressing up to jump is a bit akward, but other than that, it's a good port.

As far as other recommendations, I recommend Alien Crush, Devil's Crush, Galaga '88, and Splatterhouse. Splatterhouse is a very cool action game, though the graphics are a bit on the gross side (good graphics, just lots of green splatter and ugly, in a good way, enemies). Devil's Crush is still one of the best video pinball games out there. Even today, very few pinball games even come close to it, and this is coming from someone that loves Kirby's Pinball Land and Pinball of the Dead. Galaga '88 is a fine arcade port and an excellent update to the original Galaga. Alien Crush is a great pinball game, though Devil's Crush is better.

If your duo is Japanese, I recommend checking out Gradius, Volfied, Parodius, Detana Twinbee, and Salamander. There is also a very nifty version of Raiden on the TG-16. It's definatly one of the better ports of Raiden out there and much better than the SNES version.

[captain ahar]

while i heavily agree that Bonk games rock. i do not have the 1st and 2nd on CD. i stated above that my version of Gate of Thunder is the jp "1-in-1" release. great info about the Factor 5 download too!

[BrianC]

while i heavily agree that Bonk games rock. i do not have the 1st and 2nd on CD. i stated above that my version of Gate of Thunder is the jp "1-in-1" release. great info about the Factor 5 download too!

oh ok. Silly me, it's hard to keep track of so many posts at once. I definatly want to get a duo. However, I actually like Dragon Spirit quite a bit.

[professor ganson]

Devil's Crush is still one of the best video pinball games out there. Even today, very few pinball games even come close to it, and this is coming from someone that loves Kirby's Pinball Land and Pinball of the Dead.

This is OT, but I have to confess that Alien Crush and Kirby's Pinball Land are two of my very favorite non-shmupping titles. Is Devil's Crush actually better than Alien Crush?

[tehkao]

I bought it mostly for shooters but there are others (in other genres) I want. care to make some specific recommendations?

Wonderboy 3: The Dragon's Curse is one of the best non-shmup games I've ever played.

Other good ones I recommend:
Ninja Spirit
Moto Roader
Military Madness
Forgotten Worlds (CD)
Dragon Slayer 2 (CD)
Y's Book 1 & 2 (CD)

[BrianC]

Devil's Crush is still one of the best video pinball games out there. Even today, very few pinball games even come close to it, and this is coming from someone that loves Kirby's Pinball Land and Pinball of the Dead.

This is OT, but I have to confess that Alien Crush and Kirby's Pinball Land are two of my very favorite non-shmupping titles. Is Devil's Crush actually better than Alien Crush?

IMO, yes, and that is saying quite a bit. I don't find the game sacreligious either, though it does have pentrgrams in it. Devil's Crush has more screens, better bonus rounds, and better music than Alien Crush.