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

[Jeneki]

Oh, Namco puzzle games are still on the table? Aqua Rush plz.

Emeraldia looks ok. I like it when puzzle games have goals / stages like this, instead of just survive as long as possible.

[BIL]

Oh, Namco puzzle games are still on the table? Aqua Rush plz.

Totally forgot that one! I'd nab it just for the OST.

[BrianC]

Would love to see the handful of gems left on Digital Eclipse's shitshow SNK 40th given proper home release. Search And Rescue, of course, but also Prehistoric Isle, Bermuda Triangle, and Time Soldiers. The last being ADK's, but if it's on an SNK comp, I'm guessing there's no legal issue.

The NeoGeo spirital sequel to Time Soldiers, Ninja Commando, is on ACA NeoGeo.

[BIL]

Would love to see the handful of gems left on Digital Eclipse's shitshow SNK 40th given proper home release. Search And Rescue, of course, but also Prehistoric Isle, Bermuda Triangle, and Time Soldiers. The last being ADK's, but if it's on an SNK comp, I'm guessing there's no legal issue.

The NeoGeo spirital sequel to Time Soldiers, Ninja Commando, is on ACA NeoGeo.

Haha, I'd never thought about them that way... you're right, the time-hopping gimmick makes so much sense now!

Very fond of Ninja Commando. (or as the attract calls it, "Ninja...? Commando!") One of those mash-4-power titles I'm happier playing with moderate autofire, but the pace is superb. Crackin' tunes too.

I wonder how that all shook out, with SNK and ADK. Magician Lord and Crossed Swords weren't on the PS2's ADK Tamashii, if I recall. A couple gens later, everything on that disc, and everything else they developed for Neo, seems to be on ACA-NG. All's well that ends well, I guess!

EDIT: I guess they might've simply left Magician Lord and Crossed Swords off the PS2 disc, with Ninja Commando as the early Neo representative. Which would be understandable! I like both games, but they're ornery sonsabitches. Shared universe imo, unmistakable Rovecraftian connection.

Obligatory shout to Ninja Master's attract mode, utter class. Needs the pounding battlefield death drums and forlorn coda for full effect.

APOSTROPHE BE SILENT DESU (｀w´メ)

[Ice Beam]

Speaking of SNK, what's the holdup on Viewpoint? We got the other two Aicom/Yumekobo shooters.

[Bassa-Bassa]

IP belongs to Sega.

[jehu]

I wasn't super excited about Namco month either, but cheery dolphin block game is good. I haven't enjoyed a puzzle game on Switch this much since Cleopatra's Fortune.

The adventure mode makes it feel like a more console-oriented release. Brought back memories of playing PS1 puzzlers in my friends' living rooms. You travel from 'island' to 'island' completing a series of puzzles to rescue your aquatic friends (clearing blocks to get the fish to the bottom of the screen). It's cute, the music is bubbly, suitably aquatic, dare I say soothing. It's all a very relaxed affair. I've been dropping a save-state at the beginning of each 'island' and trying to clear them one by one on a single credit. Adding more credits gives you helper items - all quite clever besides the ones that just beat the current level for you. The fact that there's no real money on the line, and you can continue as much as you want, turns this into such a nice, breezy, low-stakes affair.

The main mechanic behind the game's block breaking is one of those simple in theory, rich and deep in practice. If there's a theoretical way to break the system, my brain isn't big enough to uncover it yet. It's really good at easing you into the flow of the game with some simple (and optional) tutorial levels. It's also quite good at giving you a sense of the potential of its systems early in the adventure mode. Given the way the block-breaking mechanism works, it nearly always feels like a recovery is possible with some quick, intelligent placement choices. (It executes that fun puzzle game trope where it shows you how a single piece can clear a whole board if things are arranged properly. Helps you see early on the potential of studious block stacking.) From my perspective, I can say there's something quite pleasant for the casual puzzlers here. The hardcore will have to speak for themselves. Seems, though, like an intelligently designed set of systems.

The adventure mode is where I've spent most of my time, but there's a more traditional, stack-till-you-die mode (and an additional 2P mode) for those who want it.

We still have one more week of this, right? I shared in the general intuition that F/A would be the best finale, and I hope that's the case. But so far I'm 0 in 3 in my predictions, so it's not looking good. (Blast Off and Assault Plus can be in the next Namco month! Or the next one! Or the next one!)

[Arino]

I only have two complaints regarding the ACA series.

1. Default size of the screen should be pixel perfect/lowest multiple of the native resolution of the game that fits within 1920x1080. If I set size and ratio to 100, that's exactly what I'd expect, but apparently that's not always the case (judging by eye). Implementing this shouldn't be a big deal and it should just be a thing for the people who want it. Then you can still decide whether you want to enlarge the screen if you think it's too small. I am actually curious where they get their default settings from for each game (in terms of display size and ratio), because it seems completely random.
Or am I missing something?

2. Inconsistency of quality. Especially when it comes to the games made by Jaleco, since City Connection does their ACA versions for Hamster if I'm correct. For instance, Plus Alpha and 64th Street both suffer from severe input lag. 64th Street even has the wrong default settings. Instead of three lives, LIKE IN EVERY SINGLE GAME EVER MADE (one in use, two remaining), you only have two (one in use, one remaining). Hacha Mecha Fighter has also very noticeable input lag (all played on PS4 Pro, not on Switch where you get the extra IL on top of everything). I mean what's the point of those releases if they are inferior to Mame? Just from a player's point of view. Business and legal reasons aside obviously.

[DejahThoris]

64th Street even has the wrong default settings. Instead of three lives, LIKE IN EVERY SINGLE GAME EVER MADE (one in use, two remaining), you only have two (one in use, one remaining).

This is the correct default setting. Your expectation of the number of lives is just incorrect here.

https://imgur.com/8SC0af2

[Steven]

One more thing to add to the fortunately very small pile of ACA disappointments: WHERE THE FUCK IS MEMODAMA?!?!

Oh yeah, Konmai being Konmai. That might have something, or everything, to do with it. They're too busy contracting WayBackward to make Contra: Operation Garbage and making Metal Gear pachislot machines to rerelease their good games. Memodama is Teki-Paki-tier, which is not an accolade that I give out often, so a rerelease would be great.

Anyway, yeah, Hamster does some odd stuff on occasion, like not having good scaling or occasional weird autofire options. It's mostly excellent, though. Please, Hamster, talk to Konmai and rescue Memodama from obscurity. Get R-Type/2/Leo from Irem while you're at it.

[AGermanArtist]

I can only imagine having a recent rigid release schedule rotating Namco and Taito games is to catch up to the number of games Hamster have made available from the other major publisher that isn't Sega/Capcom - Konami, because they're on the verge of running out of Konami games to release since they went hog on that particular publisher's games from the outset. I've never been a big Namco/Taito fella tbh and I obviously don't speak for everyone, but this recent release schedule has been a major pain the hole for me. I just fucking want Iron Horse, Jackal, the Parodious games, whatever Twin Bee games are left to get, Fast Lane, Battlantis, Gradius 4, Salamander 2, Finalizer, Mikie and Konami GT, whatever non Neo Geo SNK games that haven't been released yet and maybe a few stg/action games from other publishers left to get like Valtric, F/A, NebulasRay, Ninja Emaki and Dangar UFO Robo.
The weekly drip is annoying, let me just buy everything now and then maybe we can get on with their next series, the Console Archives series Hamster were teasing, so we can get Gradius V and whatever else that's worth getting. I wish Hamster would just stop fucking about and get a storefront on PSN/eShop and let us buy everything now.

[Sima Tuna]

One more thing to add to the fortunately very small pile of ACA disappointments: WHERE THE FUCK IS MEMODAMA?!?!

Oh yeah, Konmai being Konmai. That might have something, or everything, to do with it. They're too busy contracting WayBackward to make Contra: Operation Garbage and making Metal Gear pachislot machines to rerelease their good games. Memodama is Teki-Paki-tier, which is not an accolade that I give out often, so a rerelease would be great.

Anyway, yeah, Hamster does some odd stuff on occasion, like not having good scaling or occasional weird autofire options. It's mostly excellent, though. Please, Hamster, talk to Konmai and rescue Memodama from obscurity. Get R-Type/2/Leo from Irem while you're at it.

And now Wayforward have been contracted to make some extra-shitty-looking Yar's Revenge metroidvania that has nothing to do with Yar's Revenge or Atari arcade games in general.

I'm just annoyed by Hamster never releasing any of the Irem or Konami beat em ups. We got Vendetta ages ago, And It Was Good. How long will I have to wait for Violent Storm or Undercover Cops?

[AGermanArtist]

Numan Athetics is new to me. And that concludes Namco month

[Sima Tuna]

Numan Athletics is a game I've actually heard of. Not a genre I'm particularly enthralled by, but I like the twist on it.

[Marc]

Well that was a fucking waste of time.

[Arino]

64th Street even has the wrong default settings. Instead of three lives, LIKE IN EVERY SINGLE GAME EVER MADE (one in use, two remaining), you only have two (one in use, one remaining).

This is the correct default setting. Your expectation of the number of lives is just incorrect here.

https://imgur.com/8SC0af2

Maybe "2" in this table refers to remaining lives (so three all in all) because on Mame you also get three.

[Sumez]

!!!!

Numan Athletics is like the number one never-ported arcade game I've been wanting a port of for years.
Next to J.J. Squawkers and TGM2 anyway, and they've already done TGM2.

Fucking amazing, Hamster <3

Educate yourselves

[Sumez]

Maybe "2" in this table refers to remaining lives (so three all in all) because on Mame you also get three.

I wouldn't necessarily expect Mame to get default dipswitch settings right. Honestly the only reliable reference is the operator manual, and even those can be misleading, and inconsistent between regions. But in this case, when all the defaults correspond to leaving every dipswitch OFF, I think it's safe to assume it was definitely the developer's intention.

[BIL]

NUMANS get! I'm sure F/A will be along later in the year. Theme months aren't worth getting worked up about with an advent calendar release schedule, imo.

2. Inconsistency of quality. Especially when it comes to the games made by Jaleco, since City Connection does their ACA versions for Hamster if I'm correct. For instance, Plus Alpha and 64th Street both suffer from severe input lag.

I'm guessing that's accurate to the boards themselves. The Lord Of King (also Jaleco Mega System) has something ridiculous like 7f attack startup; even the coin input is lagged. I instantly smelled a rat, roadtesting it in MAME. Later confirmed on a friend's board, that's just how it is.

Phelios is similar; MAME puts it at like 7f between pressing [shot] and your projectile appearing. One-lifed the ACA version, tried a board, same handling. Haze has confirmed Galaga '88 is as laggy in person as MAME (and ACA) would have you assume.

A little depressingly, these games confirmed for me that ~8f is survivable. It feels noticeably bad, but it's not insurmountable. I still hate it. Metal Black pin-sharpness or GTFO! Well don't, but I'll bitch about it.

EDIT: No, City Connection didn't develop those releases, as far as I know. You'd be bringing some very useful information, if you could confirm that!

64th Street even has the wrong default settings. Instead of three lives, LIKE IN EVERY SINGLE GAME EVER MADE (one in use, two remaining), you only have two (one in use, one remaining).

Final Fight gives you one reserve life by default. So does Baraduke 2. I'd guess that's just the board defaults, which ACA tends to be pretty good about.

EDIT2: some goober was whining on HG101 about Baraduke 2 giving you no reserve lives at all in MAME, and whoever wrote its Wikipedia page parroted him. You get one reserve life, you're good for one hit on top of that, and the extend rate is generously low. Get on your Fuck Bike and rescue some Friendos, you'll have another reserve life in no time. Just like in Final Fight! (extend should pop during first boss)

Hacha Mecha Fighter has also very noticeable input lag (all played on PS4 Pro, not on Switch where you get the extra IL on top of everything).

I would be genuinely surprised if PS4 HMF has significantly more input lag than the board itself. Not some loyalist take, I'd just find it a bizarre lapse.

Get some hardcore killers like Plasmo and trap on the case, I'm sure the results would be illuminating.

[AGermanArtist]

Renegade defaults to 2 lives.

[BIL]

Renegade defaults to 2 lives.

How'd I forget? :O Born to lead, the boy Kunio *coof* I mean MR K

Crikey this thread's movin

Maybe "2" in this table refers to remaining lives (so three all in all) because on Mame you also get three.

I wouldn't necessarily expect Mame to get default dipswitch settings right. Honestly the only reliable reference is the operator manual, and even those can be misleading, and inconsistent between regions. But in this case, when all the defaults correspond to leaving every dipswitch OFF, I think it's safe to assume it was definitely the developer's intention.

Yeah, brings to mind Double Dragon II. The fuckface overseas operators want HARD enemies, HARD timer, but EZ tatsumaki. Presumably so the 80s kids can yell WOO-HOOO and SHA-WEEET as they spam the flashy super attack on spongey enemies who run the timer down, when they're not viciously punishing said flash for a lack of proper setup.

Factory defaults (as on ACA) are NORMAL enemies, NORMAL timer, HARD tatsumaki. You have to git gud at your super move, but it'll actually kill stuff, and hopefully, your ass will learn not 2 spam, as well!

[Jucksalbe]

So, all my guesses for Namco month were wrong. Oh well.

Numan Athletics looks interesting (and ridiculously over the top), but I'm guessing this plays like the button-mashing sports games of old? I'm always a bit worried about my controllers with these kinds of games.

[BIL]

Also regarding Hacha Mecha Fighter: Hamster, like M2, tend to fix their broken shit.

If that one's buggered, it'd be worth buying your Nihongo-fluent friendo a coffee (nothing sexual! a literal coffee ok! ), and asking them to complain on the twatbird. They DGAF about whities and other gaijin schweinhunds - I write them occasionally! - but historically, domestic audiences get listened to!

[Arino]

NUMANS get! I'm sure F/A will be along later in the year. Theme months aren't worth getting worked up about with an advent calendar release schedule, imo.

2. Inconsistency of quality. Especially when it comes to the games made by Jaleco, since City Connection does their ACA versions for Hamster if I'm correct. For instance, Plus Alpha and 64th Street both suffer from severe input lag.

I'm guessing that's accurate to the boards themselves. The Lord Of King (also Jaleco Mega System) has something ridiculous like 7f attack startup; even the coin input is lagged. I instantly smelled a rat, roadtesting it in MAME. Later confirmed on a friend's board, that's just how it is.

Phelios is similar; MAME puts it at like 7f between pressing [shot] and your projectile appearing. One-lifed the ACA version, tried a board, same handling. Haze has confirmed Galaga '88 is as laggy in person as MAME (and ACA) would have you assume.

A little depressingly, these games confirmed for me that ~8f is survivable. It feels noticeably bad, but it's not insurmountable. I still hate it. Metal Black pin-sharpness or GTFO! Well don't, but I'll bitch about it.

EDIT: No, City Connection didn't develop those releases, as far as I know. You'd be bringing some very useful information, if you could confirm that!

64th Street even has the wrong default settings. Instead of three lives, LIKE IN EVERY SINGLE GAME EVER MADE (one in use, two remaining), you only have two (one in use, one remaining).

Final Fight gives you one reserve life by default. So does Baraduke 2. I'd guess that's just the board defaults, which ACA tends to be pretty good about.

EDIT2: some goober was whining on HG101 about Baraduke 2 giving you no reserve lives at all in MAME, and whoever wrote its Wikipedia page parroted him. You get one reserve life, you're good for one hit on top of that, and the extend rate is generously low. Get on your Fuck Bike and rescue some Friendos, you'll have another reserve life in no time. Just like in Final Fight! (extend should pop during first boss)

Hacha Mecha Fighter has also very noticeable input lag (all played on PS4 Pro, not on Switch where you get the extra IL on top of everything).

I would be genuinely surprised if PS4 HMF has significantly more input lag than the board itself. Not some loyalist take, I'd just find it a bizarre lapse.

Get some hardcore killer like Plasmo or trap on the case, I'm sure the results would be illuminating.

I should have mentioned that unfortunately it is just these three games (64th Street, Plus Alpha, HMF) that I have never played the boards of so I was just comparing the IL to Mame. All three games are significantly more responsive on Mame/have less IL.

I'll try to remember or research where I got that idea with City Connection from.

Ok ok I guess I was wrong about the two lives thing.

[BIL]

I should have mentioned that unfortunately it is just these three games (64th Street, Plus Alpha, HMF) that I have never played the boards of so I was just comparing the IL to Mame. All three games are significantly more responsive on Mame/have less IL.

MAME's not a great universal benchmark, unfortunately. Often accurate - those laggy late 80s Namco boards like Phelios, Dragon Spirit, and Galaga '88 are unfortunately true to life - but by its nature as a large-scale project, standards vary. Another NMK title, Task Force Harrier, has a lightning-quick ship in MAME because it's not emulating the slowdown routine.

[Arino]

I should have mentioned that unfortunately it is just these three games (64th Street, Plus Alpha, HMF) that I have never played the boards of so I was just comparing the IL to Mame. All three games are significantly more responsive on Mame/have less IL.

MAME's not a great universal benchmark, unfortunately. Often accurate - those laggy late 80s Namco boards like Phelios, Dragon Spirit, and Galaga '88 are unfortunately true to life - but by its nature as a large-scale project, standards vary. Another NMK title, Task Force Harrier, has a lightning-quick ship in MAME because it's not emulating the slowdown routine.

I think Splatterhouse felt laggy, too. Is it?

Numan Athletics is great news! I just spent a fortune recently on ACA and now there is the next highlight!

[MJR]

I should have mentioned that unfortunately it is just these three games (64th Street, Plus Alpha, HMF) that I have never played the boards of so I was just comparing the IL to Mame. All three games are significantly more responsive on Mame/have less IL.

MAME's not a great universal benchmark, unfortunately. Often accurate - those laggy late 80s Namco boards like Phelios, Dragon Spirit, and Galaga '88 are unfortunately true to life - but by its nature as a large-scale project, standards vary. Another NMK title, Task Force Harrier, has a lightning-quick ship in MAME because it's not emulating the slowdown routine.

I think Splatterhouse felt laggy, too. Is it?

I have the PCB, but I really didn't notice anything being really off with the Switch version. And I have both the Konami collection and the ACA version. Of course, I can't milk the last boss for millions quite as neatly as I can with the PCB, but it can be due to other reasons than just lag (distance from the screen, controller, etc etc etc)

[BIL]

I think Splatterhouse felt laggy, too. Is it?

Gonna defer to MJR (and SuperDeadite) there. FWIW, having never played the PCB, making do with the nice but ofc not 1:1 PCE port, it was one of my longest-standing wants. Nabbed the ACA ver the instant it appeared on PSN.

Given the consistent performance of its contemporary boards, and the deliberate weight on Rick's movement potentially masking things, it wouldn't surprise me if a MAME frame-by-frame reveals it, too, is a bit laggier than average.

The thing is, the degrees of lag we're talking about - 6f, 7f - while ghastly-sounding on paper, aren't really game-killing. I never found SH's punches and kicks anything less than snappy ala Spartan X. Feels great crushing Doppelgangers with perfect 3hit air combos (aerial raving in 1988 ) before they can get loose and exploit their deadly neutral game.

Muteki Voorhees-Ryuu: YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD AGAIN

Spoiler

And I find Phelios merely a bit touchy, far from offensive. That game's pong paddle hitboxes are probably as much to blame there. Stage 3's speeder bike chase comes to mind. Dragon Spirit has bits like this too, where I'm more conservative than I might be in beautiful IMAGEFIGHT with its sharp controls and compact hitboxes.

The real issue is additional input lag, which can make formerly razor-sharp games feel sluggish (I don't get along with Capcom Arcade Stadium 2's Gun.Smoke; tolerable, but I much prefer the PS1 port, or in a pinch MAME), and already-laggy ones miserable. For a good example of the latter, see the infamous S-Tribute Success disc, where three laggier-than-normal STGs - Cotton 2, Cotton Boomerang, and Guardian Force - were hucked into a crummy Saturn emulator, and everyone was mad, because now it was like controlling the games from the moon with a comically massive robot arm. 3;

[Skyknight]

While on the subject of fixed bugs, I don't think the fix they did for Raimais has been mentioned here yet. There was a special final sequence (I think the idea was that

Spoiler

the player-character was doing so well that the main villain bodyjacked her brother ahead of schedule? Basically if you clear the stages TOO quickly.

) that the original arcade release couldn't implement. Hamster fixed that.

[BIL]

While on the subject of fixed bugs, I don't think the fix they did for Raimais has been mentioned here yet. There was a special final sequence (I think the idea was that

Spoiler

the player-character was doing so well that the main villain bodyjacked her brother ahead of schedule? Basically if you clear the stages TOO quickly.

) that the original arcade release couldn't implement. Hamster fixed that.

That was particularly excellent of them! I wonder if it was requested by staff, ala DAIOHHH's mainman asking for - and receiving! - an OYAJI METER. (ACA Daioh also optionally fixing the stage 6 1UP exploit)

Since I turned on my PS4 to capture some HishouSameSame footage, I fired up Kunio and Renegade for old times, and was reminded that in ACA, both default you to one life only. I know I was playing Kunio pretty recently, too. Not very well, mind! I came away convinced you couldn't throw the second boss into the harbour, but this dude not only does it, he gets an extend for doing so.

Makes sense they were stingy, with the biblical punishment our titular rudeboy can take square upon he fackin boat race. Provided you don't run him off a train platform, or into the drink. Or get him shot, but that comes later!

You do have the option for a starter reserve life in both games, though. Just the one!