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

[Fingolfin]

Samildanach wrote:

Despite my rather limited interest in the pre-'85 games, I really enjoy this thread and the open minded joyful enthusiasm that many of you show here.

I'm in the same boat, I haven't found too many early 80s arcade games that have gripped me, but there are some that I find are really cool and have some unique mechanics such as Super Locomotive, or King and Balloon. Much as I love late 90s era stuff I always gotta remember to keep an open mind about any early 80s era games. ^^

If you haven’t previously played these earlier arcade shooting games, and you’re so inclined and able to play them, I highly recommend

Star Castle by Cinematronics (1980)
https://youtu.be/htWIZRBb_Bs?si=nbfNDmkwgGFLkzqH

Omega Race by Midway (1980)
https://youtu.be/DqQ_VEZIxwo?si=DlgarEM6RdtW0aKb

Blaster by Eugene Jarvis @ Williams (1983)
https://youtu.be/dWuCN-quVAE?si=3iHDM5I5t0pz--J_

Space Dungeon by Taito (1981)
https://youtu.be/Pe4xaBSKiLI?si=HyNCVStUaLhzEau_

The first three all have interesting physics somewhat similar to the sense of gravity/acceleration physics conveyed by Lunar Lander; I’m aware of some folks here bringing up a strong dislike of floaty physics in STGs (with which I usually agree) so be advised. However vs STGs that are essentially “typical” hori, vertical or vertizontal these games implementation and use of physics/gravity is essential to the gameplay — again like Lunar Lander.

The third game is a) by Eugene Jarvis and b) a very unique game by any standards for 1983 in terms of POV and 2.5 3D…and it has those awesome bright colors that are a hallmark of Eugene Jarvis’s work.

Last one’s a mix of multidirectional, maze and twin stick shooter parts. Inspired by D&D and similar to another arcade game Venture.

All of these games take the preexisting Space Invaders/Galaxian and Asteroids model that existed in 1980 quite a bit further from what had come previously — all for the better for the early progression/development of arcade shooters.

Edits edits edits and still more edits

[JJHLH]

Despite my rather limited interest in the pre-'85 games, I really enjoy this thread and the open minded joyful enthusiasm that many of you show here.

I don't doubt that Hamster have had quite a few extra sales from the many folks who visit here, both regular posters and silent watchers. Hamster should especially pay BIL a monthly wage for the rambunctious and endlessly entertaining posts he makes.

+1

I don’t post much but this is my favorite thread here and I read it regularly. I always enjoy BIL’s posts and seeing his take on these arcade treasures.

[Sima Tuna]

I love vector graphics.

“What’s our vector Victor?”

https://youtu.be/fVq4_HhBK8Y?si=X-SSqotXg-MqSJJ8
— from a pretty funny movie back when vector graphics were new to arcade games…when arcade games themselves were still new….

to name just a few…
Star Castle
Omega Race
Battlezone
Tempest

Tempest and Atari Star Wars are the kings of vector visuals.

[Sumez]

The term Quarter Muncher is overused, but those early 80's games really are.

Games from the era that wouldn't even let you continue, but instead were designed entirely around increasing the difficulty continuously, seeing how much you could score by staying alive longer on a single credit. Those are "quarter munchers"?

[Steven]

Scramble and Moon Patrol are awesome games and everyone needs to play them, especially Moon Patrol.

Same with the Vectrex, which is absolutely one of the coolest video game systems ever made.

Spoiler

*becomes sad because his Vectrex doesn't work*

[BIL]

I totally blanked on Western-made oldies Robotron, there's another immortal imo.

Hamster should especially pay BIL a monthly wage for the rambunctious and endlessly entertaining posts he makes.

They could let me pick a game, that'd be nice

(ARCADE ARCHIVES: SEARCH AND RESCUE pls, Ham-chans :3 they'd already gotten like 75% of SNK40th's stuff sought and rescued EDIT the good stuff I mean )

Ah man. SNK, IREM, Technos, the absent triple crown. I was so jazzed to see all those names, when I got into ACA around Saigo no Nindou. Which was a thrown gauntlet of sorts, I'd been ducking it for years in favour of the easier (though still excellent) PCE port. I'm so happy Tecmo's still onboard, at least. Four legendary names who never really had the PS1/SS arcade porting salad days of Capcom/Konami/Namco/Taito.

[AGermanArtist]

The term Quarter Muncher is overused, but those early 80's games really are.

Games from the era that wouldn't even let you continue, but instead were designed entirely around increasing the difficulty continuously, seeing how much you could score by staying alive longer on a single credit. Those are "quarter munchers"?

I can't be the only one who found those early games incredibly difficult at the time with a game over in literally seconds? So yeah, as you say they were designed with survival/score in mind, but at a price. You could say that of all arcade games, of course, but I found the earlier games particularly punishing and off-putting as a result. Then there's the basic visuals and the often horrible audio. They just didn't grab my attention the way some of the more complex games did that came a little later on.

[Sumez]

Oh yeah, but the only reason for putting in the next quarter is you enjoying the game so much you want to play it again.
As it should be.

[MJR]

Scramble and Moon Patrol are awesome games and everyone needs to play them, especially Moon Patrol.

Same with the Vectrex, which is absolutely one of the coolest video game systems ever made.

Spoiler

*becomes sad because his Vectrex doesn't work*

*I just wanted to chime in to write a useless and self-serving note that I will be getting Vectrex next month*

But yeah, agree, this thread is more entertaining than rest of the gaming related threads on internet combined. Just when was the last time you remember seeing discussion with enthusiasm and excitement on internet? Related to games?

[AGermanArtist]

Oh yeah, but the only reason for putting in the next quarter is you enjoying the game so much you want to play it again.
As it should be.

And I wasn't, but I got the concept as a 7 y/o at the time. They made me feel bad about myself and I'd rather have spent what little money I had on something else. Usually joke shop junk and tit maiden stripper pens.

I'm sure some of the games I mentioned that I enjoyed likely seem positively archaic and punishing to some of the younger people here too.

[Angry Hina]

Really is there anything released in the early 80s and late 70s that haven't been massively superceded by everything that follows?

Star Force is made 1 year before 85 and its addictiveness works still today. By the way: what are good ports of it? (with autofire)

[AGermanArtist]

The ACA is on Japanese PSN and on the eShop.

[TransatlanticFoe]

The term Quarter Muncher is overused, but those early 80's games really are.

Games from the era that wouldn't even let you continue, but instead were designed entirely around increasing the difficulty continuously, seeing how much you could score by staying alive longer on a single credit. Those are "quarter munchers"?

I can't be the only one who found those early games incredibly difficult at the time with a game over in literally seconds? So yeah, as you say they were designed with survival/score in mind, but at a price. You could say that of all arcade games, of course, but I found the earlier games particularly punishing and off-putting as a result. Then there's the basic visuals and the often horrible audio. They just didn't grab my attention the way some of the more complex games did that came a little later on.

Not literally seconds, but as a kid I never cleared a screen in Space Invaders (nor most other games). Still came back for more though!

I guess I'd have been at least 5 when I was playing arcade games on holiday, the early ones that grabbed me were definitely the more experience-focused titles - Star Wars and Space Tactics, for example. At that age, it's like being in a sci-fi film. Likewise Crossbow for the fantasy genre.

That's what I like about the Arcade Archives series. It's rolling out all manner of stuff that, while I don't care about a lot of it (give me Gekirindan already!!!), it's someone's long-lost nostalgia. I do wish more compilations of them would come out (like Taito Milestones), the individual releases are cheap if you want to play the game but expensive if you've never heard of it. How many gems are we collectively missing out on through not having been alive to play them through wide-eyed excitement at the time (either as a child, or an adult marvelling at the technology)? Most of them came and went so quickly, such was the rate of technological progress, that they're as good as lost forever without these re-releases.

[MJR]

Really is there anything released in the early 80s and late 70s that haven't been massively superceded by everything that follows?

Star Force is made 1 year before 85 and its addictiveness works still today. By the way: what are good ports of it? (with autofire)

I would actually argue that Star Force still remains as one of the most playable and addictive vertical shooters ever made. It's design, enemy patterns and progress are made in distinctive and inventive way no one ever even attempted to copy, simply because no one is simply aware that they exist!

[Steven]

*I just wanted to chime in to write a useless and self-serving note that I will be getting Vectrex next month*

It's a really cool system, one of the coolest ever made, and its coolness is of the type that is hard to describe, but you'll understand immediately when you turn it on for the first time. They are really quite beautiful.

You probably already know this, but if you don't I'll tell you anyway because it's super important: make sure you always unplug your Vectrex when you are not using it because it draws power when it's turned off, and apparently it's better for the system if you unplug it rather than turn it off and leave it plugged it. The Vectrex is said to be fragile, so anything you can do to protect it will probably help.

[MJR]

*I just wanted to chime in to write a useless and self-serving note that I will be getting Vectrex next month*

It's a really cool system, one of the coolest ever made, and its coolness is of the type that is hard to describe, but you'll understand immediately when you turn it on for the first time. They are really quite beautiful.

You probably already know this, but if you don't I'll tell you anyway because it's super important: make sure you always unplug your Vectrex when you are not using it because it draws power when it's turned off, and apparently it's better for the system if you unplug it rather than turn it off and leave it plugged it. The Vectrex is said to be fragile, so anything you can do to protect it will probably help.

I didn't actually, thanks for the hint! In any case, I always unplug ALL my old system when not using them.

[BIL]

Hell yeah, totally forgot Star Force! I always mis-remember it as 1985 (a big year with Gradius, Twinbee, and one of my fondest favourites, Gun.Smoke). That one's held up marvelously.

I hope Final Star Force is this year's Raiga. Was a treat getting that and Wild Fang in 2023, and we've already had one longtime absentee in Silkworm. Senjyo is legitimately excellent, too. Despite its Gun Shooting looks, it's actually far closer to Cabal's carnival shooter. Briefly holding the #1 spot in PS4 Caravan Mode was one of my favourite things in 2023. Some titles really shine in five-minute format; see also Shao-Lin's Road.

I would call Tecmo's catalogue the pound-for-pound strongest on ACA. There aren't any games I'd swap out - the nearest is Tecmo Bowl, but even as a general non-fan of sports gaming, I can see why it's so beloved - and a good half-dozen are bonafide essentials.

Incidentally, per JP wikipedia, Senjyo sold well to arcades, but was unpopular with players. So they quickly recovered with a proven 2D STG, and that was Star Force.

[MJR]

Hell yeah, totally forgot Star Force! I always mis-remember it as 1985 (a big year with Gradius, Twinbee, and one of my fondest favourites, Gun.Smoke). That one's held up marvelously.

I hope Final Star Force is this year's Raiga. Was a treat getting that and Wild Fang in 2023, and we've already had one longtime absentee in Silkworm. Senjyo is legitimately excellent, too. Despite its Gun Shooting looks, it's actually far closer to Cabal's carnival shooter. Briefly holding the #1 spot in PS4 Caravan Mode was one of my favourite things in 2023. Some titles really shine in five-minute format; see also Shao-Lin's Road.

I would call Tecmo's catalogue the pound-for-pound strongest on ACA. There aren't any games I'd swap out - the nearest is Tecmo Bowl, but even as a general non-fan of sports gaming, I can see why it's so beloved - and a good half-dozen are bonafide essentials.

Incidentally, per JP wikipedia, Senjyo sold well to arcades, but was unpopular with players. So they quickly recovered with a proven 2D STG, and that was Star Force.

I would boldly argue that mid-80's Tecmo were actually Masters of game design, up at the very top of the Pantheon, and many of their games (Star Force, Bomb Jack, Rygar) not only advanced their genres but also remain as unmatched examples with their playability.

My only theory for why is that they were early enough for having to figure out themselves as how to do the game mechanics, instead of just carbon copying them like bazillion trillion game developers have done ever since, and since many of the inner workings of their game systems are quite well hidden under the surface and were not immediately obvious, they never ended up copied. That's why you still got that marvelous playability and adaptability to player's skills in Star Force, why you could try so many tactics in Bomb Jack, why you get so deep progression curve in Rygar.

Being someone who has worked on game development from 1994 to 2014 (and then freelance from 2014 to 2021), and spending three decades of observing all kinds of clueless fuckwits trying to design and navigate themselves out of a simple paper bag, it has truly given me the perspective to appreciate the unmatched precision and wit that Tecmo was able to make their game design as complex but coherent systems that were at the same time challenging but addictive. I really, honestly, do not think that anybody else was able to get even near the same level of brilliance, except, maybe, Fukio Mitsuji.

[AGermanArtist]

Wonder if we'll ever see Taito's Kick and Run? It's the only football game I've ever liked. I hate football and the monkey cunts who live for it.

[BIL]

I would boldly argue that mid-80's Tecmo were actually Masters of game design, up at the very top of the Pantheon, and many of their games (Star Force, Bomb Jack, Rygar) not only advanced their genres but also remain as unmatched examples with their playability.

My only theory for why is that they were early enough for having to figure out themselves as how to do the game mechanics, instead of just carbon copying them like bazillion trillion game developers have done ever since

That mechanical finesse is remarkably constant in their 80s/early 90s catalogue. (along with that distinctive rainbow palette-cycling effect, which always found its way in somehow! even making it home, to the FC Ninja Gaidens ).



Even Swimmer, simple as it is, has its remarkably progressive dive mechanic, recalling the dodge rolls of fighting and action games from decades later. Free i-frames on tap, but spam it, and the recovery window will be your doom!

The game that really jumps out at me - especially now ACA has unified so many titles under one reference-quality banner - is AC Ninja Gaiden. Part of the late 80s beltscroller gold rush kicked off by Kunio - but compared to Konami's Crime Fighters and SNK's Datsugoku, the sophistication is leagues ahead. Very arguably surpasses Technos themselves, with a smoothness that wouldn't be industry-standard until Final Fight, and an inventiveness that never became commonplace at all. There's the stage interaction - putting enemies through scenery not only feels great, it also reaps vital pickups, making spectacular demolition worth choreographing for even pragmatic survivalists. And besides the hanging grip's cinematic stage traversals, its attacks will flatten would-be pincers. Technos have terrain hazards; Tecmo have those and terrain assets, too. Even walls are active; lure a tough enemy near one, then run up it and execute them via helm-splitter, the most ninja take on Kunio's rebound kick.

Oh jeez Scoob! These bikers are into crank!

Spoiler

More fundamentally, there's also the true combo strings, from both players and enemies alike. Someone catches a clean hit, they're now a living canvas for spectacular wheeling destruction - unless their backup saves the day! A perfect balance of icy technique and cutthroat treachery. There's also the elegantly streamlined grappling, via the inimitably cool flying neckbreaker; perfect for sniping scenery with a well-placed, haplessly sprawling enemy.

It's a combination of disciplined mechanical accuracy and creative joie de vivre that's unmistakable in Wild Fang, too; and in hindsight, evokes the Stylish Hard Action of DMC and NG's own Xbox entry, as much as the frontier days of beltscrolling. I like to think Double Dragon III was directly referencing that flying grapple... avowed ImageFight fan Itagaki's Xbox game, likewise.

Smokeman? THAT BOY AINT SCARED A NOTHIN

Spoiler

There's this wonderful hobbyist sense of the designers intimately knowing their competition, and refusing to simply duplicate them without adding their own spin. Rygar relates to Konami's epochal Green Beret very similarly, I think.

The SPECIAL COMMANDO OPERATIONS in X-MILLIONTH YEARS B.C. (■｀w´■)

Spoiler

Wonder if we'll ever see Taito's Kick and Run? It's the only football game I've ever liked. I hate football and the monkey cunts who live for it.

[OldSkoolShmuper]

Really hoping for Taito's Thunder Fox or Konami's Violent Storm sometime soon.

[Lemnear]

@Bil hey you, you there!
I saw that you have a tons of 1LC on a lot of ACA/A.A. on PS4, what controller do you use?

[BIL]

@Bil hey you, you there!
I saw that you have a tons of 1LC on a lot of ACA/A.A. on PS4, what controller do you use?

Oho, thankyou! I'm just on a DS4, currently. Or rather, DS4s, plural - their rubber underlays die fast to arcade gaming. >w< I'm on my third in just under five years. I gave away the first two to friends who only play current-gen stuff, and didn't care about the soft buttons / busted dpads.

As always, Rastan knows what's up. 3; Likewise, I've just been replacing the underlays on the current one. They're easy to find online, although quality can vary. I have to sort out an arcade stick at some point, like I have for my older systems.

tbh, I don't mind playing on pads, having grown up doing most of my gaming on them. (unless it's a fighting game, gotta use a stick to enjoy those) And I never thought the PS4 would prove such a killer arcade machine, I only picked mine up to tide me over while working overseas. It and my gaming monitor have been faithful travel companions... much nicer to lug a tiny DS4 than a big honkin stick.

But I find sticks more aesthetically satisfying (#dickstock), and they age so much better. I don't think I've ever had to replace a single part on my PS1/PS2-era sticks. I'm sure Sony skimped on DS4 build quality... my old DS1s still work fine, and I was playing the same kinds of games on them. Reminds me of the fat PS2's rubber disc platter, the damn thing goes smooth and won't grip CD-ROMs / blue discs (like Gradius V). Apply a thin layer of rubber cement, let it dry, no problems in damn near twenty years. Just don't rip the ribbon cable connecting the shell's two halves, you'll instakill the PS2.

Tank Batallion's scoring system is for suicidal maniacs . For the most points you need to get in their face and attack as their guns are pointed right at you. No reward for cowards! lol

Ah man, that's the sort of death-dicing spark I love seeing in these oldies.

Love how Hamster's page phrases this

決死の攻めがハイスコアを狙う鍵です.
A DESPERATE ATTACK IS KEY TO AIMING FOR A HIGH SCORE.

[Angry Hina]

Hell yeah, totally forgot Star Force! I always mis-remember it as 1985 (a big year with Gradius, Twinbee, and one of my fondest favourites, Gun.Smoke). That one's held up marvelously.

Possibly becaus the much better known NES port is from 85, which was the base for the first Caravan tournament, right? Sadly this one don't has a caravan mode and no autofire either... Not even the SNES caravan collection has it :/

Btw.: were are all those cool gifs from? ^^

[BIL]

Btw.: were are all those cool gifs from? ^^

Cheers - just bits and pieces captured off my PS4

[dmk1198]

Salamander!

https://www.thegamer.com/best-arcade-archives-games/

[Fingolfin]

Not really into anything pre-83. Track n' Field is the first game that really grabbed my attention.
I kinda viewed early stuff the same as fruit/poker machines and tended to avoid, except for maybe Scramble/Frogger.
I just didn't care about videogames back then.

Scramble and Super Cobra rule though.

Tell me when you’re playing Super Cobra that you’re not hearing “Ride of The Valkyries”…

https://youtu.be/VE03Lqm3nbI?si=8Y2PVn-2_p6dIdX5

And feeling this…



The essential alternate OST/soundtrack while playing Heli shooting games!

[Angry Hina]

I'm just waiting for LiveWire to bring Futari's 360 port to PC at this point...

Pure speculation, but I suspect they can't do Futari because it has proprietary modes created by M2, such as Arrange and Novice. In other words, M2 likely have a claim to that version that would necessitate them being paid if a new version was printed, and that price might be a barrier. The previous releases were all done by Cave, so the rights ownership of work done was clear and simple.

Why are M2 just make these nonsense modes which are too easy for nearly everyone. No one can prepare himseft with these modes to challenge the main game. Its the same for their super easy modes of the Toaplan games. What a waste

[AGermanArtist]

I really loved the Futari 360 arrange. It was the mode I played most

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Samildanach wrote:

Despite my rather limited interest in the pre-'85 games, I really enjoy this thread and the open minded joyful enthusiasm that many of you show here.

I'm in the same boat, I haven't found too many early 80s arcade games that have gripped me, but there are some that I find are really cool and have some unique mechanics such as Super Locomotive, or King and Balloon. Much as I love late 90s era stuff I always gotta remember to keep an open mind about any early 80s era games. ^^

If you haven’t previously played these earlier arcade shooting games, and you’re so inclined and able to play them, I highly recommend

Star Castle by Cinematronics (1980)
https://youtu.be/htWIZRBb_Bs?si=nbfNDmkwgGFLkzqH

Omega Race by Midway (1980)
https://youtu.be/DqQ_VEZIxwo?si=DlgarEM6RdtW0aKb

Blaster by Eugene Jarvis @ Williams (1983)
https://youtu.be/dWuCN-quVAE?si=3iHDM5I5t0pz--J_

Space Dungeon by Taito (1981)
https://youtu.be/Pe4xaBSKiLI?si=HyNCVStUaLhzEau_

The first three all have interesting physics somewhat similar to the sense of gravity/acceleration physics conveyed by Lunar Lander; I’m aware of some folks here bringing up a strong dislike of floaty physics in STGs (with which I usually agree) so be advised. However vs STGs that are essentially “typical” hori, vertical or vertizontal these games implementation and use of physics/gravity is essential to the gameplay — again like Lunar Lander.

The third game is a) by Eugene Jarvis and b) a very unique game by any standards for 1983 in terms of POV and 2.5 3D…and it has those awesome bright colors that are a hallmark of Eugene Jarvis’s work.

Last one’s a mix of multidirectional, maze and twin stick shooter parts. Inspired by D&D and similar to another arcade game Venture.

All of these games take the preexisting Space Invaders/Galaxian and Asteroids model that existed in 1980 quite a bit further from what had come previously — all for the better for the early progression/development of arcade shooters.

Edits edits edits and still more edits

Back in the summer of 1983, I went down to my local 7-Eleven convienance store and saw that they had a brand new "early version" of Williams' Robotron 2085: Blaster sporting a 12" CRT arcade monitor setup and hosted in a converted Robotron 2084 cab with a brand new control panel made just for it. The actual back-lit arcade marquee said "Robotron 2085: Blaster" on it and did feature some the Robotron 2084 character sprites indeed -- this early version sported a whopping 30 levels to play through with the ability to continue if you wanted to see the further levels and eventual conclusion/ending (which meant spending some serious amount of quarters to reach the end). The early version of Blaster had the cool & iconic Robotron 2084 Grunts approaching you in FPV mode which was quite awesome for it's time. The overall upright Robotron 2085: Blaster cab sported a red-colored ball-topped 8-way joystick and a fire button + speed up button (was not a later released Duramold version cabinet of Blaster that was later released for the arcades in 1983) -- which l've only seen/played twice during that fine '83 summer day and never saw it again since then.

Eugene Jarvis has mentioned that his dad has an early version of Blaster arcade upright cab -- there are three versions of Blaster cabs in existence: the early production variant Robotron 2085: Blaster upright cab, the upright Duramold cab and the rarer deluxe sit-down environmental Blaster cab that Williams made for the arcades. It's not known how many of the early version Blaster cabs were manufactured by Williams before making the ultimate decision to go with producing the all-plastic Duramold cabs from that point on.

Considering that it was out on a "street location" meant that this ultra-rare "early version" non-Duramold Blaster cab was only available to play for a such a short amount of time -- snooze and you lose. Sure, I've played the later Duramold version Blaster cab at the past California Extreme shows which allowed you to play either the early version with 30 stages or the shorter trimmed-down regular production version with 20 stages -- the fast sprite scaling on a real Blaster pcb is still quite something to behold even to this very day.

The sprite scaling on this particular arcade game title was & is still is impressive for it's time considering that it's super silky-smooth. The actual arcade game pcb of Blaster uses a whopping 1MHz cpu for the overall custom-made sprite scaling engine which was considered "state-of-the-art" in the arcade game industry. Eugene Jarvis admits that it took thousands of hours to do the sprite scaling all done by hand and frame-by-frame when developing Blaster.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~