Toaplan games coming to PC (Steam, GOG)

[Some-Mist]

just grabbed the latest batch and gave grind stormer a go for the first time ever. back in college-era early 2010s I bought a sega genesis cart using an action replay and it didn't work, so I sent it back and never gave the game a chance.

it's pretty dang sick??

[Steven]

Edit: Do Truxton II, Batsugun, Twin Hawk, Grind Stormer, Fixeight and Dogyuun use the same arcade board? All of those games got the exact same update to their audio.

They do not, but they share some major components. As far as I know, the only ones that share the same board are Tiger-Heli, Slap Fight, and possibly Get Star, and even then there is the rare JAMMA version of Slap Fight that has its own weirdness with the button mappings, which is, according to Slap Fight programmer/composer Yuge-san, a direct result of the hardware on the JAMMA version being weird. You can't miss the JAMMA version of Slap Fight if you see it because it's the only Toaplan PCB that is blue.

Almost all Toaplan games use a unique, custom PCB just for that one specific game, although the post-Mahjong Sisters games mostly share the same main CPU (68000) and sub-CPU (Z80) with some exceptions. Wardner, I believe, runs on two Z80s, much like Tiger-Heli/Slap Fight/probably Get Star. I think most of the post-Mahjong Sisters games also share the same sound chip, the YM3812, but I'm not as familiar with the audio.

Daisenpuu is unique in that it was commissioned by Taito and uses a Taito PCB, not a Toaplan PCB. I don't know much about it, but I do know it has a somewhat unusual resolution that is probably not shared by any other Toaplan game. The only other notable thing is that Kyuukyoku Tiger and Twin Cobra ROMs don't work on the opposite game's PCB for some reason, so you can't just do a simple ROM swap to play the other game.

just grabbed the latest batch and gave grind stormer a go for the first time ever. back in college-era early 2010s I bought a sega genesis cart using an action replay and it didn't work, so I sent it back and never gave the game a chance.

it's pretty dang sick??

Wait until you play V-V. It's even better. There is also V-V Bomber Version, which is (probably) the same as Grind Stormer, but it's also available... and now that I think about it, they might not have separated the leaderboards for it from regular V-V.

[BrianC]

I read somewhere V-V Bomber is similar to Grind Stormer, but has the difficulty more in line with the JP version of V-V.

[scrilla4rella]

Just got a cheeky round in of Grind Stormer for the first time. The control is super responsive. I'm very happy these ports exist. Yeah the UI is fugly but it doesn't really bother me.

[Jbrodack]

Just got a cheeky round in of Grind Stormer for the first time. The control is super responsive. I'm very happy these ports exist. Yeah the UI is fugly but it doesn't really bother me.

I kinda like how lightweight the UI is for these games. You boot right into the arcade game and the menu looks like part of the original game. I just wish the borders were nicer and higher resolution and their poor man's gadgets looked better.

[DestroyTheCore]

Most games in the collection are currently 35% off. The biggest sale yet!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/4 ... ollection/

[dethcow]

Just got a cheeky round in of Grind Stormer for the first time. The control is super responsive. I'm very happy these ports exist. Yeah the UI is fugly but it doesn't really bother me.

Two things the Bitwave ports got very right: input lag is minimal, and there's just mame-style save states with no dumb limitations like some other ports of shmups.

Haven't checked back on whether some of the other oddities in the first batch still exist or have since been fixed, but I remember Kyukyoku Tiger playing exactly like I was used to, and I'm not familiar enough with the other Toaplan games to say one way or another. Haven't bought the last two batches yet, so I'd be interested to hear whether most of the "major issues" with them have been fixed or not.

[Arino]

Just in case this has not been posted yet

https://www.youtube.com/live/HdE4Ce1WYm ... A8y-32Yyt9

Toaplan x Bitwave talk with brief English translation

[DestroyTheCore]

I have been casually playing Batsugun since last week and gave it another try with my newly updated arcade stick yesterday. I managed to reach the stage 1-5 boss of the Special version which is hell of an accomplishment for me and made me enjoy this game even more. Something finally clicked!

I was wondering what other Toaplan games would you suggest? I'm more of a CAVE guy and I really enjoy flashy/dynamic/active gameplay and visuals with a huge dose of satisfaction. I admit earlier Toaplan games are less my jam although I acknowledge their innovation when they came out.

Cheers.

[beer gas canister]

I have been casually playing Batsugun since last week and gave it another try with my newly updated arcade stick yesterday. I managed to reach the stage 1-5 boss of the Special version which is hell of an accomplishment for me and made me enjoy this game even more. Something finally clicked!

I was wondering what other Toaplan games would you suggest? I'm more of a CAVE guy and I really enjoy flashy/dynamic/active gameplay and visuals with a huge dose of satisfaction. I admit earlier Toaplan games are less my jam although I acknowledge their innovation when they came out.

Cheers.

Out Zone, FixEight, Twin Cobra/K Tiger (not bullet hell but it plays like a dream)

[Steven]

The best ones are Out Zone, Hishouzame, Kyuukyoku Tiger (skip Twin Cobra, it kind of sucks in comparison), Same! Same! Same! 1P, and Slap Fight. Or just play Tatsujin Ou if you hate yourself.

[MJR]

I would recommend Truxton, Hellfire, Outzone and KK Tiger in a heartbeat.

KK Tiger is bit of an interesting case though, because when I first tried it out, there was literally nothing that would have piqued my interest. Only subsequent plays quickly revealed to me that 1) the gameplay and music is out of this world 2) many of the popular shmups, especially on amiga, ripped off err were inspired by KK Tiger.

The music in KK Tiger is so catchy that it's insane.

Tatsujin Ou makes me feel like I am being put through a cheese grinder, slowly. Yet I sometimes fire it up.

Tiger Heli and Slap Fight have amazing gameplay. It's super rare to see something balanced so perfectly. But they are also very tough. Especially Tiger Heli, it will utterly destroy any illusions of skill you think you may had as a gamer. But when you get good at it.. just bliss.

[spmbx]

Just in case this has not been posted yet

https://www.youtube.com/live/HdE4Ce1WYm ... A8y-32Yyt9

Toaplan x Bitwave talk with brief English translation

Thanks for posting the link. Skimmed through all the parts, and slightly offtopic and probably stupid question but who are the two gaijin at about 1:23:22 in that video? I'm guessing the right one is @mikejmoffitt , and who's the guy with the glasses on the left?

[Arino]

Just in case this has not been posted yet

https://www.youtube.com/live/HdE4Ce1WYm ... A8y-32Yyt9

Toaplan x Bitwave talk with brief English translation

Thanks for posting the link. Skimmed through all the parts, and slightly offtopic and probably stupid question but who are the two gaijin at about 1:23:22 in that video? I'm guessing the right one is @mikejmoffitt , and who's the guy with the glasses on the left?

Sorry I just realized the link I posted came without the time stamp I wanted it to include. Therefore, go to 9:20:15 to see "Toaplan Arcade Shoot 'Em Ups" (see description for time stamps), that's what I wanted to share. There is an English comment/translation of what was said after each statement. This will also answer your question about the guy with the glasses. I could give you a brief summary but I can't remember exactly right now and I don't want to say anything wrong so just have a look