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Post by ResidentTsundere on Aug 31, 2018 2:19:12 GMT -5
Ah, a fellow follower of VG Junk. 👌
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Post by Bumpyroad on Mar 8, 2020 7:19:30 GMT -5
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Post by wyrdwad on Mar 17, 2020 22:19:23 GMT -5
Have I really not mentioned Robo Crush for MSX2 in here yet? Because... yeah. This box art is just ridiculously rad. And the game itself, though clunky, is also a hidden gem in the MSX library -- and an MSX-exclusive, at that! There are sequels on PC-98 (including the confusingly named Robo Crush 98, which is NOT a remake of this game), but this original title seems to be the best of the bunch overall, and DEFINITELY has the best box art. Also, while not a vintage MSX game, this MSX homebrew game from last year has some pretty rad box art (and is a pretty great game, to boot!): As does this OTHER MSX homebrew game from last year. Not as good a game, sadly, but the ambition behind it is great, and the box art definitely raises an eyebrow: -Tom
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Mar 18, 2020 6:50:26 GMT -5
Robo Crush reminds me of Lords of Thunder a bit, except Transformer-ized.
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Post by wyrdwad on Mar 18, 2020 8:09:22 GMT -5
The game itself is sort of like a JRPG mixed with the concept of Robot Wars. You build a robot from parts, then set it loose against other robots, where both are totally AI-controlled. When one or the other reaches a certain level of damage, it's classified as "crushed," and the victor gains money which can be used to upgrade the robot for future battles -- but it's possible enemy robots can permanently destroy weapons or upgraded mobility enhancements, so you have to be really careful to balance your robot well in order to ensure you're not wasting your money. The sequels are basically JUST that, but this original game actually has an overworld, and a story, and side-quests, and NPCs... including some whom you can recruit to use as alternate "pilots" for your robot, which affects its stats in battle. And the story is... weird as hell, and melodramatic as can be, but also quite engaging. And surprisingly depressing at points -- there's one scene where a little boy randomly approaches you and asks if you can give him a ride in your robot to the underwater aquarium park in town (it has glass walls and a glass floor). If you agree, he'll tell you how grateful he is... before literally DROPPING DEAD on the spot. Turns out he's the mayor's son, and he was confined to his hospital room with a terminal illness, but managed to escape due to his desire to see the underwater park just once before he died. You're arrested for kidnapping at first, but once you talk to the mayor, he lets you go, and thanks you for granting his son's last wish. Definitely not something I expected from a melodramatic Robot Wars game! ...Also, one of the recruitable NPCs is a recluse who lives in the desert and wears a hockey mask, looking an awful lot like Jason Vorhees. And when he finally decides you're worthy of his time, he introduces himself... as Janesaw. JANESAW. That's when I knew this game was something special. Heheh. I posted a couple videos of it on YouTube, albeit to highlight the music (which uses really basic OPLL instrumentation, but is fairly well-composed!). Worth checking out, since I don't see ANYONE else ever mention this game, and it's very much worth mentioning: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg9grsU_vuowww.youtube.com/watch?v=DPKt3jU0qvo-Tom
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Post by wyrdwad on Mar 18, 2020 8:29:43 GMT -5
Oh, and since that was a bit of a tangent, here's a more on-topic post. Just picked this up the other day, and while it's not the best box art ever or anything, that background is just gorgeous -- and there's a very good reason why! The game's title roughly translates as "Iblard: The Town That Hatches Laputa." Which caught my eye when I saw it on the shelf at my local Book-Off for two reasons: one, the fact that it had the word "Laputa" in it, and showed a floating continent... and two, the developer: System Sacom! Makers of Yuurei-kun/Mr. Ghost, which is kind of like the MSX's Little Samson -- one of the rarest and most expensive, but also best and most unique, MSX action games! Intrigued, I did a little research online, and... yeah, the fantasy land of Iblard is based on a series of famous Japanese paintings dating back to... the '60s, I think? Which have been turned into children's picture books and all sorts of things. And the painter eventually got a job at Studio Ghibli, helping to design a lot of the fantasy backdrops for their '90s output, with the fantasy world featured in Whisper of the Heart being DIRECTLY based on Iblard. There was even a Studio Ghibli short in 2007 called... Iblard! Which is a silent slice-of-life 30-minute feature showing people going about their daily lives in that fantasy land. So this is kind of like an early -- and seemingly forgotten -- Studio Ghibli-inspired game, with actual connections TO Studio Ghibli. Which was reason enough to pick it up! But I also watched some footage of it, and it's... a first-person free-roaming puzzle game, kind of like Myst if Myst were laid out like a very basic FPS. And while I normally don't like FPSes, the footage for this game looked surprisingly well-designed and interesting, and made me very interested in checking it out! Still haven't had a chance to sit down with it, but I'm already quite certain I'll like it when I do. And the box art is significant for featuring one of the classic Iblard paintings, upon which the whole of the game world was based! -Tom
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Post by windfisch on Mar 18, 2020 17:58:43 GMT -5
Recently I've been obsessed with the Bizarro-Game Boy that is the Watara Supervision. Most of the games for the system are awful clones of much better titles, though there are actually a handful of decent ones, too. Boxart usually is equally low quality (oftentimes in a hilarious fashion), but there are also some exceptions. So here are some of the, well, "best" Supervision box arts:
Alien - squint and it'll almost look like official R-Type artwork. And indeed the game is a blatant R-Type clone. Though unlike the relatively competent box art it is an utter desaster gameplay-wise. And it doesn't even feature any Giger-inspired designs in the game, so the box art counts as false advertisement.
Screw it! Uploading images files doesn't work for me Any tips? (I've already made the files less than 1 MB)
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Post by wyrdwad on Mar 18, 2020 18:59:21 GMT -5
Create an Imgur account and upload them there, then link the Imgur image between (img)(/img) tags (substituting the parentheses for brackets).
It's an extra step, but Imgur is... honestly a way better and more user-friendly site than I expected it would be when a friend suggested I do the same thing a few years ago. I've had zero problems using it, and in fact, that Robo Crush box image a few posts above this is being linked from my personal Imgur account -- it's an actual scan of the box that I made by request when the MSX fan community realized there weren't any good HD scans of the Robo Crush box and manual (and disks) online anywhere.
-Tom
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Post by windfisch on Mar 18, 2020 23:22:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice! I'll have to consider if I really need this, though, since I'm trying to keep my number of online accounts as low as possible.
Btw: I dig the pink clouds from the Robo Crush cover (nice contrast to the robot/mech itself).
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Post by Bumpyroad on Feb 24, 2021 5:57:39 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2021 5:49:39 GMT -5
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Post by windfisch on Mar 1, 2021 11:03:30 GMT -5
Not enough Watara Supervision, I say!
These are the best Supervision covers. And I mean that relatively :
Many Supervision boxes opt for a naive, childlike aesthetic and most of those look awfully cheap ( example1, example 2). The US cover for Delta Hero on the other hand actually pulls it off rather nicely, featuring whimsical water-pencil art. It makes the joyless mess that is the game itself appear much more charming than it actually is.
Treasure Hunter, another decent cover, seemingly by the same artist as Delta Hero. The boy's mouth looks a bit weird and in terms of composition it's a bit too crowded, but overall it achieves what it sets out to do. (Gameplay-wise it's a horrible Boulder Dash clone, in case you were wondering.)
And finally: Alien (European versions, except for Italy, I guess). Apparently the cover artist was very well aware of this being a blatant R-Type clone. The art isn't great per se, but it looks close enough to an actual R-Type cover to fool the untrained eye (for comparison: RT1, RT2, both Game Boy), thus making the game seem much more competent than it actually is. Compared to the Game Boy port of the original it lacks intriguing Giger-inspired art, engaging music, smooth and precise gameplay, carefully designed stages and any sense of fun. Nitpicks, I know, but as whole it's just not quite as good.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2021 4:51:19 GMT -5
windfisch - I did a double take at that first pic. The below was all I noticed. I don't know where my mind goes sometimes. As for some favourites, I chose the two below: I really like how the Penguin's chosen 'hideout' is not that nice safe igloo right behind him, he instead chooses to hide behind this small block of ice. This artwork for Super Pang really highlights the futility of trying to defend oneself against falling balls with a pistol. I've pretty much given up just for looking at it.
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Post by windfisch on Mar 2, 2021 9:10:11 GMT -5
windfisch - I did a double take at that first pic. The below was all I noticed. I don't know where my mind goes sometimes. I don't know what you mean. All I see is two tasty loafs of... awwwww, now you've ruined it! Also, I'd like to see you going for that igloo when there is a pink hammer-wielding rageaholic standing next to it. Had you taken the same night class on pixel-penguin-ethology that I took, you'd know that grabbing all its valuable iceblocks and running for its life is what any penguin would do in this situation. Usually it'll go for its gun-hideout next:
And you got that last picture completely wrong, I'm afraid: He's just defending his balls with a pistol (look closely at his eye and you can see the reflection of airborne ballcrushers). Been there.
edit: Further proof for my penguin-related observation:
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2021 2:38:21 GMT -5
I'm not sure if I missed it, but somehow I looked through this thread without managing to find the stunning box art for Gradius.
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