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Post by excelsior on Oct 29, 2022 16:33:45 GMT -5
It did seem to be a whim. I think it stemmed from you playing some Compile games sequentially. Just play what you enjoy I think. x
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Post by dsparil on Nov 2, 2022 7:17:49 GMT -5
Here's part one of a recap focusing on games highlighting specific hardware.
R-Type Part-1 & Part-2 Hudson wanted to show the world that their system could handle arcade ports well so they put in a real effort into R-Type even splitting up the game to avoid overly compromising the graphics. About a third of the entire shooter library ended up being arcade ports, but these have also arguably aged the worst of the entire library. While most are perfectly playable, they also tend to not have any enhancements or gameplay additions over their source material. R-Type slightly avoids this fate with the addition of a boss to the only level to not have one giving the game a better flow.
Battle Ace What should have been the showcase for the SuperGrafx's power instead showed its folly. The backwards compatible SG modestly bumped up the amount of RAM in the system and added in a second graphics processor, but it also added 60% to the price. It was not even compatible with the CD-ROM² Interface Unit due to its physical dimensions and required an adaptor that was not initially available and fairly expensive once it was. Anyone that plunked down their ¥39,800 for an SG and ¥6,500 for Battle Ace at launch got a decent rail shooter that was slightly more advanced graphically but nothing to write home about. Over the next two years, a grand total of four additional games were released. Only the final game, the only home port of 1941, even comes close to justifying owning one and certainly not at full price.
Super Darius While not the first CD-based shooter, Super Darius was the first to take real advantage of the added storage resulting in a game that potentially would have exceeded the system’s storage limit of 8Mb without a memory mapper. The later Darius Plus was the first of only a handful of games to be released on a 6Mb HuCard and required cutting out ten bosses to fit. One of the long term problems with the system is that the early availability of CDs left HuCard technology languishing. Games like Super Darius that could have led to advancements took the path of least resistance instead. Larger cards stayed uneconomical while the high price of the CD environment limited its reach.
Ginga Fukei Densetsu [ Sapphire ] NEC’s hardware strategy for the PCE was much too rapid with a parade of near yearly upgrades. Someone going along from day one could have spent north of ¥170,000 when all was said and done. The final upgrade was the Arcade Card at ¥12,800 for the Duo-only version or ¥17,800 for the universal Pro edition. While clearly intended for fighting games as the first three titles were ports of SNK’s Fatal Fury 2, Art of Fighting and World Heroes 2, more RAM is almost always a plus so it saw uptake across genres. Sapphire puts the card to good use resulting in a game of true arcade quality. As it was released on the eve of the platform’s total discontinuation, Sapphire feels like one last try to create the ultimate PCE shooter. Considering the sky high MSRP for Neo Geo games, getting the AC for Sapphire alone was almost worth it.
God-Fighter Zeroigar 1992 could have brought a 32-bit successor codenamed Tetsujin which only ended up seeing release in late December 1994 as the PC-FX. Recast as a multimedia-focused system meant to supplement rather than replace the PCE, the end of its sibling brought an influx of traditional games that NEC, essentially the sole publisher of games for the system, had initially avoided. Zeroigar is a well designed game that only gets better in its irreverent bonus mode, but it is essentially a 1997 game running on 1992 hardware. Even a true gem couldn't do much to turn the fate of the PC-FX around.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 2, 2022 7:59:50 GMT -5
Just a few extra random tidbits:
Supposedly NEC only ever did a single production run of SuperGrafx systems and then spent years trying to offload them.
The full breakdown for how much someone could have spent is this: ¥24,800 - PC Engine (1987) ¥32,800 - CD-ROM² (1988) ¥39,800 - SuperGrafx (1989) ¥6,900 - SG to CD-ROM² adaptor (1990) ¥47,800 - Super CD-ROM² (1991) ¥17,800 - Arcade Card Pro (1994)
for a total of ¥169,900 plus the cost of the CD-ROM² interface unit whose price I could not find. Of course someone coming in late and also skipping the SG could have grabbed the Duo for ¥59,800 or the Duo-R (and presumably Duo-RX) for ¥39,800 plus the cheaper Arcade Card Duo. The presence of the the Super System Card upgrade (also couldn't find the price) makes the Super CD-ROM² not strictly necessary, but it was a faster drive so someone that wanted the absolute top of the line would have to get one or a Duo.
I guess I'm being hard on the whole hardware strategy because it really was a little crazy. In the system's later days, it did become heavily CD-based, but add-ons never sell as well as the base system especially at such high prices. I've never been able to find official sales numbers, and honestly, I don't think anyone actually knows. If you look around online, you'll find radically different estimates so I'm going to assume they're all made up numbers. Regardless, I think it was a huge mistake to not figure out ways to keep more games on HuCards. I really think a whole lot of shooters could have fit onto the larger HuCards if they were cheaper, and SFII shows that mappers were doable too. I mean, Air Zonk is one of the nicest looking games but it's only 4Mb so that still had a lot of room to grow.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 2, 2022 18:39:33 GMT -5
And I changed my mind about not doing a list of what I think are the top games. I think I just had some leftover thoughts that didn't fit anywhere before and framing them around a few games gave it some structure. Here is a top 25 in alphabetical order: 1941 -Counter Attack- 1943 Kai Adventure Baron Don: The Lost Sunheart Air Zonk Chō Aniki Cyber Core Ginga Fukei Densetsu [ Sapphire ] God-Fighter Zeroigar Gradius II: Gofer’s Ambition Gunhed / Blazing Lazers Hanii in the Sky Kiaidan 00 Override Psychic Storm Rayxanber II Soldier Blade Space Fantasy Zone Spirit Fighter Spriggan Star Parodier Super Darius Super Darius II Super Star Soldier Terra Cresta II Winds of Thunder Xevious: Fardraut Saga I should note that this is only from the original and enchanted ports. 1941 is right on the edge, but it has a rebalanced difficulty compared to the arcade game. Just for fun, I actually did keep a running ranking of all the games as I went through them along with the score I gave them in the game finish thread or what I would have for looping games. I consider anything 7 and above recommendable without qualification. I give most games I like a 7 and anything higher just has something a little extra special. These make up 40% of the entire library which is why I also reduced it down to the 25 above. I wouldn’t put too much stock into the individual positions since they’re fairly arbitrary gut feelings. Games I gave a 6 have some kind of medium sized issues but not to the point that they aren't worth playing. I wouldn't bother with games that are 5 and under. For unenhanced ports, I knocked off 1 from the score. That led to a lot of 6-rated ports, and I put those below the 6-rated original games. God-Fighter Zeroigar (9) Super Darius (8) Spirit Warrior Spriggan (8) Override (8) 1941 -Counter Attack- (8) Galaga ’88 (8) 1943 Kai (7) Air Zonk (7) Hanii in the Sky (7) Super Dimension Fortress Macross 2036 (7) Xevious: Fardraut Saga (7) Legend of Jinmu (7) Side Arms Special (7) Heavy Unit (7) Spiral Wave (7) Ginga Fukei Densetsu [ Sapphire ] (7) Gradius II: Gofer’s Ambition (7) Terra Cresta II (7) Darius Plus & Darius Alpha (7) Super Darius II (7) R-Type Complete CD (7) R-Type Part 1 & Part 2 (7) Gradius (7) Adventure Baron Don: The Lost Sunheart (7) Psychic Storm (7) Cyber Core (7) Violent Soldier (7) Rayxanber II (7) Kiaidan 00 (7) Winds of Thunder (7) Star Parodier (7) Image Fight 2: Operation Deepstriker (7) Zero Wing (7) Atlantean (7) Super Raiden (7) Avenger (7) Paradise! Great Wizard of the Middle Kingdom (7) Magical Chase (7) Space Fantasy Zone (7) Hana Taaka Daka!? (7) Chō Aniki (7) Toy Shop Boys (7) Final Blaster (7) Super Star Soldier (7) Gunhed (7) Soldier Blade (7) Salamander (7) MetamorJupiter (7) Power Gate (7) Hawk F-123 (7) Final Soldier (7) Sylphia (7)
Nexzr (6) Down Load 2 (6) Down Load (6) Spriggan mark 2 — Re-Terraform Project (6) Rabio Lepus Special (6) Dead Moon (6) Ai・Chō Aniki (6) L・Dis (6) Burning Angels (6) CD Denjin: Rockabilly Heaven (6) Coryoon (6) Gate of Thunder (6) Terraforming (6) Toilet Kids (6) Rayxanber III (6) God Panic (6) Steam-Heart’s (6) Legion (6) Space Invaders: The Day of Resurrection (6)
Hellfire S — The Another Story (6) Space Harrier (6) Here Comes!! TwinBee (6) Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams (6) Raiden (6) Aero Blasters (6) Fantasy Zone (6) Image Fight (6) Forgotten Worlds (6) Mr. Heli’s Great Adventure (6) Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (6) P-47: The Freedom Fighter (6) Side Arms (6)
It’s Parodius! —From Myth to Laughter— (5) Hypernova Blast (5) Meteor Blaster DX (5) Summer Carnival ’93 — Nexzr Special (5) Summer Carnival ’92 — Alzadick (5) Barunba (5) W-Ring: The Double Rings (5) Psycho Chaser (5) Paranoia (5) Battle Ace (5) Saint Dragon (5) Dragon Saber (5) Dragon Spirit (5) Aldynes (5) Tatsujin (5) Ultimate Tiger (5) Space Invaders: The Original Game (5) After Burner II (5) Atomic Robo-Kid Special (5) Ordyne (5) Rock-On (5) Deep Blue (5) Armed F (4) Thunder Blade (4) Twin Hawk Custom (4) Twin Hawk (4)
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Post by windfisch on Nov 2, 2022 19:03:41 GMT -5
Congrats for making it through all those shmups! This thread will prove useful to me in the near future, no doubt. I still want to play more PCE games, but haven't gotten to it - yet.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 3, 2022 15:07:47 GMT -5
Hope it helps! I'm still planning on some other games too. At least the other two SuperGrafx games, and the US exclusive games. I wouldn't stick to a format for those since there's more variability.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 4, 2022 9:44:23 GMT -5
Madö King GranzörtDeveloper Mutech Publisher Hudson Soft Format SuperGrafx Release (JP) April 6, 1990 Release (US) Unreleased After five months of waiting, SuperGrafx owners got their second game, a mediocre action-platformer based on the recently ended anime of same name. Befitting of a Sunrise show, it is technically a mecha anime but with the twist of also having a bit of a fantasy feeling despite being set on the moon in the year 2100. The game feels like it might as well be full fantasy despite all the enemies being robots. The eponymous red Granzört fights with a sword, the green Windzart has a bow and the blue Aquabeat has a spear. Windzart can also fire up at an angle in addition to a limited amount of flight while Aquabeat can bring up a temporary protective shield by holding down the attack button. Apparently Granzört’s special ability is being the main character's mecha. The game’s major failing is just being dull. It’s not strictly a left to right affair as it starts off right to left and includes some mazes, but there’s nothing interesting either. It’s mostly a lot of repetitive hacking and slashing. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the different characters have real situational uses, but you are required to use Windzart’s flight on occasion at least. The graphics are also quite aesthetically poor and it isn’t clear how this uses the added capabilities of the SG. One interesting tidbit is that series creator Oji Hiroi was actually an employee of Red or might as well have been. He’d already created the Far East of Eden series and Sakura Wars would follow in a few years. He worked on many of the entries and also did work on other games in the Hudson sphere of influence. I’m not sure if this was before the era of the production committee, but I’d be surprised if Hudson didn’t get special treatment in any case. Granzört Windzart. This is also the nicest the game ever looks. Aquabeat
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Post by dsparil on Nov 7, 2022 10:08:45 GMT -5
Ghouls ’n Ghosts 大魔界村Developer Alfa System Publisher NEC Avenue Format SuperGrafx Release (JP) July 27, 1990 Release (US) Unreleased Capcom’s goofy “horror” platformer Ghouls ’n Ghosts introduces a few new features over the first game in the series, Ghosts ’n Goblins. The most immediate is the ability to fire up at all times and also down when jumping, a feature not retained in the sequel. A new magic armor grants weapon specific charge attacks giving the game a little more variety. This entry is somewhat overlooked in the original trilogy as it never received a port to a Nintendo system as the other two were both high sellers for Capcom on their respective platforms. The SuperGrafx presumably decreased the amount of flicker in this port, but it was not able to reduce it in all situations. One boss is a mass of clouds sprites which introduces a small amount. This boss reappears as a smaller enemy in the final stage, but enough of them are on screen at once that flicker becomes severe. This section is short enough for the difficult to not be significantly increased, but the player character can be hard to see. The game also received a console port to the Genesis. It has one point in its favor as it tweaks one specific section to be less of a difficulty spike. On the other hand, the audiovisual elements are worse with poorer quality music and sound effects in addition to simplified backgrounds and some reduced sprite sizes. The game also still has some amount of flicker but strangely in different places than the SG. The arcade original is still the ideal way to play the game, but the SG version comes close. Arcade with magic armor SuperGrafx, the colors aren't reproduced but it's at a generally similar level of detail Genesis, the backgrounds are generally simplified. It isn't visible in this screenshot, but steeper slopes appear stepped.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 9, 2022 9:14:58 GMT -5
R-Type (US)Developer Hudson Soft Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) November 1989 The single TurboChip—the actually fitting US name of the HuCard—version of R-Type is almost entirely just the previous 2 HuCard version smushed together. There are two key differences however that make the US version notably harder. The most evident is the smaller pool of continues. Part-1 gave three and Part-2 gave five versus only three for the entirety of US. Because of the volume split, the end of each part gives a code to input into the next in order to do two full loops. This has a bigger effect on reducing the difficulty since each card change is effectively a checkpoint since the code carries over powerups and even the score. Because of this, the US version is closer to “arcade perfect” since it functions the same way as the arcade game at the expense of lacking “saving”. This part of level 5 is an absolute flicker fest in Loop 2, but it also is in the arcade game just to a lesser degree.
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Post by Snake on Nov 9, 2022 14:28:10 GMT -5
And I changed my mind about not doing a list of what I think are the top games. I think I just had some leftover thoughts that didn't fit anywhere before and framing them around a few games gave it some structure. Here is a top 25 in alphabetical order: 1941 -Counter Attack- 1943 Kai Adventure Baron Don: The Lost Sunheart Air Zonk Chō Aniki Cyber Core Ginga Fukei Densetsu [ Sapphire ] God-Fighter Zeroigar Gradius II: Gofer’s Ambition Gunhed / Blazing Lazers Hanii in the Sky Kiaidan 00 Override Psychic Storm Rayxanber II Soldier Blade Space Fantasy Zone Spirit Fighter Spriggan Star Parodier Super Darius Super Darius II Super Star Soldier Terra Cresta II Winds of Thunder Xevious: Fardraut Saga
I'm glad you did end up with a top-list! Thanks! I've been meaning to explore more of PC-Engine's prolific shooter catalogue. Can't say I've been a big fan of Capcom's 1940's series, but I'll definitely give 1943 a shot if you vouch for it among the likes of Winds of Thunder and Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire. It may sound strange that I mostly play PC-Engine shooters to explore their soundtracks, so if there's an actual quality game attached, all the better! Granzort looks like my kind of game! I'm gonna need to find it!
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Post by dsparil on Nov 9, 2022 15:03:47 GMT -5
It did take me a while to warm up to 1943 Kai, but I liked it a lot in the end. It isn't as good as 1941, but I still ranked it high overall. Like I said in the post for it, the PCE version is basically a new revision of 1943 based on the arcade Kai not a straight port. If you really don't like the series, it probably won't change your mind, but it sands off enough of the pure annoyances (huge hitbox, slow plane speed) to be more playable at a minimum.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 11, 2022 8:11:14 GMT -5
Battle RoyaleDeveloper Incredible Technologies Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) October 1990 After a string of Japan exclusive wrestling games including the first entry in the Fire Pro series, America got its own exclusive “wrestling” game although Battle Royale is more of a themed brawler. It shuns the sometimes complex and technical nature of other games in genre in favor of a small handful of simple controls shared between each of the five wrestlers. It also does not feature pinning in any way, and opponents must be thrown out of the ring either through an attack or from being lifted and thrown after being downed. As a single player game, Battle Royale is not particularly good. Movement is jerky and the game is slightly buggy. The main tournament mode drags on for too long as you fight every combination of one-on-one, one-on-two, one-on-three and one-on-four for a total of fifteen matches. The highest difficulty, Professional, supposedly features a special sixteenth match, but the jankiness of the game makes it overly tedious to get that far. Even the worst games are better in multiplayer, and this is no exception. Up to five players are supported which does give this a leg up over its contemporaries. Developer Incredible Technologies would later find greater success with the popular bar staples Golden Tee Golf and Big Buck Hunter. Battle Royale could be seen as a spiritual predecessor to these inebriation friendly series. In certain situations, its shallow but easy to pick up gameplay is a feature not a limitation. One of the game's flaws is that attacks aren't particularly flashy You can pose for the audience to restore some health
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Post by dsparil on Nov 14, 2022 15:14:18 GMT -5
TaleSpinDeveloper Interactive Designs, Radiance Software Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) July 1991 TaleSpin is an awful game both in use of the license and on its own merits. Aside from the brief sky surfing bonus stages after each level and a single brief horizontal shooter section, it has almost nothing to do with the show outside of graphical elements. The graphics themselves are poor both for the sprite work and the backgrounds. It’s simply six stages of generic action-platforming with buggy hit detection and little else. Interactive Designs would collaborate with Radiance once more on TG16 for another US exclusive Disney license, Darkwing Duck. Sega acquired Interactive Designs in 1992, and with the exception of Eternal Champions, they largely worked on lower tier licensed games until their shutdown in 1996. During this time they would also develop a second TaleSpin game for Genesis and GameGear. While mostly unremarkable, it at least is a component platformer that has something to do with cargo delivery and what this game should have been. Rounding out the licensed TaleSpin games is Capcom’s horizontal shooter for NES and Game Boy. Gameplay is slightly similar to Namco’s SkyKid as moving up and down also changes the angle of attack. Unlike most shooters, it’s possible to reverse direction which also puts the plane upside down in a nice touch. The graphics are decent for an NES game although the overall gameplay isn’t anything spectacular. The Game Boy version is unsurprisingly cut down and slightly easier. Your projectile sometimes changes depending on the level like a snowball in the wintery level. You also get a totally different sprite in the underwater level, but the coral in the background is such a mess. It is nice that the game has a level select for the first four levels, and more full screen graphics like this would have gone a long way.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 16, 2022 8:22:13 GMT -5
Yo, BroDeveloper ICOM Simulations Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) September 1991 After the surprise success of Yellow Submarine, Mike Love of the Beach Boys tried to get his own animated musical off the ground. After decades of attempts, the closest he got was the bear-centric Camp California most likely due to a late career resurgence off of #1 hit “Kokomo” in 1988. Although no animated project came to fruition despite two separate series making it far enough to be announced, a large amount of merchandise ended up being released. These include a canceled mini-game collection for TG16 on TurboChip and CD that would have seen release in 1990; two released TG16 games; an album of children’s music put out by Sony featuring notable voice actors; kid’s meal toys; and even a collaboration with the Department of Education through Love’s StarServe community service organization. Yo, Bro is an odd overhead action game. Playing as the Bart Simpson knock-off Lil Bro, the player rides around on a skateboard using a slingshot and a variety of heavy weaponry to defeat every enemy in each of the 30 stages while optionally saving civilians for bonus points. Levels features a single enemy type that can also be a “lair” that spawns secondary enemies that must also be defeated. These enemies range from movie references (Audrey II lookalike plant monsters), environmental issues (toxic waste), typical game enemies (aliens) and the odd (giant purple amoebas). Every five levels features a new “city” and includes a straightforward action bonus level. The combination of child-like elements like Lil Bro with sometimes extreme but cartoonish violence gives the feeling of a game almost at war with itself. There is no other game where a teddy bear killing zombies summoned from Hell with a rocket launcher is treated with a tone more typical of Berenstain Bears or Arthur with nary a wink acknowledging the incongruity. It’s almost as if an in-development game was retrofit to include the Camp California license after the mini-game collection was canceled. The game itself is not quite a hidden gem, but it does have some positive qualities. The core gameplay is fairly entertaining with a wide variety of weapons. The skateboard also performs differently depending on terrain. It is however way too long for how repetitive the gameplay gets over the long run. Enemies start getting reused after the fifteenth level which is where the game should have ended. For more on Camp California, the below video is pretty much everything there is to know about it, and seemingly only the compilation of this information. It is also overly long, slightly annoying and the coverage of this game falls into the trap of “I’m bad at this game therefore the game is bad”. The first ten to fifteen minutes has the most important background information. I don't believe that this "killer bee hive" wasn't originally a stack of pancakes. Robots pounding people into the ground is an appropriate level cartoony for the premise. Toxic waste melting the flesh off of a wandering kid seems a bit too far.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 21, 2022 8:04:48 GMT -5
Champions Forever BoxingDeveloper Distinctive Software Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) October 1991 Ostensibly based on the documentary Champions Forever, Champions Forever Boxing is a technical boxing game featuring the film’s five subjects: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ken Norton and Larry Holmes. Gameplay is simple with punches thrown either with the II button or a combination of I and a direction. The main weakness with the controls is that blocking must be done with the Run button. This would have lended itself well to the Avenue Pad 3 had it been released in the US, but the lack of it leads to awkwardness. Going along with the game’s conceit of fighting some of the greatest heavyweight champions is the game’s high difficulty. Stamina is featured along with health so button mashing only leads to a quick defeat. Exhibition mode is the slightly easier of the game’s two modes as the boxer choices are the main heavyweights rather than fictitious journeymen of Career. In either mode, matches consistent of multiple three minute rounds, three in Exhibition or a grueling twelve in Career, and a modest amount of health may be restored or the strength of a punch improved between rounds. The game’s real failing is in the staidness of the presentation. As the sport lacks the flashiness of wrestling, the game’s bland graphics and indistinct sprites make the license feel superfluous. Distinctive Software had already released their classic computer game 4-D Sports Boxing, and while its 3D graphics could not be replicated on the platform, it shows that they did have a sense of how to present boxing well which did not translate to the TG16. Would you even realize that this is George Foreman if the game didn't say? A common sight.
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