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Post by dsparil on Jan 31, 2022 8:07:38 GMT -5
Dragon SpiritDeveloper Namco Publisher NEC Format HuCard Release (JP) December 16*, 1988 *some sources list Dec. 26 Release (US) December 1989 Difficulty Easy to Hard Looping No Continue System Checkpoints with partial upgrade meter, no continues In some ways, Dragon Spirit is a mash up of Namco’s own Xevious and Galaga mixing the dual air/ground attacks of the former with the multi-beam with widening sprite of the latter. This combo is then put into a fairly standard vertical shooter but one with a wide variety of environments and enemies. However, the PCE version lacks levels 7 and 8 making it an imperfect substitute for the arcade game; ironically it does include a hidden mode that squishes the game to better mimic the original’s vertical aspect ratio. Dragon Spirit was ported to multiple platforms, and while the NES port, subtitled The New Legend, is graphically compromised, it does feature new layouts of every original level along with some new features including dialogue scenes and a new power up. Approximate Hitbox
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Post by dsparil on Jan 31, 2022 8:39:15 GMT -5
Hanii in the Sky はにいいんざすかいDeveloper Face Publisher Face Format HuCard Release (JP) March 1, 1989 Release (US) Unreleased Difficulty Easy to Hard Looping Second harder loop Continue System Start of level, only permanent items kept, unlimited continues Hanii in the Sky marks two shooter firsts: the first home exclusive and the first Japanese exclusive. As a game starring a sentient haniwa figure, it is unsurprising that the game is steeped in Japanese culture which likely led to its lack of localization. This is a shame as the game is focused on home play with a deemphasizing of score, selectable permanent equipment and a minor exploration element. While not quite a cute’em’up, the graphics are generally bright with some at times interesting backgrounds. The game’s main gimmick, a rotatable weapon, is also put to good use. Where the game falters is largely in the harder second loop which increases the tedium of some aspects as well as increasing the difficulty of the final boss to absurd levels. Approximate Hitbox
Minor side note on what the title is supposed to be given that it's entirely in hiragana. I've seen the character's name listed as Hanii, Hani, Hany and Honey. Hanii is the direct transliteration and Hany is explicitly given as the name of the character in the second game in the "franchise", Hanii on the Road. Hani and Honey are both technically wrong although Hani makes sense as an English shortening of haniwa and Honey pairs with Player 2 in HotR being Lemon.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 31, 2022 10:28:51 GMT -5
This seems like it had such a large legacy for something that seems fairly obscure to me. There was even a sequel developed by WayForward in 2014! That was only for Android and macOS of all things and it's been delisted at this point.
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Post by Snake on Jan 31, 2022 11:53:55 GMT -5
excelsior - Cool! I prefer the in-depth individual breakdown, I'm glad you're sharing~ I gave Wonder Momo a try a few years back. Hit-detection does feel off at times, which is a shame 'cause the overall stage play concept is quite unique. Such a time capsule of 1980's Japanese pop-culture.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 31, 2022 13:22:58 GMT -5
Deep BlueDeveloper Hi-Score Media Work Publisher Pack-In-Video / NEC Format HuCard Release (JP) March 31, 1989 Release (US) March 1990 Difficulty Moderate to Hard Looping Second harder loop that repeats Continue System 3 continues, feature slightly hidden Deep Blue is one of the few aquatic shooters and one that features organic movement in its enemy formations. However your pisciform submersible’s slow speed, poor armament and oddly shaped hitbox drastically increase the difficulty despite the rather generous health pool. Developer Hi-Score was primarily a magazine and possibly turned to game development as a side business after a lawsuit from Enix caused financial difficulties. The company was not long lived and folded the year after this game was released. According to developer Itsuki Imazaki, numerous ideas for the game were scrapped including customization of the ship. The untold history of of the game is likely much more interesting than the end product. Approximate Hitbox
Itsuki Imazaki definitely did some concept art work on the game and later went on to work in the animation industry most notably Gurren Langann; he also worked on the intros to Aeon Flux and SWAT Kats of all things. He has a few tweets about the game which Wikipedia uses to cite him as the designer, but this seems like a stretch. (tweets with images)
This very mysterious fellow claims to be the designer of the game
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2022 8:05:11 GMT -5
You've seen nothing yet it you're surprised by the Momo appreciation....
It definitely has a cult following.
I don't think anyone would claim to be the designer of Deep Blue unless it was true. Perhaps not even then.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 1, 2022 11:32:58 GMT -5
As completely strange as it sounds, Deep Blue actually started to grow on me a tiny bit. It'd be very interesting to see a remake that was actually what was intended for the game. A few tweaks like making the upgraded speed the default and implementing the tail being damaging would go a long way to making it a fairer game. Even just shrinking hitbox to only the area immediately around the "eye" would help a ton. I'm generally sticking to ovals for the hitboxes to emphasizes their approximate nature, but the body hitbox pretty definitively goes from the pointy top left of the body to the top of the cannon on the bottom right and includes the transparent areas.
I get the feeling that the game was a beta or even an alpha that was pushed out the door because the company was in dire straits. Although the strange thing is that DB was published by Pack-in Video in Japan, but Hi-Score itself also published Game Art's first RPG (Faria on FC) not long afterward. It's all so mysterious to me.
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Post by windfisch on Feb 2, 2022 8:21:30 GMT -5
Beautiful thread, love the attention to detail, dsparil ! The PC Engine systems were quite ahead of their time in many ways (16 bit-ish, CD add-on, portable version...). And the library is pretty awesome (Hudson at their best), maybe a bit too shooter-centric, though that's hardly a negative. I certainly have a desire to play more of the games. While I've tried a bunch, I've only really played a couple. I've never even finished Rondo, I have to admit. Not that I didn't like it, it's fantastic, but it demands some fair bit of dedication for sure.
Some of my other faves so far are Ninja Spirit, Neutopia 2 (rather similar to the first one, but benefits from 8-way movement) and Air Zonk.
edit: I kinda dig Deep Blue conceptually: The semi-naturalistic setting is cool. But the game seems rather unpolished. I can't think of many games that attempt something similar, except for Ecco (MD) and Kolibri (32X). Not a fan of how either plays, but at least those look very pretty.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 3, 2022 7:46:45 GMT -5
edit: I kinda dig Deep Blue conceptually: The semi-naturalistic setting is cool. But the game seems rather unpolished. I can't think of many games that attempt something similar, except for Ecco (MD) and Kolibri (32X). Not a fan of how either plays, but at least those look very pretty.
Considering that Imazaki is super active on Twitter, I definitely would have tried to get some information from him if I knew Japanese. I wish he wasn't such a voracious tweeter because even the advanced Twitter search can't handle the volume. He seems to have kept at least some of the development documents, and they're impossible to find aside from the ones Wikipedia links to. I'm also a little tempted to look into PCE hacking and see if permanently upgrading the speed and maybe shrinking the hitbox really do help at all.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 3, 2022 7:52:23 GMT -5
P-47: The Freedom FighterDeveloper Nihon Maicom Kaihatsu Publisher Aicom Format HuCard Release (JP) March 20, 1989 Release (US) Unreleased Difficulty Low Looping No Continue System Resurrect in place, weapons lowered in power, 2 continues As a WWII themed shooter, P-47 takes a less fantastical approach compared some other similarly styled games aside from a few extra large tanks. However, P-47 feels ungrounded in actual history as it jumps around chronologically. For example, levels set during the largely 1943 North African Campaign sandwich one set in Ardennes during the Dec. 1944 to Jan. 1945 Battle of the Bulge. For a game that spans the war, it feels like a missed opportunity to not include greater historical elements such as bosses based on actual commanders or even just ordering the stages chronologically. Despite this, P-47’s inclusion of North Africa adds some environmental diversity to the game. Its low difficulty also makes it a good game for beginners. Approximate Hitbox
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Post by dsparil on Feb 4, 2022 8:49:30 GMT -5
Ultimate Tiger 究極 TigerDeveloper A.I Publisher Taito Format HuCard Release (JP) March 31, 1989 Release (US) Unreleased Difficulty Low to Moderate Looping Yes Continue System Checkpoints with upgrades lost, 3 continues Known internationally as Twin Cobra, Toaplan’s hit follow up to Tiger-Heli is the first game on the platform to feature limited use bombs. While not screen clearing, their long duration allows their use as an impromptu shield. According to a developer interview included with a retrospective soundtrack, the game was also designed to be appealing to the drunk, a state in which the game got frequent play by the developers. What holds this port back is the loss of about half the screen height compared to the arcade game without a mode to simulate it. The initial loop is also preset to an equivalent of the arcade game’s Easy difficult giving it an overly slow start; subsequent loops do get harder. However, the PCE version does include a new semi-hidden homing shot. Approximate Hitbox
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2022 9:30:11 GMT -5
I'm generally unfamiliar with Toaplan's shooters and that likely comes down to their PC Engine ports being on the weak side. Shmup Junkie has some comparisons and it seems that the place to play their games was on Mega Drive/Genesis at the time. Ultimate Tiger looks like it's the best of the few available on the Engine and I quite like it. The difficulty on the arcade is immense so they definitely dialled it back a good deal - I can get through a nice few stages myself. The comment about bombs is interesting because (also according to shmup junkie on his Toaplan video) the original entry was the first shmup to feature these kind of bombs. From my perspective I generally don't play this game despite it being pretty enjoyable. Raiden was so heavily influenced by this game yet is just a more polished, newer game that makes better use of the PC Engine it kind of makes Ultimate Tiger redundant.
As an aside - there is actually one shmup I myself can beat on the platform, so I can only imagine how easily you'll make it through that one.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 4, 2022 11:56:23 GMT -5
The arcade game does have an Easy difficulty that should be accessible in ports. I accidentally made that part ambiguous and fixed it. The difference in bombs is that they last only a fraction of a second in Tiger-Heli, but they linger in Ultimate Tiger. The PCE port has them stay on screen for even longer. The developers mentioned in an interview that the use a shield wasn't intentional, and I think the time was extended in order to better suit that usage.
What is that game?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2022 13:05:03 GMT -5
Sorry that would have been useful info. It's Star Parodia. Good chance you know it but it's basically a cute em up version of Star Soldier made to introduce kids and new players to the genre.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 4, 2022 14:43:03 GMT -5
I've never played Star Parodier. It's one of those games I wished I had gotten on Wii VC if I hadn't brushed off most of the TG16/CD games. It's quite a ways away being one of the later ones on the platform.
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