grad
Full Member
Enlarge my avatar, yea or nay?
Posts: 129
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Post by grad on Dec 27, 2023 2:48:57 GMT -5
Woah, Red Alert is apparently exclusive to the PC Engine. The overview maps you shared are gorgeous, and I'd like to see more on my own. How does the game compare to Commando or even Soul Blazer?
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Post by dsparil on Dec 27, 2023 7:36:19 GMT -5
Excluding Bloody Wolf, Commando is a good point of reference. It's sort of like that but with free scrolling. The RPG element isn't that strong so Soul Blazer is a bit further afield.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 27, 2023 10:21:14 GMT -5
Benkei Gaiden 弁慶外伝Developer Sunsoft Publisher Sunsoft Format HuCard Release (JP) December 22, 1989 Release (US) Unreleased Sunsoft’s second RPG outing on the PCE is less outre than the mecha dungeon crawling of Out Live, but it’s a much more complete game. Benkei Gaiden doesn’t stray from the early Dragon Quest formula even including the participation of a manga artist, Hiroshi Motomiya in this case. Where the game differentiates itself is in the use of a quasi-historical setting, the beginning of the Kamakura shogunate albeit one having been overrun with monsters. As such, several party members including the eponymous Benkei are real people. However, like Far East of Eden, the game ultimately suffers in ambition compared to Dragon Quest III. The overworld graphics are the traditional semi-SD variety. The battle graphics are more realistic though.
Hope everyone is having a good holiday season! I didn't actually finish this one, but I did play a ways into it. If you poke around online, there are some mechanical complaints e.g. the encounter rate is high, but I think that's a common complaint for the subgenre. If you like vanilla DQ and find the historical Japanese setting intriguing, give this a shot. Otherwise, there isn't much to recommend.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 2, 2024 15:47:16 GMT -5
Knight Rider SpecialDeveloper Pack-in-Video Publisher Pack-in-Video Format HuCard Release (JP) December 22, 1989 Release (US) Unreleased Knight Rider is arguably better remembered for its iconic theme song despite the many attempts to continue and reboot the shadowy flight into the dangerous world of Michael Knight and sentient Firebird KITT. Despite the series’s concept being a natural choice for a game adaptation, it never saw one while it was on the air in the US. However, Acclaim did release Pack-in-Video’s NES adaption in December ’88, only a few months after its original Japanese release. In this version, Michael is in pursuit of terrorists in what becomes a cross country road trip. The game is essentially a standard time trial racing game presented in first person with a smidge of combat and the quirk of being able to jump when at high enough speed although this uses up a fair amount of your limited fuel. A year later, Pack-in-Video released a PCE exclusive sequel. This version follows a similar plot with Michael once again pursuing terrorists seeking destructive weapons. However, the gameplay has seen some changes. The view now uses a traditional behind car camera although the angle is a bit low. Upgrades have been replaced with a series of additional weapons and abilities with top speed also increasing steadily. The number of levels is cut down, but given the repetition of the original, this isn’t a huge negative. The most substantial is in the removal of fuel as an element which freely allows for jumping. The most important though is that the title screen actually includes the theme music which somehow eluded the NES. The graphics are decent, but nothing amazing with tunnels that are pure blackness. You get so much air time when jumping that you're practically flying! The NES game had an overall US map, but this one gives you per stage maps which are more useful.
There's also a different European (mostly UK) exclusive by Ocean from 1986 which is mostly reviled. It was for C64, CPC and the ZX Spectrum, but Ocean pretty much just phoned it in.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 5, 2024 10:06:08 GMT -5
ROM ROM StadiumDeveloper Dual Publisher NCS Format CD-ROM² Release (JP) December 22, 1989 Release (US) Unreleased Everything there is to know about Dual’s baseball game is right in the title. It’s similar in nature to Namco’s Pro Baseball World/Family Stadium and it was released for the CD-ROM². There are some differences though like slightly tweaked batting. The better audiovisual elements does give the game an advantage over its competitors, but there is still little difference amongst the non-managerial games except at the margins. The graphics are pretty much what you'd expect. One weird thing is that getting hit by a pitch uses the term Dead Ball which is technically accurate, the ball isn't in play, but it makes it seems like the player died in that context. The game's one real addition are these little animations that randomly play during games.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 8, 2024 9:55:35 GMT -5
F1 Triple BattleDeveloper Human Entertainment Publisher Human Entertainment Format HuCard Release (JP) December 27, 1989 Release (US) Unreleased Human’s sole racing game for the platform is a fairly realistic game depicting the 1989 F1 season. Each of the sixteen races is run in order, but the games lacks any other kind of official licensing. Human didn’t even come up with interesting fake brands for the advertising signage largely just sticking their own name in them. As such, this is really only a game for the most diehard F1 fans. However, the game does have one ace up its sleeve. The game is the first to feature three player racing giving it a leg up on the multiplayer front. In 1991, Human ported the game to the Megadrive as Fastest 1. The game was updated to the 1991 season with a few changed tracks to match that year. Aside from this, the game is largely the same but lacks the three player mode of the original. It is a bit grueling to get through the game as you need to do each track at least twice plus the optional practice runs. The game does support a backup unit in addition to passwords at least. The real reason to play this game.
I do think anyone looking for a "16-bit sim" can get real play out of this, but I personally prefer the more "arcade simulation" of Final Lap Twin. The MD game does have serious fans with one actually modding the controller for it to play better.
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Post by excelsior on Jan 8, 2024 9:58:26 GMT -5
Yeah, Final Lap Twin is my favourite racer on the Engine. To be fair, I haven't player Knight Rider.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 8, 2024 13:05:20 GMT -5
That's the problem with Final Lap Twin. It's too good! I don't see how anyone can top it unless there's some amazing and ahead of its time CD game.
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Post by excelsior on Jan 8, 2024 13:27:34 GMT -5
Unfortunately racing games weren't really prominent on the CD expansions. The space was more used for high quality soundtracks and cutscenes as I'd imagine you've concluded. There were some other racing games I do like a fair bit. Racing Damashii and the Outrun port. Of course the latter isn't the best way to play the game by any means, though nice within the scope of the PC Engine library.
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Post by klausien on Jan 11, 2024 22:16:05 GMT -5
Final Lap Twin is king, but the PC Engine has some pretty decent racing games considering the hardware. Road Spirits on CD is pretty vanilla and easy, but it’s a nice cruising alternative to the stricter OutRun. The Chase HQ and S.C.I. ports are pretty fun too.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 12, 2024 9:48:30 GMT -5
VolfiedDeveloper ITL Publisher Taito Format HuCard Release (JP) December 27, 1989 Release (US) Unreleased Like many early arcade games, Taito’s Qix from 1981 is almost elemental in its concept. The player moves a marker around the edges of the screen and holds down a button to draw and carve out a section of the playfield in order to reach a certain claimed area percentage. Bouncing around the interior is the eponymous Qix, an abstract mass of moving lines. Having one hit your draw line or running into the Sparx that patrol the area boundary causes the player to lose a life. The game spawned several sequels with 1987’s Super Qix replacing the abstract Qix with concrete “bosses” and an image that is uncovered over the course of the level. Like the relationship between Breakout and Taito’s own Arkanoid, Volfied puts a sci-fi twist on Super Qix. The general gameplay concept is unchanged, but there are some additions. There are now minor enemies that can be defeated by capturing the area they are in, and a variety of power ups are included including lasers for the player’s ship. Compared to the arcade game from earlier in the year, the graphics are downgraded, but they are close enough. Although Volfied did not see a TG-16 release, it did come stateside as Ultimate Qix for the Genesis. The best version however is Qix Neo for the PlayStation which packs the original game with a new Arrange mode containing new levels. Things start out simple, but they ramp up fairly quickly. There's a total of forty level, but there's never really a huge difficulty spike at any point.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 16, 2024 14:54:21 GMT -5
Taito Chase HQDeveloper Daiei Manufacturing Publisher Taito Format HuCard Release (JP) January 28, 1990 Release (US) November 1992 Going as far back as the dawn of the automobile, Los Angeles has been the unofficial capital of the police chase with its crisscrossing mass of highways almost tailor-made for them. Televised chases were so popular at one point that a service even existed to notify people of on-air broadcasts. LA’s police chief once paradoxically defended the LAPD’s chase heavy policy by saying "In this town, you're fascinated with these chases […] It’s entertainment.” in an odd attempt at castigating the public that only painted the department as a willing participant. Taito’s 1988 arcade release slightly predates the era of the televised chase, but its mix of urban highway and desert outskirts is unmistakably Los Angeles. Instead of television, it takes inspiration from film in its depiction of undercover cops in fast cars chasing down serious criminals. The game itself is reminiscent of OutRun with wide highways, sports cars and a split in each level. The goal of each of the five levels is ultimately to catch up with a criminal and then ram them into submission. After all are completed, the game simply loops. Chase HQ was a huge hit internationally with the PCE’s port coming a year and half later. Interestingly, the US release was nearly a year after the January 1992 police chase that made them an LA TV staple although the packaging oddly claims the setting as NYC. Considering that the arcade game was essentially “one and a half” hardware generations ahead of the system, its detailed environment and voice heavy audio took substantial cuts. On the positive side, the overall presentation is quite nice for the system, and a line of voiced dialogue was kept for your dispatcher Nancy. Like most popular arcade games, Chase HQ was ported widely. Aside from the later FM Towns port, the PCE’s is generally the nicest although various other ports have features it lacks. The NES and SMS versions have a small shop before each level while the Atari ST and Amiga ports properly depict the road split. The Genesis/Mega Drive also received an upgraded port as Chase HQ II which added in a selection of cars. However, most ports have performance issues or other compromises making them dubious choices despite any potential additions. The billboards are just bizarre in this game. Party seems like it should be a club, but the right side looks like a macaroni box. Galbin cigarettes(?) are lowest in what? I don't even know what Morning Corn is.
For more on LA's history of car chases, the New Yorker has a seven minute video that sums up everything, and is pretty much just an interview with writer Mary Melton. Her 2003 article in Los Angeles Magazine goes into more of the TV history while this LA Times article has info on the goings on in the early 1900s. Bear in mind that this is a very depressing subject! The only truly fun police chases are when they're trying to run wild animals out of town when they're too big to catch.
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Post by excelsior on Jan 17, 2024 5:42:02 GMT -5
I grew up with the Speccy version. I can't get into it on PC Engine. I find it to be really tough with the time limit killing the momentum and much of the fun. I will give it another try.
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Post by spanky on Jan 17, 2024 8:46:37 GMT -5
My sister lived in LA for a number of years and she confirmed that everyone in the city would drop what they were doing to watch a high speed police chase.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 23, 2024 19:24:04 GMT -5
Absconder Tōbei — From the Beheading Mansion 逐電屋藤兵衛 首斬り館よりDeveloper Bit² Publisher Naxat Soft Format HuCard Release (JP) January 26, 1990 Release (US) Unreleased The reign of shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi during the late 17th and early 18th centuries was a time of prosperity in Japan unseen again for nearly three hundred years. The popular conception of him is also one of religious zeal with his Laws of Compassion holding dogs in higher accord than the general populace earning him the nickname The Dog Shogun. The truth of the matter is substantially more complicated, and this depiction is tied up with his general belief in nonviolence and conflicts with samurai over various social ills caused by them. For example, a large number of injuries and deaths were being caused by dogs dumped onto the streets by samurai. Bit²’s adventure game was originally released for MSX and takes place amidst this backdrop. The eponymous Tōbei is a human smuggler funneling people to the greener pastures of Mito, a region controlled by one of the other members of the Tokugawa dynasty. However, he functionally ends up a detective in the game working to find a missing woman and getting embroiled in the machinations of a demonic cult. Given the subject matter, the game is darker both literally and figuratively than the system’s other adventures and also aimed at an older audience. This is easiest seen with the game’s PC-98 port which became an eroge rather than the reverse. As such, the dense text and historical elements make it somewhat less approachable than other untranslated games. The graphics are not necessary attractive per se, but they are detailed. The game uses a 4Mb card so there's plenty of space to go around.
A note on the title, it is a little rough but that's the general feel the original is going for. Oddly enough, the title on MSX is slightly different (it's more like Secrets of the Beheading Mansion) in addition to the main and subtitles being swapped. For a similar and more accessible game, I recommend the visual novel Soulslayer Episode 1: The Wedding Eve. It's set in historical China and deals with a woman who must find out who is trying to kill her. It's very, very good if you can get past the dry translation. For more on Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, I mostly recommend Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey's The Dog Shogun. It's relatively breezy as far as academic treatises go, but it has a certain aesthetic quality to the writing that I find a little disagreeable. Still, there aren't many reevaluations of his rule, and she makes a fairly compelling case that he is remembered almost entirely incorrectly. Even just on the face of it, decades of prosperous rule doesn't really mesh with "eccentric" ruler that thinks people that are mean to dogs should be put to death. The few paragraphs he has in Encyclopedia Britannica make him sound like a Japanese Caligula who only lasted a few years as Roman emperor before being assassinated.
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