1cc’ed Air Assault by Irem today. Not a bad Arcade vertical shooter. Some good tunes in it too.
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I need to check this game out.
Ever since building a Tate Arcade system via a Raspberry Pi 4B, I’ve discovered so many unknown vertical games, many of which are shooters. Best of all, I’m using one of HPs best 4:3 monitors so the high resolution really makes those scanlines look amazing.
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That’s awesome. My current tate set up is a H.A.S 3.2 going into a PVM-20M2U. It looks great overall but that PVM needs a tune up. It has some geometry issues.
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PVM, very nice. Shame it needs a tune up but once it does you’ll have one Awsome looking screen.
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What model monitor are you using?
It is the HP LP2065 with a resolution of 1600×1200. Its not a new monitor but that’s because it had to be a 4:3 screen. I tried tate gaming on a modern 16:9 screen but it just looked stupid with the black bars at the top and bottom.
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Just finished my game of this year - Rockman Dash/Megaman Legends on PSP.
Had a blast playing this, and for 1997 it was a very forward thinking game with its world design and use of 3D space. While it’s fundamentally a far less involving game compared with the likes of Ocarina of Time, what it did accomplish well, other than occasionally serving up a good challenge, is a sense of adventure. At the end of the game I was genuinely sad to leave the island, and it’s another case of less being more back in those days. It’s a small location but I’ve almost fully committed it to memory, and the underground connecting network of tunnels was a neat surprise that I didn’t see coming.
What impressed me the most however was the visuals. The world in front of you seemingly seemingly stretches out forever, and literally every texture in the game is well designed pixel art, so there’s just a tremendous amount of detail and character being expressed out of what are fundamentally very basic graphics.
As for the PSP port, other than the addition of optional widescreen it’s a very literal port. There’s no perspective correction on textures, it’s still using fixed point math, and there’s no texture filtering. The HUD is even stretched in widescreen mode. Had I picked it up in 2005 I’d have been disappointed, but today I’m almost appreciative of being able to experience the game exactly as it appeared on PlayStation.
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Finished Kaizou Choujin Shubibinman 3 on PC Engine (Game Archives version). A fun hour action romp, with seamless transitions between many of the dozen or so environments it leads you through. It’s short and sweet, but ultimately pretty flawed, yet still fun enough to warrant a playthrough thanks to the great presentation. I’m going to try it again on Hard mode to see if it forces you to really master its simple mechanics.
The graphics team at WINDS ended up creating their own art for the credits, which was a nice touch:
Edit: So I played through the first half of the game on Hard difficulty - didn’t really notice what the difference was.
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I just finished Tail’s Adventure on the Game Gear! Actually I started it a few months ago but left it at the last level until today. And now it’s done!
It’s a great little game, little compared to console games of the era but great amongst portable games. It’s a bit metroidy in its structure, though you access the different levels on a map that is progressively unlocked. Overall it’s relatively easy, the main annoyance is in choosing the right objects to bring on a level, as choosing incorrectly could render a level needlessly difficult and even sometimes having to go back to the house.
I recommend it! It’s also on the 3DS virtual console.
The next one is probably Legend of Illusion.
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I really loved that game and hold it up as one of the very few good GameGear games. It being made for the system exclusively with it’s limitations/benefits in mind really stands out in a sea of ports and adaptations.
Dungeon Explorer II via PC Engine Archives on PSP!
I still need to play the first game for more than a few minutes but the followup impressed me. Doesn’t outstay its welcome at about six hours long and the dungeon designs are sufficiently varied to keep things interesting even though your options are pretty limited throughout the game. I can imagine it being a lot more fun in co-op.
Ninja Spirit on PC Engine (via the Core Grafx Mini)
Was surprised not only by the faithfulness of this port but in how the new PC Engine mode still serves up a sizeable challenge. Really superb action game. One day I’ll beat the arcade version…
Good luck with Ninja Spirit arcade…
“I signed up for Ninja Spirit because I fuckin’ hate myself.”
My Switch is probably going to end up thrown out of the nearest window, isn’t it?
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Just watch that video. It’s hilarious. Then despair! 
I was already despairing from the thumbnail! Watched up to where I got to on my current Arcade playthrough (end of stage 3), bloody hell there’s fodder enemies during the boss fight…
Edit: I never did get past stage 3, the arcade version really is significantly more enraging than its PCE adaptation…
Finished Gomola Speed on PC Engine today, a unique action game that still has no derivatives thirty years later.
You play a caterpillar-like creature that grows longer by absorbing its missing parts. The aim of most stages is to absorb all the food around the levels by curling yourself around it. If you take damage to your head you die, if your body gets hit it falls off in parts, shortening your length and making you more vulnerable. You can only exit a stage while your body is at full length.
With the exception of a few puzzles during boss fights, this simple core concept carries the entire game through its 25 levels, and that’s largely down to some cracking level design combined with perilous enemy placement. Your ability to manoeuvre the environment is increasingly tested as you progress through the game to the point where it actually largely resembles a dungeon crawler like Dungeon Explorer or Gauntlet in level design.
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I beat the first of my newly translated Fami RPGs last night. I really enjoyed playing through Lagrange Point. It really is a great RPG especially for the era. It has an open world vibe and the setting is pretty unique. Lots of characters to switch in and out of your team and a weapon fusion system are highlights too. Absolutely worth a play through.
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Translated RPG number 2 down! What a weird and quirky game. I really enjoyed the 25th anniversary hack. Not sure how it compares to the original but I was able to complete the game without a guide. Now I need to play my copy of Earthbound.
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Just finished up my first play through of Metroid Mother. This is also my first front to back play through of a game on a repro cart that I made for myself. This is an awesome rom hack. Being able to save your game is just crucial and the new sprites in general are really great. The jump sprite is a little goofy but otherwise no complaints. Blasted through it on My Analogue NT.
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