That mousepad… Wow.
Strikers III is the only one that I’m interested in. I was so disappointed with Zero Gunner 2 that I actually uninstalled it from my Switch.
That cabinet and marquee are beautiful.
It’s about time they released Strikers 1945 III/99, really hoping it isn’t exclusive to the collection and that it’s released on the eShop soon but I’ll get the collection if I have to.
Sengoku Ace III (Cannon) is a legit turd unfortunately. PSP shovelware.
Learned the hard way after loving Sengoku Blade on Saturn.
Wow, really? I had no idea, I wanted to play that too.
Gonna try another run tonight. I suck at it but love it
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With the announcement of R-Type Final 2 I need to get the 1st one.
Hopefully it’s not Irem pulling an April Fool’s joke like the last time.
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This gives me hope. https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1112379094082060288
Theres no way it’s real.
(Please be real and also kickstart another R-Type Tactics game while you’re at it Irem)
That looks badass!
Granzella has tweeted official confirmation that R-TYPE Final 2 is NOT an April Fool’s joke, it’s a real project:
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Well, there it is!=O
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I had to look up who Granzella is and the company’s creative director is Kazuma Kujo, the producer and designer of R-Type Final. He’s ex-Irem from way back. This is the real deal. I wish when stuff like this was announced they’d make that kind of thing clear instead of having to go digging!
It’s always one thing to get a sequel to a popular or niche series that’s been long awaited and entirely another to get one from the people who made those great games that came before. In the first case, there is always less confidence from me in the end product whereas having the original people in charge almost always means similar or better quality.
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R-Type Final takes a lot of heat for taking the series out on a game that wasn’t considered a high note, but I quite like it. There’s a lot to do, and the levels branch out in different directions, depending on the ship you choose, which is cool. The soundtrack is pretty minimalist on its own, but combined with the game, it works for the bleak atmosphere that Final creates. Just the teaser they showed looked pretty awesome, so I’m hyped for this comeback. Hopefully, it gets enough buzz to actually get something going.
I just made a W.I.P. list for the shumps I want to play…there’s a lot of them, lol. I might post it.
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Does anybody here own either the Turbografx-16 or PC Engine port of Raiden? Was thinking about picking it up even though I have the import version of the Raiden Project because I enjoy trying out different home ports. Are there any regional differences between the TG-16 and PCE version (like fairy restart checkpoints from the Japanese arcade version, ect)? Also if anyone has it and it’s not too much trouble I’d love to see pics from PCE version’s manual if it has any nice art. 
That would also help me decide between the U.S. and PCE version.
It’s hip to E-Square with a Saturday Night Shmup Special featuring the elusive…
Released in 1991 by Konami, the game serves as an answer to Irem’s R-TYPE. Like the R-9, your Flintlock fighter features a detachable bit which can be charged. However, instead of firing a traditional pulse beam, when powered up the bit releases a focused semi-short range “tentacle” wave burst. Using this attack carefully allows you to take down everything from small enemies, heavy fighters to occasionally clearing destructible obstacles in the environment, all of which adds a nice layer of strategy to the game without also requiring you to carefully memorize level patterns unlike Irem’s trademark series.
Xexex features a great variety of very colorful levels. One stage you’re flying over icy blue stalagmites with a warping, neon green hellscape in the background, another features gumball like spheres to name just a few examples of the game’s eclectic visuals. The graphics also sometimes boast “3D” effects here and there.
Outside of hunting down the PCB or emulation, the only way to play Xexex outside of the arcade (in its entirety*) is on 2007’s Salamander Portable Collection for PSP. Xexex is unrelated to the Salamander/LifeForce series but M2 didn’t care and included it in the collection anyways, why? Because M2 are a great bunch of people, that’s why. In the mid 2000’s there was a rumored/planned PS2 release by Hamster which never came to light.
*In one of the coolest examples of a game-within-a-game, a 16-bit version of Xexex was featured as a one stage mini game in Legend of Mystical Ninja/Goemon 2 for Super Famicom which lets you play through the “gumball” level (just like Mystical Ninja 1 which features a one stage Gradius minigame):
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