Messages

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Super Raiden 25th Anniversary Project...]

2. Personally, I'd like to hear somebody do a decent HuC6280 PSG-ish rendition of the Raiden II tunes... preferably in a similar style to the HuCard Raiden OST.  I think that would be awesome to hear.  Remastering the HuCard PSG tunes probably wouldn't be a bad thing either... maybe add in a drum kit you can actually HEAR, haha... ahem.

Haha!  This is particularly funny for me as I actually have active plans to cover the first 2 levels of Raiden II in the future.  If this was to be mastered for redbook I think it would be cool to mimic the use of the 7th ADPCM channel for the drums thus freeing up one of the other six WSG channels for other use.  Of course the huge problem with this is there is no way I could create covers for the entire Raiden II OST by April of next year... unless maybe if someone could find freely usable MIDIs that I could heavily modify for every song in the OST so that I wouldn't have to start from scratch.  This would also assume that someone else would make the drum samples channel for every song to be spliced into the recording later (drums are not my forte), that the MIDI OSTs maintained compositional cohesion within themselves, and that people would like my covers of these in the first place.  lol  Pretty tall order...

Really, if someone were going to cover Raiden II tunes specifically to fill in the gaps on this project, they'd only need to create three... two normal stage tunes, plus the boss music.  If some Raiden II MIDIs would help, I found some here: http://www.khinsider.com/midi/arcade/raiden-ii  No stage 6 MIDI, though 

As for adding in drum tracks to the existing Raiden PSG tunes, that actually seems like it would be easy for someone who is musically talented in some way... I'm no musician by any means, but I managed to crudely "remaster" the PSG versions of Gallantry and Go To Blazes by adding a drum track in and EQ'ing them a bit.  Doesn't sound too bad, I think I got them to line up pretty nicely...

PSG Gallantry with drums added: soundcloud .com/user-716572978/01-gallantry-with-drums?in=user-716572978/sets/hucard-raiden-psg-with-drums

PSG Go To Blazes with drums added: [/s]soundcloud .com/user-716572978/05-go-to-blazes-with-drums?in=user-716572978/sets/hucard-raiden-psg-with-drums[/s]

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Super Raiden 25th Anniversary Project...]

Level 7: Gallantry (What the heck?!? This should be Lightning War)

Ahhh, I just double-checked this and it's not yet been fixed!  Definitely on the to-do list now.  Good catch! 

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Super Raiden 25th Anniversary Project...]

fragmare:

MY DREAM: User can select a soundtrack (1/3 choices) at start of game. However, at any point in game, user can select an "alternate" version of the tune (cycling through three choices). HyperNova Blast allows you to pause game and select a different track. I was thinking a more *limited* selection (based on the stage) would be more appropriate and allows folks to directly compare the *same* track (obviously, stages 9/10 are unique).

Another dream would be a "random soundtrack" option that automatically selects the version for each stage.

NOTE: the music for each stage remains faithful to original...but the *version* of that song would be randomly (or manually) selected.

Also...

(1) Did you like the FM-TOWNS tunes that windcharger posted? I never heard them before... kinda interesting, IMHO. I have to listen to them again (4th time).

(2) Stage 9&10...  what about a fan remix or something pulled from a future Raiden release? We could work together to find a track that "matches" the mood and essence of _______ (whatever soundtrack you pick that lacks extra tracks). 

(3) I have Raiden Project PlayStation and I think the soundtracks are, indeed, universally enjoyed. So, that's safe. But is it too safe? As in...too well-known? I'm just being Devil's Advocate, I don't have a problem either way. I just figured that it might be worthwhile to examine the pros/cons of popular vs obscure soundtrack.

The whole idea of randomizing/switching tracks on-the-fly is neat, but i think it might require a little too much in-game RAM overhead to pull off, unless you wanted to switch the whole project over to the Turbo EverDrive or something like that.  Tom/Bonknuts would be the one to ask on that one.

1. Yea, the FM-Towns tracks are pretty nice... but if you go that route, what do you use for the extra stages/bosses?

2. Personally, I'd like to hear somebody do a decent HuC6280 PSG-ish rendition of the Raiden II tunes... preferably in a similar style to the HuCard Raiden OST.  I think that would be awesome to hear.  Remastering the HuCard PSG tunes probably wouldn't be a bad thing either... maybe add in a drum kit you can actually HEAR, haha... ahem.

3. Honestly, I'm open to ideas about a potential 3rd soundtrack.  I mean, the most viable option and the option that falls in line most with the way the disc is already set up is clearly the PS1 Project OST.  That being said, if someone has other ideas, I'm all ears. 

BTW, I removed the duplicate ISO track and added in the PS1 Project Tracks as a 3rd soundtrack and checked the disc length, and it was just over 70 minutes.  So, it would appear that a 3rd soundtrack, at least the PS1 Project OST, is doable... just barely.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Super Raiden 25th Anniversary Project...]

Yea, I've thought about including a 3rd soundtrack on the disc, and yea, I'd need to go back through and strategically shorten all the existing tracks in order to make room for it.  The best way I know of would be to enable an invulnerability cheat and let each stage just free-scroll and time it with a stopwatch or something... write down all the times for each stage and shorten each track accordingly.  A lot of work, but possibly worth it. 

So, I did the work for ya...   

-Super Raiden Level Music & Maximum Play Times-
Level 1: Gallantry
1:46
Level 2: Lightning War
2:48
Level 3: Rough & Tumble
2:10
Level 4: Gallantry
3:07
Level 5: Fighting Thunder
3:01
Level 6: Rough & Tumble
3:05
Level 7: Gallantry (What the heck?!? This should be Lightning War)
2:17
Level 8: Fighting Thunder
3:03
Level 9: ????????? (and boss music isn't Go to Blazes)
3:05
Level 10: ?????????? (and boss music isn't Go to Blazes again, but also different from level 9)
5:06  (this level's song actually loops the track around 3:32 in game)

So it looks like you'd at least need:
3:07 for Gallantry
2:48 for Lightning War
3:05 for Rough & Tumble
3:03 for Fighting Thunder

Suffice it to say, a 700MB - 80 minute CD-R would help a lot.  Also, were you planning on leaving level 9 and 10 music as is since it has no other contemporaries?

Thanks!  I was looking at this last night and with the length of the stages, some of the tracks as-is aren't long enough, so shortening them would just make them loop earlier in the stage... not that it would be THAT terrible, but the half second or so of silence is always a little awkward lol.  Anyway, if anything, some of the tracks could stand to be LENGTHENED.

HOWEVER... If I remove the duplicate ISO data track, I end up with a little less than 49 minutes worth of total audio/data on the disc.  This would give about ~25 minutes worth of space on the disc for additional audio (presuming a 74 minute disc).  I would imagine that would be enough for a 3rd soundtrack.

The original Super Raiden soundtrack had four extra tracks.  One each for Stage 9 and 10, a Stage 9 boss track, and a Stage 10 boss track.  Since this project uses the original arcade OST or derivatives thereof, I've addressed the additional stages/bosses by using music tracks from Raiden II.  Namely 'Raiden II Stage 6 - Decisive Battle', 'Raiden II Stage 7 - Flap Toward Hope', and 'Raiden II Boss - Metal Storm' for the final boss (The Stage 9 boss now just uses Go To Blazes, iirc).  This presents a bit of a conundrum when adding a 3rd soundtrack, which is - Any soundtracks added must accommodate for the two extra stages and boss music somehow.  That's all fine as long as the source material for the new soundtrack also contains a Raiden II soundtrack as well (like the PS1 Raiden Project OST, or the 25th Anniversary tracks).  But what if the soundtrack to be added has no Raiden II equivalent?  How, then, would you address the extra tracks needed and still end up with an overall OST that is still cohesive sounding?  That's the problem you start butting up against if you consider adding the HuCard PSG tunes or the FM Towns Marty OST.  The logical solution would be to simply add the original Super Raiden OST back in as the 3rd OST, but honestly... eh, I've never been a fan of Super Raiden OST.  I think a better solution would be to use the PS1 Raiden Project OST.  It seems to be a crowd pleaser anyway.  Plus it contains the full Raiden II soundtrack too, so it's got the extra stage/boss tracks covered.

The level 7 music in the Super Raiden OST is Gallantry, not Lightning War?!  WTF?  This might have already been corrected when tom and I worked on this project a while back... I'll have to play test it and see.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Super Raiden 25th Anniversary Project...]

Yea, I've thought about including a 3rd soundtrack on the disc, and yea, I'd need to go back through and strategically shorten all the existing tracks in order to make room for it.  The best way I know of would be to enable an invulnerability cheat and let each stage just free-scroll and time it with a stopwatch or something... write down all the times for each stage and shorten each track accordingly.  A lot of work, but possibly worth it. 

The arranged soundtrack I'll be using are select tracks taken from the Raiden 25th Anniversary Arrangement Project:

BTW, the HuCard Raiden soundtrack is complete, AFAIK.  Everything seems to be there, so including that as a 3rd soundtrack is a possibility: youtu .be/P5KKLKAhm74

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Super Raiden 25th Anniversary Project...]

Lol, you guys are funny... If you REALLY want kicked in the balls, go play Raiden on original arcade difficulty on any port that's remotely faithful.  It'll open your eyes.  ;)

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Super Raiden 25th Anniversary Project...]

Would you guys be interested in some more of this kind of fuckery?  Super Raiden's birthday is coming up on April 2nd 2017, and I was thinking about getting together with tomaitheous at some point and polishing up the old Super Raiden hack we started and getting some kind of official release out by Apr 2.



The project would add:

*Choose either Original Arcade Soundtrack or 25th Anniversary Arrangement Project soundtrack
*Switch to either checkpoint or respawn death
*Switch to either original PC-Engine stretched aspect ratio or proper-ish arcade aspect ratio.
*Choice between three difficulty levels - Easy, Normal (original), or Arcade
*Toggle the two Super Raiden exclusive stages on or off
*Title screen replacement
* ???

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Magical Sound Shower - Arcade & PCE blend]

Disclaimer: Best listening experience at 120+ mph

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Gate of Thunder - Remastered by Electrohaze]

From my personal experience remastering tracks for Super Raiden, PCE/TG CD games should be normalized down to about -20db RMS

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Aldynes Enhancement]

Stage 7 is so awesome.

I mean... look at this pic : do people really think this looks like an MD game ?



 

Dude... I *TOOK* that screenshot for the shmups.com Aldynes review I did back in like 2002 or something.  >> http://shmups.com/reviews/aldynes/index.html

Look, nobody is saying ALL parts of Aldynes look like shit.  It's an awesome game with some very pretty areas.  In fact, I'd say it's my favorite horizontal shmup on HuCard format (with R-Type and Parodius up there too).  I gave it a solid 9/10 for shmups.com, and I still stand by that score.  It's just that some parts do, unfortunately, look like a Genesis game.... like, for example, the entirety of stage 1.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Aldynes Enhancement]

Okay, I tried to make it look a bit more toxic/polluted/post-apocalyptic.  If I were going to color something I wanted to look toxic/polluted, I'd use colors a more like this... except with better art.  *cough*



That huge blank area in the middle of the screen is bothersome, no matter how you color it.  What it really needs is more smoke/cloud detail.

That being said, I think I prefer the second (right-hand) image a little more.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Aldynes Enhancement]

To be honest, I thought one of the messages of the intro was that the planet got attacked/damaged/destroyed, so the blackness is thick smoke, with a polluted sky above it.  I think that light grey and blue sky is out of place and far too cheerful for what I assume happened in the storyline.

Ah, okay... that makes sense.  They sure could have done more to convey a polluted landscape.  The large black area aesthetically looks like someody literally forgot to draw the middle of the screen lol!  When I get home, maybe I will make another edit with pollution in mind.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Aldynes Enhancement]

Here's a little Aldynes enhancement for ya, lol... nominally better?

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Aldynes Enhancement]

Want to really enhance Aldynes?  Improve the colors... it looks like a Genesis game lol.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Megaman PCE thread]

Hey Frag!

 Yeah, I don't have any updated graphics for the Cutman boss. I did a lot of hacking to get those graphics to work in Cutmans levels, so I definitely want to see that stage finished.

Is that all that's left?  the boss sprite being reworked?  Looking back through my folder I did quite a few enemies, the bg tiles, and, of course, the custom Megaman sprite

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Megaman PCE thread]

Lol, hey guys.

I remember doing the Megaman sprite and the background tiles for the Cutman level a few years back.  Always wanted to see something come of it    IIRC, I never drew the enemies or boss sprite

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Megaman PCE thread]

Bonknuts, let me know if you need any new pixel art cooked up for this. 

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: My thoughts on Strider]

Just some speculation: As for the 30fps thing, given that NEC Ave did both this and Tenchi o Kurau - the 30fps thing probably originated pre-ACD format, where the graphics/data were streamed from the CD on the one frame and game logic on the other frame. Something along those lines.

I'm sorry, but 30fps in a 16-bit era action platform game is just unacceptable.  Maybe if it were a turn based strategy or RPG or something, it *might* have been excusable, but not in a game like Strider.  If they can pull of 60fps in Genesis Strider, they sure as hell could have pulled it off on the Turbob as well.  It just needed some optimization.  Genesis does, but PC-Engine can.  SNES is the only one that doesn't/can't, haha.  ;)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: My thoughts on Strider]

Isn't Strider PCE running at 30 fps? I think I read that it is somewhere, and the game definitely seems to have that certain unsmoothness to it.

That is the single most off-putting thing about ACD Strider.  It runs at 30 fps.  60 fps was the de facto standard for just about any game worth a damn during the 16-bit era.  30 fps just seems choppy and unpolished.  Combine that with the unoptimized sprites that Bonknuts pointed out and the poor use of color and you have... a bad conversion.  Sad to say it, Strider is a bad conversion.  It could have been so much better...

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Xymati]

It's still alive, trust me.  As is PC-Gunjin.  Most of the graphics are finished, it just needs programmed (mostly in HuC6280 ASM).  Any takers?

need a programmer for both or pc-gunjin ??

i'am interested, but i have too many projects :-( ..
We can form a team for this .

Both.  And everybody seems to have too many projects.  :/

Two genres the PCE is really weak on are Contra-style run 'n guns and beat 'em ups. Some people say it's weak on fighters, but with the ACD, I don't entirely agree given when fighters starting becoming popular.

Agreed.  The PCE/TG-16 basically has zero platforming run-n-guns or X+Y movement beat-em-ups worth a damn.  Ninja Spirit is more or less a 1p run-n-gun with a feudal Japanese theme, and it's an awesome game, but I think people crave a traditional 2p post-apocalyptic run-n-gun, a la Contra.  Riot Zone is mediocre, at best, and Golden Axe for the PCE CD is a joke.  And it's bad joke, at that.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Xymati]

Soooooo.....is this game development dead or will this shmup be brought to life?

It's still alive, trust me.  As is PC-Gunjin.  Most of the graphics are finished, it just needs programmed (mostly in HuC6280 ASM).  Any takers? 

I've been thinking a free-to-download Caravan/Time Attack stage might be a good way to get a good portion of the game engine programmed and give people a taste of what the game will be like... hmm.

Thoughts?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Favorite Valis game?]

Speaking of Mugen Senshi Valis, does it crash for anybody else in Ootake right after the intro?

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Xanadu I/II and other SCD translations]

Technically, even just 64k of ram would make it easier. I remember seeing 512k sram chips, and they weren't really any more expensive than 256k sram chips. For a few dollars more, why not double it? Anyone can use it for homebrew too.

 The problem is that new code needs to be written into areas of the game. But you can't just write this new code anywhere, because things aren't just replaceable/moveable like that. Not in a banked memory typed system like this. The second thing is, what if there's not enough free room, or worst - no free room at some later point in the game (this has happened to me).
 
 A CD game only expects so much ram to be there, and only in a certain area. CD 2.0 games don't expect or use SCD 192k of ram, SCD games don't expect or use AC 2megabyte of ram, etc. So the expanded ram is essentially 'protected' from game use. This makes it ideal for hacking purposes. Not just replacement code, but also replacement print fonts as well. You could even load in an alt system card bank #0 to MPR #7 (which is always fixed for CD game setups) and replace bios calls directly like that (which would map in your own routines sitting in expanded ram). It just makes things sooo much cleaner, easier, and faster for hacking.

Would you need the expanded System Card 3.0 RAM to play the game, or merely to hack the game?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Favorite Valis game?]

The best one, to me, is the Super CD remake of Valis 1, Mugen Senshi Valis.  You can definitely tell it's an upgrade from Valis 2-4 (which is are standard CD-ROM2 games)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Community interest in (Neo) Nectaris custom map editor?]

Is there a current emulator for PCE that has net play capability?

Yea, Mednafen does.  I've played Bomberman 94 over it many a time.

Is it command line only? Is there a frontend?

Yea, there are all kinds of front ends for it

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Community interest in (Neo) Nectaris custom map editor?]

Is there a current emulator for PCE that has net play capability?

Yea, Mednafen does.  I've played Bomberman 94 over it many a time.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Print your own stuff... (D.I.Y. GoT/Ys IV inserts & more)]

You guys can use my Dracula X translation cover/traycard/label on that site if you want.  It's pretty hi-res and set up for 600 dpi printing.  Click for the higher res versions. 





https://i.imgur.com/UpzpdJT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dDrrN5W.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/iwvYiT2.png

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Community interest in (Neo) Nectaris custom map editor?]

Would anyone here be interested in having a custom map editor for Nectaris/Neo Nectaris that would allow you to create and replace maps, place starting units, set map size, place factories/bases, etc.?  The idea is that it would spit out modified ROM/ISO images or patches, respectively, upon saving.  It occurred to me that this could be a thing around here, and open up a lot of possibilities... people making custom 2p dedicated maps, net play via emulator, yearly tournaments, etc.  What's everybody else think?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Avenue Pad 3]

I want one of these.  Actually 2 of these. 

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: VRAM to VRAM DMA help]

Tested years ago: VRAM-to-VRAM DMA transfers one word per 4 VDC cycles.

So two WORDs per 8 pixel dot clock (170bytes per 5.37mhz scanline equiv)?

wouldn't that work out to about 6.5KB per vblank if you used 256 x res, 263 line mode with 224 used for displayable scanlines?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best US Huey round 3]

I don't consider Ninja Spirit that hard. Once you have a few powerups, you are so powerful...

But, I've played the game to death. On PCE mode.

That doesn't mean I don't get my butt handed to me in other games, though. Like R-Type. I still get smacked around by R-Type.

100% agree. Once I'm powered up on Ninja Spirit I typically don't have that many issues playing through it with relative ease.

And I am definitely "one of those" that falls through that magical, magical space on the left side of the screen during the ninja pitfall sequence.

And stupid, stupid, stupid R-Type. . . If I don't beat it by the time I've reached middle-age then I am setting all of my OBEY ablaze and dancing around the sweet, sweet flames like a crazy person.

Try playing it on 'Arcade' mode and it turns into a real ball buster.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best US Huey round 3]

Jesus, guys... the ninja pit fall isn't that bad.  Just fall off the ledge, immediately start moving left, fall between the two ninjas you see and then hug the left wall, about one sprite width away from it.  You don't get touched

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best PC Engine / Turbografx controller: The Shuttle Controller]

Ave6 was my fave.  Supposedly, the Hori 6 button PCE controller was even better... supposedly

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: "Let's Compare: Ninja Spirit"]

Rare case when a home version is better...

Turbo>Arcade>Gameboy>>>C=64>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>everything else.

64 version is impressive as is the Gameboy considering, those ST/Amiga version got butchered though.

Eh, it's a close call between the original Irem arcade game and the TG16 version, but I'd say the arcade is slightly better.  Much like R-Type.  Irem were gods at porting their stuff to the TG16, though, for sure.

And if you say the TG16 version is better because it has the 5-hit life counter, you obviously don't know what it means to run with the wolves.  ;)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Spirit vs. Shinobi 3 - An 8 year old's opinion :)]

It just feels like a more refined game than Ninja Spirit.

Shinobi III totally *is* a more refined game than Ninja Spirit.  More complex too.  It's got tons of lovely control mechanics that are fun to use.  The double jump + shuriken shower, the air kick, the double tap run, the ninjitsu magic.  Not to mention carefully placed enemies and tricky level design.  Ninja Spirit has none of those things... because it doesn't need them.  Ninja Spirit just isn't that kind of game.  Ninja Spirit is all about wave after wave of enemy ninjas swarming you, picking the right weapon for the right part of the game, timing your jumps and movements just right, and clearing a path through the madness so you can get a crack at the boss.  Ninja Spirit is, for all intents and purposes, a run-n-gun sidescroller masquerading as a ninja themed platformer.  And it pulls it off perfectly.  Shinobi 3 is the culmination of an entire series.  Sega had 3 previous games to experiment, hone and perfect their formula.  Ninja Spirit, however, is one of a kind.  I think the whole debate between Shinobi 3 and Ninja Spirit is really a debate over which genre of game you like better... action platformer or run-n-gun sidescroller.  For me, the answer is easy... I'll take stuff like Contra, Ninja Spirit, and Gunstar Heroes over Shinobi any day of the week.  Apparently my son will too lol 

[High Score Records / Re: "HuZero - Caravan Edition" High Scores]

However, I did beat the 90k score with a 48k score. 

That math.  o_O

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Spirit vs. Shinobi 3 - An 8 year old's opinion :)]

Shinobi (arcade), Revenge of Shinobi, Shadow Dancer (Genesis) and Shinobi 3 walk all over buzzy ol' Ninja Spirit. Why do I call it "buzzy"? Because the music sounds like it is composed of primitive buzzing sounds.

Walks all over?  Joe, this is the post the prosecutor will refer back to when the court forces you to enter drug rehab...

I hate to say but I do feel that Shinobi 3 is the superior experience.  Ninja Spirit is an excellent game, but it still retains Irem's signature arcade feel, whereas Shinobi 3's set pieces/level designs and frequent boss/mini boss fights give it the feeling of a much more fleshed out game.  Despite the life meter, there are still many cheap deaths to be had, giving it a similar arcade feel.  Overall, in my opinion, Ninja Spirit is the best ninja arcade game, whereas Shinobi 3 is the best ninja action game, period.

People usually like one and love the other, so I'm not surprised that you have a preference for Shinobi 3 over Ninja Spirit.  Personally, I like them about roughly the same, as games, but I like the overall format of Ninja Spirit a bit better so I give the edge to Ninja Spirit.  It almost feels like Contra - Feudal Japan Corps.  Which, to me, is a good thing.  Both games have beautiful graphics, nice music (Joe Redifer is on meth), and brilliant gameplay.  I just like Ninja Spirit ever so slightly more due to the fundamentals of its gameplay mechanics.

I just find it interesting that an 8 year old kid, with no exposure to any of the above, also picked Ninja Spirit.

BTW, I had him try Rondo and then play Castlevania IV.   The giant rock men on lv1 of Rondo and the wyvern boss were giving him fits, then he seemingly breezes right through CV4's first level and beats the horse stable boss.  He picked Rondo because, "It's really hard, and I like games that are hard and frustrating but not annoying." 

I also had him try Mercs (Genesis) and Bloody Wolf, back-to-back.  He said "both are cool" but he liked Mercs better because it had a "wavy flamethrower" and "more vehicles".  Then he tells me with all the parachuting guys in Bloody Wolf and how the bad guys twirl off into the distance when blown up, they should have made the music 'It's Raining Men'.... BAHAHAHA

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Spirit vs. Shinobi 3 - An 8 year old's opinion :)]

Next, I think I'm going to have to him try Rondo of Blood and Super Castlevania IV back-to-back and see what his opinion is.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

I should make a Youtube series out of this hahaha

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Ninja Spirit vs. Shinobi 3 - An 8 year old's opinion :)]

So, today, I decided to get my 8 year old son's opinion on a couple games that are widely considered great ninja themed platformers... Ninja Spirit (TG16 version) and Shinobi 3 (Genesis).  He's never played either game before and I told him nothing about either game before he played them, so his opinion is not clouded by nostalgia or prejudice toward any particular console.

His verdict?  He thought both games were "really cool", but he liked Ninja Spirit better.  I asked him why, and his response was quite telling.  He said he liked how you started off with a "bunch of awesome weapons" in Ninja Spirit, and also how you could "jump super high".  He also said he liked how Ninja Spirit had "lots of guys trying to kill you".  He did like Shinobi's "ninja magic" and wished they had put something similar in Ninja Spirit, but preferred Ninja Spirit overall.

On a side note, I also had him play Ninja Gaiden for the NES... he said it was fun, but the graphics were "kinda crappy" and it was "too hard and annoying".  Hahaha

So there you go.  An 8 year old's unclouded opinion on Ninja Spirit, Shinobi 3 and Ninja Gaiden. 

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best US huey (round 2.5)]

I'll say it again...

OBEY
THE
FUCKING
NINJA

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best US huey (round 2.5)]

...mostly because legendary axe II only had 10 votes and it's drastically better than the overrated and over voted first one

Somebody is drunk.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best US Huey (Round 2)]

I missed this!

That is awesome.

Shame on everyone (except mitsuman) for ignoring  this.

Bastards.

Thanks 

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best US Huey (Round 2)]

Splatterhouse is a good game, but not a great game.  The in-game graphics are gorgeous (and gory) and the music is nice, but the controls are a little stiff and clunky, to me.  If I were forced to rate it 1 to 10, I'd probably give it a 7 or 7.5, no more.

[High Score Records / Re: "Soldier Blade" High Scores]

Guys, Sikraiken and I had a compo on the 5min version of this game years ago in #shmups.  Sik and NFG made this little scoring chart.  This might help somebody.  I know it helped me.  IIRC, Sik and I both got over 1.8M using these tricks.

http://nfggames.com/games/SoldierBlade/

[High Score Records / Re: "HuZero - Caravan Edition" High Scores]

Bam.

[High Score Records / Re: "HuZero - Caravan Edition" High Scores]

Exploited the "keep pressing a direction" scoring mechanic and came up with 72327.  I'll see what I can do later tonight.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: HuZERO - a score attack PCE racing game FREE to download!]

Joe, post your future scores in the high score thread: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=18094.0  There be some competition going on over there. 

Chris, you know... if you ever wanted to expand on this game, you could keep it as a one-car, non-circuit track by making it a rally championship.  Where you race against the clock on linear segments of track, a la Sega Rally.  Hell, you could even throw in obstacles for some added variety.  Perhaps even a ghost car, if the engine allowed.  It would be an interesting take on the F-Zero theme.  HuZERO - Rally Edition! 

[High Score Records / Re: "HuZero - Caravan Edition" High Scores]

How boring would that be?

Besides, there isn't any secret bullshit like "hit the walls 5 times to make your score go faster..."

Oh so it's mainly just plainly obvious shit like, "HUG CORNERS FOR FASTER LAP TIMES" or "PROTIP: SHOOT THE BOSS UNTIL IT DIES"? 

[High Score Records / Re: "HuZero - Caravan Edition" High Scores]

p.s. There are mechanics.

Will you enlighten as to what some of those mechanics might be?

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: HuZERO - a score attack PCE racing game FREE to download!]

You've got to finesse the controller, you can't just jam on it left/right or you're gonna start the "Bounce of Death".  I rather like that aspect of it.

Well the controller only has left, right and off. The only way to finesse it would be to rapidly tap in one direction or another to kind of simulate analog control. I press a direction and let go. All works fine until I get around maybe 1000 points or so? I don't know because I'm concentrating on my driving and a final score isn't tallied unless you last the full 2 minutes. Maybe I am too used to F-Zero controls? F-Zero is one of my favorite games on the SNES.

Yea, you've got to tapitty tap taparoo sometimes to stay the course