Messages

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Akumajō Dracula X: Chi no Rondo (PC-Engine) Vs. Castlevania: Dracula X (SNES)]

From internet research, I always thought the SFC Dracula X was simply a watered-down port of Rondo, but I played through it recently and felt like it was a brand-new game that recycled art, music, and sound assets from Rondo. It's like a budget remix of Rondo (made by game design college interns, I think). Does anyone have the story on why this game was made? Was it originally intended to be a straight port of Rondo, but then they decided to change it significantly to try to convince fans of the original to buy it too? I haven't found any information like interviews with the developers to confirm this.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: arcade card duo not working!]

Nope, it's as cool as a fan, man. One would think that paper stack would catch fire at some point, but alas.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What makes Bonk good?]

I'm one of those people that plays mario with the run button held in the whole time.

As for Mario, do you actually do well holding the run button the whole time?

I thought it was normal to play with the run button held in the whole time. Even when I need to proceed slowly, I still hold the run button and just tap the control pad more delicately. Nintendo should have just turned it on by default — or better, run by default, and hold the "walk" button to walk. 

Yeah there are secrets and stuff, but in order to get to them you have to completely interrupt the flow of the game to go look for walls that look off that you might be able to step inside or something like that

Yep, Sonic 3 and Knuckles are the worst offenders here. Rather than leaving the special stages as a side distraction after beating a level, you're sucked into them as you find them within the stage itself. Once I realized this, finding them was more of a punishment than a reward because they're inferior to the actual levels, so I avoided them whenever I discovered them, collectathons or "proper endings" be damned. I don't mind bonus stages to throw in some variety, but not while I'm playing a stage. The Donkey Kong Country games also went way overboard with this idea. I think Sonic CD did this too, but regardless, it had that loading screen nonsense every time you changed from past/present/future, and that was enough to kill the momentum in the game for me.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What makes Bonk good?]

I was always hooked more by the art/character design and sprite size more than the gameplay, but the gameplay is no slouch either. The graphics just always "did it" for me.

Yep, I completely agree. The graphics are what initially drew me to the game and what made me keep returning. It plays like a Famicom game (and kinda sounds like one too!), but those bigger sprites and solid, "rich" colors make it feel more akin to an arcade game. Otherwise, I find the game average to above-average and wouldn't choose it over any of the classic Marios or Sonics.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: arcade card duo not working!]

Sorry for the late reply, dudes. Since my last post, I've been busy Dreamcasting and Xboxing and doing other sacrilegious activities. Time to expiate for my sins?

I picked up this project again by gradually placing more and more torn-up sheets of paper about the size of the Arcade Card underneath the card, then inserting it. Each successive iteration, the game continued to fail with the same glitching issues — until finally, the game booted! I played three credits with no issues, but on the fourth credit, the game loaded its glitchy self once again. I swear I didn't touch or move the system while playing, so this must be some weak thread of a connection I'm holding onto.

I opened up the system and looked at the pins in the HuCard slot, and none of them look bent. Is it easy to remove the metal shield covering the pin cartridge to get a closer look? I removed the two screws on the left and right of the metal shield, but it feels really sturdy in there. I watched a YouTube video of someone removing it with ease, but pulling on it feels like I'm going to break it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best non-Japanese exclusive Turbo games?]

Does it play about the same though? Do the additional FMV sequences make it feel like a completely different game? I'm reading on Wikipedia that the story and characters were drastically changed for the Turbo release, so it's sounding quite different.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best non-Japanese exclusive Turbo games?]

Lots of good posts!

Beyond Shadowgate has a surprising amount of replay value through alternate encounters and outcomes, considering it's a console point-in-click game.

I haven't played much of the first game. Is it worth going back and completing that (dunno if I'd pick the Mac or NES version) first?

And by "touchy", I naturally refer to the flawed controls/mechanics of Yo, Bro that prevent it from being remembered lovingly as the primal, genetic soup that Zombies Ate My Neighbors crawled out of.

Wow, I've never heard of this one. I just watched a bit of it on YouTube, and though it looks kinda ass, the ZAMN similarity and those Beach Boys tunes are kinda nice.

Did Gunboat and that Falcon jet game get release in Japan or were those USA exclusives?

I'm okay with games that were eventually released overseas; I just want to know about the best non-port games on Turbo that were developed by Westerners. I want to exclude ports because oftentimes the original is better — and even when the ported version is better, the enhancements are marginal. There are exceptions, of course.

Camp California, Addams Family, and It Came From the Desert are all decent games

Isn't It Came From the Desert a Cinemaware game and thus a port from the Amiga? Unless the Turbo version is wildly different.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: arcade card duo not working!]

Alas, I've wiggled it around every which way and pulled it out to where it just hits the lock plastic chip and then turned on the system, but the result never changes. I cleaned the system contacts a bit by putting some alcohol on the end of the Arcade Card, but again, same result.

Since my only other HuCARD is an Everdrive, I am wondering if its added thickness pushes it closer to the contacts in the system and thus makes it work every time I insert it. I wish I had another game card here to verify this theory. What's interesting is that Sapphire boots, meaning that the system reads the card, though not well enough to use its memory after the game boots. I'm assuming that the system checks for contact on, say, one of the pins of the card to verify that the card is in the slot, but uses all the pins when a game is playing — and once the game boots, it fails to access the card through these other pins, causing the glitching graphics. Or it's possible that all the pins are making contact, but the Arcade Card itself is fried.

I'll check out my local hobby stores this weekend for some scrubbing equipment and also open up the system to see what the contacts look like on the inside.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Best non-Japanese exclusive Turbo games?]

The vast majority of the best games for our beloved system come from the land of the rising sun, but there are still some non-Japanese gems in the heap. However, I'm interested in hearing opinions on the best non-Japanese Turbo games that were original to the Turbo. So for example, Dungeon Master, while a great game, doesn't count because the Turbo version is a port. But a game like Dungeons & Dragons: Order of the Griffon, for example, does count, because it's a console exclusive. So does Darkwing Duck, if that's your thing.

I would start this thread with my own suggestions, but unfortunately (fortunately?) the only games I've so far played in my budding relationship with the Engine were Japanese-developed.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Ryuukenden(PC-Engine) Vs. Ninja Gaiden(NES)]

1CC or it doesn't count.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: arcade card duo not working!]

Ah, nah, you got me. I haven't cleaned the system slot yet because the Everdrive always works. But I might as well clean it to rule out that possibility. I'll work on it tomorrow night. Are the suggestions in this thread the best to follow? Your suggestion sounds cool, but I'd like to use stuff I have lying around the house.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Ryuukenden(PC-Engine) Vs. Ninja Gaiden(NES)]

I only played the first stage and a bit of the second stage, so take it as you will. "Updated" not "lol" — you have to admit the backgrounds look better; the original game looks pretty ass at times, like in the bar, as I said. Not so great for a Famicom game that came out at the end of 1988. And I did mention that his sprite is too small. Actually, the moment I booted up the game for the first time, it was the first thing I noticed that felt wrong to me.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: arcade card duo not working!]

I hate to bump a ten-year-old thread (!), but I'm having the same problem as the original poster, though I'm using a Duo R and thus don't have a converter between the Arcade Card and my system.

At first, Sapphire gave me the "Please insert Arcade Card" screen, but after scrubbing the card with fine sandpaper a bit, now when the game loads, I get blocky graphics. I sanded with fine grit sandpaper and cleaned the contacts with alcohol several times — and of course cleaned up the mess and moisture after each session — but I always get the same result. And Sapphire is an annoying game to test too because I only know the test fails after a new game begins, which is almost a minute from turning on the system!

I am wondering if anyone else has any "new" ideas about how to fix this. The only other thing I've tried is putting something underneath the card to prop it up a bit and make better contact with the contacts in the system, but the result is the same. Oh yeah, I should note the only other card I use in the system is an Everdrive, and it works every time I insert it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: HuCard (Who Card or Hugh Card) You decide!]

If you assume it's one single variable ie: ("ROM")2, you would get ROMROM.

Which is what the Japanese did.

I was making a joke about how the individual letters look like part of a math equation, such as "E = mc²". What I was getting at is that the M variable is the one that is raised to the second power, not the others. If it had been written as "(ROM)²" with parentheses around ROM, then yes, the entire expression would be squared, and the result would be "ROMROM". But without the parentheses, only the M is squared, and thus the result is "ROMM".

But anyway, this is all silly because it's clear that they wanted to double "ROM" since they see those three letters as one unit, not individual variables.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Ryuukenden(PC-Engine) Vs. Ninja Gaiden(NES)]

All right gentlemen: shit has been whipped out, and test results are in.

In the first stage of both games, I can cling to the side of those red and white signs that have what looks like the "Coca Cola" logo on them and jump repeatedly to land on the top of them.

However, if you go to the end of the first section of 2-1, there's a pillar right before you ascend a ladder to the next area (to the left of Ryu here. In the PC Engine version, I could repeatedly wall jump on the right side of this pillar and ultimately land on top of it, but in the Famicom version, I just shoot up in the air, then fall back down and cling to the wall at the top. It's like there's an invisible wall that keeps you from jumping at the top of the pillar and landing on top of it. The tiny platform to the right of Ryu in that video exhibits the same behavior, though strangely in the PC Engine version, you can't cling to the side of it.

It's odd that in the Famicom version this sometimes works, like for the Coca Cola signs, but other times it doesn't. Anyway, my apologies to lukester for getting it wrong!

As for my opinion on these two games, what immediately disappointed me about the PC Engine version are the choppy parallax, the smaller sprites (making the game feel more zoomed out), and the soundtrack. But they're minor complaints, and the updated graphics might make up for it. I mean, just look at the bar scene in stage 1-2 of the Famicom version: hot pink floor tiles and wallpaper? 

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Ryuukenden(PC-Engine) Vs. Ninja Gaiden(NES)]

I meant a standing pillar. Not a wall. As in physically getting up onto the edge of a pillar.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I could never get it to work.

It's doable, but it's not easy...

I think Lukester is right. The pillars in NES NG1 do not have a top that you can stand on. Yes you can wall jump to the top and over to the other side, but you can't actually stand on top them.

Hm, it's been a while since I've played it, but I'll whip them both out tonight  and give them a try. Is there an ideal pillar for a test?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Ryuukenden(PC-Engine) Vs. Ninja Gaiden(NES)]

Ha, I'm glad I'm not the only one then. I also enjoyed doing a backflip in Rondo after killing a boss. Every freezeframe looked like Richter was practicing his high jump!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: HuCard (Who Card or Hugh Card) You decide!]

That sum would really be (R + O + M)^2.

You never know — maybe they only wanted to square the memory.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Ryuukenden(PC-Engine) Vs. Ninja Gaiden(NES)]

Yep, it works on all wall-like surfaces. And it's not easy, but it's satisfying to pull off!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: HuCard (Who Card or Hugh Card) You decide!]

W = "double" (that's why "DOUBLE RING" and "Double Dungeons" have Ws on their title screens.)

Cool, I didn't know about this. Here's a page with more interesting examples: http://legendsoflocalization.com/the-legend-of-the-mysterious-letter-w/

Although going by the above logic, CD ROM ROM should really be CD WROM.  Since ROM² would really be R*R+R*O+R*M+R*O+O*O+O*M+R*M+O*M+M*M.

I'd compute ROM² as ROMM. 

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: HuCard (Who Card or Hugh Card) You decide!]

Yep, even the Japanese Wikipedia page for HuCARD agrees with the "hue" pronunciation:

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/HuCARD

HuCARD（ヒューカード）

Another fun fact: CD-ROM² is pronounced "CD ROM ROM":

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-ROM2

CD-ROM²（シーディーロムロム）

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Ryuukenden(PC-Engine) Vs. Ninja Gaiden(NES)]

Another note. Unlike the nes version, you can walljump continuously up onto a pillar and get on top, instead of having to jump back and forth between walls to get on top. Try it!

Really? I did this all the time in the NES version. One little "minigame" I liked to play was to ascend to the top of the wall after beating a boss before the score counter finished ticking and froze the screen. You can also do this against the first boss as a way to safely jump over him without taking damage.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: First 3 games you played]

Holy shit, love the avatar!

I hope you're talking about the Danzig-led Misfits! I dislike the Jerry Only version that's around today — the Shitfits, as I call them. And even if Danzig returned, they're all too old for me to pay attention. But man, how they dominated punk in the early 80s!

Here are my first three games:

• PC Genjin
• Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo
• Bomberman '94

What a great start!

Thanks! I like all three, though I still prefer the Sonic and Mario "mascot" games to PC Genjin. But PC Genjin is a solid introduction to the system because of the bold graphics and colors. I can't say I'm a fan of the music though!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: First 3 games you played]

For that console generation, I grew up with a SNES, did some Mega Drive exploration over the past few years, and only in the past few weeks have I started my PC Engine journey — hence my registration on this forum. It's about damn time!

Here are my first three games:

• PC Genjin
• Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo
• Bomberman '94