spanky debrest

Ordinarily I don't think a few frames of lag is worth mentioning when it comes to these emuboxes but it's remarkable how this Astro City Vertical not only is probably the worst performing trinket of its type ever made but as a shooter machine the most inherently crippled too.

If I were a Pocket owner I'd be slobbering at the very reasonable chance of Jotego porting his arcade cores over to it.

I pulled out some of my tape collection earlier this year. I've kept most of them, the earliest ones from childhood, my dad's '70s Readers Digest compilations, throughout every tape I bought and recorded throughout the 90s until maybe the mid 2000s. I'd planned on going through a box of unmarked tapes which contain a bunch of recordings I made as a kid - songs cued up and being played and recorded with live microphone input of me terrorising my siblings - but my deck needs a service so using it isn't an option at the moment.

Finally at the point where I can consistently complete Double Dragon Advance on Normal using only a couple of credits (via the GameCube Game Boy Player), and am waiting for a 3D printed fan shroud to arrive so I can put a silent fan there at the same time as installing that new Picoboot modchip. I actually hate the shitty performance of the GBP but I can adjust to huge input lag okay with brawlers, so a magnificent game like DDA is still a lot of fun but obviously once the GC is modded I'll be rocking the lower-lag Game Boy Interface software and things will be better. So anyway, after many many years, it was finally time for Final Fight CD. I'd been putting off a proper playthrough of this game because despite nostalgia for the arcade cabinet and rinsing the okay SNES port back in the day it's never exactly been a favourite brawler of mine, even when it was new, despite it being an instant genre defining classic and template for most that followed. I was surprised to eventually make it to the final stage (Uptown), but didn't last too long there, playing as Cody because of his ability to punch thrown knives out of the air. Took me all available 4 credits though, and a few close scrapes with death averted by BBQ Steaks. Two sections really were cheap though, and I was dreading them: The level with flames rising put of the floor, and Rolento's spraying of grenades with unpredictable movement patterns while darting about invincibly. I think I lost probably two thirds of my entire stock of lives just on those sections. I mean, would it have been so bad to tone those bits down considering there's no credit-feeding here in this home port..? There's obviously a trick or two with these bits that I didn't work out during my session but still, they do take the shine off for me. The only other section that was a bit OTT was fighting Abigail, because he can grab you from a hell of a distance and remove a third of your life bar instantly with a throw.. something easily done when regular enemies keep getting added the fight. Not sure if I'm done with Final Fight CD yet. Legendary game and brilliant port but its rougher sections are rough. Thinking of possibly giving that Atomiswave to Dreamcast conversion 'Demolish Fist' a proper spin, as that only received a little but super enjoyable test go when it was newly released.

I'm sure they're fine, I just don't have or use any Xbox hardware and feel weird about buying a dedicated modern controller just for analogue input on a MiSTer core. I'm aware some people enjoy PS4/PS5 controllers for analogue input but I'd much rather use older analogue controllers I already have an excessive quantity of.

Super Hang On is far and away my favourite '2D' racing game so now I'm wondering what kind of analogue controller input might work well for the MiSTer core (I'm pretty sure Jotego mentioned it was something that is definitely on his roadmap). I'm actually thinking an original N64 controller with its precision long throw thumbstick might be pretty good for this. Or maybe a GameCube controller as that's got a pretty excellent precise thumbstick too. Actually - the PSX Namco NeGcon controller - the one with an analogue twist mechanism - that's an incredible hybrid analogue / digital controller and a joy to use. I do hope it'll be testable for the core which runs this game.

N64 is definitely the ultimate retro punching bag. Hardware vaseline filters you need mods or gameshark codes or patches to bypass, low grade compressed audio to fit on overpriced carts with teeny tiny ROM chips in the age of 650MB CDs, lopsided library without key genres represented, dozens of straight up so-bad-they're-bad kusoge titles, a controller it's hilarious watching kids try to handle for the first time.. it's a disaster, right? Nah. I only bought one circa 2000 because I was a Treasure fanboy and Sin and Punishment was due out and Mischief Makers and Bangaioh were also things I needed. These games are mostly incredible and worth buying a system for IMO. And there's a surprising load of weird exclusives that personally appeal to me way more than Rareware games and 90% of what you find on generic best of lists. Anyway, I quit home consoles with the GameCube but the Wii I never liked because pointing a laggy cursor at a screen via a remote control will always be a war crime.

The RPGs being the incredibly good fun and original dungeon crawlers known as Madou Monogatari series. The Mega Drive got a brilliant remake of a remake of a remake of a Madou Monogatari which was the final official Japanese release. I recommend it highly (pro grade fan translation is available). Every version of the games across every format is wildly different and aside from super polished aesthetics and design all of your attacks are performed fighting game style for this particular one. Like Lord Monarch MD, i rate it as the best game of its kind that remains inexplicably slept on. Regarding Sonic Spinball, yeah, it's not great. BUT that tune 'Toxic Caves' is amazing. One of the cheekiest basslines ever. And I'm too lazy to set my MiSTer up but I understand if you play this on an overclocked system (CPU set at 10+ MHz) then it plays pretty smooth and with allegedly excellent physics. The game seemingly just didn't get optimised.

I've been hoping the sequel to this (Jet Coaster Dream 2) gets translated at some point. Also, a teaser of the upcoming three hour Shmup Junkie Mega Drive shooter video (with a couple of rankings I personally agree with): https://youtu.be/sHaiAcaEdw8

After my YouTube feed showed me three new videos promoting the new Picoboot modchip I had to order a Raspberry Pi Pico. I've got into dabbling with the Game Boy Player again and being able to launch Game Boy Interface without using burned discs or messing with the drive potentiometer to get CD-Rs reading correctly is attractive. That horrible lag on stock GBP software makes everything feel like Hard Mode.

I switched on my launch unit DS Phat the other week to find that there's a line of permanently dark pixels on the bottom panel. This degradation is a new thing, and reminds me of OG Gameboy screen faults related to ribbon cables unseating themselves over time. Arse.

For me modern gaming is a lot like capitalism: an embarrassment.

Crime Fighters had two main variants. A common four-player cab which threw a barrage of high-HP enemies at you and was unsurprisingly optimised for four-player simultaneous play. A less common two-player cabinet was balanced enough for a half-competent single player to see most of the game on a single credit. Crime Fighters get called primitive and is unfavourably compared to its peers, but I always overwhelmingly preferred it to TMNT and even Final Fight back in the day. The gettin-in-as-many-kicks-to-downed-enemies mechanic was never done as satisfyingly in any brawler since, and being able to hold and use a pistol until it's knocked out of your hand or the level is completed is super cool too.

I've always been fascinated with New Zealand Story's hidden timers and counters and haven't stumbled upon much documentation about those mysteries either. https://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/The_New_Zealand_Story So there are two banks of switches on the original JPN board, with bank 1 having options for video and coinage, and bank 2 having game options; the initial starting lives, bonus lives from points values and continues on / off options are straightforward but the exact effects the difficulty levels B, A, C and D have remain opaque.

Bubble Bobble is a goddamn videogame titan. One of the very greatest of all time.

Contra Hard Corps is a strange one for me. It's faster, crazier, bigger and more explosive than Contra Spirits on SNES and Konami obviously went all out to make the best Mega Drive game they could..but it loses something the more basic SNES game had: The vibe of an '80s sci-fi action flick and a memorable score. Some of Hard Corps sounds painful and generic to me, compositionally dull and grating, and this is probably why I rarely play it despite always having had the urge to master it thoroughly like i did the SNES game.

I've long wondered why developers favoured utilising 480i / Hi-Res mode with the expansion pack rather than, say using the extra memory to enable smoother / more stable frame rates (if that was ever possible) - because I've never played a compatible game which is improved with it. If I was looking to get into the N64 today, from scratch.. the only reason I'd shell out for an expansion pack would be to run the better Mario 64 hacks or 64DD conversions. Otherwise I'd consider it a completely superfluous collectable.

I used to hook a PS2 straight into a Plasma via component and it never bothered me in terms of visuals. In fact it looked excellent. The lag was noticeable though, even with 480p non-interlaced games. 720p video via HDMI however was even worse. Killed off games on that thing once and for all.

Basilian Sega devs and their antics.

Unconfirmed rumour I read years ago: Sega sold the rights to their 6-button controllers for sale outside of Japan. That's why western territories got lumbered with 3-button ones for the original MD Minis, why it's a 3rd party licencee like Retro-Bit who has exclusive rights to these controllers outside of Japan.

I'm enjoying the original PlayStation so much now that I've got a reliable machine again and access to my old peripherals..but instead of dipping into anything new or taking care of long overdue unfinished business (like with R-Type Delta) I'm onto Metal Gear Solid. I originally played it shortly after release and had a grand old time with it, but could barely remember much today aside from Psycho Mantis's fourth-wall-breaking mind reading and telekinesis tricks (which made me howl with delight at the time). I did pick up the GameCube remake at some point but couldn't get into it for one reason or several..but this original one has been a joy to revisit, even if I've been scratching my head about progression more than I'd like to admit. [Once I'm following a gamefaqs guide or walkthrough it's pretty much a death knell for the game because it means I've lost the patience to play it as intended, so fortunately this hasn't happened yet. Conversely, having that codec communication system in-game as an optional hint system doesn't rob you of discovery like it could either] Anyway, 4.5 hours in, many deaths and some real fear about being attacked by a pack of digital wolves in the icy darkness have all contributed to this being a hell of an experience. Also, back in the day the sound was experienced through a small mono speaker built into a computer monitor whereas now it's syphoned off directly to a hi-fi, bypassing the TV audio circuit completely as it fills the room with unheard clarity and detail. It's a revelation. Similarly with the video, as PSX RGB via a proper cable is a relatively new thing for me too. It's such a brilliantly silly and clever game. Those trademark PSX wobbling textures / polygons are gorgeous too - I'd never have them fixed or corrected if I were given the choice to do so outside of actual hardware.

Right. I don't think System E arcade games get too much attention because that hardware is based off of the Master System i.e. old hat by late '80s arcade standards. So fans of the original arcade Fantasy Zone expecting an impressive sequel discovered a variant of the Master System sequel in a cabinet instead, a situation remedied by M2 with their officially licensed legit 16-bit reimagining of that game on PS2 (also made playable on MAME).. which was subsequently improved and expanded on 3DS with 3D Fantasy Zone W II. On another MD Mini 2 related note I noticed GSK on twitter mention a few unreleased / limited release Mega Drive games that Sega / M2 have probably tried to secure: - Burning Fists (Mega CD fighting game) - Asuka 120% (widely ported fighting game originally on FM Towns) - Freedom Star (an arrange version of the P-47 coin-op) - Mad Stalker (pretty nice, widely ported single plane brawler that was finished and physically released not too long back)

Yeah, the System E version of Fantasy Zone 2 (not to be confused with M2's original System 16 version of Fantasy Zone II from 2008, originally made for that PS2 Complete Collection). Both SMS games (not counting the third Pac-Man influenced 'The Maze') are also available rebuilt in 3D on 3DS too in those Sega 3D remasters compilations, with a couple of exclusive features (new FM audio tracks for FZ and in-game map graphics for FZ2 taken from the System E version). I really love the original SMS Fantasy Zone 2.. which in the interest of keeping this vaguely on topic is obviously playable on Mega Drive.

Yeah it's not public and probably won't ever be (he made an accurate MD port of Pac-Man way before Darius, neither were shared / leaked). The Saturn has a perfect Fantasy Zone port, as does the PS2*, 3DS and Switch (the latter two have significant extra content / enhancements). The SMS port is great but obviously pretty different / stripped back (developed concurrently with the arcade version). *Emulated rather than a port, as part of the Sega 2500 Ages Complete Fantasy Zone Collection. There's also a fairly faithful port in the same 2500 series on PS2 but it's remade with polygons, and stands out as one of the few earlier ones I'm the 2500 range which is pretty good.

Just to add to the responses, I think it's important to note that cheap SCART to HDMI boxes on Amazon use components designed for handling video (from something like a VCR) rather than old RGB-outputting consoles. You can expect them to add a lot of input lag.