[Bennett]

Demon's World

I got 28750 because I'm bad at games.

[Loki Laufeyson]

first attempt at jaki crush. this is a lot harder than the other crush games, i haven't even found any bonus stages yet!
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[Deets]

[Sniper Honeyviper]

I thought Spider-Man had some legitimate problems besides that. The upper right flipper seems useless for getting the ball up any ramps, and there's a huge horizontal wall on the upper left side that basically renders 25% of the table a dead zone. But I concede that it's still fun and playable.

I assume Avatar and Iron Man are when Stern's shit started hitting the fan.

Is Horror Story harder than Demon's World? I was also surprised to find so many concessions to difficulty in a Toaplan game.

[Deets]

[Sniper Honeyviper]

Yeah, the "wall" wasn't as big as I remembered. It's between a spinner lane and the rest of the board. I was just annoyed because I kept hitting it and draining out.

My own skills are likely the real issue here...and I was coming right off from Who Dunnit, which is quite an easy table (huge ramp in the center that always safely deposits the ball by the flippers).

[Sniper Honeyviper]

TODAY'S GAME IS: The End (Arcade)

A Space Invaders-like with an ominous gimmick.

Enemies are worth more points when they're carting off pieces of your shields.

MAME stretches out screenshots for this one, but I think it conveys the tone of the game pretty well.

I'm not sure what "Chance Time" is.



First: 8980

[Bennett]

The End: 4980

[Bennett]

Let's play Red Alert, a depressingly pessimistic cold-war version of Space Invaders.

[cake]

demon's world:
- cake: 34600

I can't remember playing this type of game before, I guess I appreciate the fact that it wasn't too punishing. It seems like you can stand on each others shoulders in 2P.


the end:
- cake: 7020
- cake: 9020

I really liked the sounds this made, the echoing shots and short repetitious bass sequence make it sound exactly like an old arcade game. I really liked the gimmick too, until it reached the logical conclusion - I was hoping for some kind of multi-level game.

After extended play: the huge dead zones into which you can't shoot are really annoying. The Stern North American version moves the blue blocks to behind the player, so perhaps they felt that way too.

[Sniper Honeyviper]

Thanks for mentioning that cake, I would have specified the Stern version if I'd known about the differences.

TODAY'S GAME IS: Crush Roller (Arcade)

A tense, nightmarish Pac-Man clone with a paintbrush. ADK made a sequel on the NGPC!

You'll eventually see a yellow cat thing who runs around the screen leaving paw prints. Touching him will kill him, granting 1000 points. Cleaning these up counts towards your stage completion total and awards a good amount of points, so it's advisable to let him live for a while.

The paint rollers will speed you through their lanes if you touch them on the proper side.



First: 3160

Despite there being only two enemies to Pac-Man's four, this manages to be a whole hell of a lot harder!

[Schwere Viper]

For Demon's World: 199550!


I do loves me some Toaplan. I'd like to suggest Wardner for a future game!

For THE END: 14320


Something about this game rubs me the wrong way. Also I think I broke it as the mothership disappeared after three rounds and never came back. Also at some point the game seemed to give me an obscene amount of lives for no apparent reason. Odd.

For Crush Roller: 3490 :<


I can barely manage Pac-Man, never mind all the clones.
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[Bennett]

Crush Roller: 1510. You weren't kidding about it being harder than Pac-man.

[Loki Laufeyson]

[cake]

Crush Roller

- cake: 4840
- cake: 9550

It feels pretty unfair once the ghosts can move faster than your character.

Schwere Viper, that stuff happened for me too in The End. Pretty nice score, too, I tried for a while to improve, and could rarely get above my initial score.

[Sniper Honeyviper]

Yeah, I wish I'd known about the superior Stern version of The End. Much more fun and balanced with the blocks behind you.

I never got any extra lives, though.

[Sniper Honeyviper]

TODAY'S GAME IS: Dyna Gear (Arcade)

A bizarre, prehistoric-themed platformer from Sammy with the relentless pace of a Cave shmup.

MAME emulation is not 100%, but I noticed nothing wrong.

Wolf can double jump. Roger might be able to as well, but he's got a lower "jump" stat. All of the weapons are about equally effective, and mashing the button faster will make them more powerful (no using autofire!). You can safely jump on the tops of some larger enemies, but it will not damage them. If a boss is in their death animation, get under them: they'll drop a life-restoring meat that falls offscreen quickly, as well as plenty of coins. Explore the tree branches in the early areas, there are goodies hidden about, and you can climb under the canopy.



First: 103760, Wolf. I died a very stupid second death from blindly jumping into a brontosaurus (not their real name, I know).

[Rud31]

FUCK YEAH DYNA GEAR.
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[Bennett]

Dyna Gear: 86310. Not too shameful this time. Got tricked by the stegasaurus boss: I thought he was dead so I ran under him, then he came back to life and crushed me.

Roger looks like blond John Romero in the intro cinematic.

[Clumo]

[Sniper Honeyviper]

By request!

TODAY'S GAME IS: Wardner/Wardner no Mori (Arcade)

A grim and mysterious, yet extremely charming platformer in the vein of Makaimura. Arguably Toaplan's best game, and what Braid and Limbo should have been.

Your jump arc is strange: it proceeds like normal for a while, then the parabola stops and you drop straight down. Many enemies, projectiles, and obstacles (like the spinning blades in Stage 2) can be crouched under. The needle and thread will grant you an extra hit of protection if you buy them along with a mantle. The most expensive weapon is not the best: it covers very little vertical space. Some alcoves and out-of-the-way areas contain secret score and money bonuses.



First: 70240 (did worse on the second run!)

[Schwere Viper]

97330 for Dyna Gear. This run went better than when I first tried it months ago!



A disappointing run on Wardner, sadly. 64280!



Lost my flow when I decided to by a Star Sword before Stage 3, and got bumrushed by skeleton knights. Sigh.
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[Bennett]

I played Wardner but my score is too poor to admit publicly.

Do you think they were trying to call it "Werdna", after the Wizardry series?

[Sniper Honeyviper]

[Schwere Viper]

[Sniper Honeyviper]

TODAY'S GAME IS: Aliens (Arcade, Japan version)

A variety-themed run and gun from Konami. Everyone knows about the blatantly Gigeresque stages of Contra games, but few know that they actually got the license at one point. Like most good game adaptations of movies, it takes heavy liberties with its source material, and many of the designs and setpieces are in fact original.

We will be playing the Japanese version. The international versions include some awful first-person tunnel shooting stages that are quite at odds with the rest of the game.

Button 1 shoots high, button 2 shoots low. Both buttons together will throw a bomb if you have one in stock, which are usually best saved for the bosses. The best weapon in nearly all situations is the Flame. In the obligatory elevator section in Stage 2, you can shoot upwards (possible nowhere else, to my knowledge).



First: 109100

[Loki Laufeyson]

whoa i didn't know there was a version without the terrible tunnel bits!
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[Bennett]

I got exactly 80000. I was doing really well, hadn't lost a life, until that stupid water section. Then I couldn't avoid the spiders.

[notbov]

281000



fffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccckkkk

Pictured is me dying about 1-2 minutes from a 1cc.

Man, the Japanese version gives out health like candy. Not that I mind.
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[Schwere Viper]

Maaaaan, notbov, you're a beast! I enter with 197500, dead at the queen's hands.


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[Clumo]

104700 points

it's hilarius that the protagonist isn't the same as the movie


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[Sniper Honeyviper]

Yeah, I chuckled the first time I saw a bat-winged xenomorph.

[notbov]

Best:752200



Same spot, 2nd loop (and I would've had it had I not fucked up the boss previous). They really want you to live, seeing as it starts raining meat once you go below 6 HP. Oh, and the alien queen is worth like, 200,000 herself.

Running theme of my screens and protip: the power loader is stupid. Don't use it until you have to throw the queen out.
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[Sniper Honeyviper]

Making good use of that 32X. This one's gonna take a bit more explaining...*inhale*

TODAY'S GAME IS: Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000/Motherbase/Parasquad (32X)

Despite the US title's claim, this is far more a riff on Sammy's Viewpoint than a sequel to Zaxxon: aside from your jump, you can't adjust altitude. It's ferociously memorization-based, but at least they hand out plenty of extends and start you off with 4 lives. First impressions will likely not convey how deep and complex the game is for a console shmup of its era, enough that I'd classify it as a "tactical STG." If anyone has ultra-specific questions, I have the manual.

If you jump atop a friendly "courier" (marked by flashing blue/green lights), you can attach yourself to it, gaining armor, a better shot, and a sub-weapon. Jump again to eject from it. Some enemies can be jacked in the same manner; they are usually marked by low profiles, flat tops, and flashing lights. If you pilot an enemy ship without dying or ejecting for a certain amount of time, an end-of-level bonus will be added. You'll know you've got it when lightning crackles twice and you hear "Ready?" If your attached ship is destroyed, the HUD will flash red. This is your signal to jump out quickly before it takes you with it.

In the default controls, A shoots, B jumps, and C fires your sub-weapon, if you have one and it's not cooling down. You can configure movement to be from your perspective (Normal) or the pilot's perspective (On Board). There's also an autofire setting, but it's way too imprecise for a game like this.

Because it's confusing: the first boss can't be killed directly. At the end of the stage, you have to shoot out the pegs holding him up before he destroys the computer.

Oh, and the multiplayer is a good burst of silly fun. Might actually be the first true versus shmup game.



First: 40310. Lots of room for improvement, as always. Played on an actual 32X, not an emulator.

Since there's no high score table, you'll have to refer to the HUD's listing. I would recommend looking at the attract mode demo, since it shows which enemies are jackable.

[Sniper Honeyviper]

I realize I've been lazy with updating the scoreboard as of late. Since it's gotten so huge, would it be okay if I moved it to a stickied Galaxy Oddity thread?

[Sniper Honeyviper]

Our first day after an update with no participants. :(

Guess I'll leave it up for another.

[Schwere Viper]

19750 (luckily the game remembers the high score as long as you don't turn it off, so I just waited for the demo to play).

Yeesh, this one is hard to get a grip on.
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[Sniper Honeyviper]

Yeah, like most 32X exclusives, it's really abrasive and unfriendly. But I read the manual, persevered and ended up enjoying it a whole lot.

PROTIP for the first boss: In the first section. stay as far away as possible, and watch for the pits he opens up. When you're at the floor-busting section and have to stay up close, don't stop moving even if it looks like you'll get hit.

[Loki Laufeyson]

most of the recent games i haven't had a score worth uploading

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[Bennett]

[Loki Laufeyson]

use fusion
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