Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A Dragon's Journey: Ryu Umemoto in Europe
Growing up being a polite young boy, there were few things on my juvenile mind. Like every child fortunate enough to have been born and raised in the 1980’s, I was enjoying the fruits from the decade with watching the greatest cartoons that TV had to offer and having my life consumed by video games. More so than the games themselves sometimes, I would find myself more interested in the music featured in these video games, especially with the acquisition of Batman on the NES. Growing up with the C64, NES and MSX would be a blessing for me as I would for hours go throw cases of floppies and disks simply to find the best music to record onto my tape player to make personal mix tapes, long before internet and recording software were common in the public suburb home. But as I was growing into my adolescent years, another interest started sneaking into my fragile maturing mind; Naked chicks.
And who else had more access to pornographic material of soft and hardcore nature than your big brother? Yes, like any young child who discovered that boobies are fun, I would often sneak a peek at the collection he himself had amassed since the day he made this very same discovery some 7 years prior. The selection was endless and rich in variety, but with the discovery of a few CD-Rs in the drawer, my interest would soon change back to where it all along had been most focused. In the midst of pictures of anime girls in questionable positions and attacked by what I could only identify as”colored licorice sticks with eyes”, there was an .exe file which read”ebe”. I installed the file and with the several computer worms that were probably included, I found myself playing a game titled EVE burst error. This would lead me to the discovery of one of the most important musical influences in my entire life, the music of Ryu Umemoto. Fast forwarding a good 15 years since that day, I found myself at the Stockholm Central Station waiting for my friend to arrive for our time together in the Swedish capital. That friend was none other than Ryu Umemoto.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Update 11/28 - Raizing Shooters, WARP and the D Legacy, Cladun: This is an RPG!, Ys update
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When it came to shooters, Raizing was a pretty amazing company. While their Soukyuugurentai has already been covered, this new article on Raizing Shooters covers nearly the rest of them, including Kingdom Grand Prix, a unique shooter/racer hybrid, and the near-legendary Battle Garegga, one of those many Saturn shooters who price frequently falls in the triple digits. Other games covered include Mahou Daisakusen (Sorcer Striker), Great Mahou Daisakusen (Dimahoo), Battle Bakraid, Armed Police Batrider, and Brave Blade.
Kenji Eno is quite a character, and there has never existed a studio quite like WARP. This article covers D, the FMV horror adventure game released for the PSOne, Saturn and 3DO, as well as its Dreamcast sequel (well known for being quite censored in the US due to some way-too-sexual scenes) and its spinoff Enemy Zero. And finally, we have a review of Cladun: This is an RPG!, Nippon Ichi's retro dungeon crawler for the PSP, which got tremendously lost in the shuffle due to a PSN-only release. It's got its quirks, but it's a neat little dungeon crawler for $20, and it's got some great writing and some pretty unique customization mechanics that set it apart from the crowd. The Gaming of the World section has been updated with some new stuff, including an article from the fantastic (but departed) geek magazine PiQ about games in China.
Finally, we've also gotten off our duffs and updated the Ys article. The biggest addition is a review of the recent Ys Seven, in addition to some info on the PSP versions which have been released fairly recently, as well as some general cleanup. (I'd forgotten how crass some of my writing was when this website first started, but this article was originally written over six years ago.) If you read the blog, you know we rant and rave about how awesome this series is, and how XSeed is the Great Savior for bringing these out in English. We can't recommend these games enough, and everyone reading this very paragraph should check out the recent PSP releases - Ys Seven, the latest game; Ys: The Oath in Felghana, a ground-up remake of Ys III; and the upcoming Ys Chronicles, which is the best conversion of the first two Ys games available. You can also find the TG-16 version of the first game on the Wii Virtual Console. For the love of God, skip the DS releases, though, unless you want to hate the series.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Replacing a Game Boy save data battery
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Actually, first I’m going to regale you with reviews of the 9 games I bought. If you just want the battery replacement guide, scroll way down.
This lot were tucked away in a series of plastic security boxes at my nearby second-hand junk store. They cost $2 each, except for Mystic Quest which was $3. At those prices, it was kid in a porno store time as I grabbed whatever looked interesting. I left behind about 30 or so cartridges, most of them common (including about 7 Donkey Kong cartridges), and a tonne of Pokemon crap.
Unfortunately when I got home and tried these, I was mostly disappointed.
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This was a Japanese import, and a shooter, so I had to have it. Sadly it’s unbearably dull. Imagine Space Invaders, except instead of invaders there’s one guy moving left and right trying to shoot you. Worse than it sounds.
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Sequel to A Boy and his Blob. This is quite cool, but it feels way too restrictive on the small screen, and I don’t like the setting of a run down castle. I prefer the original. It’s not bad, I guess, but not as good as I’d hopped. If you want portable blobbing, get the original NES emulated on a PSP.
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I’d already finished this years ago, but wanted the cartridge as a collectible. Two things are wrong with it: it’s in French, which I didn’t expect, since oftentimes RPGs are released in English in France. And secondly, the save battery was dead.
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Like Solomon’s Key on the NES. Pretty good all in, not sure how long I’ll play it for though.
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Played it briefly, seems just like the NES original. Rather good.
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Pretty much the NES game in monochrome I’d say.
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I had hoped this would be a cool RPG like the NES Star Trek games (pictured), but in fact it’s a collection of extremely awful minigames.
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This just goes to show how much attention I pay to HG101’s many fine articles. If I had read up on this, I’d have known it was nothing like Blaster Master on the NES. I think it’s terrible.
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I recall seeing a magazine preview for this, which made it look a bit like Die Hard from the NES, which is one of my all time favourite games. Sadly it’s a poorly designed maze shooter, where you can’t make out who is a hostage and who isn’t, resulting to many game overs.
And that’s about it. The Disney stuff is cool, but better on the NES. And Mystic Quest, my prize of this lot, didn’t even work due to battery death. All in all, I wasted $19 which could have been better served on buying a PSN card.
Once I get a chance I’ll be trading this lot in at a nearby retro store. The real nail in the coffin for all of this was, I recently tried for the first time a GB emulator on my PSP. And OH MY GAWD. Never before had I imagined such clarity. I’d tried GB emulators on the Nintendo DS, but the system just didn’t have the resolution to do them justice. You either ended up with a 1x ratio the size of a postage stamp, or you had to go with 1.5x which filled the screen but filtered everything. GB games at x2 resolution on a PSP are the way GB games were meant to be played. It is BETTER than perfect.
REPLACING THE BATTERY
This was going to cause me a huge problem, since I had two options: desolder the 2 plates, replace the battery and then try to re-attach this mini component, or try to pry out the battery whilst leaving the plates in situ, and then hope could I wedge a new one in. Feeling lazy I opted for the latter, and had to use one of my super-tiny flat-head screwdrivers to wedge between the lower plate and battery. A few minutes of jabbing and poking broke the seal and the battery lifted up (the bastard was stuck in like an Alabama tick). Then I delicately had to do the same with the upper plate, making sure not to break them. The plates were quite thin, and had a flexibility not too far off aluminium foil.
If you check the photos, you should be able to see the tiny spikes on the plates – now, I’m not sure if these are tiny blobs of solder which held the item in place, or if a machine punctured a hole from the other side to fasten it securely. There were two tiny indentations on the plate’s reverse side.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Let's play Street Fighter 2
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I love it when I can give a post a title that doesn't sound like it belongs on this blog. But we're going to play the game in DOS - not the Ocean conversion, but an interesting homebrew port.
Before you complain to me for saving the screenshots in low quality jpeg, let me explain: A young Korean programmer named Jung Young Dug decided shortly after the release of Street Fighter II, that it would be awesome to play the game on PC. (Apparently the game by Ocean wasn't available in Korea.) But all he had to work with was his SNES version and a TV capture card. That's how he got the graphics for his game.
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The game is based on the very first release of SF2, The World Warrior. It has a few shortcomings, though. The bosses are not in the game (a few normal character backgrounds are replaced with boss stages), and when selecting Dhalsim for some reason it just loads Ken. Dhalsim's stage and portrait are in, so maybe it's just a bug. Some special moves can also be done in mid-air, like in those cheap bootleg hacks. The version I have is labeled "Beta Version", don't know if there is a more complete one out there. The game files also seem to have been meddled with by third parties...
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It runs a bit choppy, too, but the controls are simply the best I've ever seen in a DOS-based fighting game. Would have been cool to see Jung work with a professional team on an original fighter, that could have been awesome. Some of the issues might be caused by DOSBox, as the game doesn't work too great with it. Sometimes when I made a screenshot, the game just crashed.
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It also allows mirror matches, but the colors for the second player are really weird. The game also allows for some really odd options. You can set a fight to 99 rounds that all run for 999 seconds each - when you set both character's attack level to zero and defence level to maximum, some rounds can even take that long.
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The music is all rearranged in midi, the tunes range from barely recognizable to surprisingly awesome. The fighters have additional voice samples when they win a round. Some are ripped from action movies, but others clearly recorded by Jung himself and sound very goofy.
Have a listen:
Music
Voice Sample
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I would also upload a video, but the game runs really slow when DOSBox is recording. But I've got something better for you. Here are the game files for download:
Street Fighter 2 Homebrew DOS Port
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When releasing the game, the programmer had the decency to reference to Capcom and Nintendo in, but in August 1994, a book was published boldy titled "Game Programming with the Creator of SF-2" - The author was Jung Young Dug.
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Labels:
bootlegs,
homebrew,
indie,
Street Fighter,
Street Fighter II,
video game books
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Update - 11/21 - Submission Guidelines posted, earn a bit of cash to write for us!
HG101 now has posted Submission Guidelines on the main page. In general this is just a revised version of the writing guide that's been posted in the forums for a few years, but it also includes information about article bounties. There are tons of topics that HG101 hasn't touched on, but we would love to have covered. If you're an expert in these topics and feel like picking up a bit of extra cash, read them over and write in. If you have an idea for something that isn't listed, that's cool too, drop us a line anyway!
Some of the bounties currently up are:
Lufia
Last Armageddon
Various Cave Shooters (Dangun Feveron)
Sakura Wars
Secret of Mana
Shiren the Wandered/Mysterious Dungeon
Boktai
Raiden
Kenka Banchou
Various Falcom games not already covered.
Feel free to suggest others, we're always adding to it!
Some of the bounties currently up are:
Last Armageddon
Various Cave Shooters (
Sakura Wars
Shiren the Wandered/Mysterious Dungeon
Boktai
Kenka Banchou
Various Falcom games not already covered.
Feel free to suggest others, we're always adding to it!
Edit The World!
The game I’d like to talk about this time is a rather odd, sadistic, and strangely habit-forming platformer called Everybody Edits, or EE for short. A quick shorthand would be to imagine Minecraft in 2D which should give some idea as to how the editing stuff works, but it betrays some of the quirkiness of this game, which is truly it’s own beast in a number of ways.
I’m actually cheating a little by lumping this game in with the others I've been writing about, because the connection isn’t quite as rock solid. However, the game does technically offer the ability to edit the terrain in real time as you wander around, as opposed to jumping back and forth between an traversal and editing modes, so we’ll use that as the common point. In EE there’s a greater emphasis on using the tools available to you in order to create fixed levels for everyone to play, as well as playing levels that other users have created, and much less emphasis on just playing in the sandbox. Of course, sandbox levels are entirely available, where anyone can hop in, jump around and start building something, editing existing creations, or just making an arse of one’s self, but I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
Resident Evil Gaiden – those who dislike it are nuts
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If you want my views specifically on RE:G as a game, scroll down.
I tend to defend critically panned games quite a lot. I did it for Zelda on CDi, I did it for The Divide: Enemies Within. I also feel an unspoken camaraderie for Duane Alan Hahn, who wrote the To What Degree Do You Love ET feature and who convinced me of the game’s merit. I like to think that my appreciation for critically hated games is more than simply supporting the underdog (though as a consummate underdog myself, I do like to help fellow comrades). Rather, I believe it’s because I tend to examine games in the context of the time of release, the genre and the hardware they are on. Some reviewers actually criticised RE:G because it wasn’t as atmospheric as other titles, which run off CD and have the benefit of a television screen. You might as well say it sucks because its multiplayer wasn’t like Madden’s. Man, some reviewers are idiots.
Metacritic doesn’t have an entry for the game that I could find, but go to GameRankings to read what they said about RE:G. Look at the scores which average out to 56%. A quick Google brings up comments by sites such as Planet Resident Evil which describe it as a game no one should play. Back in the day it was these same comments in magazines which stopped me from buying it, despite liking the look of it in screens. It was because of the casually dismissive voices of these few pissant cretins who held power in reviewing circles, that I was denied until now one of the greatest gaming experiences I can recall. They failed both me and every other GBC owner.
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It was a revelation.
It was a reminder that older games can still rock my view of gaming as hard as any new release. It now stands as my joint 1st favourite GBC game, alongside MGS: Ghost Babel. Maybe I even like it more than Ghost Babel. Survival Kids comes a very close third on my GBC list. Furthermore, acknowledging the obvious technological differences, I regard RE:G as a more substantial zombie and survival horror game than either Resident Evil 4 or the Dead Rising games.
And please do me the courtesy of allowing me to explain myself.
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Resident Evil: Gaiden on GBC is the pure distillation of everything I loved about classic RE, minus the puzzles. It’s also a British developed game, by developers M4, which sadly didn’t last for very long.
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--- THE GAME ITSELF ---
Succinctly put, it’s Diehard the film. It’s a guerrilla war against massive odds, where instead of a full frontal attack you need to chip away at the enemy’s sides, take down who you can, ration all supplies, and crawl on your belly through painful situations just to survive.
Instead of Nakatomi Plaza you have the Starlight ship. Instead of Bruce you have Barry, and later extra characters Leon and Lucia. Bruce starts with a gun, so do you. Then you get a slightly bigger gun, but not enough ammo, and so it goes: gradually increasing your power.
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But it’s this high difficulty, this guerrilla war which feels like you’ll never win, that makes me love the game so much. I like not having enough supplies. I need to have not enough.
A true survival horror game is about trying to survive against insurmountable odds. Not spamming recovery items and ammo respawn points. To instil horror you need limited resources. RE:G doesn’t actually give you anywhere near enough ammo to finish the game comfortably. Skilful use of the knife, which could be ignored in previous games, is now essential for success.
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So, you turn to the knife. I like to call him Mr Knife. Or maybe Sir Knife. Lord Knife. KING KNIFEY. You kind of stare at the blade, contemplating its physical existence; an infinite razor which extends from and beyond all known space and time. The one object in your universe not shackled by the laws of entropy. It never blunts, it never dulls, and its thirst for zombie flesh is unquenchable. It is infinite.
Yes, the knife my dear friends. We will use the knife.
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This is all good though. If you’ve not got the tenacity to tackle a real challenge, go play Famrville or something equally insipid. As it stands I finished RE:G on my first go, with 2 rockets spare.
So actually I lied. It’s not really difficult at all. But it gives that impression.
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I also want to make special mention of the sprite art. They say the skill of drawing sprites is almost dead in the commercial world. Very few games use it. Those that do don’t always look so hot. In RE:G every animation frame of each sprite is dripping with gorgeous detail and effort. Notice the cadavers around the piano and bar areas. Notice the detail in the run animations of the main characters. Notice how light and shadow are portrayed, so that both yourself and the enemy is draped in darkness when standing in unlit areas. Notice the colour and detail of the backgrounds, and the minutiae resplendent in everything you come across. It is a painstakingly gorgeous, low-resolution 2D game. I love Muramasa’s big screen splendour, but as a connoisseur of videogame visuals, I also appreciate what can be done with less.
These washed out screens which I stole from the internet do not convey its splendour.
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Because it sadly didn’t receive critical acclaim, and because I doubt it sold well, I want to call out the talented British developers at M4 who deserve more credit for what they achieved. If the rest of the world was too narrow-minded to appreciate the skill of this team, to hell with the rest of the world. History shows that quality and skill are not always appreciated.
Take a bow, fine sirs. Your creative endeavours have sparked my soul.
Game Engine Programmer:
James Cox
Lead Programmer:
Kieron Wheeler
Support Programmer:
Odin Phillips
Lead Artist:
Stefan Barnett
Background Artist:
Bruce Silverstone
Presentation Artist:
Mark Brown
Artist:
Elliot Curtis
Musician:
Shahid Ahmad
Game Designer:
Tim Hull
EDIT: I've just discovered, Tim Hull actually does the Global Timoto website, which documents cultural games from around the world and is definitely worth checking out. It's kinda similar to HG101's Games of the World section. Awesome stuff!
Special Thanks:
Marvin Hill
WAHP 11 - podcast about Japanese games
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Man, the rate of these is picking up!
They've included some cool new stuff this time round, such as samples of game music for those who like OSTs. As they rightly say, modern western games seem obsessed with movie-style orchestral music. Which is a shame because there was a time, at least in Europe during the C64 and Amiga days, when western games featured some astoundingly well done music. The fact that the west now produces crap (generally) while Japan continues to compose actual tunes, yet people say Japan is dying, baffles me. I miss the days of the SID and the like. WAHP's Twitter coverage is as always fascinating. They also mention some games which, rather aptly, are currently being worked on for a future HG101 update. So stay tuned!
Get it HERE.
Stage 011
Now Playing: Solatorobo, Malicious, Game Dev Story
Subtopics: Inafune bails out of Capcom + Capcom`s response, Shinji Mikami gets more money from white folks, Atlus brings some Innocent Sin to PSP, G-Rev shows off Strania, Mamoru-kun, and Black Sting, Nintendo may thrown poor DS owners in North America a few bones, Taro Yoko also bails out (from AQI), hottest Genso Suikoden announcement ever, Pokemon leaker thrown in Poke-jail, female Square Enix employee bleeds from “you know where”, should Dragon Quest X cheat on the Wii, Akira Uchida wants you to take your LovePlus 3DS girlfriend home to mom and dad, Final Fantasy XIV screws up… again (while Wada apologizes), JAPAN IS F**KED!! WATCH, Protopia for us English speakers, Mutter Watch (Ono, Kamiya, Inaba, Kojima, KCET Europe, Inafune, Eno), Sales Updata, Coming Next, our brand new section Cmon! ☆ Lets Beat`s, Comment of You, and a special surprise outro!
Coming Next Japan Game Mentions
Agarest Senki 2, Crazy Hot!! Pachinko Game Soul “CR Evangelion ~First Gospel~”, Criminal Girls, Winning Eleven Playmaker 2011, Sonic Colors, Hit `n` Bounce Super Smash Ball Plus Wii Remote Plus Pack, Super Kaseki Horider, Crossboard 7, DanceEvolution, Sonic Free Riders, New Brain Training You Answer With Your Body, Kinect Sports, Trinity: Zill O`ll Zero, Tears to Tiara Portable, Dangan Ronpa: Hope Academy & Despair High, Arms` Heart, True • Love Princess † Reverie ~Profusion of Maidens ☆ Romance of the Three Kingdoms Summary~ Chapter Shu, Anpanman Nikoniko Party, Mario Sports Mix, Super Robot Wars L, Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu Ver. 1.5
Other Game Mentions
Tail Concerto, Shadows of the Damned, Vanquish, Resident Evil (series), Persona, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, Söldner-X, Radient Silvergun, Ketsui, Facening, NieR, Drag-On Dragoon, Hokuto no Ken / Fist of the North Star, Evangelion, Dragon Quest X, Lost in Shadows, M.U.S.H.A. / Aleste, Puyo Puyo, Golvellius, The Guardian Legend, Super Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter x Tekken, Dead Rising, Deathsmiles, Silent Hill
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