Archive for May, 2009

27 May, 2009 | 1 comment

Commercial Break: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Just finished DMing my weekly D&D game, and yup now I am updating a Retrogaming website. My coolness aside, I figured I would find a videogame ad for a favorite pasttime of mine. This commercial seems really confused. Not only in that the children seems almost bored playing the game, but also that it is being pitched to a little girl. Was this a reach for wider gaming audiences, much like the free Cabbage Patch Kids with the purchase of various game systems. I guess however they could get a console in the house. I’m sorry dragon…

26 May, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club: SENGOKU

Sorry for missing the Monday, Holiday and all. Anyway we got us a beat’em up this week in the name of Sengoku.

According to Wiki ” Although each of the games in the series do not seem to follow a connected plot, the games all involve the undead forces of feudal Japanese warriors attacking the protagonists.

In the first two games, the player could play as a ninja or a Western cowboy. In the games, the player can gain powerups so that the player can change into more powerful forms, such as a samurai-like being, an armor-clad wolf, or a more traditionally-themed ninja to attack the opposing forces of the undead. Power ups in the form of different colored orbs included being able to wield one katana (red orb), a pair of katanas (blue orb), a broadsword (purple orb), or to launch an energy-based attack (yellow orb). (Note: Power up effects differed depending on which form the player used. Those listed are for the standard form.)

The third game did not have a similar premise to the previous two games, instead, it was about a ninja clan who had to stop a worldwide outbreak of the Japanese demons before the world would be engulfed in chaos.”

Check it out and see for yourself get the ROM HERE, and talk it up on the Digital Press.

18 May, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club: Gunbarich

This is a game I can find no real details about, Gunbarich is from 2001 according to the game developer Psikyo’s wiki page. Gunbarich is a unique twist on the classic Arknoid formula, by adding flippers and a heavy coating of magical drop, you end up with a fun candy-like game. Easy to play, but I imagine a lot to master. Enjoy Gunbarich, get the ROM HERE and talk about it on the Digital Press.

13 May, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Star Trek

Yes, it is unanimous, the movie is GREAT! You will love yourself long time after seeing it. However you may want to stab your eyes after this atrocious piece of marketing. This Atari game looks rather interesting, but be careful because it needs that Advanced overlay.

11 May, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club: Metamoqester

This week is a oft missed 1995 unique take on 2d fighters, in Metamoqester you use a character with an assortment of moves not unlike Street Fighter to dispatch various boss monsters. Even better is the fact that you can do this with a friend making for some really interesting combos and serious fun.

“Developed by Pandorabox. This game is known in Japan as “Oni - The Ninja Master” and is an off shoot of the, then popular, Oni series of RPGs by Pandorabox, stretching across the Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo Super Famicom and Sony PlayStation.” - from Arcade History

Grab the ROM Here, and be sure to talk about it on the Digital Press.

6 May, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Light Guns

After talking so much about “The Justifier” I felt we should look at some light gun commercials. First up is the Famicom light gun (NES Zapper to us Americans). Man, they would never let a gun that looks that real into children’s hands. That and my Zapper never came with a holster. Wonder why such a realistic looking gun toy is no problem in Japan?

Next we have the Menacer, this bizarre binocular construct was Sega’s attempt at light gun action for the Sega Genesis. I honestly do not think I had one friend that owned this peripheral. Maybe the $100 price tag was too much for this wireless wonder.

Finally, the Super Scope. This thing was a massive beast with a hunger for batteries, but the $49.95 suggested retail price made it much more appealing. I will forever remember Shawn Smith teaching me Battle Clash on this thing on lazy summer day…

4 May, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club : Psycho Soldier

This weeks game, Psycho Soldier, is actually a sequel to the SNK game Athena. Released in 1986 (1987 Internationally) Psycho Solider is a side scrolling platformer that has Athena teaming up with Kensu. These two characters can be seen in other SNK titles such as the King of Fighters series, and even the classic Chrystalis. This is actually the first arcade game to have a vocal in-game soundtrack.

From Wiki: “Psycho Soldier is noteworthy for being the first video game to utilize a vocal track during in-game play, with vocals provided by Japanese pop idol Kaori Shimizu. This was achieved by creating a JAMMA board that was much larger than usual, and consists of three PCB boards hardwired together and sandwiched on top of each other inside the game cabinet. The Japanese and English versions of the game have different vocals for the main song.”

Get the ROM HERE, and talk about it here and on the Digital Press.