Parteibuch Aggregator Feed - Items from date 2010-07-01

Brian Ashcraft: Ninja + Golf = Ninja Golf [Total Recall]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 06:30:00 +0000

div style="background-color: #B3B3B3; width: 160px; padding: 1px;">#totalrecall

Released in 1990 on the Atari 7800, Ninja Golf is a golf sim that has players fight to where their ball has landed. Ninjas can't make golf exciting, but ninjas fighting mud-slinging gophers, sand cobras and very large frogs can. More »

The Old Bits: Sega Saturn Swap Trick - Model 2 Reset Method

The Old Bits — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Here is a small video of the less popular Reset Method of the Saturn Swap Trick, the advantage of this method over the regular non reset method are;

. Much higher success rate More games work
. Much looser timing required Less damage to drive motor as you can take your time
. Only 1 original game is needed No need to try 10 originals to get your backup working

I highly suggest this method over the more common method, sorry this video took so long to get up, it was meant to follow right after the original, but I have only just got around to it.

Enjoy & Stay Retro.

DOS Month Day 1: Commander Keen 4

DOS Month Day 1 — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:11:00 +0000

So time to get things started. This is one of my all time favorites from the older PC era. This game blew me away with the gameplay and replay value. I can always start this game up and play it from beginning until I get to the tough pyramids. Either way it's a must download for any gamer who appreciates a classic side scroller with awesome music!

The gameplay is similar to the Mario games so there will be a lot to like about this awesome title. Your main goal is to rescue these old wise men so you will have to keep your eyes opened for them as they are in different levels all over the map. Overall, it's a title I have talked about a lot in the past and will continue mentioning in the future. Cya!

Together Retro: Ecco the Dolphin

Together Retro — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:43:50 +0000

Presented by Fastbilly & Racketboy
New To Together Retro? Check out the introduction to the club

Alright, heres the pitch: you are a young dolphin whose family gets kidnapped by an evil suction-based terror and you have to explore the ocean to find them and save the world. If it sounds like the plot of a children’s book, you are close. It is the plot of the first Ecco the Dolphin game. Despite its cutesy appearance and children’s book-like plot, Ecco the Dolphin is no child’s game. Ecco is well-known to be one of the hardest Genesis/Megadrive games released. It is a side scrolling action adventure title from Ed Annunziata, who later went on to create Kolibri, Mr. Bones, and then a host of titles for the N-Gage. But dont let that phase you, Ed was in his prime when he created Ecco the Dolphin and if you have never played it you are in for a very unique treat.

History

Ed Annunziata wanted to create a game that was unlike the others on the market. He chose the sea as a backdrop because it is beautiful, inviting, and deadly. He chose a dolphin because they are like humans and they intrigue us because of their intelligence and since they can communicate with each other .

Ecco was chosen as the name since it is a homonym of Echo. Since echolocation is a central part of the gameplay, this only makes sense. As a platformer that was not violent and had a heavier emphasis on puzzles, Ecco was released to great accolades. Despite being well received, it was overshadowed by the more violent titles that were being released at the time. It also was noted to be extremely difficult. Despite these issues, it sold well enough to get two quick ports and an enhanced port. Fairly impressive for one little dolphin. The enhanced port, on the Sega CD/Mega CD is considered by the diehard fans to be the best version – thanks to the amazingly remastered soundtrack.

How to Play / Controls

To an action adventure fan, gameplay will come quickly. Ecco is about finding hidden objects, solving puzzles, and fighting enemies but remember that Ecco is a dolphin, and a dolphin is a mammal, meaning Ecco has to breathe every once and a awhile. So you need to shoot up into the air or find an air patch to keep Ecco going. A lot of the difficulty comes from not knowing where the air pockets are.

The controls vary per the port obviously, but for the Genesis/Megadrive version:

Dpad – Move
A – Sonar
B – Charge
C – Speed Swim

Legacy

Ecco the Dolphin spawned a short series.
Released sequels are:
Tides of Time – Sega CD – 1994
Ecco Jr – Genesis/Megadrive – 1995
Defender of the Future – 2000

Canceled sequels:

Ecco the Dolphin – 32x – Never got passed a tech demo
Ecco the Dolphin – Saturn

According to Ecco the Dolphin fansite, Dark Sea, who interviewed Ed Annunziata, neither the 32x or Saturn titles ever existed. They were created as prerendered video to showcase the systems. Ironically, neither of them could actually run on the systems based on the polygon counts and shaders used.

Availible Ports

Sega CD – enhanced
Game Gear
Sega Master System
PS2
PSP
GBA
Wii
PS3
360
PC – multiple times

Think of the Sega CD version as a directors cut. Most of the other versions are similar, so choose whatever format you like the most. Though I have to say it is currently only $2.99 on Steam.

Emulation Help

Racketboy Emulation Forum

Together Retro Discussion

Instead of posting in the comments section of the blog, we will be using the forum for all of our discussion in order to keep things more organized. So play Ecco the Dolphin and talk to us about your thoughts and play experiences in the forums. We want to know your favorite route, your highscores, and your failures.
Discuss The Game In The Forum

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog: Mario Figurine Alternatives From the Past

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:41:50 +0000

Look at that. Isn't it beautiful? I know I'm getting one. Are you? Oh, you didn't have enough Club Nintendo coins? Well, shoot, I'm sorry. It's OK, though, because you can always hit up the internet for some of Hasbro's Nintendo trophy figures, straight from the late '80s!

Yes, Nintendo merchandise was quite eccentric back then, featuring everything from Zelda foot lockers to Mario shower heads. These Nintendo "Trophy Figures" were probably the least insane products, though. Besides giving you a lovingly crafted scene direct from Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, or Punch-Out, they also had small labels on which you would write your high scores or some other accomplishment I have no idea what you were supposed to be rewarded for with the Zelda ones .

Who knows if anyone was given these ceremoniously -- when I was a kid, I just wanted them because they were freakin' Mario toys. It'd probably be more than a little awkward if my mom and dad were keeping one in the closet until I finally crossed 678,000 points in Mario, and then presented me with the trophy and dinner at a buffet restaurant.

Three things I love about these trophies:

The explanatory names they're given, in case you have no idea what the hell is going on in the depicted scenes and, let's face it: if you're a parent, you definitely wouldn't . They're direct to the point of charming. "Mario Stomps the Goombas." "Bowser Guards Princess Toadstool." "Link Begrudgingly Grinds for Rupees Just So He Can Afford the Stupid Red Ring."
They're f***ing violent. OK, Zelda and Punch-Out already have their violent moments, but the Mario ones... wow. Mario stomping on three presumably innocent Goombas? Kicking a Hammer Brother right in the chin? Bowser thrashing Peach around? Mario "hurling" a fireball?
You'd be hard pressed to find any Mario merchandise this interpretive ever again.
The incredibly terrible "graphics" on the boxes. Very '80s, yes, but not even good '80s. But I love that.

So, chin up. You could have some shiny figurine of the Mario cast, or something actually badass. Or Mario getting goosed by a Blooper.

Pictures: The Mushroom Kindom, Nintenmildo

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog: 14 Saturn Games We Want to See for Download

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:23:50 +0000

Hey, remember a month or so ago when Sega formally announced they'd be bringing some Dreamcast games to Xbox Live Arcade and such? And then I wrote a silly list of games that I I mean, we wanted? And now look, some guy from Sega who's probably a very nice and smart person, so don't take that as me dismissing him in any way says that of COURSE Sega is thinking about putting out Saturn games, too! I mean, sure, it's only one of the most complex pieces of game hardware ever designed, and even the best Saturn emulator on PC isn't perfect, and it took forever for GameTap to add Saturn games and include only one game any of us actually wanted, and Sega ported NiGHTS to PS2 in Japan only for no particular reason, but still. Still. If Sega says they thinking about maybe wanting to do it, then fine, we'll trust them. Because that's all we can do.

So how about another list?

With a few exceptions, this wish list is mostly games that already came out in America, at least, and original titles, not ports yes, I know, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter was awesome, but Capcom wouldn't explicitly use the Saturn version over the original arcade one . It's grounded in reality, too, so as much as you and I would both love the superior version of Grandia to be translated and released digitally, it will never happen. But we can still dream big!!

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NiGHTS: NiGHTS renders drugs obsolete. It's the perfect balance of bliss and nightmare wrapped up in a simple action game. All you do is fly through hoops! Sometimes you break stuff! The graphics were -- screw it, ARE -- great, the music even better, and they made a version for Christmas because the most magical holiday of the year paired with the most magical Saturn game ever is just common damn sense. Whatever washes away the fun-erasing Wii sequel is greatly appreciated.

Legend of Oasis: Beyond Oasis was a banner Genesis game; a big and beautiful action RPG. Legend of Oasis is arguably less big and beautiful certainly less bright , but still maintains that feel of a good ol' Zelda clone. Compared to the PlayStation's Alundra, it's not super amazing, but taken by itself on Saturn, I don't see why it wouldn't be worth revisiting.

Virtua Racing: I feel like I'm the only one who likes Virtua Racing anymore. Yes, the graphics are obviously from a much simpler time, but by now, the flat, blocky world is almost charming, and it's still a fun racing game at its core. The game's world isn't detailed enough to really look ugly compared to, say, early PS1 or N64 games with textures everywhere , and the Saturn version is packed with different courses and cars. Granted, the PS2 edition you can find in Sega Classics Collection is the best VR of all, but when it comes to variety, the Saturn version is hard to top.

Astal: An early example of what the Saturn was really best at: 2D. Gorgeous fantasy worlds make up this platformer, which was the closest thing the Saturn got to Rayman in terms of jaw-dropping art. The animation was pretty limited, but overall, it could have been much worse. "Much worse" being Bug!

Panzer Dragoon Saga: I'm an idiot. I never bought Panzer Dragoon Saga when I easily could have. Why? Because I didn't really like the first Panzer Dragoon. Then I heard that Saga re was really an awesome game, and turned into one of the rarest well, most in-demand Saturn games in America. How much longer can this go on? 15 years? 20? I don't care if it runs in 480i and starts deleting other games"' save files. Just lemme try it. :-

Panzer Dragon II Zwei: Similar story, though I've actually played Zwei and realized it's not so bad compared to my impressions of the original. It's a well-rounded sequel with better graphics and, well, just a better feel. Considering it was one of the Saturn games on GameTap, it probably has the best bet of resurfacing again.

Sega Rally: Yes, it's a port, and we're better off with a version of the original arcade game, but dangit, it's a great port, all things considered it smokes Daytona's wonky port, for sure , and my #3 favorite Sega racing game. But is it likely to come back? I'm more optimistic about it than most of the other ones on this list.

Guardian Heroes: Treasure made another cool Saturn game called Guardian Heroes, a beat-em-up that's sort of like a snappier-feeling Golden Axe, and hey, it was a big influence in the making of Castle Crashers, and if The Behemoth likes something, chances are you will too.

Saturn Bomberman: It is the best Bomberman game. It's the perfect Bomberman game. A 2D masterpiece of creative levels, great 2D graphics, and remarkable 10-player multiplayer modes. For the love of Christ, why Hudson doesn't just keep releasing this game instead of making new ones is beyond me.

Enemy Zero: Oh, come on, I like Enemy Zero! Sure it's incredibly vague without a FAQ, and wall-punchingly hard at times due to the INVISIBLE ENEMIES, but it nails the mood from minute one. And when there's music, it's usually awesome. If you agree with me, and if anyone gives you guff about it, just tell them that their precious Fumito Ueda worked on this game, and so without it we wouldn't even have Shadow of the Colossus! Then watch as they crumple to the ground, because you just knowledge-punched them.

Fighters Megamix: Not counting the reams of arcade fighting games that were ported over, this is probably the best one on Saturn. It was arguably the Saturn's last hurrah: A crazy crossover between Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers FVVFVFVFFVFV that also included guest characters from Sonic the Fighters, Daytona USA YES! , and god damned Pepsiman. Actually, Pepsiman was taken out of the American version, so Megamix might actually have a decent chance of coming out again!

Radiant Silvergun: Our boss Sam might actually have me fired if I don't put this on the list. It's the shoot-em-up that has, as far as I can tell, genuinely defined him as a person. I mean, sure, it's cool. It has a lot of crazy 3D effects and is otherwise pretty solid, just like its successor, Ikaruga. Sega, just say you're putting this one out so I have another year left. Much love.

Burning Rangers: NiGHTS was cool, but a little too similar to the Sonic games in terms of all the splashes of color and cute characters. Their next game, Burning Rangers, was a full-on anime-style action game with stylish futuristic firefighters. It didn't get nearly enough attention, probably because it was drowned out by people whining about the lack of a real Sonic game ahem, myself included. Sorry .

Super Tempo: Yes, this is another less reasonable choice, but bear with me. Tempo was an insane platformer for the 32X. Its sequel made it to Saturn, but didn't come out in America, probably because it wasn't published by Sega that time around. It's not the showcase that Astal is, but it's not terrible. Plus, its relative rarity makes it a great candidate to be revived, but reality will probably keep it from that.

I know there's a bunch more that you want to mention that aren't within the realm of reason, so go ahead and rattle them off in the comments. Unfortunately, I don't think the incomplete Shining Force III would work out, and Magic Knight Rayearth is a perfect storm of dead licenses and companies.