tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3326203057765066382024-03-05T16:28:30.419-08:00Ribbon BlackRibbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-6923897048821446292019-06-02T16:10:00.002-07:002022-06-17T17:01:40.868-07:00Vib Ribbon Press Kit - full disc contents!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGOcqQnRDc0oBF-mlXGGIW3H5oeH2dKPXvpA8fSokAiRvUoNitMgkaiIiRPyZcUZjyTEH2FNyTGu2HNTSQgrtNQaH3dihj7thwapq44FBMBVgtLSDmvkB2h-1VtPn9VndLhDXW0zn-X-v/s1600/splash1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="985" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGOcqQnRDc0oBF-mlXGGIW3H5oeH2dKPXvpA8fSokAiRvUoNitMgkaiIiRPyZcUZjyTEH2FNyTGu2HNTSQgrtNQaH3dihj7thwapq44FBMBVgtLSDmvkB2h-1VtPn9VndLhDXW0zn-X-v/s640/splash1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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So, a few years ago <a href="http://www.ribbonblack.com/2016/01/vib-ribbon-press-kit-images-posters-and.html">I made a post</a> about a Vib Ribbon press kit I found by chance on ebay around 2003. I posted the most interesting things (a lot of fun key art of the characters) but left a few things out (also, the single photo I took was terrible).<br />
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Three years later and there's still almost no information about this kit online! Most of the search results just point back to my blog. After digging through the CD more I found an interview with Masaya Matsuura, the designer of Parappa the Rapper and Vib Ribbon. A quick online search of some of the text shows that this interview <i>doesn't appear to exist at all</i> on the internet..so, I feel that in the interest of preserving the CULTURE it's my duty to put this information up for everyone to see.<br />
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Most of the more interesting images are on my previous post, but at the end of the article I'll link you to a dump of the entire disc!<br />
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The Game</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuf7qt0VEkfDOGM-i4sIPIQ2V3Wb7iOAmRJf_K5pwijzrnL2s3ash_uBmLszNa6C-s8zFp9eOturD1w83RszqxjQU5C7MecB5ljLbd-y4U3lXeRt-vcT0LhRfSb1dNjU0V94kl8FeoxTHf/s1600/Layer-3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="985" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuf7qt0VEkfDOGM-i4sIPIQ2V3Wb7iOAmRJf_K5pwijzrnL2s3ash_uBmLszNa6C-s8zFp9eOturD1w83RszqxjQU5C7MecB5ljLbd-y4U3lXeRt-vcT0LhRfSb1dNjU0V94kl8FeoxTHf/s640/Layer-3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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First thing we have in the collection is a copy of the game itself. I was really hoping that it'd be a unique disc design or have something new in the game itself, but it appears to be identical in design and content to the final PAL release.<br />
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There <i>is</i> an alternate demo version of the game that has a specific option for playing a stage with music by DJ Cam (a musician who did a promotional collaboration with the game) if you have a copy of the PAL PS1 "Registered Users Demo 08" disc, however. This is just the normal game though!<br />
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DJ Cam Loa Project Meets Vib Ribbon</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwvI4jpAKOjMR0hS035pt6P-dLAPBbCQLY_vMTdqWRYP6qFlJgJXoJ8I8l7ZNDY8U-227txIIAQgi0SeQPbPu3n-2xtNsOq8Vsk1g0xlvtB_UTNH6mTJ4dnoW7Gk-Z6DjRaD7nLSdy4Sy/s1600/Layer-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="985" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwvI4jpAKOjMR0hS035pt6P-dLAPBbCQLY_vMTdqWRYP6qFlJgJXoJ8I8l7ZNDY8U-227txIIAQgi0SeQPbPu3n-2xtNsOq8Vsk1g0xlvtB_UTNH6mTJ4dnoW7Gk-Z6DjRaD7nLSdy4Sy/s640/Layer-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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This CD includes an eclectic mix of music from DJ Cam, running the gamut from jazz funk to reggae. Track 5 is a song specifically made to be played in Vib Ribbon, but to be honest it doesn't feel like Vib Ribbon to me at all and this music just isn't my kind of thing. The other four tracks are easy enough to find on Youtube.<br />
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However! Because Track 5 doesn't seem to exist online AT ALL (other than on one or two gameplay videos), here's a direct CD rip for you to enjoy.</div>
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/630612423&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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Press Information August 2000</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwPVLQhtJ9Pl9HE8qE6pQCVhsbGRNl6L6cqSGKcI4N1WYTKJHTbioczsSD2wr94yqiL_6FlnDXohVVY87wWRdXwuDW-fOPtLWtV9Lh49WIJE877iG70v-gxAvFHrBhVdCBr4EubI_UFIV/s1600/Layer-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="985" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwPVLQhtJ9Pl9HE8qE6pQCVhsbGRNl6L6cqSGKcI4N1WYTKJHTbioczsSD2wr94yqiL_6FlnDXohVVY87wWRdXwuDW-fOPtLWtV9Lh49WIJE877iG70v-gxAvFHrBhVdCBr4EubI_UFIV/s640/Layer-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's where the interesting stuff is.</div>
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Photos and interview with director, Masaya Matsuura</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9nHz4zVMmviKyNW6uUaYWCBEDI_p6lCCYDxfcO6jmL8Xly0bpblKmkMfRdozoRgc0u5VeJlT9WbE716FN8cKJkBCuBa49ItjzAzU6MGsf22qGmiC_aAYWzIHhm83kRnJK5jOi9uFxsqd/s1600/MATSU00.TIF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="758" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9nHz4zVMmviKyNW6uUaYWCBEDI_p6lCCYDxfcO6jmL8Xly0bpblKmkMfRdozoRgc0u5VeJlT9WbE716FN8cKJkBCuBa49ItjzAzU6MGsf22qGmiC_aAYWzIHhm83kRnJK5jOi9uFxsqd/s320/MATSU00.TIF" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFnGAmYmwh_DDZubB2mUqB8N-5BqVR5Rd7wOMlzE18QdfGqhnWHsxLJiaVfwjSGAultbvxtxXjTvn8KUJW0cHU8MljzW7qKbs72xdbcrbnCH9ABzi7jqKTK6v3ljn4wuLywr8C0FNgI4wP/s1600/PHOTO3.TIF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="677" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFnGAmYmwh_DDZubB2mUqB8N-5BqVR5Rd7wOMlzE18QdfGqhnWHsxLJiaVfwjSGAultbvxtxXjTvn8KUJW0cHU8MljzW7qKbs72xdbcrbnCH9ABzi7jqKTK6v3ljn4wuLywr8C0FNgI4wP/s320/PHOTO3.TIF" width="320" /></a></div>
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In addition to several promotional photos, the press disc includes a couple of text files with a Vib Ribbon press release and a short Q&A with Masaya Matsuura. I'll post a link to the entire interview at the end of this article, but here's a snippet:</div>
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Q. Where does vibri come from?</div>
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A. If we were to say that the world of digital data has dimension just like that of ours, vibri would be a character who accidentally popped out from the digital world and into ours.</div>
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All digital data, whether it be an image, sound, or program, is similar in that they take the form of data in 0s and 1s. We human beings can decode data by using programs to show them as sound or images, but vibri on the other hand, decodes and recognizes the data in different ways. Therefore, particular changes or transformation in the music would, for example, translate into obstacles for vibri while taking a walk. This would be the sort of underlying concept for vibri.</div>
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The interview also talks about Matsuura's original vision for the game, the reason his company is named NanaOn-Sha, and insights into the creation of the soundtrack!</div>
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Key Artwork</h3>
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This is the most fun part of the disc. As before, all of this art will be be provided in a link at the end of the article but here are a couple selections!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3o4ntFog2PP1gCt62UgAVh1M38oI6cQ_LArhEBLhNsDUbvVb27RhLUzrYChTO7aGk6RvatQrMVqdq4kDE8maCMs-6OSBvZstocQvFY5WuXo2r1FxwR6AmuZMQMv2aC5MV1e40v1di4orc/s1600/IMAGEA3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="1417" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3o4ntFog2PP1gCt62UgAVh1M38oI6cQ_LArhEBLhNsDUbvVb27RhLUzrYChTO7aGk6RvatQrMVqdq4kDE8maCMs-6OSBvZstocQvFY5WuXo2r1FxwR6AmuZMQMv2aC5MV1e40v1di4orc/s640/IMAGEA3.png" width="636" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_I4PXSEB4c3Ml9xq40OUuylamVPrPvClVuMIpRBkaI3Q5xRL1KG93wNevVX_0BhC-aghvFZIAqbHd5sl5THUGDgdF2Fg93tN5fovXKfGLx-cWesK9FajPIWGC0P-3VNCHEew7TCG-QCXG/s1600/POSTERA4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1138" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_I4PXSEB4c3Ml9xq40OUuylamVPrPvClVuMIpRBkaI3Q5xRL1KG93wNevVX_0BhC-aghvFZIAqbHd5sl5THUGDgdF2Fg93tN5fovXKfGLx-cWesK9FajPIWGC0P-3VNCHEew7TCG-QCXG/s640/POSTERA4.png" width="454" /></a></div>
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Work-In-Progress Cover Art</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkTmrFWrmsRNTy0uyh7fs-Uc3KoZp24TrZHclN-_zG-WLX9IhIHavK8WmZCnYXJFe3Jh8cJQFfRIPpuYnnPj6FD8Orp1o5EzmHJl1ejofJe3u1x0nD-YieV9xjTN7-AS6Psmvoh-awtif/s1600/VRPACKWI.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1594" data-original-width="1481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkTmrFWrmsRNTy0uyh7fs-Uc3KoZp24TrZHclN-_zG-WLX9IhIHavK8WmZCnYXJFe3Jh8cJQFfRIPpuYnnPj6FD8Orp1o5EzmHJl1ejofJe3u1x0nD-YieV9xjTN7-AS6Psmvoh-awtif/s320/VRPACKWI.png" width="297" /></a></div>
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This image had its own folder in the disc as well. It says "WORK IN PROGRESS" but from my comparisons it seems to be identical to the final PAL cover art.</div>
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Full disc dump:</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTYRfGcyURYWqq8FlOTCi6sfb6OwZbIf9kyfbXsUdye5dZA1IPnpQLsv9GgiOMidWToF_KcFjb8U_WvMdEo3Z0-GJ8cpisbR2Y2lLdRbjTug2NbEGMvSeofDsNIesYDVr3RVtHN2BVhg3/s1600/vibribbon1.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1017" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTYRfGcyURYWqq8FlOTCi6sfb6OwZbIf9kyfbXsUdye5dZA1IPnpQLsv9GgiOMidWToF_KcFjb8U_WvMdEo3Z0-GJ8cpisbR2Y2lLdRbjTug2NbEGMvSeofDsNIesYDVr3RVtHN2BVhg3/s640/vibribbon1.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span>If you're still reading, you're interested enough in this piece of Vib Ribbon history that you probably want to see the rest right? It's been preserved on Archive.org below; there are a few more odds and ends on the disc that I didn't mention above. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<a href="https://archive.org/details/vib_ribbon_press_kit">Vib-Ribbon Press Information - August 2000 full disc contents</a></div>
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Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-85986246309534738062019-03-09T22:14:00.001-08:002019-03-09T22:25:52.264-08:00Hudson Soft's original Caravan trilogy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hudson's All-Japan Caravan Festival...a legendary series of competitions held yearly throughout the 80's and 90s. It was established at the height of the shoot-em-up's popularity, and this shows in the lineup. Before Bomberman became the face of Hudson, the first three years of the competition revolved around the Famicom shooters<i> Star Force</i>,<i> Star Soldier</i> and <i>Hector '87</i> (known in the west as <i>Starship Hector</i>). Here's a little history lesson!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEharDasu7W0Csa3F41urbmaKQV-YI2fmD-r0kJK6iVPGg_1dWx-PDOwzT32eVBQTRE7Q00IZsw0S7wVOrhSNB2FJ4nU-Hv-bz90Gbpo7e83Y5HDGh2B1RO6dy2Q8fIQ9Z9umJ-0Fk1vNpYm/s1600/star-force.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1140" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEharDasu7W0Csa3F41urbmaKQV-YI2fmD-r0kJK6iVPGg_1dWx-PDOwzT32eVBQTRE7Q00IZsw0S7wVOrhSNB2FJ4nU-Hv-bz90Gbpo7e83Y5HDGh2B1RO6dy2Q8fIQ9Z9umJ-0Fk1vNpYm/s640/star-force.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Star Force (1985 Tehkan)</h3>
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While not the first autoscrolling shootemup (that honor I <i>believe</i> goes to Konami's <i>Scramble</i> in 1981), it's definitely one of early influencers on the genre.</div>
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<i>Star Force</i> is often spoken of in the same breath as 1986's Hudson's <i>Star Soldier</i>, and for good reason; however, <i>Star Force </i>was originally developed by a completely different company called Tehkan (better known later as Tecmo, and currently known as Koei Tecmo). Hudson ported Tehkan's arcade original to the Famicom a year after its release, and while Tehkan later went its own way with Star Force 2, Hudson took several cues from the original and made history with the<i> Soldier </i>series.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZT43XZR1gO9xRLOIfIOmg1QwgZ-Qds5vddx1ZnIFH4EXk5LbQ5EYRPKunjEnW6ICE9aZ2XczbTzPohX9qFghpwUBaNYZDSau5NItxR85ojNxhpIpcYdo0usV97s0vMGkw836wEGmkX3B/s1600/foce.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="577" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZT43XZR1gO9xRLOIfIOmg1QwgZ-Qds5vddx1ZnIFH4EXk5LbQ5EYRPKunjEnW6ICE9aZ2XczbTzPohX9qFghpwUBaNYZDSau5NItxR85ojNxhpIpcYdo0usV97s0vMGkw836wEGmkX3B/s1600/foce.png" /></a> </div>
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I think <i>Star Force </i>probably gets short shrift in the face of its more famous spiritual sequel, but there's still a good time to be had with even such a simple game. Compared to more sedate contemporaries like Namco's <i>Super Xevious</i>, both the player and enemies feel zippier with the ability to fire as fast as you could press the button (when closer to the top of the screen at least; when at the bottom, the number of onscreen shots was limited). It was also known for having an impressive 22 different enemy types, each with their own pattern of movement. The simple controls and satisfying explosion sounds make this game hold up surprisingly well!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bnkmEdwsrDFMowWBUFN3552kPowZQfb1aY67sYhYwRR4yswN1hmJMK_teBvczrPJEUBm3gJ3IGY2CYE8tjkVVaQjMP1K-3mvWWqQfKBgdH0ickN9FITyTr2jAFizN_J6d1Bv7T-y3gFN/s1600/star-soldier.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1140" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bnkmEdwsrDFMowWBUFN3552kPowZQfb1aY67sYhYwRR4yswN1hmJMK_teBvczrPJEUBm3gJ3IGY2CYE8tjkVVaQjMP1K-3mvWWqQfKBgdH0ickN9FITyTr2jAFizN_J6d1Bv7T-y3gFN/s640/star-soldier.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Star Soldier (1986 Hudson)</h3>
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With <i>Star Soldier, </i>Hudson built upon the earlier <i>Star Force </i>formula and made the game its own. Functionally very similar to the previous game with one very unwelcome (in my opinion) addition: the ability to fly beneath the terrain, rendering the player invincible but unable to attack. I <i>think</i> there's a simple trick to doing this at will, but more likely you'll be doing it on accident at the worst possible times.<br />
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<i>Star Soldier </i>keeps the large enemy variety and large bosses, while rewarding the player with not just two (as in <i>Star Force</i>), but four levels of shot power. Fully powering up your ship and being able to autofire in all directions is still fun.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1phUcbOBc-nHiBRZFF4bLo3roHmdZhI4M9WKeHqmjpj71BkcRl7XABQeoV9vnl_uNNMjAngPJtmjZruWsjjKbdUOamL_EIjTV5aHIPUiwREPGeipq50-ublNZC29YCocbDkil4dVmmtx/s1600/soldier.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="577" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1phUcbOBc-nHiBRZFF4bLo3roHmdZhI4M9WKeHqmjpj71BkcRl7XABQeoV9vnl_uNNMjAngPJtmjZruWsjjKbdUOamL_EIjTV5aHIPUiwREPGeipq50-ublNZC29YCocbDkil4dVmmtx/s1600/soldier.png" /></a></div>
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<i>Star Soldier </i>is the most famous subject of Hudson's Caravan competitions (until Bomberman took over, that is) and was the game that cemented the legendary reputation of Toshiyuki Takahashi, a Hudson employee also known as Takahashi Meijin, or "Master Takahashi" for his ability to supposedly fire 16 times per second. Takahashi Meijin is an interesting story that I won't go into here, but look him up!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnRQTlRT9UrEYB_tsRZGg0z7eRgDc7EOTWZYMAcbM_YoCMji2uKYq5FJ9WRxAfciTDTh8a9hHOs7tDhI3riY_2kKvwuuZyHUCI09dx4cmpfwp1c_KnSeRoWWgvJCfHlZj24o1s6Tt1rpm/s1600/hector.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1140" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnRQTlRT9UrEYB_tsRZGg0z7eRgDc7EOTWZYMAcbM_YoCMji2uKYq5FJ9WRxAfciTDTh8a9hHOs7tDhI3riY_2kKvwuuZyHUCI09dx4cmpfwp1c_KnSeRoWWgvJCfHlZj24o1s6Tt1rpm/s640/hector.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
Hector '87 (1987 Hudson)</h3>
This is the one they don't talk about so much. In some ways <i>Hector '87 </i>seems like a step back from the previous game; the graphics are improved and stages alternate between vertically and horizontally scrolling a la Konami's <i>Life Force</i>, but the pacing feels slightly sedate and the player's ship design is decidedly un-hype, leading to a less compelling overall package. Although the player feels more sluggish, enemy attacks are severely increased! Thankfully you have a health bar now (which honestly is the weirdest thing about this game).<br />
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One interesting choice is Hudson's decision to give the player a standard shot and a bomb to hit ground enemies, just like <i>Xevious</i>. However, they also did away with weapon power-ups entirely, which...sucks.<br />
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In <i>Hector '87's </i>favor, however, the game allows players to choose 2 or 5 minute "caravan mode" from the title screen, making it even easier to practice for competition.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSU85xMAWvNCnkRldWM5uIBEkN3jaw13mM-aT_Xt2MTyOAqyH47cd1Qu6uAGqj_FAPzASCuzH-Fp5WsT_UV7M-3b2C9aHONhYXsmd11AJh1UieUH4Dmgcg7CzPD3dyf-pusB61ex719lv/s1600/trilogy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1140" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSU85xMAWvNCnkRldWM5uIBEkN3jaw13mM-aT_Xt2MTyOAqyH47cd1Qu6uAGqj_FAPzASCuzH-Fp5WsT_UV7M-3b2C9aHONhYXsmd11AJh1UieUH4Dmgcg7CzPD3dyf-pusB61ex719lv/s640/trilogy.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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After <i>Hector '87</i>, Hudson would move the Caravan onto the PC Engine console. Other than 1988's Power League baseball game, the Caravan would continue to revolve around shooters for quite a while longer, including the excellent <i>Final Soldier</i> (for my money the best in the Soldier series).<br />
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If you want to try some no frills retro shooting, give the original trilogy a try!</div>
Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-33930435824391270112019-02-24T22:41:00.000-08:002019-02-25T07:50:37.483-08:00I'm glad Namco stopped making their cover art like thisAbsolutely nobody: "..."<br />
Mid-90's Namco:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJbhOb9ibkZ754gB3kpjk-ljky7L2zDSwXDqmKR_qYmjzg_QYJ435pUxP43YqT6eKMp7F03cRFFJQQR4RvmidCLwVZNQlSB0p8YZNjnVfTkRgUVRkHy2_3mWdxdJLL3pmNvvY1Qgt1Ufb/s1600/178831-cyber-sled-playstation-front-cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="559" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJbhOb9ibkZ754gB3kpjk-ljky7L2zDSwXDqmKR_qYmjzg_QYJ435pUxP43YqT6eKMp7F03cRFFJQQR4RvmidCLwVZNQlSB0p8YZNjnVfTkRgUVRkHy2_3mWdxdJLL3pmNvvY1Qgt1Ufb/s320/178831-cyber-sled-playstation-front-cover.png" width="264" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8gPQWCqnf-IC1fyvPHFgkWHIOHZHjyUSmst3OMSfdZslEtuUxNxAoJzH0w1cCQxKUqcIu-0Igq27HEcSPMZYFT2WnxCUt4Mv9FBYRc-yqJ88-8SqLITFpFAca3tcEPDVKnodkbLO91Bk/s1600/ridge+racer+face+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="901" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8gPQWCqnf-IC1fyvPHFgkWHIOHZHjyUSmst3OMSfdZslEtuUxNxAoJzH0w1cCQxKUqcIu-0Igq27HEcSPMZYFT2WnxCUt4Mv9FBYRc-yqJ88-8SqLITFpFAca3tcEPDVKnodkbLO91Bk/s320/ridge+racer+face+cover.png" width="248" /></a></div>
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Here's something I've never seen anybody talk about: In the young days of the North American PS1, Namco came out kicking by releasing ports of their early-90s arcade games. Can you detect the subtle pattern in the cover art*?<br />
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Yes, like Nintendo's celebrated "Black Box" launch titles and Capcoms "gridline screensaver" cover art, it seems like Namco was angling to establish a House Style for their western releases. While "Terrified Person Wearing Headgear while tiny renders of in-game vehicles float in their eyeballs" doesn't exactly explain to me what the game is about, you knew you were getting a Namco product when you saw it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3He-di__txegcaEE0Yf9nkWHEkmmoWoDIj4m7uzWGmVjCKkF5qIxy_w1oEJ090PEKNH6r66JkgxAK6gg0wkjtN1Mg-YMnJMJ-rwar_dirLl0ozXdjz-l5E3SXS1z_r8ZCi9it1poR0kL/s1600/namco+eyes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3He-di__txegcaEE0Yf9nkWHEkmmoWoDIj4m7uzWGmVjCKkF5qIxy_w1oEJ090PEKNH6r66JkgxAK6gg0wkjtN1Mg-YMnJMJ-rwar_dirLl0ozXdjz-l5E3SXS1z_r8ZCi9it1poR0kL/s640/namco+eyes.png" width="590" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">guys.....you good??</td></tr>
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However, concurrent with these releases were other Namco games (such as Tekken and Air Combat) that did not follow this short lived trend, and after the release of Starblade Alpha in late April 1996 Namco seems to have abandoned it entirely. In fact, Ridge Racer only used this cover in the version of the game that came bundled with the Playstation console; subsequent standalone releases had the standard car cover.<br />
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Perhaps Namco quickly saw how limiting the style was and how little it did to actually market the game to potential buyers? Pehaps the plan all along was to have only these three games share a similar cover, but what would tie them together? Other games like Air Combat would have been a perfect candidate for Man In Helmet style.**<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBu9vguN4upgHDScIWRcB835ZGTUPEYO0kju9dTa21Ogc-ZGNdkIQYtjJm_cK8EynECyVgWmjvsWJMPyK3sNnoeSdR0Z2qWojm2m65KbZOqrVH0ZAXOeKpqcBhBmWy6vtoLhGOWjQKUW2/s1600/ps1_aircombat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="694" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBu9vguN4upgHDScIWRcB835ZGTUPEYO0kju9dTa21Ogc-ZGNdkIQYtjJm_cK8EynECyVgWmjvsWJMPyK3sNnoeSdR0Z2qWojm2m65KbZOqrVH0ZAXOeKpqcBhBmWy6vtoLhGOWjQKUW2/s320/ps1_aircombat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DrJuzSIOH-CjXSSs2X6Jlaipk22Vhyphenhyphen7Oe-j8qTDNuQnsNYbNBeAW_VTj7S9B2dWb1PSC0XMIQknHd9FjLo8c_JMRSgJVHQKOGOcqdqHBqhPm6baNHVMXwt4Z5q3Bouzy9lClChyphenhyphen5Ofqs/s1600/tekken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="600" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DrJuzSIOH-CjXSSs2X6Jlaipk22Vhyphenhyphen7Oe-j8qTDNuQnsNYbNBeAW_VTj7S9B2dWb1PSC0XMIQknHd9FjLo8c_JMRSgJVHQKOGOcqdqHBqhPm6baNHVMXwt4Z5q3Bouzy9lClChyphenhyphen5Ofqs/s320/tekken.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contemporary games that used more descriptive cover art</td></tr>
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This is just a bit of ephemera that other Namco maniacs might find interesting. Fortunately for them (and us, those covers are freaking me out), as far as I know they stopped using this style after those three games....HEY WAIT A SECOND<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPswKm7Pe5H90hCWRhxVL2jQ97y5mtGSDwfgMx5J-z2PEu4RLv694E8SPrkMw9EiFngzJA66V4h9syfOBXNYjeK2DyAk54wtjln3CZnBWlmyEa7CssLyEvifS36EwozMzWCQegRHzvoR_I/s1600/mrdriller.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="635" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPswKm7Pe5H90hCWRhxVL2jQ97y5mtGSDwfgMx5J-z2PEu4RLv694E8SPrkMw9EiFngzJA66V4h9syfOBXNYjeK2DyAk54wtjln3CZnBWlmyEa7CssLyEvifS36EwozMzWCQegRHzvoR_I/s1600/mrdriller.png" /></a></div>
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*actually, the helmet man on the Starblade Alpha cover art was only used on the manual, while the actual box art was a more conventional image of the GeoSword ship. I guess at that point they were phasing out the concept, but wanted to keep it there in some capacity?<br />
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**UPDATE! Remember how I said that Air Combat should have used this style of cover art? Turns out the hid it on there too; <a href="https://twitter.com/call_who_n/status/1100042892691820545">Ian on Twitter let me know that even Air Combat uses the Helmet Man</a>...but only on the <i>back of the manual and case.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpP7wN98RiSRT7yDdjXYYjwH2cPajuWYCLrj29qbJWl7gc_SiJdVVyPYLH8X7d8t8QIRmN8PnvglxB9T-sgcxB7Pql-9xyp3PS9nJDJ0Tcm3DTqGtAQ_bke0vge15bD3iqr3OAUgrQ3I9/s1600/acback.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="579" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpP7wN98RiSRT7yDdjXYYjwH2cPajuWYCLrj29qbJWl7gc_SiJdVVyPYLH8X7d8t8QIRmN8PnvglxB9T-sgcxB7Pql-9xyp3PS9nJDJ0Tcm3DTqGtAQ_bke0vge15bD3iqr3OAUgrQ3I9/s400/acback.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Thanks for the tip Ian! Now I'm going to have to dig and see how many more of these they made...Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-89243936863143887822018-11-04T03:26:00.002-08:002018-11-04T03:30:05.869-08:00Zombie Revenge (Dreamcast, 1999)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
**Hey guys; as expected, I missed ANOTHER October Horror Games month! I've been busy lately, what with moving 1600 miles across the country to start a new job at a game studio in California. I do plan on finishing these though! Stay tuned.**</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynkXCyWhrRV2g-EvqkH27HTzp3tc8onk2nr6P1YzKsserMqL-37fUrCKUfqjyJE5WM5T6ZUtsUeN4Ul16LU7wGOWBj7NYx4RUHG8cASRlABXO6ruikSaxSc8-q9F-kF4lTh_2BvolqJRM/s1600/zr-p2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="907" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynkXCyWhrRV2g-EvqkH27HTzp3tc8onk2nr6P1YzKsserMqL-37fUrCKUfqjyJE5WM5T6ZUtsUeN4Ul16LU7wGOWBj7NYx4RUHG8cASRlABXO6ruikSaxSc8-q9F-kF4lTh_2BvolqJRM/s640/zr-p2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Known mostly its over the top horror atmosphere, location-specific enemy damage and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE0WMEtOtzk">absolutely ludicrous voice acting</a>, HotD is one of the elder statesmen of the light-gun genre. Think of it as a good version of Crypt Killer (does anyone besides me think about Crypt Killer?). Most of the franchise plays it straight; move through a variety of locations on rails, clowning on zombies and mutants with a fun and satisfying selection of firearms. Every one of the light games absolutely rules.<br />
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However, once in a while Sega likes to mix it up and we'll get a strange spinoff title such as the The Typing of the Dead, The Pinball of the Dead, the odd minigame collection (featuring two zombies in love!) House of the Dead EX, and today's exhibit, 1999's Naomi/Dreamcast title Zombie Revenge.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxypdz8onuFePpnY2_ANBjV7w_nvzeUgkEpV7FpNYqwOafTmYJyaPudi0KT2-sYYIDhiOj3YzYbw3TYlPRxAglX_PETjnHRvD22gYfZwvqib-ALlrHCMwN0pwf6d65eSvKIlpWJX5yI10/s1600/zr-train.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1033" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxypdz8onuFePpnY2_ANBjV7w_nvzeUgkEpV7FpNYqwOafTmYJyaPudi0KT2-sYYIDhiOj3YzYbw3TYlPRxAglX_PETjnHRvD22gYfZwvqib-ALlrHCMwN0pwf6d65eSvKIlpWJX5yI10/s640/zr-train.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's still a whole lot of shooting for a beatemup</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3Bt1pmlQtjpJZDrdbyYoR6Q_hr3Jyo6Qvmb5PIfiYZC7UZ7vDIY1e_l4Yno-48BgjfGx-aedlfg4Jz8NzC4bLDoQqgH2IZ78FNRzlp69jv0GbYbuq5kVUclfkX5hwdTs8aNNxlWSjbHt/s1600/zr-spikes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1033" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3Bt1pmlQtjpJZDrdbyYoR6Q_hr3Jyo6Qvmb5PIfiYZC7UZ7vDIY1e_l4Yno-48BgjfGx-aedlfg4Jz8NzC4bLDoQqgH2IZ78FNRzlp69jv0GbYbuq5kVUclfkX5hwdTs8aNNxlWSjbHt/s640/zr-spikes.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game is full of setpieces and novel situations, like this deathtrap room</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, Zombie Revenge is the weakest spinoff of the franchise. The light-gun theme (and first-person viewpoint) is dropped in favor of a beat-em-up style of gameplay similar to Sega's own Dynamite Cop, released the previous year. Control the excellently named Stick Breitling (the standard man character), Linda Rotta (the standard woman character) or Rikiya Busujima (a ki wielding force of nature who resembles a 1970's Japanese crime movie archetype, specifically actor Yusaku Matsuda) and prevent the confusion in the city during a zombie outbreak.<br />
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Per the <a href="http://houseofthedead.wikia.com/wiki/Zombie_Revenge">HotD Wiki</a>, Zombie Revenge was originally titled <i>Blood Bullet: The House of the Dead Side Story and Zombies Nightmare</i>, two way cooler names.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Is it good?</span></b><br />
Zombie Revenge is a sharp looking game, with detailed character models and decent looking environments (mainly grimy urban areas) and a few sick boss designs. There's even a stage in the latter part of the game where you revisit Curien mansion from HotD 1, complete with the classic stage 1 theme and the iconic run through the mansion courtyard!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6QOZ0q2VnwM-lQk7lKVwhR79K4AJPyBJu_gdcfRB0lYMKy1qOgENMdal-ROhYcXs9WPppj8_tlVBoHgexi5NuB-Q-qg1u2O0PPPiAuGDnl7aDsmIX42RiBLP4GDjzFMW5xPqWAXYnHv2/s1600/zr-bosses.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6QOZ0q2VnwM-lQk7lKVwhR79K4AJPyBJu_gdcfRB0lYMKy1qOgENMdal-ROhYcXs9WPppj8_tlVBoHgexi5NuB-Q-qg1u2O0PPPiAuGDnl7aDsmIX42RiBLP4GDjzFMW5xPqWAXYnHv2/s640/zr-bosses.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disappointingly, the bosses do not follow the trend of being named after tarot cards here, other than our pal Magician</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxtcLHQpaiwxwEr1GHnaDH-bYcw6ja8Wes3v1rwDq5HtP2hUmJZAvF09BfiYCumtVOw6mqRQI7q2WLur7V-FcojLt9RhilbMIBAxciHdWx7OZVCIJM2tFSxw2zbZN4nWbAG-Ew7HpuFdA/s1600/zr-curien.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1033" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxtcLHQpaiwxwEr1GHnaDH-bYcw6ja8Wes3v1rwDq5HtP2hUmJZAvF09BfiYCumtVOw6mqRQI7q2WLur7V-FcojLt9RhilbMIBAxciHdWx7OZVCIJM2tFSxw2zbZN4nWbAG-Ew7HpuFdA/s640/zr-curien.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WE HAVE GUNS NOW</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There are lots of arcade style gimmicks, such as rescuing civilians and pulling the brakes on an out of control train while your partner holds off an endless wave of enemies. The presentation side is flashy, goofy and well done.<br />
<br />
<i>On the other hand</i>, the gameplay leaves me cold. The combat feels stiff and repetitive; I don't feel that each character's arsenal is varied enough to really empower the player. Gunplay, which is actually a large part of the combat--it's still House of the Dead after all--is similarly unsatisfying. The visceral fun of blasting zombies to pieces from the mainline games does not translate at all in Zombie Revenge.<br />
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Speaking of not feeling empowered, the difficulty in this game is <i>very </i>uneven and in my (and many others) opinion is difficult in a cheap way. Come for the atmosphere, not the gameplay.<br />
<br />
A full playthrough should run you around 45 minutes or so and boyoass do you feel every one of those minutes. Honestly if it were a little shorter and breezier I think the game would do well for it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AhpwiV_b-ITikTqmp-ZqwgBPgVhAnsOHjk2cwV-Hh5iTA8GFj8pdazrSHmp7SJaVr2b_oTXMHIZhoqlLBNhZcIZgWzd2tR2JpggLjXjaQFK1vral7fj8pRjHtwDGaOd9Ju_cGvtGhQK2/s1600/zr-cutscene.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1033" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AhpwiV_b-ITikTqmp-ZqwgBPgVhAnsOHjk2cwV-Hh5iTA8GFj8pdazrSHmp7SJaVr2b_oTXMHIZhoqlLBNhZcIZgWzd2tR2JpggLjXjaQFK1vral7fj8pRjHtwDGaOd9Ju_cGvtGhQK2/s640/zr-cutscene.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm glad the big ghostly head from Crypt Killer got a job in Zombie Revenge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqKG1N9OFoqjHltfPQiLIm8Fq35d2Oay-wiUVREmKnqgehy2tJBmoVVqXUB2KY1y-6oqFrnNKZSryuhLp6dNMg3dt5j1frZYx94Jfwl55dKL4dapDsUsmlCodmFwT6J0773rtUPRNZ5p5/s1600/zr-chara.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1033" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqKG1N9OFoqjHltfPQiLIm8Fq35d2Oay-wiUVREmKnqgehy2tJBmoVVqXUB2KY1y-6oqFrnNKZSryuhLp6dNMg3dt5j1frZYx94Jfwl55dKL4dapDsUsmlCodmFwT6J0773rtUPRNZ5p5/s640/zr-chara.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even Stick can't believe that's his name</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Is it scary?</span></b><br />
Shit no; any other HotD game is scarier than this one, and there are no scary HotD games. This franchise has always been more of a B-movie experience than actual horror...rundown mansions, over the top violence, mad scientists, bad acting. On that front, Zombie Revenge does exactly what it set out to do. I suppose the time limit could be nerve-wracking if that sort of thing bothers you. It doesn't help that an alarm noise plays incessantly when it's time to move on and the announcer will straight up yell THERE'S NO TIME when the clock starts running low.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW8g0tQ0BkvgSmB5DlwXZ12Q6K5o7zieDZefjiVT0qb5hrSRr6WhiaCeqe0h2qnvrrvsHYvxSsqh3coEXUb9P-ibNvw46pP0olAK6MwL2tDfKwQvma3AAfsifTeeKKSySeCJleNEaq1Oxn/s1600/zr-p3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="907" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW8g0tQ0BkvgSmB5DlwXZ12Q6K5o7zieDZefjiVT0qb5hrSRr6WhiaCeqe0h2qnvrrvsHYvxSsqh3coEXUb9P-ibNvw46pP0olAK6MwL2tDfKwQvma3AAfsifTeeKKSySeCJleNEaq1Oxn/s640/zr-p3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Should you buy it?</b></span><br />
Welllll, that really depends on the person. I don't think it's an extremely good game, but it <i>is</i> a spectacle, and as of now you can find it on ebay for around $30 USD. For House of the Dead fans I say go for it! For everyone else, I would recommend Dynamite Cop if you want a DC beatemup.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKHv9DwU3hFAcwuM3d0kc3TDjxPqRoFhro1sitQXSYdDzc4w-jFoDPyiZelkP_SwgFBMmPDX_Uv3RC845ATSjFOupNuJP9m0QQoTcQg2EMcCaK6j2mvXQCnaPhLUhummEZrT5SBZQGx-8/s1600/zr-rocket.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="960" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKHv9DwU3hFAcwuM3d0kc3TDjxPqRoFhro1sitQXSYdDzc4w-jFoDPyiZelkP_SwgFBMmPDX_Uv3RC845ATSjFOupNuJP9m0QQoTcQg2EMcCaK6j2mvXQCnaPhLUhummEZrT5SBZQGx-8/s640/zr-rocket.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Also, someone on the development team was a big Desperado fan if that helps influence your decision at all!Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-83293056482913989182018-07-03T21:46:00.002-07:002022-06-16T02:13:59.600-07:00Fantavision (PS2, 2000) A Flashy, Tonally Inconsistent Puzzle Game<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0mqVAZcCr4C5OjkYSxIwGTFwkDCZsEzoquz10hCqDilu6dRtWC_J4VvxNjU5-aAWcFw3tZ3fC7KGC_LtpS9SH75nJy8l3_SFUo6ZmAOWU2tphF71z1xw0aKBpKgTZq6597TCOlCNGNGR/s1600/fantavision_case.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1008" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0mqVAZcCr4C5OjkYSxIwGTFwkDCZsEzoquz10hCqDilu6dRtWC_J4VvxNjU5-aAWcFw3tZ3fC7KGC_LtpS9SH75nJy8l3_SFUo6ZmAOWU2tphF71z1xw0aKBpKgTZq6597TCOlCNGNGR/s640/fantavision_case.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's Fantavision!</td></tr>
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It's July 4th! In the United States it's Independence Day, a holiday that was ostensibly created for, you know...patriotic America type shit. Nobody actually cares, it's an acceptable reason to get drunk and set off fireworks! In the spirit of this most sacred holiday, I'd like you to take a look at the tech demo-turned-Playstation 2 launch title, Fantavision.<br />
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Intended to be a game that the entire family could enjoy, I assume Fantavision was localized to diversify the launch lineup for the Playstation 2 in 2000. However, the <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-best-selling-games-of-2000/1100-2674371/">top ten best sellers for that year</a> were headed by Madden 2001, Tekken Tag Tournament and SSX. It's a safe bet that western audiences had no clue what to think of Fantavision, and the fact that it appears to be little-remembered (outside of the few who bought it at launch and fell in love) seems to reflect that.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhymIcFeax6DYXZgEowSH_HRXP96g6m67hD0dqcdhrJKLxg9uEwpzVIaVqxC93Ro9JtfXF8uhEode58K4m67kMidwibMe10EO9kxQaHnNUgvS6JXSIJnrw8ChYza9H-sRbTFtktq-F9Mu6T/s1600/fantavision_disc.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1008" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhymIcFeax6DYXZgEowSH_HRXP96g6m67hD0dqcdhrJKLxg9uEwpzVIaVqxC93Ro9JtfXF8uhEode58K4m67kMidwibMe10EO9kxQaHnNUgvS6JXSIJnrw8ChYza9H-sRbTFtktq-F9Mu6T/s640/fantavision_disc.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I went with the Japanese version for a few reasons, particularly the disc design</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Fantavision's presentation is immediately striking; as a fireworks based puzzle game with no actual character-based hook, the introduction and packaging goes for an odd, somewhat Norman Rockwell-esque theme of a good old-fashioned American family getting together to play some PS2. I'm into the anachronistic, 50's style infomercial look, though <i>some</i> people have said the introduction and inter-stage cutscenes can be off-putting and creepy. And you know what: they're not wrong.<br />
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<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/cBsjwzBSAy4" frameborder="0"></iframe>
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I think it's cute, in a supremely odd way. We need to talk about the greenscreen goofup that sheared half the face off that poor boy on the right, though.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie725ks9PxSEgHM7NjYf3F4gGPQuHZv75xEN0M1ckiuhQXKCB9rvSg2ozVRGcq3HJ0yAk-UoZvrwsovo7LJ6IP3o2UId3JIJwb7RQSPywhaXnO3bJY6Z54ltUIPrHbI0Ee9vxuQ04nUn3k/s1600/fantavision_cutscene.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1368" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie725ks9PxSEgHM7NjYf3F4gGPQuHZv75xEN0M1ckiuhQXKCB9rvSg2ozVRGcq3HJ0yAk-UoZvrwsovo7LJ6IP3o2UId3JIJwb7RQSPywhaXnO3bJY6Z54ltUIPrHbI0Ee9vxuQ04nUn3k/s640/fantavision_cutscene.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
What's Fantavision?</h3>
<div>
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<div>
Think of it like a cross between a color matcher and Missile Command! Fantavision is easy to explain if you're familiar with color matching puzzlers in the vein of Dr. Mario, Tetris Attack, Candy Crush and the like. The camera pans slowly over a cityscape at night as fireworks of various colors are launched from the bottom of the screen. Drag your cursor over consecutive fireworks of the same color (at least three of em) and press the Circle button to detonate them in a beautiful, Turn of the Century display of particle effects. Let them hang in the air too long and they fizzle, draining your energy gauge. This is the ebb and flow of the game.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU02YHZs-5gpRTRiEcvvAAGnJeyWUbxqBzvZsvUeUbDV_YMCAFJ7vYdjdl04adnGG1XEtE1_YZjnoCbqTddVqut5p-76OcaZPBYXuI4iqmJvU1JJDrTwZl7HY_mmY0qIaxlMxQ1cD_1DDW/s1600/LAYER-3.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="871" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU02YHZs-5gpRTRiEcvvAAGnJeyWUbxqBzvZsvUeUbDV_YMCAFJ7vYdjdl04adnGG1XEtE1_YZjnoCbqTddVqut5p-76OcaZPBYXuI4iqmJvU1JJDrTwZl7HY_mmY0qIaxlMxQ1cD_1DDW/s640/LAYER-3.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJL6wpkyHdgZbPePL0dhYFM3m-Z6AN6ctgBmy73lTPfOxlRTgkQZo_RCXT_TbEP4zRnN-OwlMPtbBIn56u9-Lw2eqD7ytno21nzDwOVS574muR68ia80DUu9535GJIfTHtYO8Zs8BsKxs8/s1600/LAYER-12.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="871" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJL6wpkyHdgZbPePL0dhYFM3m-Z6AN6ctgBmy73lTPfOxlRTgkQZo_RCXT_TbEP4zRnN-OwlMPtbBIn56u9-Lw2eqD7ytno21nzDwOVS574muR68ia80DUu9535GJIfTHtYO8Zs8BsKxs8/s640/LAYER-12.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Once you've gotten the hang of chaining consecutive colors, notice how hitting any special fireworks that aren't tied to colors (such as the versatile Wildcards or one of several Items) allows you to start tagging differently colored fireworks! This is where the "Daisy Chain" system comes in. For example:<br />
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-Tag four blue fireworks<br />
-Tag a Wildcard firework--now you have a Five Chain, or...<br />
-You can now tag two or more of a different color firework and voila: a 2-Daisy.<br />
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2-Daisies are just the start of course, and expert players can plan ahead to get multiple combos in one detonation. Doing this before your fireworks start to fizzle out is another thing entirely, though!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYOu7n2o_RySx46JetY7XBo2vowZdA5GwJL2yvufZRejtFnJJSl8WoQqaoZ8d8NP3Npvz2Z6rJKq-OdzMDs1_C4JbyhlAimhZiAhH1-Sak_DOO0BEn8wlE72BmgmLDTXwbo8Rsf-00HQz/s1600/fantavision_instructions.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1008" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYOu7n2o_RySx46JetY7XBo2vowZdA5GwJL2yvufZRejtFnJJSl8WoQqaoZ8d8NP3Npvz2Z6rJKq-OdzMDs1_C4JbyhlAimhZiAhH1-Sak_DOO0BEn8wlE72BmgmLDTXwbo8Rsf-00HQz/s640/fantavision_instructions.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handy instruction card in the Japanese manual explaining various rules, items and fireworks patterns</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1KcpxytDO0GTl1xroCgIRw2CYN_XKJyfcmlqIRe-bFD7oYsuqAI51x5BTts8q74KKdWc0UDJsdLMm_ZhRtpxXPemfj9n98FVkaqnYcIRCjAFDjeQ_ScDIw3w6XYPi562zVjVP29NfiDF/s1600/LAYER-8.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="871" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1KcpxytDO0GTl1xroCgIRw2CYN_XKJyfcmlqIRe-bFD7oYsuqAI51x5BTts8q74KKdWc0UDJsdLMm_ZhRtpxXPemfj9n98FVkaqnYcIRCjAFDjeQ_ScDIw3w6XYPi562zVjVP29NfiDF/s640/LAYER-8.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working on a big chain during a "Star Mine" sequence, wherein all fireworks are (usually) the same color</td></tr>
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Fantavision begins in a festive nighttime city, but as you progress through the game the player enters Earth orbit (yes, there are fireworks there), a moon base, and finally to a <i>Dimension Beyond Space</i> where the fireworks emerge from all sides of the screen. I'm never making it that far into the game though, because Fantavision is hellaciously difficult and has yet to really "click" with me from a gameplay perspective.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0XyZ3VRBUaSei77Ut8LXjRvVjWnU2o6RBGkg4T3zPfy056dlmCwVQvV9Ji7D_y7cCFIYKsPwAZlpC7MKpD48prKsIyHRNNSLr8ZXEoP2hIGdFz1b6Fpj6u_KH_7ADpfonCGVBJ9JGQL_/s1600/fantavision_moon_screen.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0XyZ3VRBUaSei77Ut8LXjRvVjWnU2o6RBGkg4T3zPfy056dlmCwVQvV9Ji7D_y7cCFIYKsPwAZlpC7MKpD48prKsIyHRNNSLr8ZXEoP2hIGdFz1b6Fpj6u_KH_7ADpfonCGVBJ9JGQL_/s1600/fantavision_moon_screen.PNG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moonbase gameplay from Youtube. Source: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6VacQRTaROXCiOLli9WOQ">Higher Plains</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKK88E8yX5ZeABCC9Fi9n_16P5i8xsauqwX76HrB-G0f9E6colcAYYMjX3tFiwxTEOshRGcwUTWPFSBeOOpwgsBfBaaMvn1SfNMyM5q-Z-_spN0Rd9G7P9YwNjNzKTdmtg1ccVJNdt6vCo/s1600/LAYER-2.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="871" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKK88E8yX5ZeABCC9Fi9n_16P5i8xsauqwX76HrB-G0f9E6colcAYYMjX3tFiwxTEOshRGcwUTWPFSBeOOpwgsBfBaaMvn1SfNMyM5q-Z-_spN0Rd9G7P9YwNjNzKTdmtg1ccVJNdt6vCo/s640/LAYER-2.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fairly robust Replay Mode lets you watch your play from different angles and with various camera/weather effects!</td></tr>
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Fantavision was originally created as a tech demo to show how well the Playstation 2 could handle particle effects (perhaps to show off its higher video RAM compared to PS1; correct me if I'm mistaken). Somewhere down the line they realized that a real ass game could be squeezed out of the idea, and Fantavision was released to...polite reviews. Consensus seems to be that it was an average but unremarkable puzzle game, a little thin on content but with nice graphics. Unfortunately I can't find any sales numbers, but according to Youtube comment sections it's remembered fondly!<br />
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<h3>
Regional Differences - A Soundtrack For Everybody!</h3>
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Here's an interesting oddity about the game: the NTSC-J, NTSC-U and PAL releases of Fantavision all have entirely different soundtracks.</div>
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The Japan version was composed by Soichi Terada, an electronic musician known for composing for Ape Escape and co-founding the musical group Omodaka (!!) while the North American soundtrack was scored by Ashif Hakik, a composer whose credits list is short but includes Sly Cooper and Tomba 2. Both versions have their own bright spots, with a mix of funky techno and more atmospheric, new-age sounding tracks. The PAL version, by contrast, is the work of composer Jim Croft and is decidedly more European in its dance club feel. Of the three I prefer the Japanese version best, though all of them are decent.</div>
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One <span style="font-size: large;">very </span>odd thing is the PAL version's intro music; rather than the appropriately goofy muzak style of the Japan and NA release it goes for a techno tune that is strangely dark and unfitting against the visuals. Super weird!<br />
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Also of note are the announcers. The Japan and Europe releases feature separate female VAs calling out the onscreen action while the North American version uses a slightly bored sounding male announcer. It's a tossup between the PAL and JP announcers for me.</div>
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<b>Skip to 0:15 to hear the European intro music.</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/da7RYUSU5-8" width="480"></iframe></center>
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And here are the three soundtracks for Fantavision if you'd like to compare them yourself! They're all quite different.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GepoNhd8YQQ&list=PLE08C3BE0F2FCDE59">North American</a> Soundtrack</b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJyisPrsh8Q">Japanese</a> Soundtrack</b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGtu24KlKw0">European</a> Soundtrack</b><br />
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<h3>
Competitive Mode</h3>
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I haven't played it myself, but it's said that the real fun of Fantavision is in its 2-player Versus Mode. Players compete to get the highest explosion combos while a variety of items also fly onto the screen to give yourself an advantage (or mess with your opponent). The western releases of the game got this mode out of the box; it wasn't until the Japanese rerelease titled Futari no Fantavision ("Fantavision For You And Me" or more literally "Two-Person Fantavision") that Japan could play 2-player as well.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I want to enjoy every possible thing within today as my heart wishes, but I will leave some for tomorrow." You said it, kid</td></tr>
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So that's Fantavision! Should you play it? I don't know, maybe. The steep learning curve, idiosyncratic soundtrack(s) and bizarre cutscenes seem as if they would be off-putting to the wide audience that Fantavision aimed to please. Now that I'm older and weirder I find it a very interesting piece of art that you don't see so often in mainstream games.<br />
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You won't find anything earth-shattering with Fantavision, but it's an neat little game with great music and an odd presentation style that makes it stand out from the crowd. Get the lovely HD version of it on PS4 if you want to go that way!<br />
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I'm also a sucker for anything with fireworks, though...</div>
Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-87655420277586644982018-05-27T09:11:00.002-07:002018-05-27T20:00:45.300-07:00Single Player Offline - The Lonely Ritual of Disconnected Console Gaming<br />
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On Christmas day 2017 I experienced something I didn't know I was missing--and never thought I <i>would</i> miss--when I went into the neglected room where all my retro game consoles are kept.<br />
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Rather than playing the PS4 copy of Dragon Quest Builders I had just gotten (I know, I'm so late) all I wanted was to start a file on Nightmare of Druaga for PS2. I hadn't laid eyes on this game in 13 years and upon discovering that it had not appreciated in value <i>at all</i>, I had to get a copy off eBay the week earlier.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc943xP_PSOHYL3VN1wI1aZRIxtb9Nc-6UvawrljBEmbOw0f0OMlkRz2cKxf42kmxYVJiWaMcUTNskartZUoNh1oIPyIJraIR1WC-8hcpOK7AQOAB-QFa8eOnWr-8_99BOdaLue2rFtua9/s1600/002druaga01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="870" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc943xP_PSOHYL3VN1wI1aZRIxtb9Nc-6UvawrljBEmbOw0f0OMlkRz2cKxf42kmxYVJiWaMcUTNskartZUoNh1oIPyIJraIR1WC-8hcpOK7AQOAB-QFa8eOnWr-8_99BOdaLue2rFtua9/s640/002druaga01.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the time I didn't even realize this game is part of the long running Mystery Dungeon series</td></tr>
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So I dove back into the dark, unforgiving and slightly depressing dungeon crawler I hadn't played in over a decade. Before long I was suddenly hit by how different it felt playing on an old system rather than if it were a modern game (or even a re-released PSN title).<br />
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Of course the somber, isolated tone of the game probably added to the effect, but I was struck by how much more 'alone' I felt when I knew that it was just me and the game; no achievements, no friends lists, no updates or DLC, no popup notifications. Just a fairly obscure (and little celebrated, as far as I know) game from the now-far-off year of 2004, crystallized in time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMPMiIkqMS5RkcKAKLUrD6tM9vraCd5J1CU3XavQvrWo-buhJnxJSU2iXo5Joxed7WlRpoTZMkP118rYJn50eHdYIWf_o6pzLjRPEPNbxpfi6C1zj2I1kv7FST6rKTuc1dHIce9XQ1757/s1600/004ps4+xml.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMPMiIkqMS5RkcKAKLUrD6tM9vraCd5J1CU3XavQvrWo-buhJnxJSU2iXo5Joxed7WlRpoTZMkP118rYJn50eHdYIWf_o6pzLjRPEPNbxpfi6C1zj2I1kv7FST6rKTuc1dHIce9XQ1757/s640/004ps4+xml.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hell yeah I've got Windjammers on here</td></tr>
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Not to get too poetic, but since then I've been fascinated by the 'intimacy' inherent in solo retro gaming, knowing that it's just the player and their game in that moment. This is especially true for adult retro gamers today, who probably aren't sitting on the floor in front of the TV with their siblings or next door neighbors. No screenshot buttons or built-in social media features letting everyone know what you're playing. What a revelation! In a time where we're increasingly wary of just how much our activity is being monitored and collected, playing on a console with no internet connection is almost surreal.<br />
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The sense of isolation and inconvenience inherent in all this has become a welcome part of what I'll call the 'ritual' of retro gaming.<br />
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In this last couple of console generations players can interrupt a game and just, you know...do something else on the console. Of course system menus have been a thing as far back as Sega Saturn and PS1; but once the game started, you were in the game.<br />
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As of 2016, digital games have soared to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/190225/digital-and-physical-game-sales-in-the-us-since-2009/">74% of all games sold</a>, meaning you usually don't even have to get off your dumb ass and find another disc when you're ready to change games. Of course platforms like Steam heavily influence these statistics, but digital sales are on the rise in the console world as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsMIa0-yiq8gn14uSQ_heFFZmUzKMjNttixIfsb_bvOH0nN7dGgau4ijiKCz84YDgdvvls_Db5gDQnnsHxSo8fCNLNffLQF2bevNsg39gmjFo2Id-1dBUXrzvW7QokIGj2KO5_h4btepF/s1600/005switchgames.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsMIa0-yiq8gn14uSQ_heFFZmUzKMjNttixIfsb_bvOH0nN7dGgau4ijiKCz84YDgdvvls_Db5gDQnnsHxSo8fCNLNffLQF2bevNsg39gmjFo2Id-1dBUXrzvW7QokIGj2KO5_h4btepF/s640/005switchgames.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold, the only physical Switch games I own. Even considering that, I hate switching them out</td></tr>
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For my part, I'm so used to modern gaming that the restriction of being stuck with your selection until you power off the console and put in a new disc has actually become...kinda novel. I really like it! We're getting dangerously close to 'ONLY 90's KIDS WILL REMEMBER' territory, but the ritual of selecting from a shelf lined with discs or a shoebox full of plastic cartridges; blowing dust from the contacts (don't do this, use a q-tip with rubbing alcohol) or buffing fingerprints off of the CD with your shirt sleeve; plugging it in and committing to the game you chose...not many people get to experience it anymore, I bet.<br />
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Sometimes when I'm playing old games I'll find myself wanting to do something that console makers didn't come up with for years, like sharing screenshots or video of something I found interesting or funny (the number of times I've tried to press the nonexistent Share button on a NES pad is embarrassing...) I'm currently doing a playthrough of an awful Wii launch title called Escape From Bug Island! (don't forget the exclamation point) and this game is a shit show. Because I'm playing on real hardware and don't have any capture devices I've been taking crappy photos of my TV and sharing some of the more unbelievable moments on Twitter.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">badly cropped cellphone photos: how Bug Island was meant to be experienced</td></tr>
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OK, I'm probably enjoying this half-assed Let's Play more than anybody who follows me likes seeing it. What is mildly fascinating to me is that the reality of living in an era where I'm now used to the convenience of streaming and screenshot share buttons has led me to adapt those things to my childhood games as well! With these shitty screenshots I've added a new layer of hands-on inconvenience (and, in my opinion, fun) to the ritual.<br />
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All this isn't actually a new epiphany to me or anything. Back when my family first got the internet, NESticle was the hottest thing in town (speaking of Only 90's Kids Will Remember). I called it The Emulator Problem. Suddenly I had every NES game in the world at my disposal, something that would have melted my brain back in 1989. If I got frustrated with one or I wanted to try something else, a new game was an ESC keypress and a couple mouse clicks away. I'll be honest, it kind of ruined NES games for me for a long time. My attention span and tolerance for frustration went straight into the dumpster and I just couldn't appreciate them anymore. It wasn't until I started doing it the old way that the magic came back for me.<br />
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I do have an Everdrive flash cart for convenience sake, and to play prototypes and romhacks on real hardware. However, when it comes time to play some of my favorites (I'm talking about Balloon Fight of course) I dig into the ol' box of games. Sure, I'm speaking from a place of privilege because I <i>have</i> a big-ass collection of old games, a big ass CRT set to play them on and a decent setup to plug them all in. If I were smart I'd have nothing in that room but the flash cart. HOWEVER, since I have the means to do so, I think I sometimes owe it to the games that shaped who I am to play them the way nature intended.<br />
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In conclusion: if you're a retro games fan and you've been playing mostly on PS4 and Switch lately, why not dig out your old SNES or PS1 and re-commit to the ritual? Pop in Resident Evil 2 or relive some old RPG glory of your childhood. If you <i>really </i>wanna feel old, see what's on those ancient memory cards in your drawer and what the timestamp on your file is :^0<br />
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Like me, you might find that this is something you didn't even realize you missed doing!<br />
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<br />Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-21546254420343063132018-03-11T11:40:00.002-07:002018-03-11T12:08:27.143-07:00Ridge Racer: World At War (exploring connections to Ace Combat)<i>*warning: this is the nerdiest thing I've ever written on this blog*</i><br />
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Long time no see! Get ready for some Deepest Ridge Racer Lore. If you've played Namco's excellent Ace Combat 5 (or Ace Combat 2...or Ace Combat 4) you've probably seen a character named Kei Nagase:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ55U-wUB4FEG-H2BaUETX5Y5jGP9yqTewzUSsc3xe4kvhwaEvixNuq5fIB_OE7Sj1sziMxVJo7q9aB27R-cnUlZvhN_5B7H5gRYwJ9XZ1ux1KFcG_ELzCEEFyws33ykDPO4dfc1PEkpoY/s1600/kei.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="760" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ55U-wUB4FEG-H2BaUETX5Y5jGP9yqTewzUSsc3xe4kvhwaEvixNuq5fIB_OE7Sj1sziMxVJo7q9aB27R-cnUlZvhN_5B7H5gRYwJ9XZ1ux1KFcG_ELzCEEFyws33ykDPO4dfc1PEkpoY/s640/kei.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kei Nagase in Ace Combat 5 (left) and Ace Combat 2 (right)</td></tr>
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...And if you're a Ridge Racer fan, that name sounds very familiar:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEXkaCTIv5PrJpZ5iFrMpwRGHgrHt-nrvDQ4ZfbGhJqhfS4EmYKD_0KjFi-c9uTFVDw_GEAP_CSIprhq4qn3t_uI_KWaWnVHkWbybPzHe1PhPMb_xdl1fn1WM58A7K2EU9_ApNYdFmwSd/s1600/e0aa70ff186852d44bd70dfef299c968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEXkaCTIv5PrJpZ5iFrMpwRGHgrHt-nrvDQ4ZfbGhJqhfS4EmYKD_0KjFi-c9uTFVDw_GEAP_CSIprhq4qn3t_uI_KWaWnVHkWbybPzHe1PhPMb_xdl1fn1WM58A7K2EU9_ApNYdFmwSd/s400/e0aa70ff186852d44bd70dfef299c968.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reiko Nagase as she appears in Ridge Racer Type 4</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Namco's other well known Nagase, Reiko, is the face of one of their most famous non-Pacman franchises. A once respected Elder Statesman in the arcade racing genre, Ridge Racer's star has faded since its introduction in 1994. For children of the late 80's/90's, however, it shares a spot with Sega's Daytona USA as an example of an all but lost racing ideal: blue skies, loud music, unrealistic physics and pure arcade driving action. In the meantime it's up to independent developers to fill the void these games once occupied, but we're getting off topic.<br />
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I want to go over the evidence that suggests that the Ridge Racer and Ace Combat series exist in the same timeline, while also giving a short primer on the two characters that the theory revolves around.<br />
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<h3>
"STRANGEREAL"? NAMCO'S ALTERNATE UNIVERSE</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Strangereal ("Strange Real", a strange or different version of the real world) is the internal name for the universe in which most Ace Combat games take place. It sounds clunky and was only intended for developer use to refer to the game's setting (only one Ace Combat game, the 2011 mobile title Northern Wars, references Strangereal in-game) but the term stuck for fans of the series. Officially, the setting of Ace Combat is simply called "Earth".<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwydWZryScYtvleLvVTW-kgEBPLPh3oquzXZ-E1RDMsssNOyPGcbxlmJ-UVpYHdMqXs5MO_Bi1Mjr3UnLskdXo7SbyK3Zc5gvYWp5S1IyfDQzRQPclCtwwJOMxjWzx89wE2_fXTHH2Kem4/s1600/srsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1470" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwydWZryScYtvleLvVTW-kgEBPLPh3oquzXZ-E1RDMsssNOyPGcbxlmJ-UVpYHdMqXs5MO_Bi1Mjr3UnLskdXo7SbyK3Zc5gvYWp5S1IyfDQzRQPclCtwwJOMxjWzx89wE2_fXTHH2Kem4/s640/srsmall.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This isn't Earth! Oh wait, there's.....Antarctia?</td></tr>
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As you can see, the <a href="http://acecombat.wikia.com/wiki/Strangereal">Strangereal version of Earth</a> shares a couple things with real-ass Earth, namely Antarctica as well as the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. The rest are fictionalized analogues to real world locations. <a href="http://www.dualshockers.com/2016/12/05/ace-combat-7-return-strangereal-reason/">In the words of Kazutoki Kono</a> (head of Project Aces) this creates an "accommodating world" that allows the developer to play with realistic themes and settings while throwing in unrealistic technology (not to mention avoiding the baggage that comes with using real countries).<br />
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This brings us to the Ridge Racer connection, and this is where it gets a little weird. But first, a few words about Reiko Nagase.<br />
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<h3>
REIKO NAGASE, THE FACE OF RIDGE RACER</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAu14-zKEVrfPTUJZ5C4J5dirdI49eIjx9Tl2crh_skAnn1HC_M4ReGyMG3TQhccSJcwXvN0Z3xymU7E5H50IRBXLOoEWjz-Fls2HznGWIIXs-md4olIltvHkLuruzd65lmffdOCyGYgoT/s1600/reiko1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1368" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAu14-zKEVrfPTUJZ5C4J5dirdI49eIjx9Tl2crh_skAnn1HC_M4ReGyMG3TQhccSJcwXvN0Z3xymU7E5H50IRBXLOoEWjz-Fls2HznGWIIXs-md4olIltvHkLuruzd65lmffdOCyGYgoT/s640/reiko1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Though her in-game presence is limited, for my money Reiko shares the spotlight with Pacman as an iconic Namco character. First appearing as an anonymous Race Queen in Rave Racer but not officially named until Rage Racer (yes, they're both Ridge games), Reiko grew in popularity until she became a sort of mascot to the franchise.<br />
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The point where Reiko became a Big Deal was undoubtedly the introductory cutscene to Ridge Racer Type 4. Though some of it may be a little wonky today, this was truly impressive at the time! Classy, sexy, and able to introduce the players to R4 in a way that didn't <i>feel </i>like a video game cutscene -- no one had seen an intro movie like this before.<br />
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All of this was accompanied by a brilliant dance tune with jazzy vocals by Kimara Lovelace, setting the stage for the best soundtrack in any Ridge Racer game (don't @ me). Bless your speakers by watching it below.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PMZ872rsa90" width="480"></iframe> <br />
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So popular was Reiko that there was actual fan outcry when she was briefly replaced by another mascot in the Playstation 2 launch title Ridge Racer V; she remains a prominent presence in the franchise, such as it remains in 2018. In later games she even acts as an opponent driver and official spokesperson for the UFRA (the United Federation of Ridge Racing Association, thank you for asking).<br />
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<h3>
KEI NAGASE AND THE ACE COMBAT CONNECTION</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YDJraGPhO8qSH8HbKv6B4WflijBb4LgvbnVP3_b6ETjcF7KwFi5ThHtf5d2Q7wOfmefSR5hSPfgreYnXqY9epK1NasM248ghTtY8Cl8kgBXVdr-tnnkZil8UNN2gG-m-Qa2WUN5NBsi7/s1600/kei2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YDJraGPhO8qSH8HbKv6B4WflijBb4LgvbnVP3_b6ETjcF7KwFi5ThHtf5d2Q7wOfmefSR5hSPfgreYnXqY9epK1NasM248ghTtY8Cl8kgBXVdr-tnnkZil8UNN2gG-m-Qa2WUN5NBsi7/s1600/kei2.png" /></a></div>
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With all this in mind we come to the 1997 Playstation release Ace Combat 2, and the thought that your wingman would have the same last name as another very prominent Namco character is too much of a coincidence, right?<br />
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Kei herself is not only one character, however. Much like Link, unrelated versions of her with different backstories show up in a number of Ace Combat games. The interesting thing is that many websites (likely all cribbing from Wikipedia) claim that the version of Kei from AC2 was "officially" (see below) identified as Reiko's younger sister. Her birth year of 1977 would put her at 22, two years younger than Reiko. That's pretty cool! Case closed, right?<br />
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Another interesting point are the references to Ace Combat within the Ridge Racer universe. Ridge Racer 7 includes a gear manufacturer named Arkbird, which AC5 fans will recognize as the low orbit spacecraft of the same name that plays a large role in the story.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58qswpWRWK1rbOcKK6kBuN547to_Q66q94P_gurOdmiG3caf5klu70gHIESJSVIEsjxqu7FjsZrOgUv13W5UEsDFefK2RiDCILFK0F1tWfR1pxUbOtRaDRE7OGtNdf-jH7LFe3KE0AGsD/s1600/arkbird.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="760" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58qswpWRWK1rbOcKK6kBuN547to_Q66q94P_gurOdmiG3caf5klu70gHIESJSVIEsjxqu7FjsZrOgUv13W5UEsDFefK2RiDCILFK0F1tWfR1pxUbOtRaDRE7OGtNdf-jH7LFe3KE0AGsD/s640/arkbird.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left: Ridge Racer 7. Right: Ace Combat 5.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Even more interesting is this car from Ridge Racer 6 with "Erusea" branding, referencing the Kingdom of Erusea, a prominent country in the Ace Combat universe that served as the main antagonist in Ace Combat 4 - Shattered Skies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnb_0oVZUoJMLbCtPRlOEY2Mx4kzxtxrNP6rcmW3PnKz72RzvKCLRZJNkIx81H8vD46MbIzbpi5EsQRXXLTIs-OfMU86cABd5QkOFK5iH4C7xbPBFbyd5Hlm3b9fGQUnOvQoaybs4da8qi/s1600/erusea.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="981" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnb_0oVZUoJMLbCtPRlOEY2Mx4kzxtxrNP6rcmW3PnKz72RzvKCLRZJNkIx81H8vD46MbIzbpi5EsQRXXLTIs-OfMU86cABd5QkOFK5iH4C7xbPBFbyd5Hlm3b9fGQUnOvQoaybs4da8qi/s640/erusea.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
WHY THERE MAY BE NO CONNECTION AFTER ALL</h3>
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</h3>
This brings me to what a lot of people are already thinking: "you dumbass idiot, Namco does this kind of thing in tons of games!" You're not wrong, hypothetical fun-hater. A big hole in this theory is the fact that as enticing as these references are, Namco does this ALL. THE. TIME. Now we get to the contradictory information that suggests the Ridge
Racer and Ace Combat connections are simply non-canon easter eggs. <br />
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<h3>
Namco references everywhere!</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Forget Nintendo; Namco is known for <i>relentlessly </i>referencing its own IPs in games where they don't belong, and Ridge Racer might be their biggest culprit of all. Here's a fun selection of Namco references! This is an incredibly incomplete list.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vn9iou0g0ItZzsHHztaxVfrbw6cTOwzx8E5YKnnMEhLfsp2_dEXMk3Xep6hHQ0d61sXcnUhuLKbuE7HNGwIU3S-4tAr7_oBLDpICGCzifeoNP-Har91vHP01f591ZGTQG3u6b64a4P38/s1600/ref1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="961" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vn9iou0g0ItZzsHHztaxVfrbw6cTOwzx8E5YKnnMEhLfsp2_dEXMk3Xep6hHQ0d61sXcnUhuLKbuE7HNGwIU3S-4tAr7_oBLDpICGCzifeoNP-Har91vHP01f591ZGTQG3u6b64a4P38/s320/ref1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
-Mr. Driller Drill Land: One of the minigames is called The Hole of Druaga, an RPG-themed mode inspired by The Tower of Druaga.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8kH_-PYJk5m6E_6CUEBjRWf7hssytq0ZzqBchlHesr1f4qHFz3Cs5zMZPJjDJ75GILlvRWwEheaC6_wup6cqVCdX4K9TPouY2MQga8rZobxTtt-b_TgMo6mkX43sEINkXTZ90hItoUy-/s1600/ref2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="521" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8kH_-PYJk5m6E_6CUEBjRWf7hssytq0ZzqBchlHesr1f4qHFz3Cs5zMZPJjDJ75GILlvRWwEheaC6_wup6cqVCdX4K9TPouY2MQga8rZobxTtt-b_TgMo6mkX43sEINkXTZ90hItoUy-/s320/ref2.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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-Super Smash Bros For Wii U: Pacman's taunt will call forth a pixelated image of any number of classic Namco games.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmouwUEbigxBfSIEQ_Zp-NEXGbQBpLmSdbloFZCkm2RXAwo75vp4m0hd9f8aaF5SrHrbywPxF9gxTgT1RPvCnD7SnpbHJV8gZsO_ZLwyxcsCgS-ZTc1ewx_h1mG3hWTChzJ5rw69vYZ9P/s1600/ref3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1039" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmouwUEbigxBfSIEQ_Zp-NEXGbQBpLmSdbloFZCkm2RXAwo75vp4m0hd9f8aaF5SrHrbywPxF9gxTgT1RPvCnD7SnpbHJV8gZsO_ZLwyxcsCgS-ZTc1ewx_h1mG3hWTChzJ5rw69vYZ9P/s320/ref3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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-Marvel Land: References to Phelios (!!) and many other Namco games during bonus rounds.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0AaaLIVZSbdLIO453OZVkfo9_RuS7FHxJS6aLsoeqJchsAoW2gyXwao_7Jz4XqHzafxyIh6ndnVMVgrpN-ZP0VvDmwaiv-z43SsPq7paCWcMBF6wn6pYNUox3b-lljr8-JCpP3R6ASfF/s1600/ref4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1034" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0AaaLIVZSbdLIO453OZVkfo9_RuS7FHxJS6aLsoeqJchsAoW2gyXwao_7Jz4XqHzafxyIh6ndnVMVgrpN-ZP0VvDmwaiv-z43SsPq7paCWcMBF6wn6pYNUox3b-lljr8-JCpP3R6ASfF/s320/ref4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
-And of course Ridge Racer, with course signs and cars that sport liveries referencing tons of other properties. Here's a course called Phantomile, referring to the 1997 PS1 title Klonoa: Door To Phantomile.<br />
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</h3>
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</h3>
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</h3>
<h3>
Ridge State:</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDAot6akeqzT-LtSS_-QvPPJ-XVY1DlRc-if8n3EUoKn7CInpZ5K6cPO9tOCerKdd2otvbQGEfzlJOJAbU1ppGiA-mrA6s5uaQgRJeSuvUTlaAtEmk5uf3eqxdUHtxo0gIGJFtmpkVUvs5/s1600/ridge+state.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="999" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDAot6akeqzT-LtSS_-QvPPJ-XVY1DlRc-if8n3EUoKn7CInpZ5K6cPO9tOCerKdd2otvbQGEfzlJOJAbU1ppGiA-mrA6s5uaQgRJeSuvUTlaAtEmk5uf3eqxdUHtxo0gIGJFtmpkVUvs5/s640/ridge+state.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map of Ridge State. Source: <a href="http://ridgeracer.wikia.com/wiki/Ridge_State">http://ridgeracer.wikia.com/wiki/Ridge_State</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Ridge State is Namco's effort to flesh out the world of Ridge Racer more and add context to all that driving. Introduced in the series' 6th installment on Xbox 360, Ridge State is an archipelago that includes multiple seaside courses and Rave City (sick reference to the arcade only Rave Racer). While reading a wiki page on the subject, I was pleased to find a map of Ridge State, which led to perhaps the dorkiest thing I've ever done; scouring the old Strangereal map to see if Namco had actually geographically placed it in the Ace Combat universe.<br />
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Unfortunately the results were inconclusive. I checked over the entire map (focusing around the equator where R6's many beach tracks suggest it would be located) and couldn't match it up at all. Maybe someone with a sharper eye could? <a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/acecombat/images/9/9e/Strangereal_Map.jpg">Here is a link</a> to a much larger version of the Strangereal map.<br />
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The last two points I'd say are pretty inconclusive; just because Namco likes putting references to their own games everywhere, that doesn't mean there's no connection. Likewise, the map of Strangereal was created for Ace Combat 5, presumably by a different team than that of Ridge Racer 6. Perhaps it just wasn't important for them to make sure it matched a map used by a completely different genre of game? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<br />
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<h3>
"Kei is Reiko's Younger Sister"</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
This is both smoking gun for the two games' connection, and the big strike against the whole theory for me. The Ace Combat and Ridge Racer wikis both state this (as well as Wikipedia), but <b>they only provide one source</b> for their claim: an Ace Combat 2 preview from the August 1997 issue of Computer And Video Games magazine: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70yb9h9pisoVnosc_LLyvlXt29ExWlvEfQeo6TbGy1akPFHQPxNYVbci_Y7wWUQzrQIOuRHCph3MSybwY_trIVBhGbMqGbFtkwL0epoq_hg4cna9x2b28Hkrqyd5dz-XqHq3mCgmcZiNX/s1600/CaVG+magazine.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="118" data-original-width="493" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70yb9h9pisoVnosc_LLyvlXt29ExWlvEfQeo6TbGy1akPFHQPxNYVbci_Y7wWUQzrQIOuRHCph3MSybwY_trIVBhGbMqGbFtkwL0epoq_hg4cna9x2b28Hkrqyd5dz-XqHq3mCgmcZiNX/s1600/CaVG+magazine.PNG" /></a></div>
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Unfortunately, Computer And Video Games seems to base this solely on Kei's name and birth date of March 1977, placing her near Reiko's age. Did they get this information from the developer of Ace Combat 2? Is this an <i>official</i> confirmation though? Without a primary source (Namco themselves) explicitly saying that the two are related, it's my opinion that this may be a case of Namco doing Namco and endlessly referencing and parodying its own properties within other games.<br />
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SO! Let's look at the evidence against. The fact that there are multiple Ace Combat characters named Kei Nagase, coupled with a lack of a reliable primary source for her relationship to the Ridge Racer character and the developer's particular love for self-referential easter eggs) poke some holes in the admittedly funny theory that Ridge Racer is about people holding gran prix in a war-torn alternate Earth. This doesn't even touch on the fact that Ridge Racer Type 4 explicitly refers to each racing team as belonging to specific, non-Strangereal countries.<br />
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Did I write all this bullshit out only for the truth to be that Namco is just having some fun? Maybe. I'm a huge fan of classic Namco though, so it's an interesting thing to think about. Until someone who is equally interested in this and can read Japanese tracks down an old interview confirming Kei and Reiko's relationship, who knows?<br />
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I'd love to be wrong! Let me know if you've got some more info on this completely pointless mystery.Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-75655882531612496112017-07-01T09:22:00.000-07:002017-07-01T09:22:04.506-07:00Illustration Collection 02<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTot-k0iePB9HhqXEd8Or2N5RIxO9GOHMjIyEUeaIB98wIMOufhC8nUsQ7RzPLfz7jd1V6XjpRsGpPY1NeZNmUDYJmYsoQaRrkSgFZOgYr8b0JhA_gG7M91etVntw05h6F1_B4cRdL-CE_/s1600/ally1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTot-k0iePB9HhqXEd8Or2N5RIxO9GOHMjIyEUeaIB98wIMOufhC8nUsQ7RzPLfz7jd1V6XjpRsGpPY1NeZNmUDYJmYsoQaRrkSgFZOgYr8b0JhA_gG7M91etVntw05h6F1_B4cRdL-CE_/s640/ally1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A friend's OC done roughly fighting game size. Maybe a little too low res?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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More sketches and pixel art! This one is mostly fanart.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEixHML-hlcHSeDOCkWf0u69hKeG7Po26ulHHI0PjWPRFOuHhc9_txXI9XAhOb_VOJBinGQn2PqhG7kko4eCbQjP1kBOxjVzAPKb1u8ojnorZ9CcFNmLPUz3YWYrePt8o8a7B025vazHJ/s1600/armson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1191" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEixHML-hlcHSeDOCkWf0u69hKeG7Po26ulHHI0PjWPRFOuHhc9_txXI9XAhOb_VOJBinGQn2PqhG7kko4eCbQjP1kBOxjVzAPKb1u8ojnorZ9CcFNmLPUz3YWYrePt8o8a7B025vazHJ/s640/armson.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wanted to make an original ARMS character. My arms are spoooooky ghost ectoplasm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnFyIlRFpgJtd21z2xzHRZ0wQZ_-j1vrEe3IoxLF9affzkzPbsNUJs_Kkmc7oPL4TqvxvI9VQZ2yz7DrYpVrBLpxhYXKXLsSAVp0bOHcutfIDgRlaOXgFw1Ohwxf4VOwOsJ4czVnUQibO/s1600/am.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="599" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnFyIlRFpgJtd21z2xzHRZ0wQZ_-j1vrEe3IoxLF9affzkzPbsNUJs_Kkmc7oPL4TqvxvI9VQZ2yz7DrYpVrBLpxhYXKXLsSAVp0bOHcutfIDgRlaOXgFw1Ohwxf4VOwOsJ4czVnUQibO/s400/am.PNG" width="399" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amethyst (Steven Universe)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nAps3JvvFcdNV5iKfH1z9Ol1PlfwjTlcPb6YLCR3rgrQH5zSy13TTjikVCPzn-jpsLXhuXMfl71CABoJdVttp7lWr3HKCabaN_Ch5TrApWThUITJZY7BgUNM4hF6wQ1jOE9eoZwmc-ik/s1600/jay.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="893" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nAps3JvvFcdNV5iKfH1z9Ol1PlfwjTlcPb6YLCR3rgrQH5zSy13TTjikVCPzn-jpsLXhuXMfl71CABoJdVttp7lWr3HKCabaN_Ch5TrApWThUITJZY7BgUNM4hF6wQ1jOE9eoZwmc-ik/s320/jay.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jay (Animal Crossing)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeS0xYk1dxPH9QCpSRWvKgDYkBWIEnuOFoUe1XbwP8Ng8BtYdmUvTN0FfWbTX_NHU4l0MAvF4qDpCD9oILUoY9CKdSA3oKXW8yvqwQc80nilRSiXy-TVrFfbgMz3RJeRZ6JI05rYqPOxQ/s1600/kissy.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="599" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeS0xYk1dxPH9QCpSRWvKgDYkBWIEnuOFoUe1XbwP8Ng8BtYdmUvTN0FfWbTX_NHU4l0MAvF4qDpCD9oILUoY9CKdSA3oKXW8yvqwQc80nilRSiXy-TVrFfbgMz3RJeRZ6JI05rYqPOxQ/s320/kissy.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kissy (Baraduke)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjk6c0bgaAh5n6_posiX1NQM4zIFqKgsVuzV0V3WvAh_qyo8ZJQ4rckRoiWW3HBU3EfT0iMRYg9Aac82_4zxGz-WtduzNSE_GfXRPG0IKcdlXdgnyuk_hpwxFLIBmp3cRMcPpanuMK_Eqv/s1600/shantae.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="597" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjk6c0bgaAh5n6_posiX1NQM4zIFqKgsVuzV0V3WvAh_qyo8ZJQ4rckRoiWW3HBU3EfT0iMRYg9Aac82_4zxGz-WtduzNSE_GfXRPG0IKcdlXdgnyuk_hpwxFLIBmp3cRMcPpanuMK_Eqv/s320/shantae.PNG" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shantae</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Some fanart sketches I was banging out on Twitter. Still need to do more of these...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TUVQXE7bTz_MA1CLIHCo7DhA7l5nWnuJlzRLeqe7yVaFASJPyQ8RhXziLI6T3Vh-hmQmtUP122mM6VxBsrcTpylb6u7ouG0h-o76p3ufN-cq9y3LhiNBXIPrOO-ZpzlBCOcNOkT4_HKo/s1600/bun.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="652" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TUVQXE7bTz_MA1CLIHCo7DhA7l5nWnuJlzRLeqe7yVaFASJPyQ8RhXziLI6T3Vh-hmQmtUP122mM6VxBsrcTpylb6u7ouG0h-o76p3ufN-cq9y3LhiNBXIPrOO-ZpzlBCOcNOkT4_HKo/s400/bun.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here we have...rabbit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Thanks for looking, as always!Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-61649444715529036042017-06-26T07:36:00.000-07:002017-06-26T07:36:07.410-07:00Finch Owl Pocket SP (Famicom, 2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwUrGeFMvVzeRZaUArz0QCX5e3Ie9xWeTAkFOXkRhTddzRSi2bxSRlcux48yfZZYfYi8VsMJbC-HE3QxiKYshGA3-_uSWgp-kZl8XaFZ834x7P2u5xOhGyDKBci3kEGBmPfBmCpsfiuZH/s1600/00002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="864" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwUrGeFMvVzeRZaUArz0QCX5e3Ie9xWeTAkFOXkRhTddzRSi2bxSRlcux48yfZZYfYi8VsMJbC-HE3QxiKYshGA3-_uSWgp-kZl8XaFZ834x7P2u5xOhGyDKBci3kEGBmPfBmCpsfiuZH/s640/00002.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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My friend Finch had me on a <a href="https://finchiekins.blogspot.com/">Splatoon episode of his podcast</a> late last year and was kind enough to tap me for the cover image! The subject of the design was of course something near and dear to my heart: fake games.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmEC6wndywo2aFMEzQWCzQGhrYNb1pZiTIBaH5y8DZO_fAlcxVzIHOvFEyGwkJHPneKfsqDpx5j8bInv_8vKmwzWNxbN9vEJYmOrutY39HJ9iktCDEjRI9FUoeHhq4K1405XRtnd8smRl/s1600/00006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="710" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmEC6wndywo2aFMEzQWCzQGhrYNb1pZiTIBaH5y8DZO_fAlcxVzIHOvFEyGwkJHPneKfsqDpx5j8bInv_8vKmwzWNxbN9vEJYmOrutY39HJ9iktCDEjRI9FUoeHhq4K1405XRtnd8smRl/s640/00006.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Famicom nerds (or Japanese people) will know that I based this largely off of the art from the Mario Bros. and Golf box art, with an obvious squid kid twist. Drawing in this style is hell of fun to do.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0kUymUX_IoxMpBH49mFJ6I0ezs_LzB-S-HtHsEhXrHbkAfhtlwW9Wo1X-i6H93ju_1zadDUlsTDrQ9VJxAEgOOfn-Ej4KeaRZFJGFOumB73v5qkIYwcYlLuzrQe4CPDcqQDHpEOkKjE-y/s1600/00finch1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="744" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0kUymUX_IoxMpBH49mFJ6I0ezs_LzB-S-HtHsEhXrHbkAfhtlwW9Wo1X-i6H93ju_1zadDUlsTDrQ9VJxAEgOOfn-Ej4KeaRZFJGFOumB73v5qkIYwcYlLuzrQe4CPDcqQDHpEOkKjE-y/s640/00finch1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An earlier design before we decided to go with a more Famicom referential look</td></tr>
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I'm hesitant to recommend anyone hear my awful voice/awful opinions but you should listen to Finch's podcast! <a href="https://finchiekins.blogspot.com/">Check it out here.</a>Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-52574950079961927222017-06-24T07:07:00.000-07:002017-06-24T07:07:11.563-07:00Illustration Collection 01<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYx7xozi25L9U7Z68ohwPd2vE7KxoBPH29gWAdM22Pa6zuJrI3-6D1wZkxe2dguYwgKKwQNbXxE1Er3zhFFz1XSUac50VG5CpqH-0qfoYi5sgNesJduOMR-i7Vsu4Y7CT2kg_nieUwSxz/s1600/01traveler.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYx7xozi25L9U7Z68ohwPd2vE7KxoBPH29gWAdM22Pa6zuJrI3-6D1wZkxe2dguYwgKKwQNbXxE1Er3zhFFz1XSUac50VG5CpqH-0qfoYi5sgNesJduOMR-i7Vsu4Y7CT2kg_nieUwSxz/s640/01traveler.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was doing random sketches from simple prompts; this one was "traveler"</td></tr>
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Hey! Sorry, no video game stuff today...though Ribbon Black is ostensibly a gaming art/history/culture blog, it's <i>technically </i>kind of a personal portfolio/art dump for me. Here are some things I've done recently, a mix of fanart, original characters and one-offs. Thanks very much for looking.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCNkysi5pZLM_kxhu3mHNLcuL5BINLq7YNAWdkql_LsE-IID5VT2e1D4TLeXJUKC107bCL_U3LuVeY1tzCS3BGvIjCGF1B_8mVa39YWpGH8MzRGWa0MjmJs1n0ofTeDOmbAtCmffFZdDP/s1600/lina.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="548" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCNkysi5pZLM_kxhu3mHNLcuL5BINLq7YNAWdkql_LsE-IID5VT2e1D4TLeXJUKC107bCL_U3LuVeY1tzCS3BGvIjCGF1B_8mVa39YWpGH8MzRGWa0MjmJs1n0ofTeDOmbAtCmffFZdDP/s640/lina.png" width="442" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lina Inverse from Slayers (first anime I ever bought!)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILzNXS6wnTHgLQd3PwWJhUR5swNztVm9rBWU-1mNAqE89h0tExNfAGZgszD0inx8Gwp7suPeA5tjUNKIWAAEc7plx5o-H7dvONZeMWnqZL3HHpI8tOD1L1IMbs0hbNUJPZAULS4TgZbSY/s1600/undyne2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="784" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILzNXS6wnTHgLQd3PwWJhUR5swNztVm9rBWU-1mNAqE89h0tExNfAGZgszD0inx8Gwp7suPeA5tjUNKIWAAEc7plx5o-H7dvONZeMWnqZL3HHpI8tOD1L1IMbs0hbNUJPZAULS4TgZbSY/s640/undyne2.png" width="376" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undyne from Undertale. Not super crazy about this...the pose is too stiff</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYckpbuZ_y-PhUESYFF-TrY558EDSokk7-rRNHTQn9fMeNOlSaPPVyAmIjpkhaUVlZEnFFNheeRgvGxKxr5wfb_CU-vo6ekFdZJHW69gUywfojz7_9DJw7-ajUyiOWDqBhlMnTeMFpn57B/s1600/bepis.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1438" data-original-width="1234" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYckpbuZ_y-PhUESYFF-TrY558EDSokk7-rRNHTQn9fMeNOlSaPPVyAmIjpkhaUVlZEnFFNheeRgvGxKxr5wfb_CU-vo6ekFdZJHW69gUywfojz7_9DJw7-ajUyiOWDqBhlMnTeMFpn57B/s640/bepis.png" width="548" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby; I liked working with these colors!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5dtstwzJvbRnWymDWKjLaV_s8iyutTDEyeMrCTngqQnJAn5fkKGd6kvTbpakvudr9jAc_-MU94I76awdrifjWCmELYhQ4ve6z6qw6pW8hCkfgUxq5vSG0We6VMhWJ2qtZN5h7t17x9Hs/s1600/hilgrade.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="919" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5dtstwzJvbRnWymDWKjLaV_s8iyutTDEyeMrCTngqQnJAn5fkKGd6kvTbpakvudr9jAc_-MU94I76awdrifjWCmELYhQ4ve6z6qw6pW8hCkfgUxq5vSG0We6VMhWJ2qtZN5h7t17x9Hs/s640/hilgrade.PNG" width="616" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hilgrade, one of my guys. She's a magician that can summon poisonous plants</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-91497509722996120372017-06-22T06:45:00.001-07:002017-06-22T18:07:56.274-07:008-Bit Shugei - Dragon Quest Shadowbox Fun<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqzHFuR-0CcnEMH-uh_kmAjZzA9Q4hJeWsOjPKvyh7uzsWNk7-WngIM98Qw1847uZyISS-Qo_WzlNhdQjxErdMwi8owpUA1W33Dev_YA7iACWrtXaIOoXjkVQdQO5kpWy_Czx6Ng-93GW/s1600/dw+diorama6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqzHFuR-0CcnEMH-uh_kmAjZzA9Q4hJeWsOjPKvyh7uzsWNk7-WngIM98Qw1847uZyISS-Qo_WzlNhdQjxErdMwi8owpUA1W33Dev_YA7iACWrtXaIOoXjkVQdQO5kpWy_Czx6Ng-93GW/s640/dw+diorama6.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/8bit_shugei">Do you know about <i>8-bit shugei</i></a>? Meaning literally "8-bit handicraft", it's retro-gaming themed DIY art encompassing any number of formats such as perler beading, cross stitch, papercraft, sculpture etc. This has been going on long before there was a word for it of course; before I learned the term earlier this year, I made one for my brother as a handmade Christmas gift.<br />
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I was never an RPG kid (I'm not an RPG adult, either) but the one game me and my older brother could always agree on was Dragon Warrior 4 for NES. I really can't articulate what a big impression the game left on 7-year-old me; the huge enemy sprites had so much personality and character. The story captured my imagination like Mario Bros. couldn't (the cliffhanger ending of chapter 2 when Princess Alena returned home to find her castle completely deserted was downright haunting) and the world-spanning plot with multiple playable characters left me feeling like they were my friends.<br />
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Anyway, in recent years my extended family has adopted a tradition of hand made "secret santa" gifts so that people can get personalized presents and we don't have to spend 2K Moneys buying shit for everyone. When I drew my brother's name this past Christmas I had a good idea!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIR9iNuMiQj1gqY-w7aTAiw7Ngn9O8Cv9DwxkutZaEtbEMphLG5L59ynFvqoHL7SXAC1Mr3PoXQlZpcgklnfmAS0lM6WKot1b8ThKBxg0kMw3yPyT59jwO85hawsqb81WYoPKi132eFc5/s1600/dw+diorama02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="734" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIR9iNuMiQj1gqY-w7aTAiw7Ngn9O8Cv9DwxkutZaEtbEMphLG5L59ynFvqoHL7SXAC1Mr3PoXQlZpcgklnfmAS0lM6WKot1b8ThKBxg0kMw3yPyT59jwO85hawsqb81WYoPKi132eFc5/s640/dw+diorama02.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, I didn't have a good idea until the last minute. But this isn't bad for a night's work!<br />
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Real 90's Kids know that this shadowbox mimics the battle screen from classic Dragon Quest games. I believe there's a technological reason for the black backgrounds in these games--maybe enemy sprites were actually displayed on the NES' background sprites layer to cram more huge graphics onscreen than would normally be allowed? My ignorance is showing; by all means let me know if you have an answer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUgeXwL4Nam_SmftSoqSf5hZaHMuq7Ohmx128KsvRXKJItcW93oXYrJblpzRncesLqX7NtWCYEFADly4W7vu0uWjcwavmf978x9Gmme4y6oIp_q3nIVR9oCExlYa84VlCWvrnBfJgChaI/s1600/dwscrn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="617" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUgeXwL4Nam_SmftSoqSf5hZaHMuq7Ohmx128KsvRXKJItcW93oXYrJblpzRncesLqX7NtWCYEFADly4W7vu0uWjcwavmf978x9Gmme4y6oIp_q3nIVR9oCExlYa84VlCWvrnBfJgChaI/s1600/dwscrn.png" /></a></div>
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For my project I used three of my favorite enemy designs: Mad Clown, Babble, and the OG monster, Slime. All the graphics were drawn in Photoshop, printed onto photo paper and mounted on stacked foamcore of varying heights.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XwMbs5B0a6x1InOW-oXT4mEfzUtcB6NoLlt28cj3lmzxoM-8fN0csbVmYIgTS6bs319Yxrh4ZLq_NO1IJZsgqEGKIA8-7SGtwUDs-U9mE383balv6oksc5f5Rp41ZfungK0xFB-ruRat/s1600/dw+diorama01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="734" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XwMbs5B0a6x1InOW-oXT4mEfzUtcB6NoLlt28cj3lmzxoM-8fN0csbVmYIgTS6bs319Yxrh4ZLq_NO1IJZsgqEGKIA8-7SGtwUDs-U9mE383balv6oksc5f5Rp41ZfungK0xFB-ruRat/s640/dw+diorama01.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When you don't want ugly white edges on cut out paper things--carefully run a black marker along the edges. </td></tr>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="734" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8J-Og9vvLt8YlJpc9Tho5JmIRaIsu7nG4Z2c_zXm23m7nJVOhaZHI6TnX0hDZt0-ybDLdoe8tz85IgddMopwV9IyylP8lvoSqbPuaYSdpX2II1M9IowOKW35KM_PXDOrwiva9EMrvrreo/s640/dw+diorama03.png" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More black foamcore for the background!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5ShRox9USMUePZEWs8P211I1nRYvyChGm5DywPlmo-BkVQBZIWGk-u6Ouh4HtCu4d0z_wESHfhwy9FmRRpeGizsbZGjNU778WW73zI1GNRYz72rZE8q-Vp7YzbRLQuId3Jwt7ygDiRH-/s1600/dw+diorama04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="629" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5ShRox9USMUePZEWs8P211I1nRYvyChGm5DywPlmo-BkVQBZIWGk-u6Ouh4HtCu4d0z_wESHfhwy9FmRRpeGizsbZGjNU778WW73zI1GNRYz72rZE8q-Vp7YzbRLQuId3Jwt7ygDiRH-/s640/dw+diorama04.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">everybody in the pool</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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To finish it off I took some brown craft paper and using my girlfriend's linocutting materials I carved out some cute little stamps for the wrapping:<br />
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My brother liked it; and bizarrely enough, the day before I even gave it to him he bought me a copy of Dragon Warrior 4, filling an important gap in my NES collection!<br />
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If you're interested in seeing some 8-bit shugei from other people check the Twitter tag I linked up at the top, or look at <a href="https://minusworld.co.uk/2016/12/15/culturecollection-15/">this excellent spotlight by my friend Oliver on Minus World</a>.Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-76884771826780231352017-06-20T05:00:00.002-07:002017-06-22T01:34:37.760-07:00Cosmic Smash Undiscovered Secret Characters?? UPDATEDI know the title is very clickbait-y, but I've been searching online and can't find a single reference to this, so it may be new to you: Cosmic Smash has a secret character!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglV5w2VS1tbDgQQ1YVYupP0783BQkigM_zyn5aUeQE2evFqUorZjxmRwvniyOPCg5nwD1ELrbQcEnflffQq_CvtSVh8B3Wo15-OFF0W-fM0qrBbLkcjXLTZJ_FUOgJKj1ispxfpOzBXTOA/s1600/IMG_f5rnb9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1355" data-original-width="1414" height="613" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglV5w2VS1tbDgQQ1YVYupP0783BQkigM_zyn5aUeQE2evFqUorZjxmRwvniyOPCg5nwD1ELrbQcEnflffQq_CvtSVh8B3Wo15-OFF0W-fM0qrBbLkcjXLTZJ_FUOgJKj1ispxfpOzBXTOA/s640/IMG_f5rnb9.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Okay, I know how this looks. Blurry cellphone photo, bad angle--I panicked and was playing on a real Dreamcast and wanted to get evidence in case I couldn't replicate the secret.<br />
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But look at this shit! It's the worker characters that you can see building the "cosmic bus" stages during the credits scene at the end!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQH3aiYiX6XdLKpXXZxlaUc40wSG2FUrEJBidyoQ7vMX5u8niuKjgpqmKuv60OvTylLezf6z5FhBs8zkmOGKSwV9McP-U0LWnrk2pz1pi3QW1gkbMEMLSan2bjT4QfOGwVBzrGDPLPPlFc/s1600/csworker01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="1021" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQH3aiYiX6XdLKpXXZxlaUc40wSG2FUrEJBidyoQ7vMX5u8niuKjgpqmKuv60OvTylLezf6z5FhBs8zkmOGKSwV9McP-U0LWnrk2pz1pi3QW1gkbMEMLSan2bjT4QfOGwVBzrGDPLPPlFc/s640/csworker01.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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After beating the game and completing one of the secret 1-on-1 final stages, I started up a new game. Usually, the game opens with the announcement "Welcome To Cosmic Smash". This time, though, the announcer said "We Want Cosmic Smash", a line that I don't remember playing elsewhere in the game. Unfortunately I lost before completing the game again so I didn't see if something else happens.<br />
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I immediately fired up a Dreamcast emulator to see if I could repeat my performance, and...I can't. I'll keep trying but so far I'm mystified! This is everything I can think of that I did when it appeared.<br />
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<b>-Beat the game taking this route:</b><br />
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<b>-score was unremarkable; I got around 800,000 and placed 2nd behind a previous top score</b><br />
<b>-I didn't get the perfect rally or the perfect trick smash bonuses, so score isn't a factor at all </b><br />
<b>-sat through the entire credits sequence</b><br />
<b>-let the title screen demo play through once after the game went back to title</b><br />
<b>-started a game afterward and was playing as the secret character </b><br />
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I tried repeating all these steps on emulator to get better screenshots and as of yet I haven't been successful. I'm EXTREMELY EXCITED to discover this after playing for years (you should have heard this sad nerd yelling alone in his room when it happened) and if anyone else has info on this I'd love to hear about it.<br />
<b> </b><br />
For all I know this a well known secret that I somehow couldn't find on google. If someone comes in with an "of course you can, asshole" I'd be a little embarrassed, but solving the mystery would be worth it. Let me know if you've ever unlocked the secret Cosmic Smash character before!<br />
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<b>ADDENDUM:</b> I looked up the phrase the game announcer says when the character is unlocked, "We Want Cosmic Smash". Try it! I got a single result on Google: a dead website called <a href="https://archive.li/tAb2B" target="_blank">Cosmic Bus 777</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2r6xql_mI3DeHqM_YYAdrPimFdRTDdR5io4sCrYCeGeMlVnZp2NHYFqhEooB3RHqp0MzmZ0ChxxGO6FpCzW94J0aULTPw8u46mp9QZNw_1yXuXn_yYJ2TkAFR-5RLsDUjsWeJUqjmlBR/s1600/cosmicbus777.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="1026" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2r6xql_mI3DeHqM_YYAdrPimFdRTDdR5io4sCrYCeGeMlVnZp2NHYFqhEooB3RHqp0MzmZ0ChxxGO6FpCzW94J0aULTPw8u46mp9QZNw_1yXuXn_yYJ2TkAFR-5RLsDUjsWeJUqjmlBR/s640/cosmicbus777.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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THE PLOT THICKENS! There's at least <i>one person</i> on the internet who has done this. There's even a secrets section (and info on the different Trick Smashes, which I'd love to read more about). However, none of the links work; the domain has expired.<br />
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I guess my next step is to track down this AJ 187 character who used to run the site, or maybe try to find the secret documented on a Japanese site.<br />
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<h2>
UP<span style="background-color: lime;"></span>DATE!</h2>
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</h2>
I took this to Twitter and within an hour and a half a very helpful fellow (<a href="http://twitter.com/sebmal" target="_blank">@sebmal</a>) pointed me not only toward AJ 187's Twitter profile, but showed that archive.org actually <i>had</i> saved <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090225000614/http://aj.heypoorplayer.org/cosmicsmash/?page=secrets" target="_blank">the secrets page</a>, giving me much more information than I was even looking for.<br />
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Not only was the secret character above <span style="font-size: large;"><b>unlocked via a cheat code that I accidentally entered by pure chance</b>, </span>there are in fact <b>six secret characters </b>in the game.<br />
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My balls were flattened. So, with extreme gratitude to AJ 187 of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060503030639/aj.heypoorplayer.org/cosmicsmash/" target="_blank">Cosmic Bus 777</a>, let's have a look at em!<br />
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<h3>
Cosmic Smash secret character codes (input at title screen)</h3>
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</h3>
L = Left<br />
R = Right<br />
U = Up<br />
D = Down<br />
A = A (or whatever you have the normal swing mapped to)<br />
X = X (or whatever you have the jump mapped to)<br />
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NOTE: You can put these in as slowly as you need to--and you'll need to take your time on some of them--so don't rush.<br />
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Worker #1 (Solid white spacesuit and transparent red racket)<br />
<b>Code: L R L R L L R </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQBHLtX98DbEzClIM8bJE-7DTAcl5WuWQOZYNHmBNpaaQhwX36JzRjBNT4J2-UIz2rWetDRZy3Lg7JcI0vMdaUMYsOUxPkos0NCXlWkcPmqVA5m1W0zOxmInssgFiqimbU48Z3Kt6Ht34/s1600/cs-secret-02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1021" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQBHLtX98DbEzClIM8bJE-7DTAcl5WuWQOZYNHmBNpaaQhwX36JzRjBNT4J2-UIz2rWetDRZy3Lg7JcI0vMdaUMYsOUxPkos0NCXlWkcPmqVA5m1W0zOxmInssgFiqimbU48Z3Kt6Ht34/s640/cs-secret-02.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Yellow Man (looks like a test character; all yellow body and racket is attached to hand)<br />
<b>Code: D U D U D D U</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMthgZ34q17smzMmZgUNeTXU6Jo0pJjql1M03hTmfX7tZ-kEKgdfRpEnxmCkvSOOCR1f7KBRKQS89lwO6RD5NLaWz2_QJi2G5fFfw-McnJWviQNk3i0tolttioXHUEiRcw9fk891XwWXW/s1600/cs-secret-03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1021" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMthgZ34q17smzMmZgUNeTXU6Jo0pJjql1M03hTmfX7tZ-kEKgdfRpEnxmCkvSOOCR1f7KBRKQS89lwO6RD5NLaWz2_QJi2G5fFfw-McnJWviQNk3i0tolttioXHUEiRcw9fk891XwWXW/s640/cs-secret-03.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Silver Man (same as default character...but chrome!)<br />
<b> Code: R L R L R R L</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTo6Q2rr0k8yt3HyMHo3yfzfv897zAWUS3Fs1XB0etfJXuHGBOww5rVF1X-GtZX7-8T4GszKbIWp9TyYIf7lxSw5fMF7q8lZ8vH9HF6iEpXMbUNDd7mT3VpjjUg6GLpbHfRngYk79HUlW/s1600/cs-secret-04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1021" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTo6Q2rr0k8yt3HyMHo3yfzfv897zAWUS3Fs1XB0etfJXuHGBOww5rVF1X-GtZX7-8T4GszKbIWp9TyYIf7lxSw5fMF7q8lZ8vH9HF6iEpXMbUNDd7mT3VpjjUg6GLpbHfRngYk79HUlW/s640/cs-secret-04.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Bear (a bulky figure with a brown furry texture map, holding a giant fish instead of a racket. nice)<br />
<b>Code: U D U D U U D</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EOP5CTNnZWa0HAVQq2hFzkm7yKIwVPbmU_IzRvS5msLY1vI6di6FeAA6XFON_sBg3JbP7e8GR8gaN3IFaeJBLvHpTnd7hKh91rA40-QrjiuQY9ucjxEQNdJYCKEVyhW70zYzn6X5-q-M/s1600/cs-secret-06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1021" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EOP5CTNnZWa0HAVQq2hFzkm7yKIwVPbmU_IzRvS5msLY1vI6di6FeAA6XFON_sBg3JbP7e8GR8gaN3IFaeJBLvHpTnd7hKh91rA40-QrjiuQY9ucjxEQNdJYCKEVyhW70zYzn6X5-q-M/s640/cs-secret-06.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Toshiaki Miida (worker from the credits scene--Sega logo on back,
Cosmic Smash logo on front. swings a laptop instead of a racket)<br />
<b>Code:</b> <b>D A X A X A X A X A X A X A X A X A X A X U</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oKFXR_gamDDwreaiZGz55WhPjifT9ypsIzHFNjsU0bY0l15_pLcW3H7vMiQ0bC5drkjXt_vPLQ72Es6D3gkNTwIobNyybniJAq_Cx0Nuvg1GWlU7Maibbub1d1Dm4MBBfTv9rkXsLlKx/s1600/cs-secret-05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1021" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oKFXR_gamDDwreaiZGz55WhPjifT9ypsIzHFNjsU0bY0l15_pLcW3H7vMiQ0bC5drkjXt_vPLQ72Es6D3gkNTwIobNyybniJAq_Cx0Nuvg1GWlU7Maibbub1d1Dm4MBBfTv9rkXsLlKx/s640/cs-secret-05.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Katsuyasu Andou (worker from credits scene--Japanese text on back,
Cosmic Smash logo on front, swings a huge cellphone. the Cosmic Smash
logo flashes different colors!)<br />
<b>Code: L U R D U D U R D U L D R U L U R D U D U R D U L D R U A</b> <br />
<br />
Thanks again to AJ 187 for compiling this useful info on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090225000614/http://aj.heypoorplayer.org/cosmicsmash/?page=secrets">his</a><a href="https://draft.blogger.com/null" target="_blank"> original site</a>! Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-18756799231936353122017-06-16T10:26:00.002-07:002017-06-16T10:30:02.972-07:00Pen Pen TriIcelon (Dreamcast) Manual Differences and Weird Stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeksGb3IxAbD6dqhotdH48ayDk4PD5m3RpnKJcTWwjVi-VqjV5O5s1_zsyKqnEuPGJhtBpSZmsX1LvzrSnjYFwc0U9aMejjdMsZrpaaC7999BcDoJCKTw2spPSvr7g-FbjXZ9gfgw0uMd/s1600/penpen+triicelon+story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="992" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeksGb3IxAbD6dqhotdH48ayDk4PD5m3RpnKJcTWwjVi-VqjV5O5s1_zsyKqnEuPGJhtBpSZmsX1LvzrSnjYFwc0U9aMejjdMsZrpaaC7999BcDoJCKTw2spPSvr7g-FbjXZ9gfgw0uMd/s640/penpen+triicelon+story.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Who'd have thought I would have this much to say about PenPen TriIcelon?<br />
<br />
Looking through the game's English manual I was actually shocked at how colorful and fun it was; often times localizing a game from Japan would result in a boring, stripped down manual, or worse: bringing a color manual to the US and making it <i>black and white</i>.<br />
<br />
PenPen's manual, on the other hand, is so nice that I knew it must have been a direct translation from the Japanese. And I was right...almost.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Censorship</h3>
<br />
This is kinda super weird: Infogrames brought over PenPen's busy, colorful manual almost exactly, but with one particular omission: two of the Course Owners (basically the "mascot" of each stage) are SMOKING IN THE MANUAL!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1j2J6WH2p0I9hb3TBaxV1guJtUTzS4iBDRZ77votFyB28pMKceo7TChjBdTFFsh71Qk7BWhtLHt19eG7N-WKBNhs17n7TqkBhxPZKQ1mIEPhCHCqQMD7y-ofkz0t8qpwyHacwx9M2p58/s1600/bambimask.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="1002" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1j2J6WH2p0I9hb3TBaxV1guJtUTzS4iBDRZ77votFyB28pMKceo7TChjBdTFFsh71Qk7BWhtLHt19eG7N-WKBNhs17n7TqkBhxPZKQ1mIEPhCHCqQMD7y-ofkz0t8qpwyHacwx9M2p58/s640/bambimask.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTjdYA44uk-0-qbL4_Zy3kjZM3BAZkhRwuf7HuY6dykjB8b3fVoHVZrKQj8V0hrBCqk44iZO0Kuc7OyqAzSei5zd7JUXV3lTKsk5w7QndA_1TNiLDSk6pf1u_oIeQ26wqkivFvGO7r-8N/s1600/penpen+triicelon+cream_jp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="1002" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTjdYA44uk-0-qbL4_Zy3kjZM3BAZkhRwuf7HuY6dykjB8b3fVoHVZrKQj8V0hrBCqk44iZO0Kuc7OyqAzSei5zd7JUXV3lTKsk5w7QndA_1TNiLDSk6pf1u_oIeQ26wqkivFvGO7r-8N/s640/penpen+triicelon+cream_jp.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Don't even worry, Infogrames put a stop to THAT SHIT right away. This is a noble enough gesture--they wouldn't want to be a bad influence on the three children who bought PenPen TriIcelon--but in localizing PenPen, they didn't see fit to make any changes to the actual game. You know, the part that kids are actually going to see.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdT95-w7yokH9187CnmMBfv_mKdEDY_Xmz2Ji0tLG0IZEpqU48fR9CqOa_UKjD1VdyUUP-1kXvCrD830OhxbzlMy0MEpUuftG2GyTqnsZw1gVh9AE0mnKARGM1TFEZWUJG1HkfgRN0G5O/s1600/00000003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdT95-w7yokH9187CnmMBfv_mKdEDY_Xmz2Ji0tLG0IZEpqU48fR9CqOa_UKjD1VdyUUP-1kXvCrD830OhxbzlMy0MEpUuftG2GyTqnsZw1gVh9AE0mnKARGM1TFEZWUJG1HkfgRN0G5O/s640/00000003.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GK5yYkXSiRTfsXldr2fMJPHwP_ZsMZVMJXImIbpGMMjqr4UPfze-ruqDgY-KWaiw5pUs1s9tkLMtqgAc2UVN6s466OFaQmpycEzqO-m8j6fiR-kDAQlgJjQ5GTQwdinYjrI1blwL2dWh/s1600/penpen+triicelon+unga_en.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="525" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GK5yYkXSiRTfsXldr2fMJPHwP_ZsMZVMJXImIbpGMMjqr4UPfze-ruqDgY-KWaiw5pUs1s9tkLMtqgAc2UVN6s466OFaQmpycEzqO-m8j6fiR-kDAQlgJjQ5GTQwdinYjrI1blwL2dWh/s1600/penpen+triicelon+unga_en.png" /></a></div>
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And again...baffling caricatures like Unga Pogo are still A-OK! Don't even worry about THAT<br />
<br />
<h3>
Omissions/Mistakes</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHyuOiTchmoFWOklEGIAefAiUBHkwF09HUmYLRpCIZDqTbhjdDCcxTFkfaMN9u-OMHoaOfY1kN6Q7L7K1FA9HktVE1tWEWC6R3eVh6ezdbd8ndlJikg3LWr9Nq91BBtVADaD9HBtfIaBK/s1600/penpen+triicelon+bow_en.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHyuOiTchmoFWOklEGIAefAiUBHkwF09HUmYLRpCIZDqTbhjdDCcxTFkfaMN9u-OMHoaOfY1kN6Q7L7K1FA9HktVE1tWEWC6R3eVh6ezdbd8ndlJikg3LWr9Nq91BBtVADaD9HBtfIaBK/s1600/penpen+triicelon+bow_en.png" /></a></div>
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Here's a typo I found amusing--in the characters section, Pen Pen Sneak is listed as "female", even though the bio refers to him as "he". Are we seeing another Birdo situation?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismOLW6PekvHDUQwpHQYr5jiVCQFBZf4acNewR7aylgpx-lhzR7448b7lhaQT2cmlfG4hiI6VV7VvV2ZgiZTJxCZHUnrMqCVlvMkCGvSuRvi6JKHQrOzxiGkojqWubc2YZvnmXErHWvnoA/s1600/penpen+triicelon+bow_jp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="491" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismOLW6PekvHDUQwpHQYr5jiVCQFBZf4acNewR7aylgpx-lhzR7448b7lhaQT2cmlfG4hiI6VV7VvV2ZgiZTJxCZHUnrMqCVlvMkCGvSuRvi6JKHQrOzxiGkojqWubc2YZvnmXErHWvnoA/s1600/penpen+triicelon+bow_jp.png" /></a></div>
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I thought there might be something going on here, but looking at the manual he's listed as male. 0/10 nice job Infogrames.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdUG-M7-nSHZlSGExa_oqZFNcIjkJIz7Ylu_HkioQccZ0F_FZFHjwzaKGaoLLVAfr1KA5U-DuOAJugkm7a0AC1ZLeJlhQAdqGDr0VIhXo8YDkCR38Vo4qyvGoOK2Vm5gyxmaTzxf09fcT/s1600/penpen+triicelon+sparky_jp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdUG-M7-nSHZlSGExa_oqZFNcIjkJIz7Ylu_HkioQccZ0F_FZFHjwzaKGaoLLVAfr1KA5U-DuOAJugkm7a0AC1ZLeJlhQAdqGDr0VIhXo8YDkCR38Vo4qyvGoOK2Vm5gyxmaTzxf09fcT/s1600/penpen+triicelon+sparky_jp.png" /></a></div>
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This omission is kind of irritating and there was no need for Infogrames to make it! Check out the three stats in the character bios denoted by stars in the scan above: this is each character's ability in Sliding, Waddling and Swimming. However, this actually useful information was taken out of the US manual? Infogrames why<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2Qc6h6vnyrAYvCCrxaGZt6ll6wZ-CX-m9wjjyUCPnF5vVn2bbf6QOujpJr_-Y_dZkOzlfpfa8CPmi-I41ErSJMM7as55eQPAkyet6yLu5RLoJbn-BFAv0qawcabpbwjPqn9uMgHwqTH6/s1600/penpen+triicelon+manual.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2Qc6h6vnyrAYvCCrxaGZt6ll6wZ-CX-m9wjjyUCPnF5vVn2bbf6QOujpJr_-Y_dZkOzlfpfa8CPmi-I41ErSJMM7as55eQPAkyet6yLu5RLoJbn-BFAv0qawcabpbwjPqn9uMgHwqTH6/s1600/penpen+triicelon+manual.png" /></a></div>
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Lastly for this section: I wouldn't call it a mistake, but they really did basically just translate the Japanese manual for the most part--all of the screenshots are from the Japanese version of the game.<br />
<br />
<h3>
New in the English Manual</h3>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYktd1SQ6-_VUY97TraxGsUSFFfztNmK5SyZcKr_7zWljL9Ck2zy5D1qOWi0hn9yEJS5tcUx22ZqIR3CjqWOD1v-rE4Q60GpiR3sEGVqYksJ-DlZEhuKceoPl9BdlCgcgYz-xr9cFvC1K0/s1600/penpen+triicelon+secrets.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="1056" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYktd1SQ6-_VUY97TraxGsUSFFfztNmK5SyZcKr_7zWljL9Ck2zy5D1qOWi0hn9yEJS5tcUx22ZqIR3CjqWOD1v-rE4Q60GpiR3sEGVqYksJ-DlZEhuKceoPl9BdlCgcgYz-xr9cFvC1K0/s640/penpen+triicelon+secrets.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I MAY find a few surprises? yes or no, it's a simple question </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Not much new here...as before, for the most part the only real
changes between the two manuals are in page order and censoring the
smoking characters. However, the English manual teases secret characters
and levels with a luxurious two-page spread that honestly is kind of a
waste of space.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFLmQQtbHDHBM3DFDqcI5bsqlIQzBH3vbS3V-sNLQYfT_yTkv3EYQnE4lKvwW9oPESq1eeFYNG8UM3KPPYE1NcSuqYRcyUBuHSEBCoFbU7LaoFGEmiNQiQwx4mEQia2E_qxRe2NSx5gKO/s1600/helpline.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="694" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFLmQQtbHDHBM3DFDqcI5bsqlIQzBH3vbS3V-sNLQYfT_yTkv3EYQnE4lKvwW9oPESq1eeFYNG8UM3KPPYE1NcSuqYRcyUBuHSEBCoFbU7LaoFGEmiNQiQwx4mEQia2E_qxRe2NSx5gKO/s640/helpline.png" width="633" /></a></div>
<br />
Lastly we have a relic of the late 90s: the Help Line phone service. Most developers and publishers had these! Did anyone ever use them? The only time I ever called a hint line was when I was about nine years old. I don't think it was developer-specific though, just a generic Hot Tipz To Win service; I couldn't get past the mine cart level in Sega Genesis Taz-Mania because I didn't know you could press forward to speed up. I was, and remain, a dumbass.<br />
<br />
I wish I had called some more of these before the internet made them obsolete though! Wonder if Infogrames still maintains their help line?<br />
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ahhRibbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-3914622998884201552017-06-15T22:22:00.001-07:002017-06-16T06:22:17.673-07:00Weird Sports Games 4 - Pen Pen TriIcelon (Dreamcast, 1998)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvRCrE8p6h1onjLsExoHukKf9dl7ZJmPpTkSkA_UvVsEI_aWkwuHQQhX2FGCtKm5PKmdQjPFOmNTO6tBQC6w_bjanWOAijlHMrdjk9IoAtShONhC5dcaF0hknZHycLUzlBzYgobESWvdD/s1600/JP02_PENPEN+TRIICELON.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="703" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvRCrE8p6h1onjLsExoHukKf9dl7ZJmPpTkSkA_UvVsEI_aWkwuHQQhX2FGCtKm5PKmdQjPFOmNTO6tBQC6w_bjanWOAijlHMrdjk9IoAtShONhC5dcaF0hknZHycLUzlBzYgobESWvdD/s640/JP02_PENPEN+TRIICELON.png" width="640" /></a> </div>
<h3>
Pen Pen TriIcelon (General Entertainment, 1998)</h3>
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Pen Pen TriIcelon (Ice Triathlon, get it) received deservedly mixed reviews, but I can think of one award it deserves: clunkiest title ever. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the confusing title hurt its sales in the US (in Europe it was simplified to the less irritating Pen Pen).<br />
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This game should be seen and heard in motion to fully appreciate. I think the developers were trying to make something cute and funny and influenced by American cartoons...I think. What they ended up with is something off putting at best and straight repulsive at worst. Look at this shit:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjN7_6Ggcy9r0UGKjDY_BLpPwLGHeDjWNMg6JF0TDZblMHNBrevG8EJeU4c-Kftq3k1QXTeVxZnItALs-XfZzPy0LzHc0DwE9Puf7UU5RyRqszgFqKD081UEnvu_E88mKBGCgrFhVkqD5/s1600/17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjN7_6Ggcy9r0UGKjDY_BLpPwLGHeDjWNMg6JF0TDZblMHNBrevG8EJeU4c-Kftq3k1QXTeVxZnItALs-XfZzPy0LzHc0DwE9Puf7UU5RyRqszgFqKD081UEnvu_E88mKBGCgrFhVkqD5/s1600/17.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"HEY, KIDS"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3wUZE40Qjq8pVvakqjdr3eT-lqyTlwtnLMn0DjvHwm1EVXW3accmQ1FIK_QqfLQabADSG2f2SE1wKZpIVILXLj-dhDcd-qrD62k9huiMq1do-uCCoL-XczNo0WQn1Zo29piM1_QQnCOG/s1600/11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="638" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3wUZE40Qjq8pVvakqjdr3eT-lqyTlwtnLMn0DjvHwm1EVXW3accmQ1FIK_QqfLQabADSG2f2SE1wKZpIVILXLj-dhDcd-qrD62k9huiMq1do-uCCoL-XczNo0WQn1Zo29piM1_QQnCOG/s640/11.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa</td></tr>
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I know I'm charmed!<br />
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Okay, so the character design leaves something (a lot of something) to be desired, but Pen Pen is incredibly colorful, fascinating to look at, and let's be real--if it weren't also kinda grotesque I probably wouldn't remember it today. The characters bounce and stretch in cartoonish ways that you didn't see very often in 3D games.<br />
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<h3>
The Music</h3>
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Nightmarish. I mean it's actually well done, just...exhaustingly wacky and loud, and I'd say the magnified American cartoon influence on this game is most strong in the sound department. God Bless This Hot Mess:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K66H1ibyiEE" width="560"></iframe>
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Actually, I can recommend something similar but better to this game's OST, and like Pen Pen it's also American style toon music from Japan! Plus-Tech Squeeze Box is a great "picopop" electronic band that makes similar high-energy, zany music:<br />
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Oh yeah...that's exactly where you wanna be.<br />
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<h3>
The Game</h3>
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</h3>
What about the actual game, though? Actually...I'm into it. A racing game through deranged amusement park style tracks with even more deranged space monster birds! I love small, arcade style games that polish up their small amount of content by always giving you new things to look at or slight variations on the core gameplay.<br />
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For example, the "Tri" in TriIcelon (ugh) refers to three sports that I assume space penguins love to play--waddling, swimming, and belly sliding, each with their own control schemes and obstacles. How does it control, you may ask? Pretty bad. Let's get into the game modes!<br />
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<b>Sliding: </b>The most fun event by far. It's the fastest and most rewarding mode to do well in! Glowing boost powerups are scattered around the track--make use of them if you want the lead. Drifting and proper rhythm in swinging your arms is crucial to keep your penguin's speed up, making the skill ceiling in this mode a bit higher than the others. Think of it kinda like a snowboarding game.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What is this unholy place I've ended up in</td></tr>
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<b>Waddling: </b>Some bullshit. Waddling is the weakest event but the one where you can most easily screw over your opponents as you now have a dashing attack. Unfortunately, because Pen Pens are about as bad at sprinting as real penguins are, avoiding all the walls, ledges and pinball bouncers strewn about this leg of the course can be frustrating.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Character designs aside the game looks beautiful</td></tr>
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<b>Swimming:</b> Similar to the sliding event, but now you're moving vertically as well as horizontally through an obstacle packed river/underwater tunnel. As with the other modes a big key to doing well is hitting the boost spots, though it's a little tougher in this event. Not as challenging as sliding, but not bad!<br />
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As mentioned, theme park attraction feel of each of the four courses enhances the weirdness of the atmosphere and fills the stages up with colorful and interesting things to deal with. Something about this is right up my alley! I just love small games with lots of visual variety. The overwhelming oddness of the game as a whole really gives Pen Pen that unique, idiosyncratic Dreamcast flavor.<br />
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Here's something unique, too:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9M-Xnz9RoGYxVYkIjXzZopt9r5xMufERtf70FgO0rVfbPmMlTVn0mvQhHurdCofm1C0EcriejsYSq5u9iMzIFBK33LPYxwDy9nCeIc3CwrYxFTen4LEmCFboeJBpJZaEUEIOIm8ziU0ak/s1600/penpen+triicelon+unga_en.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="525" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9M-Xnz9RoGYxVYkIjXzZopt9r5xMufERtf70FgO0rVfbPmMlTVn0mvQhHurdCofm1C0EcriejsYSq5u9iMzIFBK33LPYxwDy9nCeIc3CwrYxFTen4LEmCFboeJBpJZaEUEIOIm8ziU0ak/s1600/penpen+triicelon+unga_en.png" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not Touching This One</td></tr>
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Jesus. Come on, General Entertainment.<br />
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My shock at this guy being the owner of the Jungle stage is second only to the fact that Sega gave this the OK to bring to America with no changes! Now I KNOW that nobody else but me played this game. Ignorance aside, some of the other characters are pretty cool, like the vaguely sinister Bambi Mask:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjw0QUdnezZK7D7NtIOOnbKNKZ3WXjocRKmq3lWAJz43oMrAdl9sVSAxRSBzKRtAgNZjNM8qF-yryYN429GHcdpOqf_Ahn0p5y1lqQxczCNWXuI4wC8NqCCoGdZjZr2_MAB_eB0NvBMzNL/s1600/00000007.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjw0QUdnezZK7D7NtIOOnbKNKZ3WXjocRKmq3lWAJz43oMrAdl9sVSAxRSBzKRtAgNZjNM8qF-yryYN429GHcdpOqf_Ahn0p5y1lqQxczCNWXuI4wC8NqCCoGdZjZr2_MAB_eB0NvBMzNL/s640/00000007.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a bunch of fun loving, totally normal looking creatures</td></tr>
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By the way; do any of these characters look at all familiar to you, Dreamcast Fans? <i>Maybe from one of the best games of all time, Climax Graphics' Blue Stinger??</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjst9UZckNS_ZMtRFsaKx0Lex7_G14ZgOPOImQPLRjv3DAI3NdlD26qE-SzCSfX1XyxtrWs5oFqZTXffFGD_7hTEKPFaCOeV6QU8BSsqHZ3ZltoKfMUSeqzRyiiELnbzg64f-2tqbG2Z04e/s1600/blue+stinger+penpen+triicelon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="675" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjst9UZckNS_ZMtRFsaKx0Lex7_G14ZgOPOImQPLRjv3DAI3NdlD26qE-SzCSfX1XyxtrWs5oFqZTXffFGD_7hTEKPFaCOeV6QU8BSsqHZ3ZltoKfMUSeqzRyiiELnbzg64f-2tqbG2Z04e/s640/blue+stinger+penpen+triicelon.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why on Earth are PenPen characters in this game too??</td></tr>
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Honestly, I can't figure out what's going on with the development of Pen Pen TriIcelon. The characters in Pen Pen are featured prominently early on in Blue Stinger, and Pen Pen seems like exactly the kind of bizarre and tone deaf game Climax Graphics would make. The thing is, Pen Pen was developed by a company called General Entertainment, and Climax's name appears nowhere in the game. Why the crossover between these two? In the end, I guess game just recognize game.<br />
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However, when you boot up Pen Pen the company name that appears is not even General Entertainment; it's a company called Land Ho! They were probably just an internal team within General Entertainment. In any case, who could care about all this; I've got <i>one more</i> strange little thing to mention here...<br />
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<h3>
The Weird Loading Screens</h3>
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So...is anyone else inexplicably creeped out by the loading screens? Something about these hideous bastards being in the real world just doesn't sit right with me. And judging by the insignia on those mailboxes, these photos were taken in Sweden. But...why? What a mysterious game.<br />
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Give Pen Pen TriIcelon a try, preferably with at least one friend; as with many Dreamcast games, it's got 4-player splitscreen. For all the shit I talk on it, it really is a fun game that's worth seeing just for its oddness.Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-85447204663052639432017-06-01T08:41:00.000-07:002017-06-01T09:00:53.389-07:00Planet Harriers (Sega - 2005, PSP)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1EArcqSM0D9_r9-vuHNLFXziW-38d9-koBwaSmCVVnuSere6D3ciNaIUS_bVLE4yNrzo8dVyRfqi6mQbQArUqNvgibJC8qLJeSnYbGbVKThE7KJ19wXOIZjd1wL-N7PZjEOWkWsWtZ-h/s1600/planet+harriers+PSP+04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="655" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1EArcqSM0D9_r9-vuHNLFXziW-38d9-koBwaSmCVVnuSere6D3ciNaIUS_bVLE4yNrzo8dVyRfqi6mQbQArUqNvgibJC8qLJeSnYbGbVKThE7KJ19wXOIZjd1wL-N7PZjEOWkWsWtZ-h/s640/planet+harriers+PSP+04.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A port of the 2000 arcade game and spiritual sequel to the Space Harrier series.</td></tr>
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Planet Harriers was a long overdue entry in the Space Harrier series, which hadn't seen a new game since 1998's Space Harrier 2 on the Genesis. Originally running on Sega's Hikaru hardware, which was just a <i>bit</i> too beefy to port perfectly to the Dreamcast. To have it on a home console though, I would've taken whatever graphical cuts they had to make. This game is fast and loud and totally awesome with that inimitable "SEGA" feeling. You know what I'm talking about.</div>
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It's nice that this unworthy, ungrateful Earth finally got a new Harrier game in Planet Harriers, but that was 17 years ago; hook us up, Sega.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9u1bUB4nfzspvUgnbJZeZtltQ5dH3UudA7OWC-k3XPYoKTo_5WSCtcMjPSko_Zk4Zlvqsew8RXr7U3QD5mcZCTtO6wy4GgeFVdBtrAI1HxHN-4VJERTVd2zf5bNWLeXO5MjSTHhpwVhG/s1600/planet+harriers+01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="964" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9u1bUB4nfzspvUgnbJZeZtltQ5dH3UudA7OWC-k3XPYoKTo_5WSCtcMjPSko_Zk4Zlvqsew8RXr7U3QD5mcZCTtO6wy4GgeFVdBtrAI1HxHN-4VJERTVd2zf5bNWLeXO5MjSTHhpwVhG/s640/planet+harriers+01.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, where's Harrier?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-o2XOUONop-qAV5W9UBNBRzDjMC5MGq2ye7hvYkqDBGiWgYlHeihMU0fGRhdYwxgfVDyRZgaBxu5_H77RO87CenOr-mZ0GYrlEB7wAwVYQR35XLffDTybU5EJShfL2yMZ8LD7lMpC6c9/s1600/planet+harriers+02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="964" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-o2XOUONop-qAV5W9UBNBRzDjMC5MGq2ye7hvYkqDBGiWgYlHeihMU0fGRhdYwxgfVDyRZgaBxu5_H77RO87CenOr-mZ0GYrlEB7wAwVYQR35XLffDTybU5EJShfL2yMZ8LD7lMpC6c9/s640/planet+harriers+02.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't think this is proper space harrier-ing gear, but I'm not the one with the syringe cannon</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPevMdRzuXnAz5PLKWwbFlg2627qvsk26ubOxfqnfJXTUnJrS1-iejhYIL2FGXfLyVMYMQ2y-tHqDf459_RoF_OBtW4pcmbDMeWK6kbb9LO6dgUDM0LVpTlXPAKr1oPdBwRxvKucE6TWW/s1600/planet+harriers+03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="964" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPevMdRzuXnAz5PLKWwbFlg2627qvsk26ubOxfqnfJXTUnJrS1-iejhYIL2FGXfLyVMYMQ2y-tHqDf459_RoF_OBtW4pcmbDMeWK6kbb9LO6dgUDM0LVpTlXPAKr1oPdBwRxvKucE6TWW/s640/planet+harriers+03.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYJupeQJ6b5-iFQ00TZBCR9EJ2OEs7SR5NSl55CW9WEp0HcG_qozxYfStDoJxyinct9Z2aeFhrYNaEStfEJsSxnhEcBqz8ztjfLfH1VgdQqfVQrwlWvO_HNfNoUV6dgbJDYdsdRX7gvL_/s1600/planet+harriers+04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="964" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYJupeQJ6b5-iFQ00TZBCR9EJ2OEs7SR5NSl55CW9WEp0HcG_qozxYfStDoJxyinct9Z2aeFhrYNaEStfEJsSxnhEcBqz8ztjfLfH1VgdQqfVQrwlWvO_HNfNoUV6dgbJDYdsdRX7gvL_/s640/planet+harriers+04.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The graphics are of course still awesome in their way, but I remember thinking just how INCREDIBLE this looked</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4HlPLIjCdzMoGwXLWbR1WwO31sqC_qQ2eVBZAUhKZ1mypZE3Ot33N1c6koG1yqZfhGoP5CjVi1ac8X5BjKiTxG5lmlWUUHG_QoiLAEhMT9xCzQxdXeTVpYJHeq4g8nNOIi_ZQy6Y9fc9/s1600/planet+harriers+PSP+02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="643" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4HlPLIjCdzMoGwXLWbR1WwO31sqC_qQ2eVBZAUhKZ1mypZE3Ot33N1c6koG1yqZfhGoP5CjVi1ac8X5BjKiTxG5lmlWUUHG_QoiLAEhMT9xCzQxdXeTVpYJHeq4g8nNOIi_ZQy6Y9fc9/s640/planet+harriers+PSP+02.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKOrWhh6dq745Wh3wTIGQth6r_WI5t1EXzczKjI5Cwvkz313gjXfCc5sqBdlvycaJ-G2aaCmaYGMQh8LIZuqYf67xr6Zwjp-clGw4kbANCq71s4AQ2XAYLy5G9I9ladw6d9Hs1klsXvLb/s1600/planet+harriers+PSP+03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="655" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKOrWhh6dq745Wh3wTIGQth6r_WI5t1EXzczKjI5Cwvkz313gjXfCc5sqBdlvycaJ-G2aaCmaYGMQh8LIZuqYf67xr6Zwjp-clGw4kbANCq71s4AQ2XAYLy5G9I9ladw6d9Hs1klsXvLb/s640/planet+harriers+PSP+03.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So hard to keep these in good shape if you don't put them back in the case...</td></tr>
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My latest acquisition!...I wish. Really need to get a new PSP eventually now that I've found my copies of Outrun 2 and Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles, though.Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-21988668098490973182017-05-31T17:16:00.001-07:002017-06-01T15:08:29.843-07:00Weird Sports Games 3 - Dashin' Desperadoes (Genesis, 1993)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocsb0a1v0j9xAxehCpaTBLgPrh3__JPWlPouBRSajosO_Cv0qrHAf-IoAxc0zWlIyU6bDrJ1kme8WDMuVqTduzHfziigX3e99fgvdFBJY_Kzz98TLQeTrlS6oyzNm8oNp6nUM0UpR-CPw/s1600/dashin_desperadoes_03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="809" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocsb0a1v0j9xAxehCpaTBLgPrh3__JPWlPouBRSajosO_Cv0qrHAf-IoAxc0zWlIyU6bDrJ1kme8WDMuVqTduzHfziigX3e99fgvdFBJY_Kzz98TLQeTrlS6oyzNm8oNp6nUM0UpR-CPw/s640/dashin_desperadoes_03.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Dashin' Desperadoes (Data East, 1993)</h3>
Let's get THIS shit out of the way right now:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCxAxr0vHVWmrVOKjmFnR83F6fT6v_K_x89ebuxCmFmwHxinzycLd6gw-XuunjiYJzWwfC5PD12-XBjsZcNCqjFmVg03VNWfSEENi2es-rMGsY_Og8-GqU1HdI9_kK9TdYLjFazMOt2VN/s1600/dd01.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="900" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCxAxr0vHVWmrVOKjmFnR83F6fT6v_K_x89ebuxCmFmwHxinzycLd6gw-XuunjiYJzWwfC5PD12-XBjsZcNCqjFmVg03VNWfSEENi2es-rMGsY_Og8-GqU1HdI9_kK9TdYLjFazMOt2VN/s640/dd01.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HOWWWWWWWWWWDY~</td></tr>
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Okay! Dashin' Desperadoes strains the premise of these "weird sports" posts quite a lot I'll admit. Even though there's a ton of platforming, bomb throwing and enemy-jumping-on, if your goal is to reach the end of the stage before someone else that makes it a racing game, right? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGK8P1Z7YnqUjKcOnrLg2TgJJSrJYfpCaaGTPVAWGj4x7ROQylI33xZVucFKUQ-tuqLkCqyhKMS77ZiphDCvue2wslwa7lKgwiTIQGkMmtMzIDiuBCpCmC135AEO-oJhxzL6mu5ozc2bG/s1600/dashin_desperadoes_02.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="809" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGK8P1Z7YnqUjKcOnrLg2TgJJSrJYfpCaaGTPVAWGj4x7ROQylI33xZVucFKUQ-tuqLkCqyhKMS77ZiphDCvue2wslwa7lKgwiTIQGkMmtMzIDiuBCpCmC135AEO-oJhxzL6mu5ozc2bG/s640/dashin_desperadoes_02.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's the classic story; Cool cowdudes Will and Rick were lifelong pals until Jenny came to town. Will and Rick love Jenny. Jenny loves BLOODSPORT.</div>
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With the promise of a kiss their only reward, Will and Rick brutally fight-race each other across the world to be the first to reach Jenny. The rest of the world, knowing a couple of dipshits when they see them, are here to dish out beatings of their own.</div>
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Aside from the novelty of a 2-player footracing game, the variety of injury animations are the biggest draw of Dashin' Desperadoes. People will open doors in your face, birds will try to carry you away, dogs will chomp down on your pants, trucks will stop<b> just so they can back over you</b>...the Western (as in, not Japanese) art style really gives the impression that Data East was aiming for a playable cartoon, and I'm here for it. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LqdCJ7hIiENPnPCY7eQDrwecUIjxVhc_dd9jzacsJO1CD8FVx7CIq6L3Ia88OqYUaeNREdLIQsrgJ_YUv_74uVHGYoipf51GRbQ-jRraIOvv_T3e0xY_UDCaPop6n4g4aITyZV3DeQTZ/s1600/01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LqdCJ7hIiENPnPCY7eQDrwecUIjxVhc_dd9jzacsJO1CD8FVx7CIq6L3Ia88OqYUaeNREdLIQsrgJ_YUv_74uVHGYoipf51GRbQ-jRraIOvv_T3e0xY_UDCaPop6n4g4aITyZV3DeQTZ/s640/01.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">burning to death AND about to get mauled as your best bud skateboards away</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Sd519RlTnmYGynx8BVH3DZUIFFW327ZLK0_WavYzNUQqQkRExK9Up9rjYstAoUVzjcWmIB_yL5JvJhsWoYwXDHOaPR8ZuAgJxpmHl1j9TqzkGxMvSQ4DyC2eEbs1uoPaX4riW1i3hyAt/s1600/02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Sd519RlTnmYGynx8BVH3DZUIFFW327ZLK0_WavYzNUQqQkRExK9Up9rjYstAoUVzjcWmIB_yL5JvJhsWoYwXDHOaPR8ZuAgJxpmHl1j9TqzkGxMvSQ4DyC2eEbs1uoPaX4riW1i3hyAt/s640/02.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of fun animation</td></tr>
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The soundtrack is EXTREMELY ROOTIN' AND TOOTIN'; not remarkable but plenty energetic for the mad dash action. The graphics are kind of a mixed bag, though. Compared to its <a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2010/11/spin_master_virtual_console" target="_blank">Neo Geo cousin Spin Master,</a> Dashin' Desperadoes' could be way more colorful. The small viewing area (split screen is enabled even in single player mode) is a bummer too because it can be hard to get your bearings and see what's coming up ahead. The higher-res effect used in Sonic 2's split screen race mode would have gone to great use here!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lVmebJ0OgLOae2ZGJgwBjV9n9TMpwX8FSsmCzqT8zg4FR6-pFzCyGOCkYbmVVTcOxqxxDB8MU6HZfBFyBv4wF3G3CrYqteZs-_sumBLfixVUWvqPbJBw37Of_-_-0RG5Bqjw8D1SAP1A/s1600/s2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="639" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lVmebJ0OgLOae2ZGJgwBjV9n9TMpwX8FSsmCzqT8zg4FR6-pFzCyGOCkYbmVVTcOxqxxDB8MU6HZfBFyBv4wF3G3CrYqteZs-_sumBLfixVUWvqPbJBw37Of_-_-0RG5Bqjw8D1SAP1A/s640/s2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really--look it up!</td></tr>
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Every couple of races, Rick--or maybe Will--will kidnap Jenny and force you to blow his truck up to get her back. However, all is forgiven between Jenny and her kidnapper afterward and the chase begins anew. These three were made for each other!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNI4JuedwF5iOxNtsL7IYZUbQzw0soIGTs4EagEaHDqdQQSvU8wDLU0bnlBcYDSxsJfuwld9EtsNCvDkQjsmOxrVjUyQRE3DIxLI5o70V5-pjidXX8qk5w3MXlvS1jeCCdM5ni-_9LVkkU/s1600/truck.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="588" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNI4JuedwF5iOxNtsL7IYZUbQzw0soIGTs4EagEaHDqdQQSvU8wDLU0bnlBcYDSxsJfuwld9EtsNCvDkQjsmOxrVjUyQRE3DIxLI5o70V5-pjidXX8qk5w3MXlvS1jeCCdM5ni-_9LVkkU/s640/truck.png" width="640" /></a></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: a good screenshot</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The two-player mode is st where moof the fun comes from, though! Stage layouts are different and of course screwing over a real life opponent with bombs is much more entertaining than playing against the CPU. Unfortunately, the truck chase stages are replaced with a less interesting minigame.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduw8wduZ9JhcZHeYnOsh5r7kMKQKMx4cN2QK8XvUPnfQHVVb_H6uYkdHV7LaW4hUVXQH3CLgh0Kkj8ldCNWX4Zgudg5ncXBdVyvGLeB-tNOPZSzdQUhz9ni4ZPB_InFIOQHO7bcbsrwqw/s1600/05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduw8wduZ9JhcZHeYnOsh5r7kMKQKMx4cN2QK8XvUPnfQHVVb_H6uYkdHV7LaW4hUVXQH3CLgh0Kkj8ldCNWX4Zgudg5ncXBdVyvGLeB-tNOPZSzdQUhz9ni4ZPB_InFIOQHO7bcbsrwqw/s640/05.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Dashin' Desperadoes was only released in the US, though a look at the prototype ROM shows that a Japan release was planned under the title Rumble Kids. Maybe this is the reason the game is a <i>little </i>expensive on ebay. If you can find a player two then you should give it a shot, pardner!<br />
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Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-46527798426652447762017-05-29T20:32:00.003-07:002017-06-01T15:07:08.679-07:00Weird Sports Games 2 - Cosmic Smash (Dreamcast, 2000)<br />
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<h3>
Cosmic Smash (Sega Rosso, 2000) </h3>
I can only think of a small handful of games that set out with a dead simple purpose and execute it to perfection. Cosmic Smash is one of those games: a single laser-focused idea--What If Rez Was A Sports Game Instead Of A Shooter--polished to a diamond shine that would make any Sega fan proud to have it in their collection.<br />
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Who's Sega Rosso? A small internal team at Sega known mostly for their racing games. Before long they were absorbed into another internal developer called Hitmaker, where they continued making badass Dreamcast and arcade games. <br />
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If the 1980's was Sega's "Blue Skies" era, defined by such games as Outrun, Fantasy Zone and Afterburner, I think the Naomi/Dreamcast era of the early 2000s will be remembered as their "SUPER CLEAN FUTURE" era (somebody please give me a cooler sounding name than that). This might be a personal view but outside of Sonic and fighting games, Sega in the Dreamcast era means Space Channel 5, Rez, Chu Chu Rocket and of course Cosmic Smash.<span style="color: #666666;"></span> <br />
These four superb games all took place in a world presumably a long way from ours, far from the present time. The presentation is particularly striking in all of them, featuring clean lines and large swaths of featureless white and black that pop with bright, punchy colors. They tend to range from fantasy/comedy (Chu Chu Rocket) to narrative-driven games with varying tone (the retro-futuristic mood of Space Channel 5 couldn't be more different than the dark cyber fairytale/creation story of Rez).<br />
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On the other hand our boy Cosmic Smash is unique as a tight, straightforward and impersonal arcade action game almost entirely removed from any narrative--quite a bit different than most arcade games that lean hard on character-driven presentation. Let's check it out!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Disc, as you can see, is Totally Sick</td></tr>
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Calling it "Rez but Sports" is actually totally inaccurate outside of the look of the thing; it's more like the real world game of Squash (tennis, but your opponent is a wall) mixed with Breakout or Taito's Arkanoid (destroying all blocks to continue).<br />
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Your character/robot/artificial intelligence/whatever finds itself in a series of blank, futuristic rooms with a ball, a paddle and an increasingly complex pattern of translucent bricks to pop any way you can. I say "any way you can", but there are only two ways to do it: regular shots and Trick Smashes. Carefully aiming by tapping the joystick in the desired direction as the character winds up its shot lets you bounce the ball wherever you want once you get the hang of it, and aiming one way then quickly doubling back puts a satisfying curve on your shot that is vital for getting around unblockable obstacle blocks later.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">POWERING UP A NASTY TRICK SMASH</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8IzE7cUV6WP3pnePOaBgyzHrr0YQSoajKxmMM6Zm9KykAufyhOPbuXOkgvMn2KYADzVJEboaeYPVWcJypozHESRaMB2uX2D9Aq4vOPKBcv69n5XcytGEA7kyB5WnuaOLcw2vK6rIkZsUy/s1600/cosmic+smash+sc+09.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8IzE7cUV6WP3pnePOaBgyzHrr0YQSoajKxmMM6Zm9KykAufyhOPbuXOkgvMn2KYADzVJEboaeYPVWcJypozHESRaMB2uX2D9Aq4vOPKBcv69n5XcytGEA7kyB5WnuaOLcw2vK6rIkZsUy/s640/cosmic+smash+sc+09.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NASTY SLOW MOTION REPLAY AFTER A TRICK FINISH</td></tr>
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Simple as the game is, Trick Smashes are where the game really opens up in terms of variety. To perform a Trick Smash, press the Y button and a direction. The character will start flashing red and yellow as the ball flies straight toward them. Depending on which direction you held when you pressed Y, you'll do one of a variety of cool and sometimes gravity-defying trick shots that will blow through multiple blocks without bouncing back until the ball strikes a wall.<br />
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Powering up a Trick Smash also quickly eats through your time though, so use them only when you're sure to blast a bunch of blocks simultaneously (and to finish the last block off whenever possible...Trick Finishes are where the bulk of your score comes from once you start getting serious!).<br />
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For years I thought there were about 6 Trick Smashes. Somehow, THERE ARE 28<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJBthaNSfbiQAs_Tm5pfiadV9TaoRjZq26hfH71Sz6Bj4dFyG6Z8ApeFtfEqe5x261buRVK8lTKE5Me75Y2JY920tHzvOcMZDuV8Z-oEX3VXeJquPoECNW738aTsR6eSB33iuIH_teAff/s1600/manual01.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="765" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJBthaNSfbiQAs_Tm5pfiadV9TaoRjZq26hfH71Sz6Bj4dFyG6Z8ApeFtfEqe5x261buRVK8lTKE5Me75Y2JY920tHzvOcMZDuV8Z-oEX3VXeJquPoECNW738aTsR6eSB33iuIH_teAff/s640/manual01.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosmic Crotch--not worth that many points but it's #1 in my heart</td></tr>
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I don't even understand how to do some of these, but a big part of it is whether you're on the ground, in the air, or somersaulting off of the wall when you execute the shot. On the one hand it's awesome do do a stylish finish, but on the other hand there are only a couple that will award the maximum 300,000 bonus points so why not only do those? A video of a player showboating would be great though, because I still haven't seen most of these moves.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jL42YoT-NYTiTMIqqL4Bak6WRlyw_I19oST0Fk786UHamdfxDQSHc-NzLXFtnXoGxEUxehUvhGl_joYb-faxHcCUtZJQn2K_gu2SvuIcGgGgDeMxkXPnRgkbOA69kkL9mApzS2JnoF2_/s1600/cosmic_smash02.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="812" height="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jL42YoT-NYTiTMIqqL4Bak6WRlyw_I19oST0Fk786UHamdfxDQSHc-NzLXFtnXoGxEUxehUvhGl_joYb-faxHcCUtZJQn2K_gu2SvuIcGgGgDeMxkXPnRgkbOA69kkL9mApzS2JnoF2_/s640/cosmic_smash02.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The presentation is clean and on point, inside and out</td></tr>
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Let's look at the packaging some more. Unlike...every other Dreamcast game (?) Cosmic Smash came in a transparent DVD sized case. Interestingly, the case insert isn't the opaque paper stock you see in every other game--note the visible disc. The insert was printed on translucent white vellum, and that's fucking awesome. Way to be, Cosmic Smash!<br />
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So what's the story in this game? You're not liable to get much from just playing it, even though all voice work is presented in English by a strange, monotone narrator (mostly relegated to announcing the name of the stage you're entering and instructing you to "have a blast"). The modular series of neon-lit rooms are laid out on a map similar to a rail line, with each stage designated a name and number.<br />
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Not many clues from the main character either...your avatar is definitely human male shaped but also obviously not human. On the other hand, after exerting itself it breathes laboriously, which is strange for a wireframe computer boy. Doubling back when running across the stage makes the sound of tennis shoes squeaking on a hardwood floor too. He's even wearing a ring on the boxart! The juxtaposition of relatable sounds and visual cues against a sterile, alien setting is a definite stylistic choice, but who knows if they were going for something other than stylishness. Honestly I'm not too caught up in the Deepest Lore of Cosmic Smash, but it's interesting to point out the incongruity of its presentation (and I'm trying to write longer blog posts).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPRL_eszNjTj-EOKtkdY93JwEg1YxHMwlRZTOlhnkWMaCoiZyESdH5EpXKqCMkx186g5VIwcE0p7WYr1XHEY7rVAU9uwN2BlNdk-wYgfVgDNtAFronV2MBXxNEuuYymfqvrteAuHv8ZEQ/s1600/cosmic+smash+sc+02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPRL_eszNjTj-EOKtkdY93JwEg1YxHMwlRZTOlhnkWMaCoiZyESdH5EpXKqCMkx186g5VIwcE0p7WYr1XHEY7rVAU9uwN2BlNdk-wYgfVgDNtAFronV2MBXxNEuuYymfqvrteAuHv8ZEQ/s640/cosmic+smash+sc+02.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's how you miss a shot like a champion</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2GuzMyo73OtQRyaOHyhYdYXrYmj8jLJEP6IY-0NiZ6hKxlm3-iSSOwMy5miHhhcUFXVWoLOjOnvgmCCV7s-te7x7lIlX_FRHVYVdsMjMs906N2zk8rWM1aUYYRPEmzhQP_1CfNsY7zSD/s1600/cosmic+smash+sc+07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2GuzMyo73OtQRyaOHyhYdYXrYmj8jLJEP6IY-0NiZ6hKxlm3-iSSOwMy5miHhhcUFXVWoLOjOnvgmCCV7s-te7x7lIlX_FRHVYVdsMjMs906N2zk8rWM1aUYYRPEmzhQP_1CfNsY7zSD/s640/cosmic+smash+sc+07.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trick Smash around the Unbreakable Hyper Pillow for Massive Gamerscore</td></tr>
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One last thing to mention: the internet ranking! Like some other Sega games, you'll be given a password and website to enter your results into a worldwide scoreboard. The site is gone now of course, so you'll just have to take my 80000000000 score for granted.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxK3QbV39wnd9KOAzhsQXdhIm0w7zSSkSCHLLH2WbFkh7V3CFHpqnBsQzV9V7q-X1zSxZE2PWl7-1eQBTN4fXHNH2hh6bq-zbqKpEPEup3qfM2r_RuTJ8pUHkJi5dehPdQBRhQ07XwuHKr/s1600/cosmic_smash11.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="849" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxK3QbV39wnd9KOAzhsQXdhIm0w7zSSkSCHLLH2WbFkh7V3CFHpqnBsQzV9V7q-X1zSxZE2PWl7-1eQBTN4fXHNH2hh6bq-zbqKpEPEup3qfM2r_RuTJ8pUHkJi5dehPdQBRhQ07XwuHKr/s640/cosmic_smash11.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm far from the first person to wax poetic about Cosmic Smash, and if you're a regular reader you probably already knew about the game--for a much more eloquent take about the game have a look at <a href="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/cosmicsmash/cosmicsmash.htm" target="_blank">Brian Crimmins' article on HardcoreGaming101</a>. I had to use the "Weird Sports Games" series as an excuse to talk about the jewel of my Dreamcast collection, though! Also, I made it through this whole post without using the word minimalist! I should get a trophy.<br />
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The game is expensive now; around 70 USD on ebay last time I checked. If you can't get a physical copy, at least give it a few plays on emulator. When the gameplay clicks, trying to reach the end of the many multiple routes is addictive! Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-54221993201751061812017-05-24T03:09:00.001-07:002017-05-24T03:31:03.503-07:00Weird Sports Games 1 - RUNNING HIGH (Playstation, 1997)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5H7wG0PhvvEJ9nv2i3EseX6JnuWEfV01PaFClUKTYDYXDm9Yzn46gYmSHace17S_H-1_oI8hs35BNJMYc-qpxH-w8b8882cgVbCi30kM6pW0UMtZMuBPtr-hM4hT4ASQohhiLzfvb2ED/s1600/2photo-front02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="860" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5H7wG0PhvvEJ9nv2i3EseX6JnuWEfV01PaFClUKTYDYXDm9Yzn46gYmSHace17S_H-1_oI8hs35BNJMYc-qpxH-w8b8882cgVbCi30kM6pW0UMtZMuBPtr-hM4hT4ASQohhiLzfvb2ED/s640/2photo-front02.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<b>Running High (1997 System Sacom)</b></h3>
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I love weird sports games; particularly weird <i>racing</i> games, because the rules are so much simpler and more, let's say, malleable than your baseballs and footballs. Also, without being constrained to a specific setting like a regulation style playing field, racing games can throw all kinds of oddball ideas around. For this reason I like fantasy golf games a lot too!<br />
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Sure the settings are mostly window dressing, but sometimes the window dressing is so goofy it can make a relatively shitty game compelling. Case in point: Running High for the Sony Playstation. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEF9-QCUQfgtjKJyKfwHgPMtPedTVP1PJD0PM9oGbXHuFLuB6bIsggwAsr8H506-UOfObCRQS2W48KdmWgDKQKkwG8pdbFXPLoaaCYb27wBWA9cLwIATMZpAgEvLqlGaGa1ti0By0yqxm/s1600/1photo-disc.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEF9-QCUQfgtjKJyKfwHgPMtPedTVP1PJD0PM9oGbXHuFLuB6bIsggwAsr8H506-UOfObCRQS2W48KdmWgDKQKkwG8pdbFXPLoaaCYb27wBWA9cLwIATMZpAgEvLqlGaGa1ti0By0yqxm/s640/1photo-disc.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...but the lows are very, very low</td></tr>
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Here is the plot synopsis, from what I can gather by the (extremely difficult to read) text on the Options menu:<br />
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• In the year 2000 humans developed ALTAMET, a system that allowed the human brain to directly interface with machines.<br />
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• This led to the creation of robotic power suits known as Component Muscle. However, use of Component Muscle was deemed too dangerous to be used by just anyone due to the potential for criminal activity.<br />
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•Thus, Component Muscle was restricted to military use and in the ultimate Future Sport: RUNNING HIGH.<br />
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•None of this will come into play once the game starts.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1RmJRCN4X7bBAXdsHllRwPHz9TvhGNRIL-qoYQocNRIMz0SLLavyH8kPozX70bTKaYvMUPfTe520z_bLTm-hIK9-WTTU8w04Tkqlh6CCSFHtNDlytx55lUDDP_EkYPgetWB20INPRVBg/s1600/PSOGL2_059.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1RmJRCN4X7bBAXdsHllRwPHz9TvhGNRIL-qoYQocNRIMz0SLLavyH8kPozX70bTKaYvMUPfTe520z_bLTm-hIK9-WTTU8w04Tkqlh6CCSFHtNDlytx55lUDDP_EkYPgetWB20INPRVBg/s640/PSOGL2_059.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stages are few but look quite cool</td></tr>
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So, a racing game! Actually, if you've played other foot-racers like Sega's <i>Sonic R</i> you already have a decent picture of how Running High plays. Like conventional racing games you move via an accelerate and brake button, rather than simply pressing up to go forward. However, because turning sharp corners at 300 MPH is hard even for cyborgs, you can initiate a power slide move by tapping accelerate again while leaning into a turn. 95% of the time this will lead to your runner slamming into a wall and pinwheeling their arms comically while your opponents fly by. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJE9S_Y7IBD6NQB8_w7Www3ymOmnHoS11zuxvXE4MWTa8nLSAr59ZuLYaqQ5KS3Il84UrLNVG1n1loW9KSDKg-NtIH8veOm6clGJNtysOfFqBFzWqNjsRtZMUaoLUFdB45us03EsyF-U7/s1600/2014.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJE9S_Y7IBD6NQB8_w7Www3ymOmnHoS11zuxvXE4MWTa8nLSAr59ZuLYaqQ5KS3Il84UrLNVG1n1loW9KSDKg-NtIH8veOm6clGJNtysOfFqBFzWqNjsRtZMUaoLUFdB45us03EsyF-U7/s640/2014.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Futuristic</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqwCxeWBvCOGvPVowJsYS1YsuOwt-G9DvFqekBi7xiawUk61koFcYBRkif6giTv75SWV3pZpbbV8iNluQ6_LLOQlh6_yMBXba_fofMzRaApv7V91LBrZLNYFCwkSEfa3VTL3hfcRHcC1o/s1600/PSOGL2_010.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqwCxeWBvCOGvPVowJsYS1YsuOwt-G9DvFqekBi7xiawUk61koFcYBRkif6giTv75SWV3pZpbbV8iNluQ6_LLOQlh6_yMBXba_fofMzRaApv7V91LBrZLNYFCwkSEfa3VTL3hfcRHcC1o/s640/PSOGL2_010.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The power slide maneuver demonstrated by Mary, a purse-swinging secret character</td></tr>
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In addition to the powerslide, players can press L1 or R1 to throw a haymaker to either side when an opponent gets too close. You can get away with ignoring this move, but it can help to slow other racers down to avoid an attack from behind. You also get a nice turbo boost that appears to charge up as you tackle corners during the race.<br />
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The most important move in any Runner's repertoire is the jump attack. Get close behind an enemy and a crosshair will appear over them. Press L1 or R1 at this time to vault over them, slowing them down severely and giving you a good boost ahead. This is a super satisfying move to pull off on a foolish CPU opponent.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SOq3kvEEC5VxUuQKcb_SxycA3I7X7oCZ4Ld8CLcIY0hm_gZe3zhaXhEVG0YbBOy11gRCSgQC1hCt581pYVBBbQJ_tZa6ks5iyB_Lt-k1P6nL2i_oVYVf9wx4hpcsXwpfkCkwda-DzzU7/s1600/photo-manual01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="631" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SOq3kvEEC5VxUuQKcb_SxycA3I7X7oCZ4Ld8CLcIY0hm_gZe3zhaXhEVG0YbBOy11gRCSgQC1hCt581pYVBBbQJ_tZa6ks5iyB_Lt-k1P6nL2i_oVYVf9wx4hpcsXwpfkCkwda-DzzU7/s1600/photo-manual01.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If I were to tell you one of these guys was named Woody Winger, who would you assume it was?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmomENAv97XHXMxBKIb_qEIyDCggZI_tzxZBHSxSn9MbVvCROgKxMKUWb4kCnAsvT3AnSdQY52-EbEjEuwvWY6S1oSBbN_AE71r12TqYEKCTBidVnVwaduNmcH0ugvaHwkgzoXFQlk-W1U/s1600/photo-manual02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="631" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmomENAv97XHXMxBKIb_qEIyDCggZI_tzxZBHSxSn9MbVvCROgKxMKUWb4kCnAsvT3AnSdQY52-EbEjEuwvWY6S1oSBbN_AE71r12TqYEKCTBidVnVwaduNmcH0ugvaHwkgzoXFQlk-W1U/s1600/photo-manual02.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These super tiny illustrations in the manual add some character to the game</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbcO_7m3uqxdrF7IWraj_77lu7-dtLo1z7QWLwxegqC0nB8QdYlyU5swHuZgmqoazazCyvCJ71C2SwYMsv4uy5oBxpMWm-D4sRR_AW_wjGednghXcgs9KhBAjDtQzM8tLSiRzrMeEiS6W/s1600/photo-manual03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="631" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbcO_7m3uqxdrF7IWraj_77lu7-dtLo1z7QWLwxegqC0nB8QdYlyU5swHuZgmqoazazCyvCJ71C2SwYMsv4uy5oBxpMWm-D4sRR_AW_wjGednghXcgs9KhBAjDtQzM8tLSiRzrMeEiS6W/s1600/photo-manual03.png" /></a></div>
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Unfortunately, also like<i> Sonic R, </i>the controls in <i>Running High</i> are not very good. Moving feels weirdly stiff and the heavy speed loss when bumping into walls or getting hit by enemies is frustrating--placing higher than 5th requires some practice, and if you want to take 1st you'll need a measured touch to nail the jankiness of the power slide maneuver. The way you have to let off the run button to initiate the power slide is surprisingly fun though, and adds a welcome touch of depth to the game.<br />
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You'll also need some luck; your fellow racers are a bunch of
complete assholes who do not hesitate to rubber-band up to you even if
you're playing perfectly, and will use the Jump move to handspring right
over your head while tossing off a rude comment for good measure.
Making proper use of your turbo and jumping over your opponents too is absolutely essential.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSEpeC3iMqjZE4QL0Omp3zz7hzUmsRlZ1IHVb5Ff6QL5XfsXpKNdNhRa1CR7eQsU0FcyAkQqiu-k_qYaf7vUOC-D7gGptFtQBtqjfcJ9KeoNheyfAwC2weUK3Tl-3dgt2LzIzlDA21b1j/s1600/woody+winger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSEpeC3iMqjZE4QL0Omp3zz7hzUmsRlZ1IHVb5Ff6QL5XfsXpKNdNhRa1CR7eQsU0FcyAkQqiu-k_qYaf7vUOC-D7gGptFtQBtqjfcJ9KeoNheyfAwC2weUK3Tl-3dgt2LzIzlDA21b1j/s640/woody+winger.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WOODY WINGER</td></tr>
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Here's a cool trick that videogames use even today: when a character is far enough away from the camera, they become simplified (whether it be losing their textures, becoming low-poly, etc) to save on processor power. Running High does this too, but it kicks in when the other characters are still quite close! I think it looks cute.<br />
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The other big issue I have with this game: it's one-player only. Chances are low that you'd be able to find another person willing to play it with you anyway, but the option is always nice in a racing game. There are only three tracks by default (and one unlockable one on a cool asteroid station) but a decently hefty number of playable characters with their own stats, color scheme and physique. ALSO A BABY<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKcwmiUSayA-zq6GyGaYN1_SDSwItgM_-ySJOdOttTngpxvQlogkEpSAehmu1ffMfmetJa5DBdIch4YUOMu0dAzZ2MKtR0icWV4CwdmUl8cIJI1qfgbMcgRTDEJFKhujN9H3LfCXi__aT/s1600/baby.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKcwmiUSayA-zq6GyGaYN1_SDSwItgM_-ySJOdOttTngpxvQlogkEpSAehmu1ffMfmetJa5DBdIch4YUOMu0dAzZ2MKtR0icWV4CwdmUl8cIJI1qfgbMcgRTDEJFKhujN9H3LfCXi__aT/s640/baby.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BECOME AS GODS</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95SiYZbYcMNckyo656ftLwXy7Zehpxt_PssjipHYWLqQhgJ-PMN1CZO9IlWoHOROTl38S6JVhu3aolMbK-TR7A1T9cLR1fHv6jCwX03j5TauZaAC-lkme74HhU4Z-v1kKGbquT5AxMEg7/s1600/baby2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95SiYZbYcMNckyo656ftLwXy7Zehpxt_PssjipHYWLqQhgJ-PMN1CZO9IlWoHOROTl38S6JVhu3aolMbK-TR7A1T9cLR1fHv6jCwX03j5TauZaAC-lkme74HhU4Z-v1kKGbquT5AxMEg7/s640/baby2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BECOME AS GODS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBZJ_gtq54eO9-Gl96-EML_kew9T4G0X7ylnxE4sKYW0x2q2bH-A0vZo-lJG_b1XEkidXIm73wTtaMSC2b8eJkAJedG46fnJJPNMNUzCj0PxIYWzJsP0d9ParM4aQXvMCfXHUl_2CW04M/s1600/baby3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBZJ_gtq54eO9-Gl96-EML_kew9T4G0X7ylnxE4sKYW0x2q2bH-A0vZo-lJG_b1XEkidXIm73wTtaMSC2b8eJkAJedG46fnJJPNMNUzCj0PxIYWzJsP0d9ParM4aQXvMCfXHUl_2CW04M/s640/baby3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BECOME AS GODS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Did you notice that the character select screen for Baby looks different than the Woody Winger screen? If you put in a code on the title screen (DOWN DOWN UP UP LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT) you go straight to what looks like an alternate (possibly beta?) character select menu with several new runners. Wonder why they left that in?<br />
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<b>I love this game. </b>The controls are bad, the graphics are goofy, your opponents cheat (and are just plain rude, one of them called me grandma) and it's single player only. However, the soundtrack is great and something about it just stuck with me--it's a weird as hell kusoge and surprisingly fun once you get the hang of the controls.<br />
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Oh, and Avex made a fully fucking produced rap song about the game which sometimes plays during races and you need to check it out directly:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/268163306&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>
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If you can find it cheap (you will) give Running High a try! Maybe on emulator first. Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-87714822005091120242017-05-22T19:39:00.002-07:002017-05-22T21:22:59.199-07:00Obscure 16-bit character: Grind McRoo (Sega Mega Drive, 1992)How long has it been since I did a fake game cartridge? How long has it been since I posted regularly on this blog at all? Yikes.<br />
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Honestly, I've never considered myself much of a writer and though I do still make content here and there, most of it is consigned to my <a href="http://twitter.com/just_awful" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. My Twitter is excellent and you should be reading it. Follow my Twitter you cowards.<br />
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A n y w a y, your boy is back again with GRIND McROO: SKATE NO BOUKEN! An excellent artist who goes by <a href="http://www.twitter.com/grind3h" target="_blank">Grind3h </a>on Twitter posted an adorable drawing of an old character of hers named Grind McRoo:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBwRlUzFe8Uw5oyLfhnxyfFhQ6AgjG3RhOQ_dPlfvCG625H0CtJ0TT3sbEDvkVyisyw41NQgrgi478Ed6U4SP1OQTnv-tdf3SmxOCjlCwWq7HgNdrP1njLD-1bZeaS_pGduBlF_vfCjYR/s1600/C_01YTiXgAACKEO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBwRlUzFe8Uw5oyLfhnxyfFhQ6AgjG3RhOQ_dPlfvCG625H0CtJ0TT3sbEDvkVyisyw41NQgrgi478Ed6U4SP1OQTnv-tdf3SmxOCjlCwWq7HgNdrP1njLD-1bZeaS_pGduBlF_vfCjYR/s640/C_01YTiXgAACKEO.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">credit: twitter.com/<a href="http://www.twitter.com/grind3h" target="_blank">grind3h</a>, <a href="http://www.grind3h.com/" target="_blank">www.grind3h.com</a></td></tr>
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A rollerblading dragon kangaroo? The first thought that came to mind was "forgotten 16-bit mascot game that never made it out of Japan" so I got down to business.<br />
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So we've got a couple issues here, the cartridge is obviously a western Genesis cart instead of a Japanese Mega Drive one. I was also not feeling nearly energetic enough to pixel any mockup screenshots for it (might try one later, though).<br />
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Overall though I really like how it turned out, and it was fun and rewarding to do a Japanese style package without the constraints of all the various logos and borders and other things that mess up their western box art!<br />
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Check out Allie's work at <a href="http://grind3h.com/">Grind3h.com</a> and thanks for looking, as always. The theme of my next few posts will be "Weird Racing Games" (real games this time)<br />
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Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-27550487828437217092017-05-10T22:59:00.004-07:002017-05-11T20:50:33.364-07:00How to make a lightbox for small photography (for about 9 bucks!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2EeHf9XcV44yDZ5Ci3gRDalonGa5vc4_WL_fw9FpcB_eGWvWjKASnakvgqa1ox_TOpH3J1rPcKloOCnb5MTuqCWxBfT_OgF7zHCmhAmtjWeCSHRAd3kDxbBtTajx5CzLRS3ON6FqC1TQ/s1600/mista.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2EeHf9XcV44yDZ5Ci3gRDalonGa5vc4_WL_fw9FpcB_eGWvWjKASnakvgqa1ox_TOpH3J1rPcKloOCnb5MTuqCWxBfT_OgF7zHCmhAmtjWeCSHRAd3kDxbBtTajx5CzLRS3ON6FqC1TQ/s640/mista.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Because I do most of my blog photography at night, my lighting rig usually consists of a couple of table lamps, a dark room and a sheet. You can certainly get some nice dramatic lighting this way, but sometimes you just need even all-over illumination without all the bullshit. Enter: my super cheap and bright light box!<br />
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YOU WILL NEED:<br />
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A copper wire LED light unit. (this one is battery powered, but I went with a plug-in one for my light box) You can either spend $15 on a 10-foot strand at the store, or you can go on ebay and find them as cheap as 6 bucks! <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/262889555950?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT" target="_blank">I got this one</a>--it's 30 feet long, has an included AC adaptor, and cost me 9 dollars with free shipping. I went with bright white instead of soft white, to avoid any unwanted yellow cast on your subject. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waaaahh, I'm'a in a giant nightmare carpet world</td></tr>
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-A box. This one was free from the post office!<br />
-Tape<br />
-White paper/cardstock/whatever<br />
-One larger piece of white paper for the bottom/curved backdrop (posterboard would work well, but I had some big printer paper)<br />
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First, tape your white paper on the sides, back and top of your box interior. This has two functions:<br />
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-The white will reflect light onto your subject better<br />
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-You won't get an orange cast from the plain brown messing up the colors in your photo. Reflected light is a killer sometimes! I've got a room with green walls, and anything I photo in there comes out green.<br />
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Now, tape your longer sheet of paper to the back wall of the box and let it curve down and out of the box. You now have a nice white void for your subject to sit in!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxE2CQQtPL_Cv399tRkRjvW1_ZhMrvnVtI5U2ge7mZ3wY96DrS17A_nOgMymHI0Elgc4prMQLjnQj9mpOfXOJRoJRkyor4nWkVuKwPZFMsXJRDr-E9ruYGeMmScFFYkAgwjNiPDUpVWRSK/s1600/06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxE2CQQtPL_Cv399tRkRjvW1_ZhMrvnVtI5U2ge7mZ3wY96DrS17A_nOgMymHI0Elgc4prMQLjnQj9mpOfXOJRoJRkyor4nWkVuKwPZFMsXJRDr-E9ruYGeMmScFFYkAgwjNiPDUpVWRSK/s640/06.png" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here's the obnoxious part. Tape the LED light strand all about on the side walls and ceiling of your box. As you can see here I went with a series of spirals, snaking any remaining wire out of the box. Let's give it a try!<br />
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It may be ugly, but it's bright.<br />
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Here's Wario straight out of the camera and onto my computer. I didn't set my white balance to compensate for the lightbox! Do a search for how to do this if you don't know how to--otherwise you'll likely get green or blue tones in your photo. But look at the perfectly featureless background and even lighting!<br />
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Here he is with some touchups. My photoshop game is pretty weak though. Make sure to adjust your white balance for the lights you're working with!<br />
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Ruh-roh, I've found a problem with my plan. Shiny things get a hellacious glare, but the fix is simple! Just take some tissue, paper towel square, even another sheet of white paper and tape it up over the LEDs on each wall. Instant light diffusion--check it out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx917Q2nzAHxKdIzzt8jbqYGsxMj-XMjj64nGfKA6meFLV6IQr9X6nP0mMBDVziVnN6JnkgU-ovG0RCT50pGNYjMvXurRWCg9543JmWRO0HeUT3SZlZrYul0F3sj7TDlYsJVsk5r_ldBCv/s1600/ga_glare2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx917Q2nzAHxKdIzzt8jbqYGsxMj-XMjj64nGfKA6meFLV6IQr9X6nP0mMBDVziVnN6JnkgU-ovG0RCT50pGNYjMvXurRWCg9543JmWRO0HeUT3SZlZrYul0F3sj7TDlYsJVsk5r_ldBCv/s640/ga_glare2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't do a very thorough job putting up the tissue but you get the idea, right?</td></tr>
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Why stop there, though? Cut off the bottom of the box and put a piece of black glass (or whatever you want) underneath it and you've got a new setup! Use some non-reflective black fabric or colored paper for a new backdrop if you want, too. Easy to customize.<br />
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If you don't have any pro equipment I hope this helps you with your own blogging!Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-41291683030837617632017-03-20T21:24:00.003-07:002017-03-21T15:14:31.270-07:00Setting the Stage: My Favorite "File Select" ThemesOutside of the title screen, nothing sets the mood for the player's upcoming adventure/fight for survival/round of tetris than a game's file select (or password) theme. Let's talk about them!<br />
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This will be a small selection of some of my all time favorites. Of course I love em because they're excellent, so chances are good that you love them too--don't expect <i>too </i>many deep cuts here. If you see one of your favorites though, why not give it a listen and take a trip down memory road with me?<br />
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I'm terrible at putting things in a specific TOP TEN order, so let's just say: these are the ones I like.<br />
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<i>Klonoa - Inquisitive Waltz</i><br />
What a great song to get you ready to play! The waltz timing and carefree tune is evocative of a fair or circus, and does an excellent job of tricking you into thinking that this is a totally lighthearted game that didn't make me cry at the age of 14.<br />
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<i>Dragon Warrior (et al.) - Intermezzo</i><br />
This one is totally iconic, and I respect Enix for sticking to their guns and making this the file select theme for EVERY game in the decades-old franchise (barring the first two entries, which had different music).<br />
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I won't say it completely fits the theme of a fantasy adventure, but it's a jaunty kind of tune that I guess would fit a tavern or some shit. The composition was done better in later games of course, but as it was my first real RPG, Dragon Warrior/Quest IV will always be my personal favorite.<br />
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<i>Castlevania Bloodlines - Password Screen</i><br />
Yikes--this one is at the top of the admittedly un-crowded list of "creepiest password themes".<br />
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I was tempted to put Symphony of the Night's operatic file select music here, but as I prefer "Creepy and Kooky" Castlevania over "Extravagant and Gothic" Castlevania style, this one gets the nod. <br />
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<i>The Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past (et al.) File Select</i><br />
Does this one have a real name besides File Select?<br />
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Another tune that spans the entire franchise (again, aside from the first two!), this is a wonderfully memorable song in a series full of iconic music. It's brilliantly picturesque in a way; the gentle, hesitant piano melody combined with the simple harp accompaniment bring to mind the theme of eternal heroes and love that lasts throughout time. Very romantic. I don't think they could've done better than this one.<br />
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The theme has been iterated on many many times but the clean MIDI sound of the SNES version has always been my favorite!<br />
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<i>Sonic The Hedgehog 3 - File Select</i><br />
Switching gears to something completely different, here's Sonic 3. "File select" doesn't really come to mind when you think Sonic, does it...?<br />
<i> </i><br />
Sonic 3 takes place on Floating Island and the music is appropriately tropical in theme--I love that 16 bit marimba. Actually, there's not really anything else like this in the rest of the soundtrack, is there? Maybe that's why I've always liked it. It's unusually laid back for a Sonic game and kind of feels like the "waiting room" before you get down to business.<br />
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<i> </i><br />
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<i>Faxanadu - Mantra</i><br />
If I were a better writer I'd go on at length about how big an impression Faxanadu left on six year old me. A game that begins with the world already in ruin and a race of people facing extinction, full of monsters that are often alien (and sometimes straight up incomprehensible) and THIS MUSIC!!! I don't know if Faxanadu was even appropriate for me to even play. Maybe I'm overstating things since it was so traumatic to me back then? Look up the boss theme if you don't believe me--that shit was too much for a child to handle.<br />
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The mournful "Mantra" theme kind of makes you feel like you've lost before you've even begun the game. I have a vivid memory of burning the hell out of my tongue on Hamburger Helper while playing this game. It was "lasagna" flavor, but it didn't even taste like tomato, let alone lasagna. Wonder if they still make that flavor? It sucked<br />
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<i>Phantasy Star 2 - Step Up</i><br />
Damn it I love this song. The bouncy Retro Anime Future aesthetic can be hard to pin down but Tokuhiko Uwabo's work on Phantasy Star II nailed it! Peak 80's Sega if I ever heard it.<br />
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I've always described the original Phantasy Star series as something that makes me nostalgic for a future that will never happen. Maybe there's a word for that in another language.<br />
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Got any favorite file select menu themes you like? Let me know.<br />
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<br />Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-66449612396288575332016-10-24T21:18:00.001-07:002016-10-24T21:18:26.023-07:00A Month of Horror Games - Hellnight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">"None of it seems real, like it shouldn't be happening..."</span></i><br />
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Hellnight (known as Dark Messiah in Japan) feels like a bad dream come to life. The crude, lo-fi graphics
give the impression of some cursed VHS tape you found abandoned in the
gutter. The soundtrack is eerie, minimal and super effective, consisting almost entirely
of 2-4 second loops interspersed with foreboding stretches of silence. Despite this the music never gets annoying or repetitive in a bad way; the mood is set perfectly by it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great atmosphere, bad proofreading</td></tr>
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Even though the world of the game is ostensibly populated by other characters, you never actually see them in the "flesh". Rather than depicting characters as 3D models in-game, when you run across a character they appear as a 2D graphic overlaid on screen, to off-putting effect. Though this approach was probably taken due to technical limitations on the part of the developer, it ultimately succeeds in creating the surreal feeling of a lifeless world--even with other NPCs present.<br />
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The premise of Hellnight drew me in right away: below the streets of Tokyo is another, darker world--the Tokyo Mesh. Built during World War II, this subterranean labyrinth was meant to be a base of operations for the Japanese army. Now it is home to outcasts and criminals, people who are unable or unwilling to coexist with the outside world.<br />
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The unnamed protagonist finds himself in the Mesh after being chased into a subway car by a group of cultists calling themselves the Holy Ring. A man appears in the middle of the tracks and the subway crashes--soon after, the man mutates into a monstrous humanoid creature and begins killing passengers. The player escapes with a high school student named Naomi and the pair find their way into the underworld, and then the shit <i>really</i> hits the fan.<br />
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What is at the bottom of the Tokyo Mesh? Where did the creature come from and what does it want? And how is Holy Ring involved in the whole mess? Having recently beaten the game I can guarantee that wherever you think the plot is going, you're wrong.<br />
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Basic gameplay involves escaping the creature's pursuit while trying to find a way back to the surface. This involves dealing with the odd and often disturbed citizens of the Mesh; generally involving a series of fetch quests or light puzzles. In classic RPG style, fulfilling an NPC's request usually results in a clue or item that brings you a step closer to finding an escape from the underground.<br />
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<b>The monster cannot be killed.</b> If it's close enough for you to hear it breathing, it's time to run! The Tokyo Mesh is full of dead ends, blind corners and locked doors so awareness of your surroundings (and frequent map checking) is critical.<br />
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It's also critical that you keep Naomi alive; if the monster touches you, your partner will die. If it touches you again it's game over. Other partner characters can be met throughout the game, but Naomi is the only one with extra-sensory perception! It doesn't work all the time, but if you're lucky the monster's location will be shown on the map when it draws near. Take care of Naomi, for real.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsZHFulxdAeUdCKe9DJkUc97Zv6KWIaKh4QBa51_1CN4BSuc71t1c4HnnbOeGfn5SAW3JGRotJl-ktfgAYVcOBCYWylUSnMIicS6vX3SL-qtkIJL67q3osZj8TnazV9wrxuh-WeZAFLxK/s1600/117.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsZHFulxdAeUdCKe9DJkUc97Zv6KWIaKh4QBa51_1CN4BSuc71t1c4HnnbOeGfn5SAW3JGRotJl-ktfgAYVcOBCYWylUSnMIicS6vX3SL-qtkIJL67q3osZj8TnazV9wrxuh-WeZAFLxK/s640/117.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Things get very surreal as you get deeper underground.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Hellnight was released on PS1 in Summer 1998 in Japan, and hit Europe a few days before the end of 1999. And that's it--no North American release whatsoever, making the game somewhat attainable (the PAL version is in English, French and German) but off the radar of many western gamers for years.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXFOOtOoQNJ8djzRCkGLMJW-D_wEUjQCMHElBSvXIy9V_p7EfKms5kcSXagbk_L-GSuN-mp6QUp-1X1UMRp08bqwvGIKBZiskzNGcgWIkgnkqcaoDoFjv88BPX5N9O2At8wwBXjxKYgO4/s1600/115.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXFOOtOoQNJ8djzRCkGLMJW-D_wEUjQCMHElBSvXIy9V_p7EfKms5kcSXagbk_L-GSuN-mp6QUp-1X1UMRp08bqwvGIKBZiskzNGcgWIkgnkqcaoDoFjv88BPX5N9O2At8wwBXjxKYgO4/s640/115.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>OF COURSE</b> IT GETS BIGGER AND MEANER THE FURTHER YOU PROGRESS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Talk about a blog long in the making! I was trying to get my hands on
this game for two years before I found a copy affordable enough
for me to take the plunge (still expensive). I'm fortunate enough to have a modded PS2 so playing it on real hardware is an option for me. For everyone else that isn't in Europe I STRONGLY recommend giving it a try via emulation! The atmosphere is truly one of a kind and I believe this is gonna be one of those legendary horror game gems in the future.<br />
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Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-90654616138627871192016-10-22T19:42:00.002-07:002016-10-22T19:42:31.558-07:00A Month of Horror Games - Silent Hill Shattered Memories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Developed as a 'reimagining' of the first Silent Hill game, Shattered Memories retains the names of characters, the "dark world" mechanic, and series composer Akira Yamaoka. Everything else is so far removed from the franchise as a whole that it might as well have a different title altogether.<br />
<br />This isn't to say I don't like it! the atmosphere, gameplay and visual style of Shattered Memories was super god damn refreshing in a series that, through familiarity and repetition, has gone from "revolutionary" to "expected". Like the original Silent Hill, the town is shrouded in fog and snow. However, Shattered Memories' visual style replaces the usual "dark world" blood and rust theme with ice. Once things start to freeze over(in a totally awesome effect) it's party time.<br />
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Combat is off the table this time around; similar to Clock Tower, your only recourse is to run and hide. Unlike Clock Tower there's no downtime during these segments though! the enemy is always on your heels (or jumping out from in front of you), leading to some seriously anxiety-inducing escape sequences.<br />
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As effective as the chase sequences are, they are the only part of the game where you can be harmed; the sense of surprise from other SH games is gone because you know you're completely safe when you're not in a chase scene. These are the story sections, and as atmospheric as they can sometimes be, the lack of any sense of danger is very unlike silent hill and unfortunately lends the game an episodic feel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCncORZOzhJ5fg9FTR2LwlafoxKYEQh2ThYQRPA9Sx0zR4oXyjvQ_-gY7EKhNIni1Tps2VXohHB3WorpBhlT6vhl5mZi-RS67YbHkfmNVitt80shXWCbSRitmkiHsp3ij0xG3pJp-0AsB/s1600/ss5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCncORZOzhJ5fg9FTR2LwlafoxKYEQh2ThYQRPA9Sx0zR4oXyjvQ_-gY7EKhNIni1Tps2VXohHB3WorpBhlT6vhl5mZi-RS67YbHkfmNVitt80shXWCbSRitmkiHsp3ij0xG3pJp-0AsB/s640/ss5.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, the seldom implemented (because it's useless) "look behind you" mechanic. I'll just assume there's ALWAYS something behind me when monsters are about, thanks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I won't recount the plot here; suffice to say that what starts similarly to the original Silent Hill (Harry Mason searching for his daughter Cheryl after a car crash) goes in an entirely different direction. It's not the most unique plot I've ever seen, but there is enough weirdness to keep it interesting. This is not even mentioning the novel, if flawed, "psychology system" that changes story and gameplay elements by recording your choices throughout the game.<br />
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Overall, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a creative experiment in game making that we just don't see much of. The lonely atmosphere is spot on (the game seriously feels cold) and the music, as always, is excellent. A few snags in presentation and pacing hurt the overall package, though, and the disparate approach it takes to the Silent Hill formula gives me the feeling that it has been left in the dustbin when one takes the SH franchise as a whole. This is a shame. If Shattered Memories had left the name Silent Hill off of that title screen I believe it would be more fondly remembered.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I will give this game a try once it thaws out</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-54708652160293350192016-10-11T00:00:00.000-07:002016-10-11T01:06:23.414-07:00A Month of Horror Games - Clock Tower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">"Who will survive this game of murder?"</span></i><br />
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As amusingly dated as it looks now (and let's be real; the game looked like fried dog shit in 1996 too), this PS1 point-and-click horror game actually got my heart pounding back in high school!<br />
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What western gamers knew back then as Clock Tower was called Clock Tower: The Second Fear in Japan. (the original was released a little over a year before on Nintendo's Super Famicom). This somewhat explains the sequel's straight-up baffling intro cutscene, which opens with the climax of the previous game, in which the protagonist Jennifer Simpson escapes an enormous mutant baby before blowing it up.<br />
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The point-and-click interface between the two games is similar. The switch from the original's moody, thoughtfully constructed pixel art to full 3D, though...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fried dog shit</td></tr>
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The general flow of the game is described thusly: players control one of several characters as they travel around through interminable story sequences, talking to NPCs and making seemingly innocuous decisions that determine which of five endings they will reach. Eventually we get to the main event, in which the character finds his or herself alone and pursued by the Scissorman, a mysterious and seemingly unstoppable masked killer. Players must collect items and solve puzzles to escape, all the while ensuring that they aren't cornered and perforated by our boy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All screenshots were taken from the first stage. Sue me, I've got a lot of posts to write this month</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The developers were obvious fans of classic horror (at this point can we call 80's slasher movies classic?), as evidenced in many of the action beats during chase sequences. Scissorman can seemingly come out of anywhere--restroom stalls, under beds, through the floorboards, and god knows where else. Each encounter is randomized to keep you on your toes.<br />
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Speaking of variety, if you have the patience for multiple playthroughs there are 10 endings to uncover depending on your actions during both the story and escape sequences. Many of these are quite cryptic, but hidden "hint files" around the game can give the player...hints. Just use GameFAQs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Me, Hiding Under That Couch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Crude as Clock Tower's presentation is, this part got me good; I was examining lockers in this hallway when I just happened to check one that Scissorman was hiding in. He leaped out with a classic horror soundtrack stinger and I hauled balls to the nearest office, where I hid under a couch like a coward until he lost my trail.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"EXPERIENCE SCISSORMAN'S DEADLY SHEARS AT THEIR RAW, UNEDITED BEST" (???")</td></tr>
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The number one reason this game still works is its minimal but excellent soundtrack. There are only a few pieces, with only the sound of the player's footsteps comprising the bulk of the gameplay. During horror beats the silence is broken by a low, foreboding drone. And when shit gets for really real we're treated to the awesome chase theme, usually accompanied by the instantly iconic sound of Scissorman's shears opening and closing with every step. Just awesome. Here's a great scene that illustrates the flow of the escape stages:<br />
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I love Clock Tower. The characters and script are dumb. The gameplay is ponderous and the premise strains credulity to the limit. But damn it, I still get scared. Give it a try! Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332620305776506638.post-32740131489819542602016-10-04T21:27:00.001-07:002016-10-04T21:27:46.955-07:00A Month of Horror Games - Bio-Hazard Battle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoW7mO6plg8Hm1op8J3BkHQbwh4cog-tXegyjQRWdvvII42d3_38EI05n6nVMT5tCszs7Z9fGVJHTI6dVvK5qzmRVhI0jYcSy5le-GXTuLMF6zvwJfOURbT-p9NdznHCvwdes9HS97UzG/s1600/017.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoW7mO6plg8Hm1op8J3BkHQbwh4cog-tXegyjQRWdvvII42d3_38EI05n6nVMT5tCszs7Z9fGVJHTI6dVvK5qzmRVhI0jYcSy5le-GXTuLMF6zvwJfOURbT-p9NdznHCvwdes9HS97UzG/s640/017.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">"Who can say that a similar crisis will never occur again?"</span></i><br />
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Biohazard Battle...is it a stretch to call this one horror? I'll allow it. The bio-mechanical designs are reminiscent of R-Type and the music definitely fits the bill:<br />
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The story is appropriately dark as well. The "First Global Bio-War" ends up being the last, as one side unleashes a powerful retrovirus that devastates the globe, rendering it uninhabitable. The remainders of humanity retreat to an orbiting space station to be placed in cryo-sleep until the world becomes livable again. Also in suspended animation are four living weapons used in the Bio-War, organic aircraft with the ability to change their genetic structure depending on powerups they collect.<br />
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Centuries pass, and the station's computers awaken the biowarriors when the atmosphere is deemed livable enough for humans. The only problem now are the creatures infesting every inch of the planet <span class="st">¯\_(ツ)_/¯ </span><br />
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<span class="st">This game is cruelly difficult. Some fresh hell is crawling around every corner and it's not particularly interested whether you're powered up enough to deal with it. The graphics are dark and full of detail; they particularly shine in the dense forested levels, though thematically speaking I really liked the stages showing the crumbling ruins of human society, teeming with gross weirdos. </span><span class="st">The odd, muted soundtrack is excellent at evoking a sense of dread, particularly the boss theme.</span><br />
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<span class="st">Up there's the Stage 3 boss (who apparently made an impression on the designer of the Genesis cover art), a skull-headed snake creature that emerges from what appears to be the dessicated remains of a gigantic humanoid figure. I'm not sure what exactly it's supposed to be but the story implications are pretty upsetting.</span><br />
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<span class="st">Near the end you find a mothership (either the same ship or similar to the one that dropped you off in the first stage) that has become infected by the biomonsters and must be dealt with. Bummer. Are they sure this planet is ready for prime time?</span><br />
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<span class="st">The Japanese version of Bio-Hazard Battle is known as Crying: Biological War. Odd as the title is, I like how it suggests the eco-horror tragedy of people making their own world inhospitable towards them. What's <i>really </i>inhospitable is how Crying doesn't have autofire--because of this I assume the Japanese version is just fucking impossible. Bio-Hazard Battle had autofire added in and it's still too damn hard. </span><br />
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<span class="st"><b>Is it good? </b>The game is fairly affordable online, but I'd only give it a light recommend; the atmosphere created by the graphics, the dark, bass-heavy soundtrack, and the bleak backstory is great. On the other hand the gameplay is a little underwhelming and overly difficult while lacking that intangible "It Factor" you get with some shooters. Most of the problem lies in the difficulty of positioning the player's Gradius-style option when enemies attack from behind.</span><br />
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<span class="st">I'd say emulate it first, and if it's your thing, then Bio-Hazard Battle is an attractive part of any Genesis/Megadrive collection.</span>Ribbon Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825478194423648992noreply@blogger.com