Sonic the Hedgehog first appeared in 1990’s Rad Mobile for arcade a few months before the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. He appears as an ornament dangling from the ceiling of the car.

I wanted to get that bit of trivia out of the way because it’s often all anybody knows about Rad Mobile. That is, if they even remember the name. I say that because I could never really remember it. Not until I became interested in pre-3D racing games.

This is mostly because Rad Mobile was only once ported to console and never in North America. That is, until it was chosen as one of the games for the Sega Astro City Mini. That’s still a pretty niche platform in this part of the world, so I’m still waiting for it to finally get the spotlight over here.

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That pesky hedgehog

Rad Mobile is interesting to me because it uses the “Super Scaler” pseudo-3D technique that Sega built their hardware around. It’s best remembered for Space Harrier, but it was used in OutRun and Hang-On. However, both OutRun and Hang-On used raster effects for their pseudo-3D road, whereas Rad Mobile just makes heavy use of scaling sprites. This is the same technique used by 1988’s better-remembered Power Drift.

So, rather than your car driving on a background layer or single sprite, you’re actually riding across a steady stream of overlapping sprites that gradually get bigger to simulate parts of the road getting closer to the screen. It’s as obvious as it is effective. Because it was easy to create bridges and hills using Super Scaler, racing games that used the effect typically had a lot of variation in elevation, to the point where they can sometimes feel like roller coasters.

Despite being designed by Yu Suzuki, Rad Mobile is hardly the best racing game of its era. The floatiness of the car and the difficulty in gauging depth with 2D sprites combined with the first-person perspective makes it feel quite janky. However, it still has a lot going for it and I love it all the same.

[caption id="attachment_399103" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Are we there yet?

Rad Mobile is your typical story about a race across the United States, from West to East coast. This would also be seen in Turbo OutRun and Cruis’n USA, among others. The journey is separated into 20 short tracks, each depicting a different location. Like many racing games at the time, you have to make each checkpoint within a short time limit to replenish your clock. However, on top of this, you compete against other racers on the same trip. If you’re careful, you can drive across the U.S.A. in less than half an hour, so I’m not sure why planes exist.

I’m not sure that Rad Mobile was ever intended to be played with a digital controller. The Astro City Mini version allows this, but most cabinets I’ve seen have a steering wheel. It’s a Sega System 32 board, so it most likely could have been installed in a real Astro City arcade cabinet, but the car controls are so sluggish and pressing an arcade button to accelerate is so uncomfortable it feels like a racing wheel is necessary. Still, it plays okay with a normal arcade stick.

[caption id="attachment_399102" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

A long drive for someone with nothing to think about

A lot of Rad Mobile’s appeal comes from the variety it has stretched across the continent. Some tracks play at night, and you have to activate headlights to get a better view of the road. Meanwhile, it rains on others, and a pair of wipers keep your windshield clear. My favorite, however, is one that forces you to drive on train tracks and puts an impending locomotive in your rear-view mirror, threatening to clobber you if you clip a wall.

Speaking of clobber, there are police in some legs of the race. I’m not totally clear on why, but sometimes, if they get ahead of you, they’ll pull you over. Then, a police officer walks up to you and absolutely crushes your (formerly) radical automobile with one punch. It was a weird era in video games where people beat up a lot of cars, I guess.

One of the strangest parts, however, is the Rocky Mountains. If you slip off the edge of the track, you fall through nothingness for a few seconds before the road reappears beneath you and catches your car. It wrecks your car, but it was at least nice of the level to loop back around to give you something to land on.

[caption id="attachment_399100" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Scaling for consoles

The Sega Saturn version of Rad Mobile, Gale Racer, is something of a strange conversion. Largely, it’s a pretty reasonable port of the arcade game, but it’s also not as good. Mainly, this is because every track is separated by a loading screen, whereas the arcade version feels like one continuous journey. This not only kills the feeling of long-distance travel, it also eliminates the competitive feel of the game. You still pass cars on your journey, but it seems more like you’re doing it for score rather than to win a race.

Also, your speed tops out at around 300km/h for some reason, compared to the arcade's 170km/h. You still move at the same clip, the speedometer just reads differently.

The other vehicle are rendered in polygonal 3D, for some reason. The car also handles a lot crappier. There are police vehicles, but I don’t think they can pull you over anymore. The worst part about it, however, is the draw distance. It’s a lot smaller than the arcade version, which I’m guessing is because the Sega Saturn doesn’t have the same dedicated sprite scaling hardware. However, it could also be because it released in 1994, and most games of that time were rushed for the new hardware.

On the other hand, there’s a two-player mode. The soundtrack is a lot better. It’s also interesting that it didn’t come to North America, because it’s entirely in English. There’s even a text crawl at the beginning that is completely in English, but has Japanese subtitles.

Still, Rad Mobile is better than no Rad Mobile.

[caption id="attachment_399106" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Sega Arcade Arena

Sega seems to be having trouble figuring out what to do with all its arcade classics. They’ve provided a slow trickle of their best games through series like Sega Ages, but a lot of them are still inaccessible. The Sega Astro City Mini is nice, but it’s expensive and works better as a showpiece than as a mini console.

They need something like Capcom Arcade Stadium. Some sort of bigger compilation of their arcade titles that don’t absolutely need online connectivity. That, or they need to let Hamster dig through their back catalog for the Arcade Archives series. Or something. I just hate having to scour through old ports to try and find specific titles.

Rad Mobile is worth scouring for. It pokes me directly in my love for road trips and appeals to me through its weirdness. Too often, racing games are just monotone and serious. It’s no wonder I just cling to any driving game that offers more than just four wheel and an engine.

For other retro titles you may have missed, click right here!

The post Sega’s Rad Mobile deserves to be remembered for more than just its dangling keychain appeared first on Destructoid.

Taito and Inin have announced that a port of 2005 arcade title, Spica Adventure, is coming to Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox One sometime in Spring 2024.

Never heard of Spica Adventure? That’s not surprising, considering it was only released in Japanese arcades in 2005. It’s a twee sidescroller that is sometimes considered a spiritual successor to Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III (also with an upcoming port). You play as Nico, who beats the crap out of robots with a magical umbrella. It’s an interesting platformer in the classic arcade style that came out when that particular niche had gone all but extinct.

https://youtu.be/HP7rF_d8j64

This is really good news for another reason. It might mean Taito is eyeing some other Taito X board games that were never released outside of the arcade. Chase H.Q. 2, maybe? Or, heck, we could use a Chase H.Q. collection. It’s exciting to have Taito mining through its back catalog of arcade games with things like the Taito Milestones collections.

The arcade platform benefits heavily from preservation efforts. Even if there were home ports of a given game, they were often inaccurate. Because the hardware was often extremely different from game to game, emulation can be difficult, so some companies just don’t even bother. It’s nice when someone makes the effort.

Spica Adventure will be coming to Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox in Spring 2024. Physical editions for Switch, PS4, and PS5 will also be up for pre-order on November 14, 2023.

The post Obscure Japan-exclusive Spica Adventure coming west with modern port in 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.

I have to wonder if the fighting game boom of the ‘90s would have lasted longer if companies didn’t pump out sequels at such a dizzying pace. When you have Street Fighter Alpha 2 and X-Men vs. Street Fighter alongside Street Fighter III: New Generation and Street Fighter EX, what do you choose? These all came out in a roughly two-year span. The arcade mentality generally meant you dedicated yourself to a particular cabinet so you could dominate all competitors. A lot of people still weren’t willing to move away from Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo.

Of course, I wasn’t part of that scene at the time, so I’m kind of just talking out of my ass here.

But with that mindset, Bloody Roar 2 arrived just over a year after the first game. This was not at all uncommon. In fact, if Hudson didn’t have a new version of Bloody Roar available so soon after the last game, they’d be left behind by the Tekkens and the Virtua Fighters they were in direct competition with.

I don’t have to worry about that now. I just discovered the Bloody Roar series for myself. So I got to move on to Bloody Roar 2 when I was ready for it.

[caption id="attachment_395081" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Fighting in flip-flops

Bloody Roar 2 is largely a refinement of the first game. However, a lot of big changes were made. Only four of the eight playable characters from the original roster return (technically five if you count Bakuryu). Seven are added, but two have to be unlocked, which roughly brings the roster up to 11 fighters.

Once again, these fighters have their regular human flesh mode, but during the battle, they can build up a gauge that allows them to transform into a furry. While some of the more interesting transformations from the first game, like Mitsuko the Boar and Hans the genderfluid Fox were removed, we do get Busuzima the Chameleon and Stun the “Insect.” You win some, you lose some.

The ones that do remain have had their movesets rejiggered. My main girl Alice lost easy access to her deadly spinning roundhouse, but she still has her Frankensteiner grab. Her roundhouse is now part of a combo (down-back+kick, back+kick) and isn’t quite as vicious. So, I instead made friends with her dropkick as a way of launching foes across the arena.

Also, Alice is like, a nurse now. But she doesn’t dress in scrubs. She has on what is essentially a sexy nurse outfit with thigh-high stockings and a skirt that is way too short to be throwing kicks in. I dunno, I’m not big on it. You can unlock a black alternate version that puts pants on the girl, but I still prefer her sportier look from the other games.

Return of the roundhouse

The general gameplay is the same. It’s an era-typical 3D fighting game, but the ring is boxed in with fencing. This is sort of like Sega’s Fighting Vipers. You can break the walls, but unlike the first Bloody Roar, which gave the option to have walls breakable just by knocking an opponent into them enough, they’re only breakable in Bloody Roar 2 when you finish off your opponent. Kind of a drag, actually.

However, they added the all-important block button. You can still do a “light guard” the same way as the first game by just not moving. However, heavy guard is now mapped to the R1 button. After playing so much of the original, it was heard to make my brain learn to use this in Bloody Roar 2.

Finally, Rave Mode has been replaced by a “Beast Drive” special attack. Each character has this super powerful move in beast mode. This expends beast mode immediately, which really sucks if you don’t manage to land the attack. However, it can also be a really flashy way to empty the rest of your bar if you’re about to get kicked back into human form.

[caption id="attachment_395083" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Furry rights

The biggest addition to the PS1 port is a story mode, but the narrative is, at least, very poorly told. The Tylon Corporation that made the zoanthropes was taken out in the first game. Now, there’s a Zoanthrope Liberation Front who claim to fight for furry rights, but are actually just following in the footsteps of Tylon.

However, each character’s story just has a lot of dialogue between fighters and serves as a really weak basis for them to fight. Alice’s story, for example, has her trying to help Yugo find Bakuryu, and then, for some reason, Gado decides she’d make a good leader and fights her. It’s the kind of story that is just kind of unremarkable and dumb, which is typical for a fighting game of the era. However, trying to describe it in shorter terms makes me want to vomit.

Still, a story mode is a great addition to add alongside the arcade, survival, and time attack. Fighting games are at their best when you have someone to compete with, but having ways for unlikeable people such as myself to get enjoyment is always appreciated.

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Come back when you're ready

Aside from some give-and-take and a lame narrative, I don’t have any significant complaints about Bloody Roar 2. I wish it didn’t take me so long to finally try this series out because it has really clicked with me.

While I liked the simplicity of the first game, Bloody Roar 2 feels much more solid. Landing a deadly combo feels a lot more earned, and the strategy doesn’t lie solely on how well you manage your beast mode. I mean, choosing the right time to slip into your fursuit is still a big, big part of it, but it’s not quite as pronounced.

People have already been warning me that Bloody Roar 2 is where the series peaked. However, my local purveyor of retro games says it was Bloody Roar 3, while others have said Bloody Roar: Primal Fury. I haven’t heard anyone say Bloody Roar 4, so that’s worrisome. Unfortunately, I don’t have such easy access to any of the remaining titles in the series, so I’m going to have to take them as they come. Hopefully, Bloody Roar 2 is able to keep me satiated until then.

For other retro titles you may have missed, click right here!

The post Bloody Roar 2 for arcade and PS1 expands the fluffy fighting appeared first on Destructoid.

Totally Studly

I have an affectionate fascination with video games that look fictitious. Whenever a TV show, movie, or even cartoon wants to depict a legally distinct video game for their characters to play, they always show something that looks familiar but is entirely wrong. It’s like the uncanny valley of video games.

It shows a charming unfamiliarity with the medium. However, when it happens in an actual game, you realize that couldn’t be possible. Someone who has to be familiar with other games made this. Looking like an accident was, in fact, an accident.

1990’s Pit-Fighter has an excuse. It was one of the first attempts at using digital images of actors in a video game, a technique that would be made popular by 1992’s Mortal Kombat. There is also an excuse for it being about as much fun as eating a bowl of glass. It was released before Street Fighter II came along and demonstrated how fighting games should be made. On the other hand, I’m not sure what its excuse is for looking like a tournament held at the local neighborhood sex dungeon. Someone in 1990 thought Pit-Fighter looked cool, and they were tragically wrong.

[caption id="attachment_392163" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Awesomely done

Pit-Fighter is about an underground fighting tournament. A tale as old as time. What makes it stand apart is its hairless, baby-oil-slathered protagonists. You’ve got three choices: a kickboxer, a karate guy, and a wrestleman who looks like he pooped himself. They’re macho in the way that bodybuilders are macho. That is to say, not at all, but I wouldn’t say that to their face.

Meanwhile, your enemies are a bunch of leather daddies and one woman who has decided to fight in thigh-high stilettos. The big bad boss is literally this big dude in a leather mask and bondage harness. I’m not one to kink-shame, but I feel that Pit-Fighter must have confused the development of a lot of young teenagers.

You fight your way through 10 rounds. This doesn’t last long, but Atari Games made sure to create it in a way that necessitated pumping in a few quarters throughout its playtime. You only have one health bar for the entire game, so unless you can somehow manage to never get hit, you’re likely going to need to slot a few more coins if you want to give Big Daddy Masochist a spanking at the end.

[caption id="attachment_392165" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Confusingly erotic

A lot of Pit-Fighter's actual mechanical issues are related to the timeframe it was released in. 1990 was pretty early for its digitized graphics. As such, there is absolutely no artistic flow to anything. There are few frames of animation, so there’s a jerky quality to everything. It uses a lot of sprite scaling to make things more dynamic, but it just makes things even more sickly and fake-looking. I never really liked the method of digitizing actors for games, even when it was done well in games like Mortal Kombat, but they had to start somewhere.

The whole product is just so viciously ugly. There are levels where cars are parked in the arena (for some reason), and you can jump on them and crinkle their hood. However, these are very plainly drawn and not digitized pictures, and boy, can you tell. They look like they were ripped from Top Gear and clash against the more realistic crowd and fighters.

Meanwhile, Pit-Fighter was a pre-Street Fighter II fighting game, so fun had yet to be incorporated into the genre. In many ways, it reminds me of 1989’s Street Smart, but somehow even tackier. It’s a three-button setup, and all this oily muscle bashing takes place on a 2.5D area. You can combine buttons to create fancier moves like grabs, but there’s so little reason to do so. It’s extremely difficult to hit an enemy without them immediately hitting you back, and likewise, they have no defense against you. You sort of just chase them around the arena and hope that you deal more damage than you take.

[caption id="attachment_392166" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Leather daddy

And then there’s Mad Miles, who looks like someone who won a bet and forced the developers to put them in. Unlike some of the other beef mountains you fight against, this guy looks like my dad could take him in a fight. I think maybe he’s supposed to make up for that by being kind of crazy, but that never comes across in the game. Instead, he just has a mustache that says, “My ex-wife won custody of the children.” The way he flops on the ground, I kind of feel sorry for him. He also only turns up in one fight, which makes him feel like an accident. Or a secret mode, like when you beat up the car in Final Fight. He’s not threatening, he’s just not welcome in this BDSM dungeon.

Then, once you finally climb a mountain of shaved cattle, you fight the biggest bottom to frequent this particular establishment. Pit-Fighter isn’t the only piece of media to think that wearing nothing but boxers and a leather harness is a sign of toughness, but that is absolutely not what it communicates to me. Especially not when partnered with a leather mask.

If you’re playing multi-player, you have to fight all your teammates to decide who gets to top the competition. I’m not sure why this is necessary, aside from the fact that maybe they didn’t want to palette-swap the leather daddy to make things fair. So the losers of this match pumped in all those quarters and don’t get to end the day as king of the S&M club. That’s a confusing sort of disappointment.

[caption id="attachment_392167" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Brutality bonus

Just to top this whole, writhing container of oiled flesh, Pit-Fighter also has an awful fascination with money. It’s as if Smash T.V. wasn’t exaggerating the depraved depths of human greed. Instead, your fighter gets to stand on a wooden skid as money is piled beneath them. Then at the end, you get the typical view of scantily clad women clinging to your leather beef sack.

Pit-Fighter is just a hilarious and unfortunate amalgam of all the worst parts of ‘80s style. All those embarrassing things that people once thought were cool are stuffed into this game. Because the internet came along and has told us all what those leather harnesses are actually for, Pit-Fighter just looks like a cluster of uncomfortable eroticism.

For previous Weekly Kusoge, check this link!

The post Pit-Fighter sure looks different in the light of an internet-connected word appeared first on Destructoid.

[Update: Taito has confirmed via Twitter that the Taito LD Game Collection will have an international release. That's what I like to hear. They haven't given any date or details beyond that but are saying, "Stay Tuned for news." Our original story follows.]

Everything is better on LaserDisc

Taito has announced that they’ve got another arcade collection on the way, but this one is extra special. The Taito LD Game Collection not only compiles but also remasters three of the publisher’s classic arcade LaserDisc games: Time Gal, Space Battleship Yamato, and Revenge of the Ninja.

If you’re unfamiliar, these games are essentially interactive movies. The most popular example is the Dragon’s Lair games. You could also look at the various FMV games that came around in the early ‘90s. Essentially, you’d watch a short clip, choose an action, then the arcade would eat your money because you chose the wrong action.

These were made popular by the LaserDisc. These were the predecessors to the CD and were the first commercially available form of optical media. Essentially, imagine a DVD, then make it grow to the size of an LP record. They were available for a time as a way of storing home video. You’d get a much better picture than you would with a VHS, but you’d have to flip the disc halfway through unless you had a particularly fancy LaserDisc player that could automatically read both sides.

Anyway, the technology was popular in arcades in the mid-80s, but it kind of lost its edge quickly once people realized they were all graphics and very little substance. We got Time Gal and Revenge of the Ninja over here in the West on the Sega CD, but I don’t think Space Battleship Yamato ever got a port.

[caption id="attachment_390664" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Taito[/caption]

Whatever happened to the LaserDisc?

Taito LD Game Collection currently has a release date in Japan of December 14, 2023, but nothing is mentioned about an international release. I feel like the chances are good that we’ll see it, but not guaranteed. Space Battleship Yamato has dialogue in it, for example, but it could conceivably recieve subtitles over here. We’ll just have to wait and see. And hope.

Taito has been doing a pretty excellent job preserving their back catalog. Beyond the Taito Milestone collections that compile some of Hamster’s excellent Arcade Archives ports, we just got the Ray’z Arcade Chronology by M2. Getting the Taito LD Game Collection here in the West would be a big win, so fingers crossed that we get to see it. If not, I’m 100% going to import a copy.

The Taito LD Game Collection will release on Switch in Japan on December 14, 2023. No word yet on other territories or platforms.

The post Taito LD Game Collection remasters classic Laserdisc games (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.

You Fool!

I’m not looking to start a fight here. When The Genji and the Heike Clans was released in Japanese arcades by Namco in 1986 as Genpei Tōma Den, it was generally well-respected. However, here at the Destructoid Institute of Critiquing Kusoge (DICK), we have a saying: If it walks like Kusoge, quacks like Kusoge, and smells like Kusoge, it’s definitely Kusoge (crap game). So, are you going to take the word of Japan, the experts on Kusoge? Or would you rather be daring and listen to the brash, upstart DICK?

I don’t know why I’m so hesitant to talk about The Genji and the Heike Clans with the perspective of it being a bad game. If someone trots in with Altered Beast, I’d be the first one to stand up and tell them how much it sucks. It’s perhaps because, culturally, I understand Altered Beast. The Genji and the Heike Clans shows me that I understand Japan as much as I do deep space. I may think I know a lot, but then I see all sorts of things I don’t understand.

[caption id="attachment_389859" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Big Bushido

You play as the resurrected Taira no Kagekiyo, and you’re kind of pissed off that your clan lost the Genpei War, so you’re off to take Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Shogun. It’s all right. This isn’t just revenge; the guy is more evil than the history books let on, so there are demons and stuff. Kagekiyo must travel across feudal Japan to Kamakura to get their revenge.

The Genji and the Heike Clans boasts three different modes of play. There’s side-scroller platforming, “big mode,” and a top-down view. You’re most often going to find yourself in the normal side-scroller view, with the other two peppered in.

Big mode presents Kagekiyo in huge detail as he traipses across the screen. It reminds me of my old nemesis Predator on the NES. It might actually have been influenced by The Genji and the Heike Clans, since I think it called it big mode there, as well. They both present the protagonist as impractically big, showing off some nice detail but not moving much room for maneuvering. As such, it’s as clumsy as a newborn deer on an escalator. It gets even funnier when Kagekiyo picks up a scroll and just starts swinging his sword around like a windmill.

[caption id="attachment_389860" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Orgy in a tumble dryer

None of the modes work particularly well. The Genji and the Heike Clans’ approach to enemy placement is to just stick a bunch of spawners around and have them dumping bad guys on you. You take so much unavoidable damage as you make your way to the exit and the hit detection is just terrible, so it’s more chaotic than an orgy in a tumble dryer.

The worst part is the platforming. There are a lot of moving platforms that you have to traverse, and Kagekiyo just doesn’t stick to them. If there’s one that goes up and down, he has trouble jumping because he’s technically falling the whole time. Whenever a platform moves horizontally, he doesn’t move with it, which is just so, so strange. If you land on one, you have to physically keep moving with it to stay on top, otherwise, it just slides out from underneath Kagekiyo.

If you fall in a hole, you don’t die instantly. You fall into Yomi, where you then have to fight your way to a circle of crates. You open the crates, and you’ll either be killed instantly or respawned at the last level you were on. I’d rather it just kill me outright. This probably made more sense in the arcade, where luck of the draw would spare you a quarter, but playing it on a console just highlights it as a nuisance.

[caption id="attachment_389861" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

One last Heike

I first learned about The Genji and the Heike Clans from Game Centre CX. The host, Shinya Arino, played the PC-Engine version, which is considered to be a pretty faithful conversion of the game. He failed to clear it so hard.

Part of the problem is that, after you hit the mid-point of Kyoto, you start back there whenever you die, rather than the last level you made it to. He came nowhere near Kamakura, and having played it now, I can absolutely understand why. It’s brutal, and that is completely uncalled for.

For starters, it has a mystifying health system. It’s measured in candles that get burnt down, and you can increase the maximum number of them. However, you get a certain number restored each time you start a new level, but I couldn’t tell you why it gives you that amount. I’m also not totally clear on how much each pick-up gives you in terms of extra health. Generally, this was just a game of trying to blast through a level as quickly as possible before I died.

Your sword also has health, and this gets depleted by hitting “hard” enemies. What constitutes “hard” is less clear. Skulls are pretty soft. Caves that are clearly made of stone don’t weaken your sword. But when Benkei blocks your attack, that’s hard. What a block looks like, that’s another matter. However, there’s a lot of importance put around strengthening your sword. Not only does this make it more powerful, but if your sword gets depleted, it gets bent and can’t do much damage at all. It’s just… ugh, it’s so dumb.

Part of Arino’s strategy was to just focus on building up his sword gauge. This makes bosses a lot easier, but you can also lose your entire gauge by falling down a hole and getting a bad pull in the lottery. So, really, I'm not sure if that actually makes the game any more beatable. It’s just so slapdash.

[caption id="attachment_389862" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Culture shock

I think a lot of the praise toward The Genji and the Heike Clans is aimed at its graphics and sound. There are a lot of voice samples mixed in there. For a 1986 release, yeah, it looks pretty good. I just can’t explain why it plays so badly. Castlevania also came out in 1986, and it had figured out platforming just fine.

It does have a unique visual style, I’ll give it that. It draws heavily from Japanese history and folklore. You’d need to be pretty deeply familiar with both of those things to understand half the references found mixed in here. Even still, it’s pretty trippy and nightmarish. Especially when a towering Minamoto no Yoritomo pops up in the background and smacks you with his powerful spoon.

There are also multiple routes you can take to Kamakura, which kind of makes the fact that it changes the rules of continuing past the game's mid-point. It’s still going to suck the quarters out of kids, and there is a decent amount of replay value that comes from plumbing it for secrets, so why go to the extent of making it impossibly difficult. It just makes The Genji and the Heike Clans feel even more slap-dash.

[caption id="attachment_389865" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Indispensible crap

It first got released over here as an unusual inclusion in Namco Museum Vol. 4 on PS1. It was rather perplexing to contemporary critics at the time. However, nowadays, you can get it on PlayStation and Switch platforms as part of Hamster's terrific Arcade Archives series. There was also a sequel released on PC-Engine/Turbografx-16 called Samurai-Ghost. It only included big mode, and I’ll have to report back on that when I finally pick up a PC-Engine. I’m not paying the hundreds of dollars for a TG16 copy.

As I said in the beginning, The Genji and the Heike Clans was well-received when it came out in Japan. I think this has to do with the palate of Japanese arcade gamers at the time that just didn’t translate in the West as we recovered from the Great Video Game Crash of 1983. Playing it today as a North American, though. Oof. It is just so bad.

But it’s also the good kind of bad. It’s an absolutely loveable bit of suffering to endure. It’s this painful mess of poor execution and culture shock. I sort of love it.

For previous Weekly Kusoge, check this link!

The post The Genji and the Heike Clans is a lovable bit of suffering appeared first on Destructoid.

Rick-rolled

We've had some real treats join the humongous Arcade Archives range this past month. Not only did we get rare puzzler Tetris: The Absolute Grand Master 2 and run 'n' gun classic Rolling Thunder 2, but this week sees Hamster delve back into the Namco catalog and emerge with its controversial horror scrapper, Splatterhouse!

Released to Japanese arcades in 1988, before heading west the following year, this ultra-iconic release has managed to retain its brand power over the ensuing decades, despite ultimately being a series of visually exciting, but fairly average titles. Inspired by an array of hyper-violent horror franchises, Splatterhouse sees hero Rick sally forth into the mansion of Dr. Henry West, on a do-or-die mission to rescue his girlfriend, Jennifer, from the truly unholy creatures that reside within.

Imbued with the power of the mysterious "Terror Mask", and armed with an array of improvisational weaponry, Rick presses on through seven surprisingly tough stages, (though this is frequently down to his sluggish movement rather than challenging design). Going beyond your regular ghouls 'n' ghosts, Splatterhouse boasts a disgusting array of enemies, from strange-skinned fetuses to creepy water ghouls, possessed furniture, limbless demons, and grossly vulgar body horror monstrosities.

You get check out all the guts 'n' gory glory in the trailer below, courtesy of Hamster itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRlxd6O1CW8

Splatterhouse is hardly a deep or even competent title, but it is, undeniably, arresting from a design standpoint. Shamelessly horrific and as unashamed of its own violence as much as its plagiarism. It also features a monster wielding a chainsaw and wearing a sack on its head before Leon S. Kennedy had even brushed his first fringe. Splatterhouse walks a line between being repetitively easy and hard-as-nails and, while flawed, is oddly compelling in its own clumsy fashion.

The arcade edition of Splatterhouse would receive heavily censored home ports on the PC Engine and several Japanese computers, before receiving two sequels on the Sega Mega Drive. Perhaps one of its most enjoyable iterations is the very silly Famicom version, known as Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti, which is well worth checking out. In 2010, Splatterhouse returned in a hack 'n' slash remake for PS3 and Xbox 360. This release was critically panned, but fans of the series were able to find fun in its janky nature, which seemed oddly fitting given its predecessors.

Whether we ever see Splatterhouse again remains to be seen, but it would be a shame for the franchise to remain undead and buried for too long.

Splatterhouse is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post Namco’s iconic gorefest Splatterhouse hits the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Mars Needs Cheerleaders

Following a fortnight of run 'n' gun action and top-tier puzzling, we're going back to the stars with Hamster's favorite genre, the shmup — Available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, it's the Arcade Archives' newest entry, Taito's Megablast!

Released to the coin-op market in 1989, Megablast is one of a tidal wave of (admittedly forgotten) shmups that filled out smoky arcade centers up and down the country. While the action is fairly typical of the era, the storyline is one for the ages. Essentially, World Peace has been achieved on Earth, but the planet has been ravaged by an en masse disappearance of women. As it turns out, a dying intergalactic populace known as the Zancs cannot interbreed, and is instead abducting Earth's women in order to help it repopulate its own race. Big ol' yikes on that one, Taito.

And there's no sign of Roddy Piper anywhere.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber World of Longplays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlaXGd-SUbY&ab_channel=WorldofLongplays

And thus, fighter pilots Dawnson and Bogey are dispatched to confront the Zancs, speed up the extinction process, and bring back the planet's ladies, one of whom is Dawnson's own gal pal. What follows is standard horizontally-scrolling shmup action, depicted in Taito's typically oversized and kinda vulgar fashion. Power-ups can be gathered in order to boost the players' weaponry. Not explained is how our heroes plan to bring all of the women back to Earth in their two tiny, one-man vessels. But if ask too many questions, then the minute of this carefully crafted narrative begins to come undone. So don't.

Megablast is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at $8.

The post Rescue Earth’s women in Arcade Archives’ oddly-plotted Megablast appeared first on Destructoid.

Bravo, man

There's nothing a love more for a Saturday than giving you all the good word on a particular oddity joining the Arcade Archives range — And this week's entry sees "oddity" doing some heavy lifting, as Hamster unleashes Bandai Namco's Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman onto PS4 and Switch.

Released to the Japanese coin-op market in 1986, Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman, (also known by the far less interesting name of Bravoman), is a simplistic side-scrolling actioner in the vein of the tokusatsu genre, as a mild-mannered salaryman dons the costume of a powerful superhero in order to stop the machinations of the evil Dr. Bakutu, (Dr. Bomb). Utilizing his telescopic limbs, Bella Bowman battles an army of minions across 33 stages, gathering powerups, defeating bosses, and receiving occasional assistance from his super-heroic friend, Lottery Man.

Check out the very sill action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber World of Longplays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSKS5U5b9o4

On release, Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman was highly praised for its colorful and satirical visuals, cute animation, as well as its fun score, and use of pressure-sensitive buttons, (which frequently broke). Today, however, it's frankly pretty terrible, although there is no denying the absolute charm with which it depicts the tokusatsu aesthetic.

While frustratingly difficult and not a whole lot of fun, it's still pleasing that this rarity is now finally available in the Arcade Archive catalog, as it represents not only a window into gaming culture, but also one of Japanese pop culture. As such, it retains a level of intrinsic value in spite of its gameplay shortcomings.

Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

The post Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman brings its gorgeous name to the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

The true test of ergonomics returns

Another pretty special release has joined the Arcade Archives release, as publisher Hamster rolls out the intensely puzzling and bizarrely titled Tetris The Absolute Grand Master 2 Plus — now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Developed by Arika and published by the last bastion of the coin-op, Psikyo, Tetris The Absolute Grand Master 2 Plus, (known in the community as simply "TGM2" or "TAP"), hit Japanese arcades in 2000, launched as a last-minute update to the original TGM2 board. Much like its predecessor, Tetris The Grand Master, TGM2 is an expert-level iteration of Alexey Pajitnov's classic block-busting puzzler, and tasks players with using adaptation and forward-thinking to manage a rapidly filling playfield of Tetrominos.

Check out a bout of TGM2 T.A. Death in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Masterjun3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcjqNkiT8q0

TGM2 retains the complex gameplay of its predecessor but adds a casual player-friendly "Normal" mode, as well as an evolved edition of "Master" mode, which features huge acceleration after level 500. Also part of the update is the incredibly challenging "T.A. Death" mode, which features fixes 20G gravity settings, as well as a consistently high speed from the get-go. It is considered one of the most difficult challenges in Tetris history. The arrival of TGM2, (and previously TGM), on the Arcade Archives plugs a gap that has been in the collections of Tetris fans the world over for generations.

Well, at least in an official capacity... Now get droppin'!

Tetris The Absolute Grand Master 2 Plus is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

The post Tetris The Absolute Grand Master 2 Plus drops into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

No quarters necessary

Veteran coin-op developer Taito and publisher ININ Games announced a release date for a second compendium of arcade classics — Taito Milestones 2 launches on Nintendo Switch August 31.

Taito Milestones 2 revisits the studio's golden era, and contains 10 titles from the late-'80s and early-'90s. Among the games on offer are the excellent platformer The NewZealand Story (1988), the super cute Liquid Kids (1990), and the cult classic Kiki Kaikai (1986). Joining these hits are shmups Metal Black (1991), Darius II (1989), and GunFrontier (1990), and frankly baffling fighting games Dinorex (1992) and Solitary Fighter (1991). DOGOOOON!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmWboBjoIoo

It's a neat little collection of classics, and it will be rad to have some of these releases on the go, but I still feel we're chasing the ultimate Taito compilation, that marries the excellent Taito Legends games of the PS2 era with the addition are the hard-to-emulate releases such as Chase H.Q., Special Criminal Investigation, and Under Fire. We live in an era where retro comps and re-releases are perhaps more common than they have ever been. But there are a lot of gaps and a lot of crossover between them all, and it all gets a little exhausting after a while.

Regardless, for completionists, Taito Milestones 2 launches August 31 on Nintendo Switch. The original Taito Milestones is available on the same platform right now.

The post Taito Milestone 2 revisits another batch of arcade classics in August appeared first on Destructoid.

We've been expecting you, Mr. Bont

Hamster has brought a real gem to the Arcade Archives this week, with the arrival of Namco's awesome run 'n' gun sequel Rolling Thunder 2, now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released to arcades in 1991, as a release for Namco's popular System 2 hardware, Rolling Thunder 2 sees a returning Agent Albatross once again taking the fight to the villainous GELDRA organization, who plan to seize a colony of satellites for domination of the stars. Assisting Albatross in his mission is the beautiful agent Leila, who steps out of her original damsel-in-distress role to throw a little lead in harm's way.

As the WCPO agents, one or two players battle through flat-planed, two-level platforming action, taking on an army of evil henchmen and ensuring that laser-fast reactions and forward planning while preventing the fragile duo from biting the dust. Much like in the original, extra ammo and weaponry can be picked up on-site, and refuge can be found by ducking into handy doorways.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Media Pool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0mKuRN3axQ

Rolling Thunder 2, while maintaining near-identical gameplay to its predecessor, is a surprisingly enjoyable title even today, thanks to its breathless game 'n' gunplay, necessity for fast reactions, and cool, jazzy soundtrack. The sequel would receive a nicely handed Sega Mega Drive port shortly after its arcade debut, which is how most fans will have experienced the sequel.

A second sequel, Rolling Thunder 3, was released for Sega Genesis in 1993, but this was limited to North America and represents the series swansong. I'm a big fan of the series, particularly the first two titles. And I hope that, somewhere down the line, a new sequel, remaster, or remake can be considered for this pioneering action series.

Until such a day, Rolling Thunder 2 is available now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post The wicked Rolling Thunder 2 runs ‘n’ guns into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Shmup No. 5,483 hits retro range

It's Saturday, and that means it's time to take a look at this week's Arcade Archives offering — Once again, publisher Hamster is looking to the stars to save it, with the arrival of another galaxy-blasting shmup from yesteryear: Ark Area, now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Developed by UPL and released to the coin-op market in 1987, Ark Area is a multidirectional shmup that chooses not to follow any strict horizontal/vertical plane to provide full 360, alien-zapping action. A loose sequel to UPL's own Nova 2001, Ark Area puts one or two players in the pilot seats of cute lil' ships, which must fend off extensive waves of enemies, which can attack from all directions. In typical shmup fashion, power-ups can be acquired to increase firepower, and meaty boss battles are peppered throughout the game's 23 stages.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber SBH Gameplays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJqDE7pAJpE

Following a fairly standard run on the arcade market, Ark Area simply faded into the annals of time, only to be resurrected by this here Arcade Archives release. It's a fun, formative little trip into shmupland, but even on release,  Ark Area was already being eclipsed by some of its flashier and more exciting contemporaries. Still, for completionists, you now have another finger-mashing zapper to add to your collection, no doubt bursting at the seams by this point.

Ark Area is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at $8. Next week's Arcade Archives release will be Namco's excellent run 'n' gunner, Rolling Thunder 2.

The post Multidirectional blaster Ark Area warps into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Go Nagai's legendary series hits the shmup scene

Something a bit special from the retro funsters of Hamster this week, as Banpresto's coin-op adaptation of the much-loved manga/anime series Mazinger Z has joined the Arcade Archives, and is now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released to the Japanese arcade market in 1994, the vertically scrolling shmup is an adaptation of Go Nagai's iconic mecha franchise, which spawned numerous manga, anime, and theatrical films. Players choose from one of three vessels — Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, or Grendizer — before embarking on a mission to defeat the endless forces of The Mechanical Beasts, Mycenae Forces, and The Vegan Empire, which have combined their powers in a joint plan to conquer the world. What follows is eight stages of frenetic arcade action, as the Mazinger forces battle the three factions and the mastermind, Dr. Hell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ1EgpzTEjU&ab_channel=HAMSTERCorporation

While the arrival of Mazinger Z is very much a welcome one, it comes at something of a price, quite literally. In order to secure the license to release Mazinger Z, Hamster was pressed to roll out extra Yen to the license holders. The publisher is looking to pass this cost on to the player, as Mazinger Z will retail for twice the price of all Arcade Archives entries. This is the first time that Hamster has had to pay the additional licensing fee, which suggests that any future re-releases based on popular and lucrative brands might also see a lift in their retail costs.

It's rough, especially given that many Arcade Archives releases are already a little princely for their longevity, but for Mazinger fans, the extra buckeroos will probably be seen as a bill worth footing.

Mazinger Z is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch priced at around $15.

The post Mazinger Z blasts off of the page and into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Do the Wild Fang

Draw your swords, pick up your spellbook, and take my axe, as this week's entry to the Arcade Archives sees Hamster treat us to Koei Tecmo's high-fantasy brawler Tecmo Knight, now available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released to arcades in 1989, hot on the heels of Tecmo success Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo Knight, (known in Japan as Wild Fang), sees the titular, muscle-bound hero battle their way through the Kingdom of Valdik, on a quest to rescue the townspeople from the clutches of the terrifying Beast Demon Army, (Beasts? Demons? Nah, both). Tecmo Knight is ably assisted by his tiger pal, "Tiger", who absolutely isn't Cringer, and Smokeman, a deity who provides additional attacks and abilities.

Additionally, Tecmo Knight can call upon the power of a dragon, who can defeat any opponent with a single blast of fiery breath. Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Punch Pedia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWHuuRt_lho&ab_channel=PunchPedia

While Tecmo Knight at first glance appears to be Tecmo's take on Sega's own hit, Golden Axe, (and in many ways it is), Tecmo's offering is a little more finicky and precise in its controls, ala Ninja Gaiden, which makes it a trickier challenge and thus kept it from becoming a truly well-remembered classic.

Oh, and like Ninja Gaiden, it has an anxiety-inducing Continue? screen, which sees the Tecmo Knight being eaten by a giant monster as he screams in pain. Failing to add a credit in time sees a helmeted beast hack through the screen, yelling "NO FUTURE!" like a 1978 British punk. A famously violent attract sequence was also ultimately censored before release, with further bloodletting, (decapitations in particular), ensuing throughout the game.

Tecmo Knight is definitely worth checking out, though it certainly lacks the pace and energy of other brawlers of the day. It is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at $8.

The post Fantasy scrapper Tecmo Knight charges the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Take 2 on an all-time classic

This week's Arcade Archives entry sees us take a look at one of the very earliest instances of a remaster in the gaming sphere — As publisher Hamster offers up Namco's Galaga '88 on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released to Japanese arcades in 1987, before making its way west at the start of the new year, Galaga '88 is a revamped edition of the legendary Galaxian spin-off, released at the dawn of the golden age of arcade gaming. Galaga '88, operating as both a remaster of the original Galaga and a sequel to 1984's Gaplus, players take control of the iconic Blast Fighter vessel for more space-based warfare against the forces of the titular enemy. As one would expect, Galaga '88 features much-improved audio/visual elements, including more detailed character sprites and a variety of background images.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber World of Longplays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62h9LUt3OQg&ab_channel=WorldofLongplays

Despite receiving much acclaim from critics and Japanese arcade goers, Galaga '88 would receive slight home ports, appearing via the PC Engine as the confusingly renamed Galaga '90, as well as on the Sharp X68000 home computer. In later years, the shmup would find itself packaged as part of numerous Namco compendiums, while also appearing on the Wii Virtual Console and even Japanese mobile platforms.

Galaga '88 is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post Galaga ’88 brings a r-r-remix to the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Battle Beyond the Stars

ININ Games, in association with Irem and Tozai Games, has announced Irem Collection Volume 1, a compilation of classic shmups from the old-school arcade developer. Currently in development for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, the release will include some titles which are receiving their first-ever official localization.

Irem Collection Volume 1 — the first of what is set to be a five-volume set — will feature three titles in total. They are Image Fight (1988), Image Fight II: Operation Deepstriker (1992), and the iconic bio-blaster XMultiply (1992). These three vertically scrolling shmups were all smash hits during the renaissance of the arcade scene, and were among the tidal wave of titles that helped to keep the genre alive as gaming headed into the 1990s.

In addition to the digital release, ININ Games will release a physical edition of Irem Collection Volume 1, (and, presumably, its following four volumes). This set, available for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, includes a hard copy of the game, a visual compendium, replica arcade flyers, a double-disc CD soundtrack, replica boxes for Image Fight and Image Fight 2's home releases, as well as some cool, A2 sized posters for all three titles. A price or release date was not announced for this edition.

Irem Collection Volume 1 is currently in development for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Irem Collection Volume 1 kicks off a anthology of classic shmups appeared first on Destructoid.

Silly shump returns

Something particularly fun and adorable from Hamster this week, as it bolsters its mammoth Arcade Archives range with the addition of Namco's cutesy '90s shmup Cosmo Gang the Video, now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released to Japanese arcades in 1992, before receiving a home release on Super Famicom shortly thereafter, Cosmo Gang the Video is a spin-off shooter featuring characters that appeared in iconic redemption game Cosmo Gangs, a title which saw the player battling to prevent a squad of crazy-eyed creatures from stealing energy boxes to take back to their home planet. Cosmo Gang the Video adapts these characters and settings to a vertically scrolling shmup format, a genre in which Namco had proven itself a frontrunner.

https://youtu.be/kfI4Z_P5joA

One to two players pilot the "Hyper Beat" space vessels, on a mission to fend off the Cosmo Gang, who has returned to cause further mayhem across the galaxy. The player battles waves of formation-based enemies over the course of 30+ stages, picking up power-ups and new weapons in order to even the odds against the Cosmo Gang's seemingly endless numbers. It should be noted that, despite its latter-day release date, the title is simplistic, even dated, when compared to the contemporary shmups of the day. Despite this, the arcade saw great success in its native Japan.

Cosmo Gang the Video is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8. You Check out the very silly action in the video above, courtesy of YouTuber Insert Coin.

The post Join the Cosmo Gang for this week’s Arcade Archives action appeared first on Destructoid.

Pump up the Jam

This week's trip back to the golden age of gaming, guided by the retro-lovers over at Hamster Corporation, sees us take a look at the much lesser-known sequel to one of the most beloved coin-op classics of all time — Now available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, its Namco's Dig Dug II!

Released to the arcade market in 1985, before later being ported to the Famicom platform, Dig Dug II features all of the sounds and visuals of the seminal 1982 original, but chooses to set the action on the surface, forgoing the mine-based gameplay of the original and somewhat removing both the "Dig" and the "Dug". Hero Taizo returns, once again armed with his trusty harpoon pump with which he must fend off iconic enemies including Pookas, and Fygars.

In addition, Taizo is now equipped with a jackhammer, and is able to partition areas of each stage to sink into the ocean, destroying all nearby enemies, and perhaps Taizo himself if the player is careless with their jackhammering activities. You can check out the cutesy action for yourself in the gameplay video below, courtesy of YouTuber Replay Burners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvPB1HOVXrA&ab_channel=ReplayBurners

While Namco should be congratulated for at least trying something a little different, Dig Dug II just doesn't have quite the same compelling nature of the original, with the top-down maze style a poor replacement for the original game's strategic tunneling system. The sequel would not receive an official home release outside of its native Japan, only appearing in the form of latter-day Namco compilations and retro re-releases. It's perfectly fine, of course, as is the case for almost all Namco classics, but simply cannot hold water when compared to its exceptionally well-designed forerunner.

Dig Dug II is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post It’s Pooka Time: Namco’s Dig Dug II joins the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

R-Trope

You might find yourself doing a double-take at this week's Arcade Archives release — And nobody could blame you for suffering something of a sense of deja vu, as Hamster reaches into the bottomless well of old-school shmups and pulls out Allumer's suspiciously familiar Rezon.

Released to the arcade market in 1991, Rezon is a space-themed horizontal shmup, which puts the player in the cockpit of a hi-tech vessel, blasting off in a hazardous mission to the stars. As you battle your way through waves of enemy ships, ground walkers, and snaking, pattern-based baddies, your ship can be outfitted with a variety of cool new weapons and abilities, all of which will be more than necessary to redress the balance, as Rezon is nothing if not absolutely rock solid — borderline relentless.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Martinoz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwXmOUfCpEQ&ab_channel=Martinoz

But let's address the elephant in the room: It's R-Type. It's shamelessly R-Type. Not in the sense that titles such as SNK's Last Resort are "kinda R-Type". Rezon is almost a direct clone, with carbon copy stage layouts, enemies, weapon designs, and general gameplay flow. Allumer's rip-off doesn't have the excellent bosses of Irem's 1987 hit, but it has practically everything else.

Unsurprisingly, Rezon did not make its way to any home platform, perhaps more than aware of the questionable legal situation it might find itself in if too many eyes looked its way. Still, despite its xeroxed nature, it should be noted that Rezon provides a helluva challenge for hardened arcade fans, and is still worth a quick blast for the more dedicated of shmuppers.

Rezon is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post Shameless R-Type knock-off Rezon jets into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Do you think Niven got royalties?

This week's Arcade Archives entry is a particularly curious case, as publisher Hamster has reached right back into the dawning days of the coin-op era to present us with Namco's Navarone — Now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released way back in 1980 — the same year that Namco would blow the whole scene wide open with its seminal release, Pac-Man — Navarone is a single-screen shmup that tasks the player with circling a battlefield, blasting away at gun encampments and debris in an effort to destroy the central base located at the center of the screen. It is similar, in a fashion, to titles like Atari's Centipede, although it offers more in the way of return fire, as well as movement across three sides of the game screen.

Check out the exceptionally old-school action below, courtesy of Old Classic Retro Gaming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa_k2xFH69g&ab_channel=OldClassicRetroGaming

Beautifully, the title attempts to sell the title as an adaptation of sorts to J. Lee Thompson's legendary 1961 movie The Guns of Navarone, itself an adaptation of Alistair MacLean's 1957 novel. One can only assume that this was not, however, an officially licensed Columbia Pictures product, which may go some way to explaining why Navarone would not receive a release outside of Japan. Besides, once Pac-Man Fever gripped the planet, the lo-fi thrills of Navarone would quickly fade into the background.

Navarone is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post Namco’s 1980 shooter Navarone joins the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Back like a Bat Outta Hell

This week's Arcade Archives addition is a real forgotten gem, and sees Hamster reach well into the past to deliver Taito's unique and mythical platformer Bonze Adventure to PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Originally released to the arcade market in 1989, before later finding fame in a successful PC Engine port, Bonze Adventure, (or Jigoku Meguri in its native Japan), sees a Buddist monk venture into the bowels of the underworld itself in order to confront its monarch, King Emma, who has gone a little bit doolally and has thus lost control of Hell's denizens, which are escaping into the human realm.

Check out the action in the video below, from no less than Hamster Corporation itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk1jszprGlQ&ab_channel=HAMSTERCorporation

The surprisingly holy adventure sees Bonze venture through Emma's domain, defending himself with powered Buddist "Mala" beads, and warding off an array of demons, monsters, ghosts, spiders, and other creepy enemies and he picks his ways through a variety of glum, but strangely cute, environments. Several powerups can be gathered, and help is occasionally provided by an arriving Deva. A neat mechanic sees time represented by a series of melting candles. Despite its success, both in arcades and on the PC Engine, Bonze Adventure would fall into relative obscurity, not receiving any sequels.

Bonze Adventure is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post Bonze Adventure brings cutesy hell to Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

*Now in 2D

This week's Arcade Archives entry is another Namco oddity, as Hamster has prepped and readied little-seen sequel 3D Thunder Ceptor II, now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released in 1986 as a pseudo-sequel to the original Thunder Ceptor, (which only launched earlier that same year), 3D Thunder Ceptor II ii an into-the-screen shmup/rail shooter, which sees the player pilot the titular vessel is fast-blasting sci-fi action. Devised as Namco's answer to Sega's hugely successful Space Harrier, Thunder Ceptor II features similar gameplay, (though nowhere near as fast), although it does include a rudimentary HUD, offering up information such as weapon selection and enemy position.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Replay Burners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeTC9pVdt44&ab_channel=ReplayBurners

In the arcades, 3D Thunder Ceptor II turned heads due to its groundbreaking use of stereoscopic 3D. The cabinet itself utilized a variety of layered windows in order to create false depth, making the enemies seemingly leap off the screen and toward the player. While the game itself wasn't widespread, its utilization of 3D technology was praised, with other developers following with their own 3D titles in the following years, including Namco's own Starblade. Of course, it goes without saying that the Arcade Archives release does not include 3D support, kind of removing a key element of game's concept.

3D Thunder Ceptor II is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post 3D Thunder Ceptor II comin’ atcha in the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Can I expense this?

Devolver Digital has begun rolling out their bespoke arcade title, House of the Gundead, and you can order yours today (for $5500).

Drawing from Enter the Gungeon and inspired by House of the Dead, House of the Gundead is a light gun shooter; the type you’d find in bowling alleys. While LCD displays have largely led to a major decline in light gun games, House of the Gundead uses a pair of shiny Shinden light guns for allegedly pixel-perfect aiming. It also has some absolutely fab cabinetry, with great artwork and a big, big 43” screen.

Not only that, but the game itself looks fun. Drawing from the cute, cartoony style of Enter the Gungeon, it’s a far cry from your usual Time Crisis. I’m honestly having difficulty saying more about it because I’m taken in by its visuals.

I really want to play it. It’s too bad arcades are a myth.

[embed]https://youtu.be/N1R4eVLxTP4[/embed]

I’m hoping House of the Gundead gets ported eventually. I recently put money down on a Sinden light gun because if it does what it says on the box – and I have no reason to believe it doesn’t – then it’s an exciting prospect. I’m not a gun person by any means, but I love the physicality of the experience. At least I can afford one of those. I’m not sure where I’d put an arcade cab in my postage-stamp-sized apartment, but if Devolver would like to send me one for review (wink wink), I would be willing to throw my husband out to make space.

House of the Gundead is available for order right now in arcade cabinet format only.

The post Can someone lend me $5500 to buy this House of the Gundead arcade cabinet? appeared first on Destructoid.

Flying cars and don't ask question

This week's Arcade Archives entry comes from the first-draft-name developer Video System, and sees us once again returning to the bottomless well of late-'80s/early-'90s shmups — Now available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, its vertically scrolling blaster Turbo Force!

Released to the arcade market in 1991, Turbo Force is the predecessor of smash release Sonic Wings, (better known in the west as Aero Fighters), and was a standout release for the shmup market, due to its support for up to three players over the typical genre standard of two. The "Turbo" of the title apparently refers to the player vessels, which are essentially flying sports cars packed out with powerful weaponry. Why, you ask? Frankly, it's hard to tell, as Turbo Force was developed as something of a mish-mash, a confusing project that shifted direction multiple times during its production period.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Paul Eales.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q38QE0kW6DQ&ab_channel=PaulEales

As such, while Turbo Force has a lot going for it — with fast action, cool pixel visuals, and an army of varied enemies and boss characters — the game is something of a tonal and directionless mess, lacking in story, purpose, or definitive theme. Regardless, lessons learned in the development of Turbo Force would lead to the inception of the Sonic Wings series, which would offer up a bounty of explosive hits both in the arcade and on home formats. Ultimately, Turbo Force was the "training wheels" for better things to come, and stands today as more of a shmup curio than anything else.

Turbo Force is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post Flying car curio Turbo Force revs into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't get tilted

The past two decades might have seen pinball become something of a niche, rich folk's pastime, powered by a massively inflated collector's market and the increasing rarity of machine components, but for those of a certain age, there was, truly, a time where you couldn't enter a public building and not fall over a pinball machine or three. Arcades, bars, clubs, laundries, restaurants, theaters, corner stores, and gyms. If there was a five-foot footprint empty, then it had a pinball machine plonked on it.

There have been thousands of machines produced since the 1930s, from coin-operated bagatelle tables, through to the delightful electromagnetic (EM) machines of the '50s-'70s, these would give way to the Solid State (SS) machines of the '80s, pinball's golden renaissance in the '90s, and ultimately lead to today, with companies such as Stern and Jersey Jack continuing to roll out brand new, exciting, hi-tech games for people who have much more money than should ever be legal.

Pinball has a visual style all of its own, a tangible reality that most interactive entertainment fails to capture. And while the past few decades have seen the release of hundreds of great-looking, great-sounding, and completely compelling games, some examples stand out in the memory of the pinball community more than others. They might not necessarily be the best games, but they are the embodiment of the pinball age at its most lucrative. Stalwarts of the genre. Masters of design. Icons.

Here are 15 of the most iconic pinball machines of all time. Take your Skill Shot.

15. Cirqus Voltaire (1997)

Considered one of the last icons of pinball's golden '90s era, Bally/Williams Cirqus Voltaire is one of the most colorful, vibrant, and visually ambitious games of all time, as the player pushes through the various acts of an electric, arthouse circus — Its unique aesthetic is reflected in its psychedelic playfield, and bolstered by bright neon lighting, ethereal sound, and fluorescent tubing built into the ramps. CV is also well-remembered for its sinister "Ringmaster", a mischievous head that rises and falls to taunt the player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQPGtzmStq4&ab_channel=IShotWebTV

14. Black Knight 2000 (1989)

The direct sequel to the more modest 1980 release, Black Knight, pinball veteran Steve Ritchie's Black Knight 2000 supercharged the follow-up with faster gameplay, an electrifying visual design, a totally radical dude 'late-'80s aesthetic, and, most notably of all, a blaring banger of a theme song, written by Brian Schmidt and powerful enough to drown out the sounds of every other machine in the arcade. When someone was playing BK 2000, you knew about it, bub. Check it out in the video above.

"YOU GOT THE POWER! GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!"

A machine that embodies the hedonism and raucous nature of the 1980s, BK 2000 is almost twee when viewed by modern eyes. But, make no mistake about it, no pinball machine was more determined to make you, and everybody else, sit up and take notice. Oh, and it was also hard as nails to boot. It would be followed by the sequel Black Knight: Sword of Rage an incredible three decades later.

13. Scared Stiff (1996)

Scared Stiff is the second of three pinball machines starring The Mistress of the Dark, Elvira. While I personally prefer 1989's Elvira & the Party Monsters, (and I'm sadly yet to play 2019's Elvira's House of Horrors), Scared Stiff is the most commonly found of the three games. Featuring the look and vibe of her iconic TV show, Scared Stiff features comic-book gore, a backglass "Spider Spinner" and plenty of callouts recorded by the great woman herself. Gameplay is a tad on the easy side, but SS is a much-loved machine within the community, and a great bookmark for modern pinball's "middle era".

12. Xenon (1980)

Released in 1980, Xenon is a stunning and truly iconic trendsetter for the decade to come, wonderfully stylized in the fonts, colors, and architecture that would typify the following years. Not just in pinball, but in all forms of new-wave fashion, music, art, and culture.

Xenon features a future-noir silver/blue color scheme, electronic music, a litany of dazzling lights, and the sultry, beckoning voice of composer/sound designer Suzanna Ciani, who entices the player with flirtatious callouts and — let's just call it what it is — "orgasmic" sound effects. Xenon defined a new era for pinball, which would step away from the bells, chimes, and rootin' tootin' cowboy themes of yore, to be replaced with an era of solid-state sound, sci-fi, and sex.

11. Monster Bash (1998)

One of the most popular machines in the collector's community, Williams' Monster Bash takes the Universal Monsters, (Frankenstein, The Bride, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon), and reimagines them as a retired rock band, who are digging themselves out of the grave for a reunion tour. It's up to you to get the band back together and back on stage.

Monster Bash is surprisingly straightforward, gameplay wise, but is hugely popular due to its cast of characters, fun dot-matrix animations, and amusing playfield features. These include Frankenstein's revolving lab table and a ball-stalking Count Dracula. Some of the music tracks, (but not the great main hook), are a little cheesy to modern ears, but Monster Bash's overall concept is great fun, and the machine sits proudly in many a collection.

Universal should've based The Dark Universe on this.

10. Centaur (1981)

Arguably the most Heavy Metal pinball machine ever made, Bally's Centaur is in a class of its own where visual design is concerned. Styled almost entirely in black & white, the Centaur playfield is one from which no color will ever escape, and is intricately detailed with the dark, comic-book artwork of Paul Faris. Centaur recalls an era of horror comics, Dungeons & Dragons, and the parent-bothering "Satanic Panic" that would tear throughout the 1980s.

The "half monster-half motorbike creature" is, quite frankly, funny as fuck today, but even that staple of metal cheese just adds to the machine's perfect "time capsule" of the dawning 1980s. A well-maintained Centaur stands today as a thing of beauty.

If pinball did drugs, then Centaur is a cabinet of whiskey and coke.

9. The Machine: Bride of Pinbot (1991)

While 1986's Pin-Bot is undoubtedly one of the most beloved classics of the pinball era, its 1991 sequel The Machine, (more commonly known as "Bride of Pin-Bot"), is pinball royalty. The Machine has the player attempt to build a robotic waifu for our boy Pin-Bot. The construction is presented as an epic event, and The Bride comes to life with a soothing and flirtatious voice (ala Xenon), as well as a wonderful sequence where the entire playfield shuts down, The Bride's birth represented by a evocative "heartbeat" light show.

The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot is perhaps the shallowest of the Pin-Bot trilogy, (it was eventually followed by 1997's Jack-Bot), but The Machine's knack for special effects and storytelling made it an incredible smash hit on release, becoming one of the first "Must-Play" pinball machines of the '90s renaissance.

8. Medieval Madness (1997)

Easily the most popular and recognized of pinball's latter-day period, Williams' Medieval Madness is something of a Crown Jewel within the collections of those able to afford it. And it's quite easy to see why, with its intricately detailed playfield, physical models and effects, and galley of hugely satisfying shots. The audio package features myriad amusing callouts, which feature Monty Python-esque comedy and a roster of fun allies and enemies.

Whether smashing castles, bashing trolls, defeating dragons, or rescuing damsels, Medieval Madness is a fast-playing, hugely gratifying game, and the ideal title to put in front of a newcomer to help them understand why pinball is so compelling. For these and other reasons, Medieval Madness is also one of the most expensive machines on the market, with original '97 models usually trading well into five figures. I told you it was a rich man's pastime.

7. Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure (1993)

In the early '90s Williams' went hard on licensed titles, often to great effect. A great example of this model is 1993's Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure. This "widebody" game, (around five inches wider than the standard pinball dimensions), is a celebration of the original Indiana Jones film trilogy, and features characters and modes inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade.

The playfield features numerous physical effects, including moving idols, a rotating temple gate, a revolver shooter, and a World War biplane. Powerful new DCS sound technology allows for great replications of the famous theme tune, along with voice samples from characters such as Indy, Indy Sr, Marion, Short Round, Willie, and Sallah. Still, today Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure is one of the very best licensed games.

A second Indiana Jones game was released by Stern in 2008.

6. FunHouse (1990)

FunHouse truly turned heads upon its 1990 release. As pinball entered a transition period from early solid state and alphanumeric titles into a new world of gimmicks, games within games, and bold ideas, FunHouse became instantly iconic thanks to the disembodied head of mechanical carnival barker, Rudy, who taunts the player, offers hints, and even swallows balls! (behave). Fun fact: Rudy is voiced by Ed Boon, who was a Williams employee and would soon co-create the Mortal Kombat franchise.

FunHouse is perhaps the quintessential pinball game. It's fast and fluid, it's loud and colorful, it's compelling and frustrating, and it's one of the final titles that pushed the then-limitations of the market to the brink, right before the launch of a bold era of technically superior, highly polished, licesened games. It's lunchtime, go get yourself a hot dog.

5. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

One of the most popular games devised by pinball designer Steve Ritchie, (also the original voice of Mortal Kombat's Shao Kahn), Terminator 2: Judgment Day was a part of the then unheard-of billion-dollar marketing drive for James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster. As a typical Ritchie title, Terminator 2: Judgment Day features high-speed gameplay with a heavy emphasis on complex combo shots.

T2 features numerous firsts: It is the first pinball machine to feature a button-activated auto-launcher, it was also the first game designed with a Dot-Matrix Display (DMD), and to feature a built-in mini-game, as players use the shooter to blast approaching T-800s on the DMD. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is far from the best game on this list, but it was very widely distributed among arcade centers, and as such is remembered by even the most casual of arcade attendees today.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, also designed by Ritchie, was released by Stern in 2003.

4. Gorgar (1979)

While the oldest and arguably most simplistic title of this list, Williams' Gorgar perhaps embodies the identity and culture of pinball more than any of the other games. The storyline sees the player battling the titular demon in an apocalyptic showdown, and the playfield is emblazoned in heavy metal iconography, parent-bothering themes, lurid horror-comic artwork, and half-naked humans, all while offering a brutal, quarter-munching challenge.

Gorgar was the first pinball machine to utilize synthesized speech, with a seven-word vocabulary that forms crude sentences. Gorgar eschews music in exchange for a constant pulsing "heartbeat", which adds to the game's unholy appeal. The kind of pinball machine that would likely appear on '80s news broadcasts as "encouraging devil worship", Gorgar's rudimentary gameplay only adds to its old-school charm.

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993)

Williams' Star Trek: The Next Generation might have hit the scene during the show's twilight years, but that didn't stop fans from flocking to its huge, stunningly designed cabinet. Another "widebody" title, Star Trek: TNG took an age to come to fruition, with the design team having to almost move the stars themselves in order to score the license from Paramount — reportedly bagged on the insistence that the game's action upholds "The Prime Directive".

ST:TNG is not only a great-looking game, but it is packed out with tricky shots, satisfying combos, a Borg Multiball, and a bevy of challenging missions, culminating in a "Final Frontier" endgame. Seven original cast members recorded new dialogue for the sound package, adding to its authenticity. Today, some 30 years later, Star Trek: The Next Generation stands up easily to any modern machine — a testament to its timeless design excellence.

2. Twilight Zone (1993)

Submitted for your approval: One of the best and most iconic pinball machines of the 1990s. Offered a "blank cheque" after his success with The Addams Family, designer Pat Lawlor followed up with this excellent adaptation of another classic of Americana: Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. The pinball version of the groundbreaking TV series features references to various familiar episodes, including "Living Doll", "The Hitchhiker", "The Invaders", and "A Most Unusual Camera".

Twilight Zone sports some of the most difficult gameplay in pinball, which turned away all but the most dedicated of players. Despite this, the game is a classy-looking and highly polished delight, with a cabinet that could be found in arcades across Europe and North America for years. TZ doesn't quite capitalize on its theme as well as it could have, but the cool backglass and its rendition of the famous theme tune should instantly spark nostalgia in any arcade goer of a certain age.

1. The Addams Family (1992)

Tell anybody who was around in the '90s that you're into pinball, and, never fail, you'll be met with some variant of "Oh yeah, I remember pinball!.. Yeah... Addams Family!". This is with good cause, as Williams' The Addams Family is officially the best-selling pinball machine of all time, having shifted a staggering 20,270 units since its initial release. TAF is, of course, an adaptation of Barry Sonnenfeld's 1991 movie, but nobody could have quite anticipated the game's incredible popularity.

Designed by Pat Lawlor, The Addams Family features a memorable, comic-book playfield, with modes based upon various scenes in the movie. These include the secret staircase, the living bear rug, Wednesday's toy train, the family vault, and, most importantly, THHHE MAA-MUSHKAAA! The playfield utilizes hidden magnets to play havoc with physics, while an animatronic Thing emerges from a box to lock balls. As a final touch, Raul Julia and Angelica Houston recorded new dialogue especially for the game, reprising their roles of Gomez and Morticia Addams. 'Tish.

The Addams Family pinball machine was unavoidable — a cornerstone of practically every single arcade, bar, beachfront, bowling alley, and nightclub in town. You can still find them on site today, though often in upsetting states of disrepair. But perhaps the best example of The Addams Family's enduring legacy is that, whether you personally play pinball or not...

...You already knew that this was going to be number one, right?

The post The 15 most iconic pinball machines of all time appeared first on Destructoid.

Chocks Away!

A Namco rarity is joining the Arcade Archives this week, as Hamster reaches deep into its big bag of obscurities and pulls out Japan-only shmup sequel Sky Kid Deluxe, now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released to the arcade market in 1986, Sky Kid Deluxe is was debuted on Namco's all-new System 86 hardware. Like its predecessor, the simplistic shmup features dogfighting action between a battalion of biplanes. The player is armed with a machine gun for sky-to-sky action, and bombs to take out battleships and other enemies lurking on land. Curiously for the genre, the horizon scrolls from left-to-right, rather than right-to-left, which is unique, but feels extremely weird given the (literal) direction the genre would take. The Deluxe edition also features alternate colors, weather effects, and new enemies.

You can check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Were1974.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nyEeHx4i4s&ab_channel=Were1974

Unfortunately for Sky Kid Deluxe, it launched at a time of a genre renaissance, with the arrival of a plethora of great, groundbreaking shmups such as R-Type, Gradius, 1942, Parodius, and many others. As such, Sky Kid Deluxe looked, (and played), pretty much archaic in comparison and would only perform modestly in Japan. Namco would choose not to port the sequel overseas, and it would not receive an official release in the west until its inclusion in the Namco Museum Virtual Arcade release in 2008.

Sky Kid Deluxe is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8. The original Sky Kid is also available as part of the Arcade Archives range.

The post Cutesy shmup Sky Kid Deluxe takes flight on Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Gnome Sweet Gnome

For this week's Arcade Archives entry, publisher Hamster is returning to the seemingly endless catalog of coin-op kings Taito — Now available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, it's one of the studio's many, many cutesy co-op platformers: Don Doko Don!

Released to the arcade market in 1989, before eventually being ported to the Famicom and PC Engine platforms, Don Doko Don is a co-op single-screen platformer, in keeping with Taito's similar releases Bubble Bobble, Tumble Pop!, and The Fairyland Story. One or two players don (no pun intended) the pointy hats of hard-working gnomes Bob & Jim, who have taken it upon themselves to rescue the abducted king and princess of Merry Land. And so, with mallet in hand, the non-plumbing bros. set out to face an army of particularly angry-looking mushrooms. They're certainly not fun guys...

...THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT FUN GI s

...THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McvI_KpSv7o&ab_channel=HAMSTERCorporation

As they make their way through the kingdom, Jim & Bob use their mallets to stun the opposition, before tossing the confuddled baddies into each other to knock them out, where they will be replaced with point-boosting fruits. If this all sounds familiar... Well, a lot of these Taito platformers were incredibly similar, albeit with their own adorable sense of style, punctuated by fun pixel art and jolly soundtracks. Oh, and — of course — if you dawdle too long on a stage, an unkillable villain appears. Though clearly not as frightening as the notorious Baron von Blubba.

Don Doko Don was followed by a single player side-scrolling sequel in 1992, titled Don Doko Don 2, naturally. This title would not see the neon of arcade centers outside of Japan, and was also not featured in the excellent Taito Legends retro compilations, rendering it something of a rarity today.

Don Doko Don is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at $8.

The post Taito’s cutesy Don Doko Don joins the arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Still not loving that logo

This past September, we were sad to report that the massive Sega GiGO Building 4 arcade located in the Tokyo borough of Akihabara was closing after being a staple spot for 11 years. It seemed like an unfortunate victim of Japan’s shrinking arcade market. However, this past January, it was reported that the site would become a Bandai Namco Arcade in its place, set to open this March.

Thanks to Genki_JPN on Twitter, we now have a look at the building’s new facade.

https://twitter.com/Genki_JPN/status/1627337359166701569?s=20

While I was in Japan back in 2014, I paid a visit to the Sega GiGo location in Akihabara. However, I’d have difficulty accurately differentiating it from the other game centers I visited in the area. It was at the end of a two-week journey through the country, I was very tired, it was raining, and I was carrying around a backpack roughly the size and weight of a dairy cow. If I’m thinking of the right place, though, I played Kiki Kaikai, Typing of the Dead, F-Zero AX, and won an awesome chibi Naoto Shiragane figure in one attempt on one of the crane machines.

The fact that one arcade is being directly replaced with another is some comfort. The arcade industry has pretty much disappeared entirely in most areas (especially mine) in the past few decades here in North America. Going to Japan and being able to take a seat at a cabinet is a wonderful experience. However, it’s maybe worth noting that the Bandai Namco locations tend to lean heavier on crane machines. While those are fun, too, they’re not as satisfying as row upon row of new and classic games.

Still! The building is remaining an arcade, and that’s key. We’ll see Bandai Namco’s approach to the business when it opens in March 2023.

The post Sega GiGO Akihabara location to become Bandai Namco Arcade appeared first on Destructoid.

Take the SPD and deal with it

Capcom has begun location tests for a new virtual reality experience set within the world of its flagship fighting franchise, Street Fighter. The Street Fighter VR: The Shadaloo Enhancement Project is currently available to play in the Capcom store at Hiroshima Plaza in Hiroshima, Japan.

The short experience allows players to step up to the plate against long-time poster boy Ryu and Russian wrestler Zangief in first-person combat, with sound and visuals running on the same engine used for Street Fighter V. The concept sees the player take the role of a lowly Shadaloo grunt, training against two of the World Warriors that they may encounter as the evil organization attempts its takeover of the free world. Yeah... That's exactly who I want to play in VR: A nameless, nobody, Shadaloo trainee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY3rBDYNXRs&ab_channel=asciijpnews

Utilizing PC VR hardware, players must block attacks and counter with punches and special moves, impacting certain areas on the opponent while their guard is down. A short video not only demonstrates a player throwing out an iconic Hadoken projectile, but also sees the hapless protagonist caught in Zangief's Spinning Pile Driver, which I can only assume is a VR experience likely to demonstrate the technological power of your own stomach.

"Stop playing if you feel sick or feel something is wrong with your body." reads the warning. Indeed.

The demo ends with hints that further characters — such as Akuma and Shadaloo leader Bison himself — will be added to the game in future updates. Capcom has not announced any plans to bring Street Fighter VR: The Shadaloo Enhancement Project to western locations, but I would not be surprised if it at least showed up at one of the booths at the big summer expos such as E3 or Summer Game Fest.

The post Street Fighter VR project holds location tests in Japan appeared first on Destructoid.