ArcadeRacingCENTRAL

Agree with above - WipEout was already the grown-up kart game of the time - it was directly inspired by playing Mario Kart after a night of clubbing. Although I really dug the opportunity to turn off weapons, since the racing was always what I loved about it.

@gingerbeardman Yeah, great game!!! Try them in an emulator with faster clocks, it's pretty transformative!

VROOM (F1) on Jaguar would be AMAZING! Still one of the best playing racers from that era. It's so great on Amiga, ST AND Meg Drive!!!

@Deuteros That's amazing to hear! I'm glad that R U Overdrive helped you out in that way! I know it's been adopted into some EVO circles and I've even seen it modded into Dreamcast SF II and a version of Smash Bros too at certain points in time!

And to answer your question, I think I'm a worse musician these days, but a better producer, haha! I've just been getting back into music the last couple of years, but I'm not entirely set up for it yet, so it'll be a while before I can jump back in and do anything too substantial.

But I will definitely let you know when I'm set up again for music production

@GlamorousAlpaca Yeah, the visual style of Speedball is a significant part of the appeal.

Though if you dig the Fortnite look, then all the power to you...

@Deuteros I created the Eurobeat version of the Ryu theme for that album waaaaaay back in 2005 with Braincells on guitar, haha! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw9FUN-D9so

Crazy to see this come up in conversation, haha! I wish my track could have ended up in the game, but there were stipulations at the time from Capcom on creating different versions of the track with different BPMS at the time (along with some general changes to the BPM) and with a Eurobeat track, it wasn't so flexible!

Also, my mixdown at the time was terrible, I was learning on the fly, and was never entirely with the final outcome.

@jeanshortswag Yeah, that version is not a patch on this current one; I always found the Bloodlines version disappointing. The take on the Password theme and Forest of Monsters is amazing too.

Although the myth was already broken by Savaged Regime, who proved it 10 years ago with THIS amazing rendition of Simon's Theme - it's even better! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm7sT87AXFA

I've started a YouTube playlist for all the MEga Drive versions of other CastleVania tracks - there's a killer Dawn of Sorrow Wizardry Lab cover out there - love it!

At least we'll be getting a game that you can put into your NES and play.

I'm just grateful that such a competent, unique NES title will be released. There's nothing like it, and that's awesome. Regardless of how it's achieved, it's still a video game.

The art is awesome. The music is great. The controls are actually pretty damned good too, as far as the updated demo is concerned.

I'm not even the biggest NES fan. I generally find the library quite brown and uninteresting, and find most of it's lauded titles personally overrated (I was a SEGA kid, after all) but there's something different happening here, so I couldn't let this one pass by.

Orange Island is another I'm really looking forward too - some awesome use of colour there!

@slider1983 I actually meant to reply to the message above, but nothing wrong with that. I do too

@Bod2019 Indeed!

#beg4snes

I backed this, and I find the prices fair on the digital front. I mean, you get two copies of the game for the first Digital tier; A PC version via Steam and the NES ROM. I think that's a good deal?

The demo is very impressive, and the music is insane.

@KingMike Taken from the dev's reply a few comments above:

"The truth is, our mapper could have existed around 1990 because it is not doing anything fundamentally different than what conventional mappers did by 1989. It's not very far off from combining MMC5 and Namco 163 into a single chip and then giving that chip a few more address lines to access more memory."

@oceanvoyager You're a better human than I, because I feel like anybody that ponies up for this deserves to lose it if that comes to pass. They'll learn a lesson from it, that's for sure.

He's incredibly obnoxious and completely off-putting to watch. First comment hit the nail on the head - it all feels like a segment from the V/H/S horror films.

Not to mention that he seems to be a living breathing ad for bad eating habits.

Even if this is all legit, no way in hell could I ever see where giving this guy anything resembling money is a good idea.

Backed this just now. I had to because the Basic Digital comes with a Steam Key AND the NES Rom file; perfect for my Ally X and my Powkiddy devices.

Also, I know the bosses are turn-based, but I am really happy that general combat is in real-time. There's not enough real-time ARPG's for these older consoles, it's always good to see more!

@Digglerdig Yeah, he's kinda punk - I like how he triggers people. It's been a comment section certainty for years, haha.

I really dig his stuff, for some bizarre reason. Loved the first RE movie, killer soundtrack too. Definitely not high art, though, but I like the weird take on the games.

Monster Hunter was a snooze, though.

@slider1983 Yeah, it's got a bit of a hipster vibe, which entirely put me off from the start, but I do love that monochromatic screen; it's pretty spunky

Super Castlevania IV is one of my faves of ALL time, the soundtrack, visuals AND the game, and it's nuts that the music in this fan-port is nigh-on identical. I love it!

Until all the special effects and rest of the animations are in, the visuals still look relatively incomplete. And the speed seems (intentionally?) a bit off to me, but it's really getting there on that front

The game is coming along very, VERY nicely. Can't wait to dig in when it's available!

@jmbenetti I didn't even get that far, to be brutally honest! I discovered that page, got super inspired, tried to teach myself to program and promptly gave up, haha.

So I am yet to learn to code. It's on my bucket list of things to do, but with a couple of other creative hobbies that take up my time, I very much doubt I'll ever get around to it, unfortunately.

@jmbenetti 100%, and boy, that page takes me back! I was trying to get into doing it myself way back when.

@Soupbones You can change it back, there's a 'loggle' mode. It is an .ini tweak, however. Found that info in the Discord

Yeah, this is very cute - interested to see how this one shapes up! With all the GB and GBC games coming out lately, it's nice to see a raster racer in the mix!

I ended up backing this. I was a maaaaasssiive Hyper reader back in the day, being Aussie and all, and an occasional Mean Machines, Gamepro and EGM one.

I never read CVG back in the day, I'm not sure we got it at all here. I could be wrong, but I am sure I would have picked up at least an issue had it been available

The graphical style is completely off-base and definitely off-brand, but the controls look niiiiiiiiiiice!

Not too sure about the 'Murica' stuff though, but I get that it's tongue-in-cheek enough to mock the OG series.

I'd give it a crack, for sure!

@Azuris Yeah, Cruis'n Blast is great! It's definitely one of my go-to's on the Switch

@NinChocolate They are challenges spread throughout the Championship Mode. There's around two per Championship

@Pigeon This is the perspective that is missing these days.

I don't understand why Arcade Racers can't exist just for the joy of it without all the extras? I mean, they have stopped selling all that much anyways after becoming kart racers or huge open world things anyways, apart from a couple of mass-appeal juggernauts.

Arcade Racers would be much easier to make these days than back then, and don't need to last forever in a Campaign sense. Victory Heat Rally does it right, and I hope to see a million others following their lead, because personally, I feel like my gaming tastes are being properly catered to for the first time in a long time

@NinChocolate There's things called Joker challenges that do amp up the crazy! It's things like avoiding vehicles, collecting balloons, drift challenges all that kind of stuff. They're very much in the vein of some of the stuff from OutRun 2's Heart Attack mode. I specifically love the Moonshine Mile Joker challenge toward the end of the game. I don't want to spoil it though!

"Unlike Mario Kart, there are no weapons to use, which reduces the scope of its appeal..."

I am SO glad there are no contrived weapons that turn this into YET ANOTHER Kart Racer. Arcade Racing can exist outside of a weapons set

I don't find it shallow at all either, it's all about the controls. The drift system is deep and flexible. I find half the fun is figuring out how to best bank and maximize boost use, and which combinations of vehicles and parts to use on any given course. The depth is there if you look for it, but different strokes, I guess.

I've personally found that it's a Time Trial players dream. There's 46 tracks in the game, and they're all super high-quality, and I find that quite insane to have at launch these days. If you like competing against yourself - or against friends - with legitimate racing, then there are multiple reasons to come back. I've clocked the Championship mode, done some Time Trials and I'm sitting at about 9 hours so far. I haven't really stepped into the GP or Multiplayer Modes yet either.

If you miss legit Arcade Racers, not just from the arcades, but 32-bit style racers too, then I reckon Victory Heat Rally will be right up your alley. It's a true-blue Arcade Racer, and the best Arcade Racer in an age, in my books.

@PopetheRev28 Jim Power barely functions, I can attest to that. I think their Street Racer release on GOG and Steam is very average too, and requires you to do most of the heavy lifting to get to the version you want. It's literally easier to emulate with those two.

Their more modern releases seem to be fine, though.

@PopetheRev28 They aren't horrible or anything, but yeah, maybe try their Jim Power Collection on Steam. They've come a long way since then, but it's one of the laziest cash-grabs I've come across so far, unfortunately.

I did really love the Zero Tolerance re-release though, despite the inconsistent controller mappings across the games.

I've got The Immortal re-release wish listed.

Once upon a time I would have thought this was neat, but being old now, I feel like it's just more useless trash for people to buy to fill that void.

I've gotta pull myself up on this stuff all the time, and ask myself if these things actually serve a purpose in my life. Games are awesome, and showcase the creativity that lies within people. Collectible junk like this just to collect, not so much, unfortunately.

@smoreon You're bang-on. Dead or Alive on the Saturn is stunning, still. As is Tobal 2 on the PS1.

I'd love to see content creators just stop giving Nintendo the time of day. They obviously don't want a mindshare, so let's stop covering their, IMO, overrated IP and see how long that lasts?

There's so many great OTHER games that Nintendo didn't have a hand in, but made it on to their platforms. Cover those.

When I get my project off the ground, there'll be very little Nintendo coverage, partly because of Nintendo Dick Moves™, but also because I feel there are other people out there that have always been better, but for whatever reason never had the mindshare, luck, vision or inclination to become the nasty corporate entity with the family friendly veneer that Nintendo has.

I much prefer 3D fighters to 2D fighters, and it makes me a little sad that most 3D looking fighters today play like 2D games.

Yeah, I disagree with his statement too, haha.

@PinballBuzzbro YES! Agreed. I had to use Brave's Block Element feature to rid myself of it.

It's absolutely foul.

I owned Soul Reaver on the Dreamcast back in the day, and I always found it hard to wrap my head for some reason.

I think I might wait for the remaster to give it another crack!

@Bu1ld0g Whatever, man. How does a Switch cart not count as Physical Media? You're the one putting arbitrary restrictions on a purchasing method. And it's happened plenty on disc too.

I think I might block you, since you seem irrational and unwilling to converse properly.

@-wc- Yeah, pretty much. I got burned by Spyro and Assassin's Creed The Rebel Collection for before I just decided to go all-digital on Switch (hundreds of games deep, still can't fit them all on a 512gb SD card) and just 'download' the ones I cherish on PC

I've got ROMS on current hard drives I've had since before I finished High School. If I re-write the law for me, I guess I own those, since they've travelled with me everywhere and nobody has taken them from me

@Bu1ld0g No, incomplete is incomplete.

How many Switch games have launched with horrible performance over the years on cart, only to be patched and improved? Once you can't update those games any more whenever in the future, then you'll only ever have the original buggy launch version on cart. Same as all those that come with mandatory installs because they cheaped out on smaller carts.

How is this a scandalous? Are you trying to justify your own purchases? It has been a talking point all of this generation :/

@Bu1ld0g Literally everything with DLC that doesn't get a GOTY edition?

For example, try buying Ridge Racer 6 on the 360 now. I hope you purchased all that extra DLC and music, because the marketplace is closed now and there's no way you're getting that. Pop it in and play it as it is? It's incomplete.

More recently? Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate on the Switch. It's the Ultimate version, not just the regular edition, and there's $100 worth of DLC for it. Not so Ultimate, eh?

EDIT: Oh, and all the seasons of content deleted from Destiny 2 recently.

C'mon, this is common knowledge and practice, do I go on?

@Bu1ld0g Well, physical releases suck these days too, since most of the time, it's an incomplete version of a game that is bound to get a million patches, if it's on a disc at all.

There is no proper solution, and everybody loses.

"lmao."

@RootsGenoa Not triggered, but thanks for the clarification, yeah, these particular kind of videos are trendy, indeed.

@RootsGenoa Awesome to hear!

I'm the same when it comes to Ray Tracing and 4K. New games generally don't float my boat, but regardless, I choose to game on my 1080p monitor rather than my older, larger 1440p monitor I've got.

I'm not perfect either, but yeah, as long as we make strides toward our goals, then it's all good! If I'm in the same spot in 5 years, then I'll know I'm doing something wrong, haha.

I don't recognize the person I was before I moved to the country 8 years ago, let alone who I was before that, haha!

@RootsGenoa This is a very city-folk thing to say. Have you done much to reduce your carbon footprint? I'm legitimately interested, btw, it's not a dig!!!

I moved to the country in 2016, and now live on a small block of land in a 65sqm house running off solar and using water tanks. I've sold off my old gaming PC and almost entire retro gaming collection to go low-power digital.

I've got city-folk family that will spout this stuff, but use an incredible amount of power and water, and rely on a lot of disposable products for just one person. Tell them to cut back when they stay with you, and it's like they've been shot in the heart.

I game on a laptop and Switch, and will be replacing my laptop with an ASUS ROG Ally X next month.

I'd love to get to know you if you're like-minded that way - I don't think there's enough people out there vocal about saving power when it comes to gaming as a hobby.

I usually intensely dislike stuff like this, but the Shenmue one is actually really impressive, in a way. Super, SUPER held back by ancient NPC animation routines, but impressive. Once the technology improves, this will become way less creepy.

The Mario 64 one can burn in hell.

Comments about AI tech being a trend will age like milk.

I'm not super about it all myself, but it's not a trend and it's not going anywhere. It'll be the norm, because humans can't help but only care about themselves and the bottom-line by cutting costs and ruin things that are awesome. See THE INTERNET.

Games crafted by humans will become boutique and expensive, just like music, music on Vinyl and analog synthesizers, because the general masses won't be able to tell/give a hoot.

It's already written, and as a collective, we've proven already exactly the way this will all play out, unfortunately.

I wish I could stomach sim-racing because GT3 & 4 look great! I can play GT 1 & 2 these days, because they're relatively arcadey now due to being pretty old, but I just can't get along with these two.

Which is a shame, because the Japanese soundtracks are phenomenal, and the course design and visuals are fantastic.

Great work to the mod team, nonetheless!

I will be grabbing this, for absolute sure. Can't pass up a 30th Anniversary celebration of my favourite OST of all time to my favourite game of all time!

Mizuguchi, Mitsuyoshi and Hataya are my own personal Holy Trinity <3

@JonathanChapman @BLAZINOAH
Couldn't have said it better myself. The internet is full of entitled people that think they deserve things, just because they scream loud enough.

We don't 'deserve' ***** when it comes to hobbies and interests. We're lucky, and we should be appreciative that we get anything at all. Most of the cool progress that happens in retro gaming these days comes from people's volunteering of their OWN FREE TIME to do cool things. We should really remember that.

Looks amazing. I love Datassette, so anything he's cooked up, be it music, games or both, I'm all for.

Got the notification from Bandcamp for the game the other day, thanks for the additional reminder to purchase, haha!