BulkSlash

It might surprise you when I say I’ve played Bulk Slash a lot, and I’ve never noticed any difference between the MISSes with one exception- the final unlockable MISS, Kina, will recharge the bomb in robot mode and the seeker missiles in flight mode much more quickly. The bombs in particular are the secret to a good high score as you can set off massive combo chains with them.

In terms of endings, if you get a high enough score you’ll get an extra FMV cutscene with the MISS you used after the credits. Also depending on your score you can get a different “wallpaper” of the MISS, with a particularly high score awarding you a picture of them in a bikini. It’s why I avoid playing as Kina as she’s like 5 and they have a bikini picture of her. 😫

This actually sounds like it could have been really good. I especially like the idea of them creating a bunch of fictitious wrestlers with silly names for it. Being able to damage the backgrounds or inflict damage on enemies using the environment is something I've wanted to see in a beat 'em-up for a long time.

@UK_Kev The DC would probably have better textures though as it had double the VRAM of the PS2.

I hope they plan to include the improvements Immorpher has made to Doom 64, including a much better brightness range.

My personal favourite improvement is showing how many secrets/enemies/items are left in a level so I can make sure I get 100% before finishing.

They'll probably have to put weapon selection on the d-pad as there aren't enough face buttons on the DC controller.

That was a great shop. I seem to remember thinking everything was very expensive, I bet if I saw those prices today I'd think everything was an utter bargain compared to today's prices! 😂

I tried this on Friday. The intro text goes on for something like 5 minutes, I assume it's summarising the entire anime up to that point or something! 😂 It probably needs some controls to slow down the scrolling as I couldn't quite keep up with the text towards the end!

In terms of gameplay it's pretty decent, I plan to give it a longer go at some point, but it certainly felt pretty fun to play, it feels a bit like Shinobi when you've run out of throwing knives.

@Sketcz Yeah that’s the method that mixes the tracks up, because it scans the TOC of the first disc and then assumes it’s still that disc loaded after you’ve swapped them.

I got my console modded eventually too, but for quite a while I was whipping the disc out while it was still spinning as if you got the timing right it would load the correct TOC for the disc. Can you believe the CD drive eventually broke in my PS1? 😂

This is quite huge, the Z80 is in so many arcade boards, many used them for sound like Capcom's CPS1 and Konami's TMNT board. Having new Z80s available has meant repairs have been quite easy, but if they start to become scarce that could be a problem.

@Sketcz Slightly funny story, but because I had an import PS1 I had to use the CD swap trick to play Doom on it. This would mess up which music tracks it used, which meant the levels would use the heavy metal tracks that were supposed to play on the map screens between levels and those map screens would get the atmospheric tracks.

I do agree Doom works well with aggressive music and the game playing those wrong tracks actually fit the game really well! I wonder if it's possible to switch the tracks around in this port... 😉

I thought Citra had to be shut down along with Yuzu after their problems with Nintendo? Is there some way they are allowed to carry it on?

It won't run on my old ST as it's an STFM! 😅

It's really cool to see such smooth scaling, especially considering how poor the OutRun port to ST was (I did enjoy playing OutRun back in the day, but I needed to use the STARION cheat to win).

I remember someone was porting Ghouls 'n' Ghosts to the ST a few years back because it used the same 68000 CPU as the CPS1 making moving the code over easier.

@Pillowpants Yeah that DX mod of Metroid II is outstanding, I wouldn't want to go back to the original now! 😅

I’ve been compiling MAME and Provenance to install on my iPhone and iPad for a few years now. It will be nice if this means I can just install them from the App Store directly. MAME is easy enough but Provenance can be a real pain to get it to build.

Some interesting stuff in there. I’ve never owned a NegCon, I’d really like to try one of those one day. I did have the JogCon which was pretty good.

I certainly wouldn’t argue with OoT getting the top spot, it’s still an amazing game to play even today (it’s my joint favourite Zelda alongside ALttP and ALBW).

I have noticed (and I’m not criticising) that RPGs tend to be over represented in topping most online games polls. I’m not sure why, maybe RPG players surf the web more than most gamers? Whatever it is, you can usually expect to see an RPG win even if it actually sold less than other games in the poll.

That’s interesting to hear about Jerry’s involvement with Time Crisis as he’s listed in the special thanks section of the game’s end credits.

The funny thing about Jack’s take on GTAIII is that it’s the player who runs over hookers or shoots a load of civilians, the game doesn’t make you do any of that.

Heck, if you find all the missions so objectionable you don’t have to do any of them, you can just explore the first island in peace. You won’t get very far in the game, but it’s 100% the player’s choice to participate. Plus it’s not like killing innocents isn’t consequence free, the police do come after you.

Finally a Flash card that doesn't only hold two games! I'll definitely be getting one of these at some point. I can't see copying the ROMs to the 16Mb portion being an issue for me as I usually only have a handful of favourites and then I can copy in anything else if the mood takes me.

I need to get an NGPC with one of the new backlit screens too, the original screen is not very easy to see! 😅

@-wc- Yeah, I bought a cheap Sony TV a few months back and I've thrown out my OSSC (it was breaking down so it wasn't binned for no reason) and just use the TV for my games now. The picture on the CRT so nice that I can't see myself going back.

At the moment CRTs are really cheap, so even though the Retrotink 5X is amazing, it's just way too expensive, it's cheaper to just get a CRT.

I actually regret getting rid of my RGB Famicom and N64 and replacing them with HDMI modded ones as they're now the odd ones out amongst all my other systems.

Personally I like Shinobi III the best. The surfing level just screams '90s and the controls feel the most refined in III. The early games (particularly the arcade game) feel like a reskin of Rolling Thunder, and just don't seem to control as fluidly as the later games.

GG Shinobi deserves a shout out too for the great way each ninja has their own special abilities. I need to get around to trying the sequel...

@Diogmites I only got into Vampire Killer a few years back too. The fact that we find it amazing without any nostalgia attached shows it’s a genuinely great game rather than rose tinted glasses affecting things.

These days pretty much all I play is Turbo on the CPS1, especially after I modded the ROM to remove the difficulty scaling. 😅

The PC Engine port was a real favourite of mine back in the day, along with the SNES port of Turbo.

"Morio: It is me your legally distinct Italian creator" 😂

This sounds right up my alley! I just hope they include a map screen, I found backtracking and getting around in Yooka Laylee really tricky without one, especially after I got used to having one in Mario Odyssey.

I seem to have been lucky in that neither of my Steam Decks creak and I'm a terrible one for gripping controllers too tightly and pushing the buttons too hard! 😅

I had a green one of these backplates for my LCD Steam Deck, it was a nice simple install and that extra heat pad did get warm which I took as a sign that it was taking heat away from something. It looked really cool too.

I eventually got adventurous and did a full case replacement on my LCD model, it looks pretty good, but getting the original screen unstuck from the chassis and all the old glue removed was really hard work so I wouldn't recommend it unless your case needs replacing.

I love Fall of the Foot Clan, it was the first game I ever beat (admittedly it's not very hard). As an early GameBoy game it really was quite impressive, with parallax scrolling backgrounds, great stereo music and very detailed graphics. The three hidden bonus games were a nice extra too.

I'll be interested to see how closely this matches the original gameplay, if it can keep the little details like being able to quickly turn around while attacking to attack in both directions it will really kick some shell.

@Damo Nice one, easily done. I mean there's two versions of RE4 on there already! 😂

An… interesting list. I’d personally put RE1 Director’s Cut, REmake, Code Veronica and RE4 Wii Edition at the top (in no particular order). I also beat RE3 Remake over the weekend and enjoyed that a lot too.

Also, is RE4 Remake missing? I didn’t see it.

I wonder how Sega would have handled this? In 1996 the Saturn was still their primary focus and the Dreamcast wouldn't launch until late '98. Would this have replaced the Saturn sooner? Or would it have been released instead of the Dreamcast (which seems unlikely given how old it would have been by then)?

Looking at the specs it wasn't as powerful as the Dreamcast so I'm curious what value Sega would have seen in the endeavour at all. Unless this was Sega of America making moves behind Japan's back again? 😂

It's definitely Christian Bale, it was the stare on that billboard that won him the part in American Psycho. 😉

Maybe we can finally get that Bubsy 3D re-release we’ve all been desperate for!

Hiding the image on the spine is hilarious. The on-going in-jokes you'd get in some magazines back then were always fun.

@KingMike Yeah that could be it. The previous X-Men Arcade1Up had it mixed with some Data East games but Data East aren’t really around to object like Capcom could!

I'm surprised they're not including the Konami game, especially as Arcade1Up already licensed that game. I know it's not based on the same X-Men cartoon but it feels like it belongs as part of this collection.

I've seen cabs in much worse condition than that saved, so all is not lost. It might not be economical for the owner (unless the insurance pays for the restoration) but they could live again.

@Blofse Oh to be able to go into an arcade like that today where I’ve got my own money to play on as many games as I like; instead of having to beg my parents for enough coins just for a single game on something! 😅

Oh man, Weird Dreams, I'd forgotten all about that game. I only bought it because it was on one of those Saturday morning shows where you'd ring in and play the game by barking commands down the phone line.

The controls were so laggy and slow it made it impossible to dodge things, so doing it down a phone line must have been doubly impossible! I might buy it to see if it's as terrible as I remember! 😅

No, but also don't censor them.

Love that Speccy rendition of the Knightmare theme. You can just imagine a port from that era having that tune permanently on loop as you play!

That’s a real shame, I often get pre-patched ROM hacks and translations from there as it’s often quicker than doing the patching myself (I usually find I’ve got the wrong dump of the ROM that the patch needs!)

Sometimes I find hacks there I’d not heard about too, so it was a really useful resource. Hopefully this “workaround” continues to be available.

It's a cool solution but I think doing a bit of regular pin maintenance is the better option, especially as it allows you to retain the iconic cartridge loading mechanism. Has there ever been a console with a more satisfying and legendary cartridge loading gimmick?

For ejecting cartridges maybe the SNES wins because you can hit the eject button and catch the cartridge as it pops up? The only other quirky loading mechanism I can think of is the PS3 Super Slim with the sliding door on the disc drive. 😅

I went with the OG GameBoy as really that started it all off and was something of a masterclass in good handheld design- it was affordable, had great battery life and was so tough it could withstand being blown up!

While I loved my GameGear, the battery life meant I never even put batteries in it and just used the power adapter! 😅

In terms of honourable mentions, I do enjoy playing on my Nomad, I think the chunkiness makes it quite comfortable to hold. I found the DS to be quite special as it had a lot of very unique and inventive games. The Switch is amazing and finally so is the Steam Deck, which is pretty much my main machine these days.

It’s always going to be GoldenEye for me, I was just playing it again last week and having a blast re-unlocking all the cheat codes.

@gwyntendo You’ll also need an adapter to connect an N64 controller to your PC as most controllers don’t have six face buttons. The compromise people often make is to map the right analogue stick to the c-buttons but it’s frankly horrid playing that way. The frog song mini-game in Ocarina of Time is basically unplayable when doing that. You can buy repro N64 controllers with a USB plug but I’d avoid those as the analogue stick is often rubbish on those.

@Scollurio So true! 😆 I was messing around in Retroarch the other day and found a filter that looks like you're watching a VHS recording. It looks very period accurate but when I actually play my Saturn on a TV it actually looks much sharper than that! 😂

I've honestly never got the love for the GC controller (but then I love the N64 and Dreamcast controllers which aren't well liked so I'm not exactly in tune with the majority)!

The left analogue stick has great accuracy and the face button layout was a good idea, but the d-pad is tiny, the z-button is hard to reach/press, there's no equivalent to the z-button on the other side, the right analogue nub is fiddly, there's no select button and the analogue triggers are just big mushy buttons rather than proper triggers. That said, it was good for games designed around the controller.

I think I was mostly just disappointed by it after expecting another revolution like the N64 controller... obviously the Revolution was yet to come. 😉

A strange list, I didn’t expect to see the original so near the top, it was great for its time but 2 & 3 totally left it in the dust. It seems a bit soon to be crowning Tekken 8 the best ever, but maybe it’s great, I haven’t played it yet! 😅

Sadly I haven’t really enjoyed the series since 3, I’m not even sure which ones I’ve played it’s been so long since I played them. The rosters just seemed to balloon in later entries and I miss the excellent CG ending sequences we’d get for each character in the original three.

I didn't know they showed off transparent GBAs back then, I always remembered the silver ones with orange/blue buttons. I think there are repro case parts available now to make a GBA that looks like the prototypes.

That's looking pretty Ridge Racer-y. I think it needs some fake game adverts dotted around the track, a jumbotron showing gameplay from a Galaxian clone and a stretch of the track needs to go past a beach.

This sounds good, I loved the levelling up in Area 88 so I’m going to give this a try.

I too had no idea there were so many (terrible) Ghostbusters games.

I had the C64 game back in the day (I sometimes loaded it just to play Invade-a-load!) It was pretty decent but I was never able to beat it. In fact the only time I reached Mr Stay Puft was by accident, I’d left the game running and came back to somehow find myself on that screen. 😅

Ghostbusters The Videogame is definitely my favourite, and I still consider it to be the real Ghostbusters III. I played it on 360 back in the day as the PS3 version was made during the period where devs just hadn’t got the hang of the PS3 hardware. I bought the remaster on Steam but I haven’t played it yet.