PKDuckman

@BulkSlash Also Dragon Age was in development since around 2004 and it was shown at E3 that year. It was almost complete by the time of the EA purchase, and EA forced upon them some ridiculous changes, such as adding the Origins subtitle, some DLC items that could only be obtained via cross promotions, as well as delaying the PC version for many months for a simultaneous launch with the console versions.

Dragon Age 2 on the other hand, was fast tracked by EA and given an unrealistic deadline, which explains why so many maps are reused in the game. It was also developed for consoles in mind which is why so many features from the original game, such as the tactics mode and NPC customisation, were reduced or removed.

@dmcc0 For me, relaxing means being to pick up a game and play with no added hassles. With modern gaming being so dependent on microtransactions I often get stressed that I might miss the latest drop or lose my stats because I didn't play multiple days in a row.

The sad thing is LRG's competitors are times worse as the niche collectors subsector is barely regulated. SLG for instance share LRG's reputation for cancelled or delayed preorders, and they also have a habit of nickel-and-diming customers by selling a stripped down compilation first, then a more "complete" compilation down the line. And some of the smaller outfits such as Dispatch Games, First Press, Hard Copy, and Super Rare are apparently even worse when it comes to receiving your physical copies, with some taking years.

Funnily enough, D4 is releasing the PC-88 version of Burai this week.

Should have been Snake vs Grunt for Xbox

@Kurokage I'd probably contact LRG or the voice actors directly through social media, to let them know that there's a demand for their takes on Gex.

If all else fails, there's always the possibility of someone modding the PC version so that the voice acting could be changed.

@Kurokage Same. I don't care much about Gex 2's UK voice actor, but Danny John Jules did a fantastic job in the UK version of Gex 3, way better than Dana Gould IMO, who's just phoning it in by that point.

Knowing LRG however, they'd probably just use the US PS1 versions and call it a day, as getting the rights to the UK voice actors likely cost extra.

@PinballBuzzbro Yep the inflated price is really annoying, especially compared to Ratalaika which offers other classics of the era like Shockman for a fraction of the price.

It's a very strange mix of games, and I fail to see how the light gun games have anything to do with a sprite scaling shooter.

I wish Night Striker came along with Aqua Jack and the first two Chase HQ games instead.

It feels like every second indie game nowadays is a Metroidvania. I'm seriously getting burnt out.

Why can't there be more Contra/Metal Slug homages that you could just pick up and play like Iron Meat?

Yep the price is distributing, and it costs the same price as the Valis collections which has 4 games instead of 2.

Like I said before, I really wish Ratalaika got the rights, especially considering Gynoug and Gleylancer cost less than $10 each.

Great game. It's pretty much a follow-up to the arcade Ninja Warriors, also by Taito.

Worth noting that if you're interested in the original Famicom version on Switch, you could change your region to Japan or HK and download the Namcot Collection and buy Megami Tensei as a DLC, untranslated Although I've been told that the second game is better due to Atlus going their own direction.

Dammit, it's Advanced Variable Geo. It's not a bad fighter but most of the series' draw comes from the H-game content, which are removed in the console versions.

The sequel is a far better game, too bad it was a PS1 exclusive.

I assume it's either Bubble Symphony, Chase HQ, Gekirindan, Night Striker, or Twin Cobra 2. They're pretty much the only major Taito arcade-to-Saturn game left. So far we already got the rest of the Taito Saturn catalog such as Cleopatra Fortune, Elevator Action 2, Puzzle Bobble 3, and Rayforce.

Why not the SNES version? Or even the Mega Drive version?

Most of Sega's ports of Capcom arcade game are great, if not for one thing - the inability to customise controls. I usually order the SNES-style layout on Genesis eg A to attack and B to jump, but it's reversed in these games.

The annoying thing is that you have to create a Japanese eshop account or switch your region to Japan to get the games, as they're currently exclusive to Japan. I assume it was due to the legal minefield thanks to Harmony Gold and Robotech.

Frankly while this game has incredible character models for 1988, the gameplay is rather repetitive and often devolves into button mashing. You're better off with Final Round or Punch Out.

Fun fact: The Genesis version was made quickly to cash in on Buster's win over Mike Tyson, with Sega themselves porting over the game and simply renaming a similar looking boxer to Buster Douglas. By the time the game came out however, Buster Douglas lost to Evander Holyfield.

I'm waiting for a console release as well. Arcade Archives seem to stay away from sprite scaling games, so the next best thing may be City Connection emulating Night Striker S as part of Saturn Tribute.

Wasn't the original Final Fantasy influenced by D&D as well? IIRC the Famicom version had monsters inspired by D&D's copyrighted monsters like the Beholder and Illithids, which got changed in the NES version to something less derivative.

Why can't the publishers include Silver Star Harmony alongside? I prefer its mode proportional models over the original's.

@PinballBuzzbro I bought their games digitally and I'm screwed as well. For Turrican and Wonder Boy they released a cheap compilation first then announced that a more complete version is coming later, which only added to the confusion. Had they communicated to their customers instead of remaining radio silent, I would not have bought the cheaper compilations but waited.

As for Ratalaika, their self published retro rereleases are generally competent and reasonably priced. It's the ones they partnered with ININ for that have the most issues. The first Irem Collection has button rebinding and autofire issues that took months to correct, and this is made harder by the fact that both Image Fight and X Multiply are already on Arcade Archives in better form.

@gojiguy According to an article I've read, SLG is in financial trouble, with their founder departing, bad communications on delays, and many physical prints and hardware didn't sell well. Apparently their last physical releases were shipped in March 2023.

https://seafoamgaming.com/2024/05/08/benedict-cofounder-of-strictly-limited-departs-as-slgs-finance-troubles-persist/

I recommend the game for being absolutely insane. It starts off as a standard military shooter and go off the rails fighting against magical creatures and aliens from another dimension.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/riot/

The entire Macross arcade series is great. The second game was also developed by NMK but changed into a horizontal shooter. The third game was developed by Moss, which also made the current Raiden games, and is a vertical shooter again with the Macross Plus license.

Whether Aladdin uses a sword in the film or series is irrelevant, since he never jumped on people's heads either. Scrooge never jumped on people with a pogo stick in Ducktales either yet his series get a pass due to being made by Capcom.

Good to see Arcade Archives bringing out more 90s arcade games. Pretty much all of the Mystic Warriors board-based games are brilliant, now all we have left are Gaiapolis, Martial Champions, Monster Maulers, and Violent Storm.

I didn't know why Taito and Hamster even bothered when Solitary Fighter's AA port already exists, which is pretty much Violence Fighter Championship Edition.

Anyways the gameplay in Violence Fight did not age well, it was that phase before SF2 when developers were still codifying what a fighting game should be, and nowadays play more like a wrestling game with free movement and jumps.

Worms look so much better without the noses

Yep, the release order of the games on TG16 is 2, 3, 4, 1, with the last being a remake.

Hopefully it will be better than Sengoku Cannon on PSP

I have only played the Mega Drive version before. Apparently the MSX2 and X68000 versions lets you pick from 3 characters, while the Mega Drive version only has the fighter.

@amongtheworms Yep the cover art is one of the best things about the series, created by the one and only Yoshitaka Amano.

I'm waiting for the sequel to Saiyuki World, which also got localised in the West as Whomp Em, where the Monkey King got replaced by a Native American warrior. It is pretty much a copy of Mega Man and is like the closest the Switch gets to Black Myth Wukong.

This game plays alright even if you don't know Japanese, since most of the gameplay is commanding your armies.

Kure also made the First Queen series which improved upon the formula, and the fourth game had a PS1 release which was on the American PSN for some reason. The game was also ported to DOS in Chinese, which I had fond memories of playing.

It makes sense:

*SNK is now owned by an organisation ran by the Saudi crown prince
*Ronaldo is currently signed to a Saudi football club

@Hexapus Look up the Plaza Accord. Back then the Japanese economy was seriously challenging the USA's and was on the verge of becoming an economic superpower, so the US's finance minister pressured those of several developed countries to "reduce trade imbalances". Japan's bubble eventually bursted in the early 90s.

Of course, the USA will always put its own interests first, even if it screws the interests of its allies.

It's a friendly rivalry, and the original author is seriously overthinking it. It's like saying SF1 has an anti-Thai agenda because Sagat is the final boss.

Also there were plenty of other works teaming up an American and a Japanese back then, from Black Rain to Showdown in Little Tokyo, and while they have their fair share of stereotypes, they are are more like "two people from opposing culturws overcoming their differences to work together".

I really hate how Hamster is going for the bottom of the barrel. Enough NES Vs System games, being about the 32 bit games already. I'm dying to play Outfoxies.

@kitestar Or better yet update the Requiem Collection so it also includes the Rondo of Blood remake, which was included in the Dracula X Collection on PSP. Also perhaps offer an option to play with the original cheesy voiceover in SOTN.

I've played the remake and it's very good, akin to the remake of Castlevania Adventure. Simon no longer has slippery controls and all the attacks feel powerful.

The original game is also included, and there's also an option to remove the limited continues.

The second and third games aren't bad at all, and they have some interesting gimmicks setting them aside from the average Final Fight clone.

The problem is that the Western releases were heavily butchered to the degree of Streets of Rage 3. The localizers of Peace Keepers were convinced that Americans hate anything resembling anime, so they replaced the anime-style portraits with something out of Mortal Kombat. Special attacking based on East Asian mythological creatures? Nah let's replace it with characters shouting words. And that's not mentioning the removal of entire cutscenes and enemies, cut the number of continues, and replace the music with ambient background noise.

I'd love to pay for non-cloud versions of the games, but unfortunately Antstream's competitors have their own issues. You have Arcade Archives taking their sweet time releasing games, or the likes of LRG charging a premium and often fail to deliver.

Sigh, it's LRG again. I wish Ratalaika got the rights instead, since they actually release their games on Xbox in addition to a reasonable price. Just compare the price of Ratalaika's Gleylancer, Gynoug, or Shockman in contrast to LRG's Felix the Cat.

I want to get the previous expansions but it seems ININ which distributed the Egret 2 Mini outside of Japan just gave up, and I can't be justified paying so much for 10 games.

If only Arcade Archives moved to Taito F3 games.

Hopefully we can see Taito F3 games on Arcade Archives soon. The only ones on Switch are the emulated Saturn versions like Cleopatra's Fortune, Elevator Action Returns, and Puzzle Bobble 2+3, alongside M2's ports of Darius Gaiden and Rayforce.

And censorship the least of the game's problems. The game is based on the AES version and has limited options compared to the Arcade Archives rereleases or the original Xbox version.

*No voices for Zero
*No transformations and interactions for Athena and Red Arremer
*No transparency effects
*No selecting the amount of continues
*No stage select in training mode

Apparently the Japanese version is easier since your stamina doesn't drain while walking around.

Waiting for either Astyanax, Shatterhand, or Whomp Em.