(Retro) What have you been playing this week? Vol.2

[QualityChimp]

I keep wanting to build a PC arcade, but every time I do, I go around in circles, so I just fired up the XBox to play a few arcade games.
It was on S.A.R., so I started on that - I really like this game, proper tense gaming and a brilliant score. Any other fans on here? I never really hear anyone talking about it.

I was around "S" on the title list, so also played Sengoku 3, Sexy Parodius, Shadow Dancer and Spider-Man: The Arcade.
Maybe it was Asura talking about the Marvel Capcom games, but this scratched an itch.

It's a weird title because it's part side-scrolling beat 'em up and part platformer.
There's a bit early on where you reach a truck and start battling Scorpion, then the side of the truck drops, revealing a muscly guy in glass chamber.
Then black goo oozes over him and he jumps out - it's Venom!
After beating him up, he grows MASSIVE, then the camera pans out and it becomes a platformer.

Honestly, it's not the best at either genre, but there's no denying the artwork and character roster.

There are some lovely graphical touches like speech bubbles, splitscreen cutscenes like a comic, the bad guys fedoras getting punched off and the sprite scaling.

There's a lovely section where you're chasing Venom up a skyscraper and you finish by jumping onto a blimp.
As you work your way through the blimp, in massive writing, it says "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU" and Kingpin is the boss.
You escape the exploding blimp and land on a flying platform where a one-armed scientist turns into The Lizard, then the Green Goblin attacks.
As you battle, you see the BIG BROTHER blimp crashing down.

Just lovely little graphical touches that made it feel BIG in the arcade.

[dataDave]

Perfect Dark PDHP (High performance) hack, using the new overclocked MiSTer core.

60FPS.
Pin-sharp visuals, thanks to toggling all the aliasing off at the system level, coupled with peerless video out to a PVM.
Steel bowl controllers.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Well, it does, there's also the PC source port with uncapped frame rates and resolution, but I need a controller adapter for that.

[CMcK]

I really need to try this N64 turbo core. Super smooth Sin and Punishment sounds like a real treat.

[QualityChimp]

I was away last week, so dug out the Miyoo Mini.

Played some Punisher, which is another glorious Capcom side-scroller.
It's pretty brutal too, with Frank straight up executing thugs.

It's an outrageous coin-guzzler, though.
Some of the bosses are ridiculous, particularly Guardroid and the tank/cyborg.
Those lanky robots are a-holes too.



Still it was great fun to play through and see all the Marvel characters.

EDIT: looks like there was a bonus level cut from the final game:

https://tcrf.net/The_Punisher_%28Arcade%29

[wakka]

I've been continuing to enjoy some pinball with VisualPinballX.

I got really quite into Williams' Congo from 1995 over the weekend. This is based on the film, which is based on the Crichton book. I'd read on Reddit that it's quite an approachable table for beginners, which I'm finding to be true. My shot accuracy is starting to creep up ever so slightly, which is satisfying.

At the moment when I'm playing tables I've set myself a little goal of hitting the score which awards a free go. Not that I've actually hit any yet. But it's something to aim for!

I am going to head out and play some real pins soon. I'd like to play a Congo, but the only one I can see on the Pinball Map (https://pinballmap.com/uk) is in Birmingham. A bit far for one pinball table!

However there are quite a few places closer to me with some pins. I'm particularly curious to try some of the newer tables as these aren't available for emulation, and fortunately there are two (including the seemingly much celebrated Godzilla from Stern) pretty close by to me.

[QualityChimp]

I've not been to Tilt for aaaages, but I really liked it.
Slightly cramped, but nice beer and coffee with some tables.

I think I'd prefer a token option as it ends up being quite pricey once you've had a coffee, cake and a couple of games.

I think I played Jurassic Park last time.

[QualityChimp]

Look at this, wakka!

[wakka]

That's so cool!

Yeah the price is the one thing that gives me pause with IRL pinball. When you're bad at playing (like me), your game can be incredibly short. And yeah I think it was Tilt that was listed on the Pinball Map as having a Congo.

Ideally I'd be able to go to Arcade Club and play unlimited games, but that's even further...I live in hope of a London Arcade Club. One day!

[egparadigm]

Blurry above, as filmed from my 4k TV. For lovers of CRT here are flicker-free stills:

[wakka]

Haha you absolutely bossed that level. Good work.

[egparadigm]

Haha you absolutely bossed that level. Good work.

Thanks. 😁

SMB can be annoying but I’ve really enjoyed just trying the impossible. Like the thinnest wire on the guitar level. Have managed to do it about 4 times… out of 100. 🫣

[wakka]

Yeah I was playing it not long ago on Dolphin.

Such a great game but it is hair pulling at times. Truly timeless, though. It hasn’t aged a day in my opinion.

[dataDave]

It's an outrageous coin-guzzler, though.

I disagree. When you're faced with a cabinet that actually takes real coins you'd be surprised at how much it alters your approach. Back in the day I'd have between £2-£5 to spend at the arcades whenever we went away for a weekend (although realistically I'd always scrounge more). At 20p a credit it's no joke - you need that money to stretch for as long as you possibly can. Dying on a tough boss and then immediately throwing in another 20p was financial suicide. It was more preferable to start right from the very beginning, rinsing as many points out of the easier areas that I'd already done a few times in an attempt to gain more lives quicker, or to get through as efficiently as possible, trying to save health for the tougher spots (which would get practiced more and more as I repeat this).

It was usually better to stand back and watch the grown-ups play to get a better idea of unfamiliar areas. That's precisely how I learned to get through the factory level on Final Fight without barely losing any health, and also how I learned all of the special moves on SF2.

This is the main issue with emulation or home ports. At least on the NeoGeo AES you're limited to 4 credits. Freeplay is fine, but when I'm emulating I usually turn continues off within the dip settings whenever I can. It's the only way to truly appreciate the inner workings of the game.

[dataDave]

(also, OnionOS is up to 4.3.0 now)

[egparadigm]