johnny_boy

Once found some fun in an unlikely import located on a PSX demo disc, called Ore no Ryouri. Now that I think of it, it kind of reminds me of Pressure Cooker, with a bit of Tapper thrown in (like Diner Dash). A fan-made Gamemaker-based sequel is available for PC. Here are some gameplay videos, if anyone is curious. I especially enjoyed the chopping of the vegetables for the soup with the two analog sticks. Not that I ever was any good at it. I'm watching some videos right now and realizing how intense it gets later on. Did anyone else have the chance to play it? From Wikipedia:

What a hateful game, this is. What sort of redeemable quality can japanese folks possibly see in this thing? It basically spits on the player, and rolls him through the mud. Perhaps a submissive person would enjoy this, or someone who enjoys ridiculous challenges. There's no reason to suffer through this crap, nothing but boredom, frustration, and the futile pride of conquering it. If anything, it's an anti-game.

Surprisingly enjoyable fan translations: Moon Crystal Prince of Persia type side-scrolling adventure game. Nicely detailed and balanced. Nekketsu/River City High sports games AKA Crash 'n the Boys (Super Dodgeball, Ice Ice Hockey, Nekketsu! Street Basket, Nintendo World Cup or Nekketsu Soccer League, Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge + the previous one) Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu/Downtown Tournament Chaotic fighting game with creative level design. Captain Tsubasa I (Tecmo Cup Soccer) and Captain Tsubasa II Origin of Final Fantasy X's Blitz Ball mini-game. I also enjoy the Free Fall prototype, which turned up as the fish + basket game in Sunday Funday. Who would've thought a christian game had such a dark concept to begin with? Almost forgot to mention the European + Japanese version of Ghostbusters 2 (New Ghostbusters 2), by Hal. Creative and fun use of a license. North Americans got ripped on this one.

Better definition of Cop hat. Another mockup -- feet would animate one at a time (lack animation).

Hmm... Just realised the Robber sprite's pixels are breaking the grid. Here's a better one:

Thank you for the input, Thomas. With such tight constraints, there's not much to do for the cops, but I think this sprite, if it fits as a missile, would be almost recognisable if you squint. Also tried my hand at a multicolor robber.

Hello, Even though I do not post here very often, I thought it would still be worthwhile to share a quick mockup of Lock 'n' Chase. I experimented with the sprites to make them closer to the Intellivision version, and switched some colors. I'm still not very familiar with the hardware limitations, so please point out if these sprites exhibit any sort of conflict. Finally, if there ever was the slightest chance to use multiple colors, I think it would look even more refreshing. I'm aware this would probably require extensive modifications to its kernel, if it's even in the realm of the possible.

I do not like fighting games, but I think the Max's slider would work wonders with such. Hadoukens would certainly come more naturally.

My parents bought us Final Fantasy 3 SNES for 100$CAN one christmas. Even then, I felt a glimpse of remorse for asking them such an expensive title. Still, we had a bucketload of fun. We skipped on FF2, only renting it once, so this was a real treat for me and my bros. My mom exceptionally greeted my request to see the box on the 24th. I was hypnotised by the single screenshot of Kefka and the Magitek HQ. Obviously, the game had just come out.

Very enlightening! Thanks for the juicy details Nukey. I find the stories of programmers fighting against unreasonable demands and eccentric hardware uniquely entertaining.

kernel-dont-panic link is wrong. Should remove "%5b/url" from the end.

It's really to the credit of the game's solid core mechanics that even through such a mediocre port it still retains some appeal. No wonder Pac-mania is such a universal phenomenon. Its non-violent nature is a welcomed bonus - even women warmed up to it. Such a perfect little game, really. That, Space Invaders, and Tetris... no one can see any wrong with them. Simple, yes, but simple fun. BTW, does anyone think the programmer could have in some way voluntarily sabotaged Pac-Man in the hopes management would change its mind about the 4k limit? I can hardly believe this is the best he could do, no matter what the space limit is. Perhaps I'm just trying to justify his intentions... How could any well-intentioned fellow turn out such a shabby product?

The move to 3D had hurt the previous purity of gameplay by diluting the 2D mechanics (left, right) into 360 degrees (left, right, front, back) bringing with it the uncertainty of measurement and examination of the immediate environment (where the hell am I standing and what exactly is in front of my character). The controls also became more complex to keep up with the free movement and platform jumping segments frequently turned into exercises of frustration or a guessing game where you put your character's hands in fate and your own approximative judgement. Games using 2d gameplay with polygon graphics fared better (Klonoa, Tomba, Bug, Clockwork Knight) but suffered from a perceived complexity deficiency, and mostly linear paths of exploration. This last item doesn't have to be this way, as the 2D Castlevania and Metroid series have frequently shown. The screen is a flat manifestation of a virtual world, why not accept this and play to its strength.

With Atari management's foolish corporate strategy of neglecting the 2600 for more complex machines, it's clear nowadays that they never seriously considered this possibility. Wouldn't be surprised if some engineers had engaged in some kind of skunkworks project in the hopes that higher-ups would notice, but the suits were clearly on their magical tech cloud, where consumers buy anything they can dream out of their asses. The 2600 was yesterday's machine. Really, I believe only a smaller company like Starpath had the guts to bring such a thing to market. Atari was already too bloated and high to consider such an original concept. Common sense and frugality were alien concepts by then. That's my interpretation. I was sucking my thumb and crawling on the floor at the time. Had no time for video games.

Coleco seems to often get criticized for their ho-hum efforts on the 2600. Most of the time, their releases seem merely competent, if not terribly cutting-edge. It kind of looks like they weren't as hungry as Activision and Imagic, nor as brilliant. Mattel are another label (M Network), with their own competing platform, who seemed to lack enthusiasm for the VCS. I seem to remember reading that the Intellivision devs used to snuff with disdain at the VCS. Of course, they were the enemy, but more than that, they thought of it as a platform for inferior "twitch games", whereas theirs was elaborate and cerebral. Could their rivalry towards Atari have played a role regarding their somewhat uninspired VCS products? Could the attitude from the native console devs have somehow tainted the port programmers's? I'm not pretending I understand the issues, if even there are any, but it's interesting to speculate on what might have been going on inside these groups.

That's enough to give even the most humble of classic gamers a "nerdrection". Watta sight, man. Watta sight.

Game 3 of Adventure is random, providing an exceptional amount of variety.

Fun idea. I like this. My three selections would be based on criterias such as replay value, depth of gameplay and variety between the titles. 1) Adventure I think this is near universally accepted as a valuable game with much to squeeze out of. 2) Stargate (Defender 2) Surprisingly good port. I guess Atari felt they got their ass handed to them with Activision's Chopper Command. Such pure game mechanics, so damn tough to play and master. 3) Lady Bug The thinking man's Pac-Man. This homebrew looks so comfortable on the 2600, like it was always meant to be. The blocky shapes do not bother me in the slightest. Funny how those revolving doors add so much to the game. Some other titles I would sorely miss: Thrust Platinum Joust River Raid Jr. Pac-Man Solaris Megamania Too bad this isn't an Atari 8-bit or C64 desert island scenario. There are many more titles with deep, long-lasting gameplay on those two. The VCS is better for short, high intensity spurts of arcade action.

Hello, Regarding the idea of an Alleyway sequel, I would venture to say that Kirby's Block Ball fits that bill, even though it came out much, much later (1996). Surprisingly decent, as are all of Hal's Game Boy offerings. Developped by Hal Labs, published by Nintendo. These two have always shared a tight corporate relationship. It's a shame no other block game came out between these two. Sure, there's Breakout in 1995, but that puts it in the same time period as the Kirby one.

How Atari BASIC Works A bit of nostalgia for technically inclined individuals. I personally have never known this era - my first steps in an IDE was with MS-DOS Qbasic. Fun times. There seems to be a general desire to bring back some form of instant gratification with graphical programming such as Squeak, or simpler interfaces such as why the lucky stiff's Shoes GUI toolkit and the Hackety Hack project. The link from Reddit leads to an online version of The Atari BASIC Source Book.

Bee-ball, a recent homebrew project, is simple great fun with a pal or gal. The single player AI is also adequate, and sometimes shows surprisingly human-like flaws. The slight sluggishness stemming from the bee's velocity is part of its charm, a likable quirk which encompasses part of this game's style. Nice, clear visuals to look at, making good use of the VCS's TIA.

This is insane! Lead is STILL being perfected? Talk about dedication. What a fun game this is, even though I can't get very far.

LS_Dracon I have followed the evolution of Bee Ball, and I have to tell you how impressed I am by it. Implementing AI is a huge step forward, and the game obviously has a very good pedigree. You're obviously a very talented person, this game looks and plays great. I'm also surprised by how well the graphics handle the very tight limitations of the hardware, the horizontal lines are all very well placed. The sprites couldn't look better, and the peculiar controls present a good challenge. I guess it's obvious that you will eventually build a nice title screen with single or multiplayer choice. Let us know how that goes. (BTW, I'm new here, even though I follow the forum since August or so. Cheers everyone, there's some amazing work being done in this community.)