retrorussell

The NES, for Super Mario Bros. Not impressed by the look of Gyromite, or the stupid ROB for that matter. But Super Mario Bros.. DEFINITELY had to have that.

Karnov is one I thought of too for worst. Phantasy Star IV was a great, long ending. I like the goofy ones from the Gunbird series.. and the silly ones during some of the Fatal Fury ending credits (2 fighters square off and something silly happens). Ikari Warriors is a sucky game, with a fittingly sucky ending: You have accomplished the mission. You are the very prevailer that protect right and justice. I would express my sincere, thanks to you. Take good rest! General Kawasaki (I can't count the number of times I got stuck behind something on that stupid game and couldn't complete it. Lazy-ass programmers..)

And one more to chew on for a while: DIGGER (1980, Gremlin/SEGA). Rather dull rip-off a Japanese game called "Heiyankyo Alien", where you dig holes in the playfield to trap aliens, then fill the hole (rather crudely rendered here) to kill the alien and earn points. Space Panic would make this formula much more successful with the addition of platforms and ladders. Another lame thing about this game is that you are timed in a matter that if you don't kill all the aliens in time, a HUGE mob of aliens outside the playing field bursts in and you are FRICKING SCREWED!!! I saw this once at a mini-arcade in Beaverton Mall, by Payless I think. Back in 1981 or so. Also saw a cocktail Ladybug conversion in a Digger cabinet, at a highway diner called "Whimpy's", way back in probably '83 or so.

Speaking of which.. BLUE SHARK (1978, Midway) Kind of blah Sea Wolf clone where you fire with a mounted "dart rifle" (I guess) at sharks (big and small, the smaller quicker ones are worth more), octopii (which just appear here and there and don't move), and trying to avoid deep-sea divers (which deduct points when shot). My sister and I played this at Malibu Gran Prix.

Lucky! I had a few times when people put credits in a game and just left it there.. or the game was set to free play. My sister and I played the hell out of Blue Shark once at Malibu Gran Prix when it was set to free play. Not the greatest game ever, but we didn't care, we were 7 and 9, and free play is free play!

ME TOO! "You've got smarts, a buff bod, and a pocketful of rocks", the game sleeve indicates. This guy is the biggest pussy I've ever seen in a video game. He looks like Shaggy. Smarts, buff bod my ass!

Haven't played the Genesis Out Run, but Space Harrier II is definitely great. I especially love the bonus round where you can really rack up some much-needed lives.

I like to collect images off the internet of the boxes/sleeves/jewel cases/etc. of the games/consoles, especially Sega CD ones. It's been a long time since I did that, since my last computer went tits up. I need to get back into that again.

Yes, Ground Kontrol is awesome and worth the trip. See if you can beat my Ms. Pac-Man hiscore, I think it's still on there. GK has a bar and kitchen, and lots of games, newer and older, plus pinball.

My Rock Band 3 group is known as "C*ck And The Stinktubes", and the logo on the drums is a rooster head and a bare butt.

I once dreamed that some games were rated "R" like movies, for violence, maybe sex and what-not. This was way before Mortal Kombat made gory violence popular in video games (and incidentally, before Chiller even). I dreamed that Naughty Boy was rated "R", but I can't remember what parts made it "R" (though with the word Naughty in the title, you'd think sex or nudity.. I'll never know for sure). I also dreamed of a game like Taito's Indian Battle (though I'd never seen or played Indian Battle until recently!) called "Nativ" and it was by Taito. I once dreamed there was a sequel to Berzerk, and this was before Frenzy came out. You controlled Evil Otto, on the run from a vengeful humanoid! You could bounce out of the maze through an exit, or out of the screen towards the actual player, in 3-D! WTF!

I never heard anyone called it 2 thousand 6 hundred.. I always assumed if it doesn't have a comma in the number just call it hundred instead of thousand.

Definiely.. add Aero Fighters series to the Neo Geo list (I have the third on my 4-slot cabinet). Viewpoint is good too, as is Pulstar. I like the Gunbird games for the arcade.. not just because they're great shooters, but the dialogue between the characters in the cutscenes is funny!

I have to say sports fans in general are a lot more mentally imbalanced than retrogamers. RGers are generally a cool bunch, some are big on collecting, some decorate their bedrooms in game-related regalia, and it's all good. Sports fans scream, curse, throw things, get piss drunk, taunt other fans, etc. Not so much with the retrogamer community.

I never played the Saturn but I heard their shooters are awesome. Me personally, I loved the Genesis for good shooters. Insector-X Thunder Force series Gunstar Heroes Gaiares There's many others I can't think of right now..

Visited my mom when she lived in Vancouver, WA on the weekends back in the early/mid 80s. Rather good sized two level mall across HWY 217 from her with Aladdin's Castle on the 2nd floor. I loved the hell out of Kung Fu Master when I first saw it there. I think you got 6 tokens for a buck.