SG-1000 ports on the ColecoVision

[Pixelboy]

Hello all.

 

To thank me for the work I'm doing as executive producer of Opcode Games, Eduardo has offered to port two SG-1000 games later this year, and to hand over these CV ROMs to me for free, so that I can start my own ColecoVision publishing label. That means handling everything myself (cartridges, manuals, boxes and distribution). Lots of work, lots to learn, but oh so much fun...

 

Anyhow, I'm trying to decide which two SG-1000 games I should pick, and I would like to gauge consumer interest on these boards. But before you post your personal choices, please read the following:

 

1) I'm not willing to ask Eduardo to port Gulkave for me. Gulkave is Time-Bandit's project and I would never dare steal that project away from him, even though it appears to be stalled. Last I heard, Time-Bandit had encountered a technical problem (something about an interrupt conflict or whatever). Of course, if he came by and gave me and Eduardo permission to carry on from where he left off, I would jump on the opportunity, but since Time-Bandit hasn't been seen on these boards since December 5th 2006, I'd say Gulkave will not be on my list any time soon. It's a real pitty too, since it's a really great shoot-em-up, and one of the finest games the SG-1000 has to offer.

 

2) "The Castle" cannot currently be ported to the ColecoVision because the SG-1000 version has a special 8K RAM chip inside the cartridge. Once the Opgrade Module has been released, porting "The Castle" could be a possibility, but not before.

 

3) Doki Doki Penguin Land and Lode Runner have already been ported to the CV by Steve Begin, who has also begun working on porting Pacar. So those three games are off the list.

 

4) I'm allergic to sports games in general, so don't bother suggesting any SG-1000 sports titles. The only sports game I could be possibly persuaded to consider is Champion Ice Hockey, because I admit that the CV desperatly needs a hockey game, but even that is very low on my list of priorities. (Besides, the controls in that game are atrocious. Try the ROM with Meka if you don't believe me).

 

 

My personal picks would be Pitfall II (which I would have to rename "Pitfall II Arcade" for obvious reasons) because it's an impressive little game with great graphics and great controls. Elevator Action is also very tempting, and Soukoban is definately interesting to me, although porting it to the CV would involve a japanese text translation effort, so Eduardo would have to get some help with that, and I don't want him to waste too much time with software adjustments.

 

If you want to have a look at all the available SG-1000 games, just drop by this site and examine each link in the main table.

 

So then, which games should I ask Eduardo to port for me?

[Hakogame 箱亀]

Of the sg-1000's library, here's a list of games (in no particular order) I think are pretty good:

 

zippy race

safari race

monaco gp

girl's garden

chack'n pop

bank panic

ninja princess

wonderboy

and if you could do a translation, loretta's portrait (g-1315) could be cool too.

[djmips]

Just as a nicety, here's the game link using Google translate Japanese->English (BETA)

 

Throbbing penguin land?

 

I'd say Girl's Garden looks interesting. Love Monaco GP.

 

The FLIPPER pinball game looks pretty cool.

 

There's also screen shots at http://www.vgmuseum.com/sg1000b.htm

 

Pachinko (not that you'd do it) http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/sg1000/pachi.html

 

I guess I need to play some of these.

[Pixelboy]

Just as a nicety, here's the game link using Google translate Japanese->English (BETA)

 

Throbbing penguin land?

LOL! I happen to own a copy of the cartridge. Steve Bégin did a great job porting it to the CV. (Thanks for the link, BTW)

 

I'd say Girl's Garden looks interesting.

I tried it briefly, and I can't even figure out what I'm supposed to be doing in that game... Besides, I don't think it would sell particularly well on the CV.

[djmips]

...

I'd say Girl's Garden looks interesting.

I tried it briefly, and I can't even figure out what I'm supposed to be doing in that game... Besides, I don't think it would sell particularly well on the CV.

 

Before time runs out, pick 10 fully bloomed flowers before they die and deliver this bouquet to your beau; avoid the stumps, boulders, lakes and bears.

 

And yes it might not sell.

[darthkur]

This sounds like a great idea. I love the SG-1000 games. In fact I own a SC-3000 and have a nice selection of games for it. One thing I'm having a rough time of acquiring is the elusive Card Catcher so any of those selections would be great, like:

Elevator Action

H.E.R.O.

Choplifter

Drol

Chack'n Pop

Especially the top two.

[Cybergoth]

Hm... I'd like to see these on the Coleco:

 

Elevator Action

Chack'n'Pop

Mikie

 

Albeit I don't know the SG-1000 versions, just the Arcades

[Pixelboy]

This sounds like a great idea. I love the SG-1000 games. In fact I own a SC-3000 and have a nice selection of games for it. One thing I'm having a rough time of acquiring is the elusive Card Catcher so any of those selections would be great, like:

Elevator Action

H.E.R.O.

Choplifter

Drol

Chack'n Pop

Especially the top two.

H.E.R.O. and Choplifter already exist on the ColecoVision, mind you... Of course, you could say there's already a version of Pitfall 2 on the CV too, but the SG-1000 version is quite different, as it's loosely based on the arcade game, and therefore more polished, at least graphically.

 

As I expected, there already seems to be a consensus forming around Elevator Action. I just played with it again under Meka and it's fun, and quite challenging too.

[Prodos8]

HERO and Elevator Action.

 

HERO is the only SG1000 game I've ever played tho.

[opcode]

I remember planning to port Elevator Action (arcade version) for the CV years ago, but it never advanced beyond conceptual stage cause I didn't have the OM back then. If you ask me, while I think the SG1000 version is ok, it's far from a perfect port. In fact... even the MSX version is better. Bank Panic, Zippy Race and Chack'n Pop would be my picks...

 

Eduardo

[Vic George 2K3]

Choplifter looks like crap on the CV.

[Pixelboy]

I remember planning to port Elevator Action (arcade version) for the CV years ago, but it never advanced beyond conceptual stage cause I didn't have the OM back then. If you ask me, while I think the SG1000 version is ok, it's far from a perfect port. In fact... even the MSX version is better.

You're probably right, but look at it this way: Even if there are better versions of Elevator Action out there, the SG-1000 is good enough to be a good seller on the CV, based on the name alone, and the gameplay (and challenge) is good enough to make it an enjoyable CV purchase. Also, the arcade or MSX versions probably require the Opgrade Module (perhaps even the MegaCart?) while the SG-1000 version doesn't. Finally, if you port the SG-1000 version to the CV, most people won't mind if you never get around to porting the arcade or MSX version.

 

Bank Panic, Zippy Race and Chack'n Pop would be my picks...

Bank Panic could be an interesting choice (although the controls are not exactly intuitive), but you can forget about Chack'n Pop: I hate just about everything in that game, especially the play mechanics. As for Zippy Race, the only "zippy" thing about it is how fast my eyes started glazing over as I played it. Most boring game ever...

 

I just tried Exerion and C-So on Meka. Exerion is average and gets repetitive quickly, but C-So is really fun to play.

[darthkur]

I know that H.E.R.O. is an Activision release in fact I have the actual cart but I figured the the SG-1000 version was significantly different. I suppose that it wouldn't be an economically wise choice though since most would not care about having a second version. I must have forgotten about Choplifter being available. I need to find that one.

So, upon giving it further thought I change my top two choices to:

Elevator Action and Drol. Everyone seems to favor EA and I think Drol would be very nice since, besides the SG-1000 version, I don't believe it was ported to any other console. The only conversions that I'm aware of are disk based on various 8-bit computers. I have it for the C64 and the long disk access times between each board/game do get a bit tedious. Not that that ever keeps me from playing it or others that are similar.

[Pixelboy]

I know that H.E.R.O. is an Activision release in fact I have the actual cart but I figured the the SG-1000 version was significantly different. I suppose that it wouldn't be an economically wise choice though since most would not care about having a second version.

Exactly. The choice cannot just be based on how "nice" a game looks. In the end, it has to sell well enough to justify the production costs. I'm planning to produce a box and manual along with the carts, possibly very similar to the Opcode Games releases in terms of quality, and that's an expensive proposition any way you look at it. Under those conditions, picking an obscure game is a gamble, which I'm willing to take only if the game is really good. C-So is a good example of an obscure game that I would gladly put my money on.

[Cybergoth]

Bank Panic, Zippy Race and Chack'n Pop would be my picks...

Bank Panic could be an interesting choice (although the controls are not exactly intuitive)

 

I started playing the SG-1000 games in emulation, and I have to agree that its version of Bank Panic is indeed an excellent arcade port. And the controls can only get better on the Coleco I'd think

[Pixelboy]

I started playing the SG-1000 games in emulation, and I have to agree that its version of Bank Panic is indeed an excellent arcade port. And the controls can only get better on the Coleco I'd think

Yeah, I'm actually warming up to Bank Panic... For one thing, making a manual for it shouldn't be too much of a problem, and the box art is rather nice. And since Eduardo would really be interested in porting it, that's a plus too.

 

So what else caught your eye, Cyber? Did you give C-So a try? What about Flicky, Golgo-13, Sega Flipper, Sindbad Mystery and Star Force? I like 'em all, but I would like to have a second opinion on those games...

[killersquirel]

I would pick Bank Panic and Monaco GP. It would be very, very cool to have Monaco GP on the CV. It would be extra cool if you can get it to work with the driving controller.

 

-mike

[Prodos8]

What's the difference(s) on HERO for the SG1000 vs N. American releases? Is it the Jetpack instead of the Helocopter backpack, I assume? Or, is there more I can't recall?

 

It still plays about the same as hero on C64 IIRC and looks very good.

[Cybergoth]

So what else caught your eye, Cyber? Did you give C-So a try? What about Flicky, Golgo-13, Sega Flipper, Sindbad Mystery and Star Force? I like 'em all, but I would like to have a second opinion on those games...

 

I've only started into this adventure. Another game that looked very interesting was called Ninja Princess. I will try the ones you mentioned and report back soon

[ten-four]

Hi all your Gamers !

 

I would like "Zippy Race" and "Bank Panic"

 

And in a Arcade look please...

 

Irf those will be "available" for the CV., -i'll buy them...

[Pixelboy]

What's the difference(s) on HERO for the SG1000 vs N. American releases? Is it the Jetpack instead of the Helocopter backpack, I assume? Or, is there more I can't recall?

In addition to the jetpack ( ), they also added background music in the SG-1000 version, and it's surprising how it changes the mood of the game, and not necessarily in a good way... I find myself actually prefering the silence of the CV version, because it adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the game. The levels are essentially the same as on other systems (including the CV) so really, porting H.E.R.O. would be rather pointless.

 

 

I've only started into this adventure. Another game that looked very interesting was called Ninja Princess.

Yeah, I tried that one. It's fun because you can hide behind obstacles, which adds a layer of strategy in how you approach your enemies, but it's also really tough, mostly because bad guys move fast and can attack from any angle, and the princess is a one-hit-kill wonder. Also, the player often has to move the princess diagonally to avoid enemy projectiles and to fire diagonally, and we all know how much of a chore moving diagonally with the stock CV controller can be... Overall, Ninja Princess is a very interesting game, with good graphics and music, but I have a hard time picturing this game on the CV. Perhaps if you could select the number of lives at the start of the game, or earn continues so that you don't have to start over from the very beginning after losing all your lives, I would give it higher consideration.

 

 

I would like "Zippy Race" and "Bank Panic"

 

And in a Arcade look please...

Eduardo will only port the games, with little or no adjustments. What you see on the SG-1000 is what's you'll get on the CV.

[Cybergoth]

Black Onyx looks very interesting, albeit with all the Japanese text it's unplayable.

 

The blocky look aside, is SG-1000 Bomb Jack surprisingly playable. Unless Eduardo thinks that the Coleco could do a much better job when doing a fresh port based on the Arcade, it might be worth considering. Made it to round 12 so far

 

Borderline sucks, I skipped all "Champion*" games, trying Chak'n'Pop next.

[Bruce Tomlin]

Black Onyx looks very interesting, albeit with all the Japanese text it's unplayable.

I can do translations, but I don't want to have to deal with the messy details of how any given game encodes it. Give me screen shots (or get me interested enough to play a rom), and I can give you English.

[Cybergoth]

I can do translations, but I don't want to have to deal with the messy details of how any given game encodes it. Give me screen shots (or get me interested enough to play a rom), and I can give you English.

 

It seems to be an early Hack'n'Slay dungeon crawl RPG game, in best Wizardry/Bard's Tale tradition. I hope that does get you interested, else that'll gonna be _many_ screenshots

 

Maybe it can be hacked to display all messages/text on a couple of screens? Definitely a more challenging task then "just" porting a game, so it'd depend on Eduardo on how far he wants to go and wether he considers worth it

[Cybergoth]

So, I played both Chack'n'Pop and Elevator Action. Pretty much what I said for Bomb Jack, they'd both make good Coleco games. I think Eduardo already said he can make a port of Elevator Action better than that from scratch and maybe that is true for Chack'n'Pop, too. Still, Colecofying those versions would definitely be better than nothing

 

Dragon Wang sucks.