Team Pixelboy - Select the MSX port you want most!

[Pixelboy]

In the Team Pixelboy News Bulletin of February 1st 2012, I indicated that Eduardo Mello was willing to port four MSX games for Team Pixelboy to publish this year, games that require Opcode's Super Game Module to run on the ColecoVision. King's Valley and Thexder are the first two games, and I decided to let AtariAge members choose the other two, with Eduardo's accord. Hence the poll of this forum thread.

 

Voting is limited to the games within the poll. If there's an MSX game you feel is missing from the poll, you can always voice your opinion, but such opinions will likely not be considered in the actual voting results. The poll choices are already pretty wide and diverse, so there must be at least one game among those choices that you'd like to see on the CV, right?

 

Also, you'll notice that all the games in the poll are roughly 32K in ROM size. Eduardo doesn't want to port any MegaROM games this year, he wants to keep such fan favorites as Gradius, Penguin Adventure and Maze of Galious for later, and they will likely be published under the Opcode Games label. The publishing agreement I have with Eduardo is for first-generation MSX games that require more than 1K of RAM, so please don't bother asking for MSX games that are over 32K in ROM size.

 

The poll results will be determined on March 1st 2012, and any further registered votes after that date with be ignored. If the voting ends in ties over several games, I'll let Eduardo decide which ones among the poll winners he's the most interested in porting.

 

Here are some links to YouTube videos of the various games, to help you decide. In the case of Space Shuttle, I could only find actual screenshots of the MSX version on MobyGames, but you can easely find footage of the game on YouTube for other platforms (Atari systems, Apple II, etc.), the game plays the same in all versions.

 

- Alien 8 :

- Alpharoid :

- Eggerland Mystery :

- Ghostbusters :

- Guardic :

- Gun Fright :

- Inspecteur Z :

- Knight Lore : www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1s7kexSrHE

- Monster House (Youkai Yashiki) :

- Rollerball :

- Space Shuttle - A Journey Into Space : www.mobygames.com/game/msx/space-shuttle-a-journey-into-space/screenshots

- Spelunker :

- Star Soldier :

- Stone of Wisdom (Kenja no ishi) :

- The Castle :

- The Roving Planet Styllus :

- Twinbee : www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhn4YUM2a0Q

- Zanac :

 

Happy voting!

[+GroovyBee]

Alien 8 all the way baby!

[ten-four]

I go 100% for Roller Ball & Star Slodier.

 

We need a pinball game for our ColecoVision.

 

Think there is an error, I vote Star Slodier but it shows Stone of Wisdom.

[VectorGamer]

A lot of those games look dull and boring...I voted for Spelunker

[Pixelboy]

I go 100% for Roller Ball & Star Slodier.

 

We need a pinball game for our ColecoVision.

 

Think there is an error, I vote Star Slodier but it shows Stone of Wisdom.

 

Someone else selected Stone of Wisdom but Planet Styllus got recorded instead. I think there's a bug in the forum software, which may depend on the browser used. I voted for Stone of Wisdom myself and encountered no problem...

 

EDIT: Hey wait, if I voted for Stone of Wisdom, and it's currently showing "1 votes" recorded, that means your vote for Star Soldier wasn't recorded at all. There is one vote for Rollerball, so did you try to place votes on two different games at the same time?

Edited February 4, 2012 by Pixelboy

[Yurkie]

Both my votes are for an original titles.

[+opcode]

You should have allowed multiple choices. How about starting over.

[+opcode]

And you made the common mistake of posting European videos, which show the games running at 50Hz (slower than the are). Rule #1: when posting MSX videos, always look for Japanese stuff.

 

And I thought TwinBee was already decided.

 

And some of the games in their original packaging....

Edited February 4, 2012 by opcode

[+opcode]

This is nice, Zanac bullet hell:

 

The video is kind of choppy though. Except for the usual tile scrolling, everything else in the actual game is very smooth, and it features one of the best flickering management ever. So the video just does't make it justice. But still fun.

[AtariBrian]

i myself think a few original games mixed in with some great arcade ports is great! i am a huge spelunker nes fan, but this looks way to slow as he moves. I do think that goonies and knightmare look very promising if we are getting the same game that i see on the youtube videos.

[Pixelboy]

And you made the common mistake of posting European videos, which show the games running at 50Hz (slower than the are). Rule #1: when posting MSX videos, always look for Japanese stuff.

 

If you can find better videos, you're free to post the links to them here.

 

 

And I thought TwinBee was already decided.

 

All I said is that it was a preference of mine. Aside from King's Valley and Thexder, I'm leaving the choice to the people.

[Raccoon Lad]

I voted Monster house, but if it's chosen I'd like to see someone touch up the graphics a bit.

 

If I could vote on my top 5 of which I thought looked best:

1: Monster house - simple, yet fun looking. Nice music. Japanese shinto theme is a plus.

2: Star soldier - peppy upbeat shooter that goes well beyond the early coleco titles, but somehow seems at home with them.

3: Eggerland Mystery - AKA the adventures of Lolo. Classic game, well known and enjoyed by many. Great graphics

4: Zanac - Well made, classic compile shooter. I have the utmost respect for compile and their shooters, but I find them a bit too hard for me.

5: The Castle - great game, but you're probably never going to see the end unless you're really hardcore.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Raccoon Lad

[smurfbert]

Roving Planets Styllus looks fun (voted)

[Pixelboy]

5: The Castle - great game, but you're probably never going to see the end unless you're really hardcore.

 

I think The Castle looks nice, and it's a rather large game to explore which is a plus, but the game runs so slowly it puts me to sleep. Seriously, have you seen those slow jumps? If Eduardo told me he could speed the game up, I would definately be more enclined to publish it. As it is now, it's far from being a favorite of mine.

[jblenkle]

I really like Ghostbusters...the MSX version is just like the Atari 8-bit version which I always had a lot of fun playing. It's kind of long and involved playing the thing, but it's still one of my favorites.

[+opcode]

5: The Castle - great game, but you're probably never going to see the end unless you're really hardcore.

 

I think The Castle looks nice, and it's a rather large game to explore which is a plus, but the game runs so slowly it puts me to sleep. Seriously, have you seen those slow jumps? If Eduardo told me he could speed the game up, I would definately be more enclined to publish it. As it is now, it's far from being a favorite of mine.

 

You only need to press a key to speed up the game. The slow pace is actually necessary, and you will understand why once you play the game. So do not rely on videos, go play those games. Then you will see that Guardic is actually a great game.

 

In fact as a long time MSX user I believe I am entitled to an opinion, right?

So here are my picks for best games:

- Guardic

- Rollerball

- Star Soldier

- Stone of Wisdom

- Twinbee

- Zanac

 

Sure, I am a sucker for shooters, but what can I do…

[Ikrananka]

I love the look of Alien 8 so it got my vote. In my opinion, there are plenty of shooters and platform games for the CV. Having an isometric exploration/puzzle game would be a real first for the CV.

[RelliK111]

I love shooters and I can play those all day, but I think the coolest game that is not on the Colecovision in any way is Ghostbusters. I think you could sell 150 copies of that with no problem All the other cool games on that list are similar to games that are already on the colecovision except for maybe stone of wisdom.

[Ikrananka]

All the other cool games on that list are similar to games that are already on the colecovision except for maybe stone of wisdom.

Errmm - I don't believe there is anything at all remotely like Alien 8 or Knight Lore on the CV. That said, I wouldn't be unhappy to see Ghostbusters win - one of my favourite games when I was young playing on my bread bin Commodore 64.

[RelliK111]

All the other cool games on that list are similar to games that are already on the colecovision except for maybe stone of wisdom.

Errmm - I don't believe there is anything at all remotely like Alien 8 or Knight Lore on the CV. That said, I wouldn't be unhappy to see Ghostbusters win - one of my favourite games when I was young playing on my bread bin Commodore 64.

 

I agree but I also said "cool games" now I'm just going off what I saw on the video, because I have never played those two games, and I like the graphics, but I hate the fact that its just one color.Those 2 games look very fun if those games had more than one color. I would change my opinion on them right away if that was the case. I think those games would be great for the super module if someone add color to the game and made it look better. I'm just guessing about the super module because I really have no idea on the limitations of the Colecovision. I just know playing those 2 games for more then 10 minutes would give me a headache and its hard to see what to do in the game. In my opinion all the super cool games on the list are awesome shooters, mostly because I love shooters but like I said the Colecovision already has a ton of those. So as of straight ports of those video's I really think Ghostbusters would be the best choice for something new on the Colecovision

 

I'll buy what ever gets picked though I just really hope if its Alien 8 or Knight Lore they please add more colors to the game and don't make it a straight port

[Pixelboy]

I just really hope if its Alien 8 or Knight Lore they please add more colors to the game and don't make it a straight port

 

Sadly, the graphical limitations of the ColecoVision make monochrome graphics an unescapable reality in the case of those two games. Mobile objects (player's character, moving enemies, movable objects, etc.) are rendered via a special display engine that updates background tiles on the fly, and sprites are not used at all (or if they are, it's strictly for minor display stuff). If you tried to apply color to background tiles in this situation, you'd get some pretty ugly color bleeding.

[RelliK111]

I just really hope if its Alien 8 or Knight Lore they please add more colors to the game and don't make it a straight port

 

Sadly, the graphical limitations of the ColecoVision make monochrome graphics an unescapable reality in the case of those two games. Mobile objects (player's character, moving enemies, movable objects, etc.) are rendered via a special display engine that updates background tiles on the fly, and sprites are not used at all (or if they are, it's strictly for minor display stuff). If you tried to apply color to background tiles in this situation, you'd get some pretty ugly color bleeding.

 

 

:_( Do you know if that would be the same case with the super module also?

[Ikrananka]

All the other cool games on that list are similar to games that are already on the colecovision except for maybe stone of wisdom.

Errmm - I don't believe there is anything at all remotely like Alien 8 or Knight Lore on the CV. That said, I wouldn't be unhappy to see Ghostbusters win - one of my favourite games when I was young playing on my bread bin Commodore 64.

 

I agree but I also said "cool games" now I'm just going off what I saw on the video, because I have never played those two games, and I like the graphics, but I hate the fact that its just one color.Those 2 games look very fun if those games had more than one color. I would change my opinion on them right away if that was the case. I think those games would be great for the super module if someone add color to the game and made it look better. I'm just guessing about the super module because I really have no idea on the limitations of the Colecovision. I just know playing those 2 games for more then 10 minutes would give me a headache and its hard to see what to do in the game. In my opinion all the super cool games on the list are awesome shooters, mostly because I love shooters but like I said the Colecovision already has a ton of those. So as of straight ports of those video's I really think Ghostbusters would be the best choice for something new on the Colecovision

 

I'll buy what ever gets picked though I just really hope if its Alien 8 or Knight Lore they please add more colors to the game and don't make it a straight port

I agree that the monochrome graphics can look disappointing, however Knight Lore on the ZX Spectrum was monochrome and was a raging success. It's the gameplay that makes these games worthwhile and I believe either would make an awesome addition to the CV games library.

[RelliK111]

All the other cool games on that list are similar to games that are already on the colecovision except for maybe stone of wisdom.

Errmm - I don't believe there is anything at all remotely like Alien 8 or Knight Lore on the CV. That said, I wouldn't be unhappy to see Ghostbusters win - one of my favourite games when I was young playing on my bread bin Commodore 64.

 

I agree but I also said "cool games" now I'm just going off what I saw on the video, because I have never played those two games, and I like the graphics, but I hate the fact that its just one color.Those 2 games look very fun if those games had more than one color. I would change my opinion on them right away if that was the case. I think those games would be great for the super module if someone add color to the game and made it look better. I'm just guessing about the super module because I really have no idea on the limitations of the Colecovision. I just know playing those 2 games for more then 10 minutes would give me a headache and its hard to see what to do in the game. In my opinion all the super cool games on the list are awesome shooters, mostly because I love shooters but like I said the Colecovision already has a ton of those. So as of straight ports of those video's I really think Ghostbusters would be the best choice for something new on the Colecovision

 

I'll buy what ever gets picked though I just really hope if its Alien 8 or Knight Lore they please add more colors to the game and don't make it a straight port

I agree that the monochrome graphics can look disappointing, however Knight Lore on the ZX Spectrum was monochrome and was a raging success. It's the gameplay that makes these games worthwhile and I believe either would make an awesome addition to the CV games library.

Will I'll give the game a try I'm looking for a emulator right now to see how the game plays, maybe it will change my opinion

[Pixelboy]

I just really hope if its Alien 8 or Knight Lore they please add more colors to the game and don't make it a straight port

 

Sadly, the graphical limitations of the ColecoVision make monochrome graphics an unescapable reality in the case of those two games. Mobile objects (player's character, moving enemies, movable objects, etc.) are rendered via a special display engine that updates background tiles on the fly, and sprites are not used at all (or if they are, it's strictly for minor display stuff). If you tried to apply color to background tiles in this situation, you'd get some pretty ugly color bleeding.

 

 

:_( Do you know if that would be the same case with the super module also?

 

The SGM only adds more RAM, it doesn't alter the graphical capabilities of the ColecoVision console.