The Atari Jaguar Game by Game Podcast

[bmx]

I like that you fight more then one opponent at a time. So, it plays less like street fighter one on one but more like final fight, brawler style.And because of this, I don't like the fact, that a second human player must be defeated, before you proceed to the next wave of enemies. They missed an opportunity here.

Edited October 12, 2016 by bmx

[Jagosaurus]

Just dropping in to say the DOOM episode was great. I know a decent amount about the history of this one & still learned quite a bit.

 

I'm definitely saving the MP3s to both this & the Wolf3D (as well as AvP unrelated to this discussion) episodes knowing I'll give them a second listen someday.

 

Aged yourself a bit on the Novell networks discussion the network DOOM airplane story was fun.

 

I didn't get into "LAN parties" until around 2002 for Halo. We had xbox consoles running all over the house. Fun times. Very cool you kept records of the rig specs for your PC get togethers. Would be cool to see those.

 

Keep up the great work!

 

As general feedback/info, I'm subscribed & listen via Stitcher on Android. Always nice to see a new episode from you in My Stations queue.

[Adriano Arcade]

Looking forward to listening to this! I may also start discussing my beloved Jaguar in upcoming Arcade Attack podcasts. Wish me luck!

[Shinto]

Episode 15 for Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is now available directly, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite RSS podcast app. Thank you for listening, and for your patience.

 

In the next episode, we'll be platforming in the Nth Dimension with Zool 2. If you have any feedback for this one, please post here, or send it in (text or audio) to jaguar@gamebygamepodcast.com.

[doctorclu]

Listened to the Bruce Lee podcast and it was much more positive than I would have expected and never knew there was so much to the game. Might see about giving this game another chance. Sounds like if someone can master the Jaguar version and make a video of it would be a needed play through.

[RJ]

Yes this game always unfairly got a bad rap/poor reviews but I always considered it really good.

[Shinto]

I don't think it's a bad game at all, once you get to know it. My initial impression was quite negative, but after learning some of the game's nuance, I got into it, and looked forward to the next time I could play. I think the jaded gaming press of the 90s just didn't get Dragon for what it was, because it didn't fit the Street Fighter II knockoff mold (or "mould" for those in the UK).

 

Some more YouTube love wouldn't hurt. Most of the Jaguar videos are a scant few minutes; only the multiplayer one seems to put any real time into it. I, however, will not be the one to record a complete play-through, not without a whole lot more practice.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Shinto

[Jagosaurus]

So I'm only about 30 mins in right now but had to drop in to say I am digging the music! Look forward to hearing more.

[doctorclu]

Zool 2 - Review

 

 

I believe I got Zool cheap off e-bay as I was aquiring games for the Jaguar and just trying the games out as I could get them. I remember playing the game at my friend's house with his young kids. They loved watching me play Bubsy but would cry when I handed them the controls because the game was too hard. But Zool was one they would actually try to play. And when they were not playing the game, they were imitating Zool and trying to be ninjas. So obviously a likable game.

 

Music:

I've always been a big fan of the Jagu-Dome run by Just Claws which has been in existence since I started playing on the Jaguar in '99. It is there you can find the mod sound track to Zool 2 and other sounds. I have a newer computer running Mac OS10.11 so I was saddened to see that CocoMod, my usual standby MOD player, no longer worked, but was able to get Melody Player to work!

 

 

I have played through a good lot of Zool 2 and actually seem to remember it best listening to music files. So here is my review while listening to the music.

 

Title Screen - The title is like they got a lot of wacky sound samples and wanted to show off the Amiga's sound capability. And why not? the Amiga was one hot video and sound machine? When this title screen first came up showing the sinister looking eyes of our Gremlin it was a bit frightening at first. But then the game just tries to be wacky in the music and it puts you at ease.

 

Swan Lake - Swan Lake is just wacky. Candy flying everywhere, the ducks quacking from time to time. It is a good level for figuring out what your character, male or female, can do. What I found ironic about Zool in the versions I have played on the Jaguar, Genesis with Zool 1, and the Amiga is they all had about the same levels or at least had the Chupa Chups candy level. I always liked the candy level in Zool 2 and always thought it would be fun to splice Zool 2 candy level shots with Bubsy candy level shots and have them battling it out.

 

One thing I really enjoyed on the first level was all the spinning, flying, and just breaking stuff.

 

Bulberry Hill - A nice mellow electronic sound as you go through the electric levels which were quite challenging in some places. I like the places in this level where you get bounced around like a pinball.

 

Tooting Common - The song and level are to me fun, but it has a feel like the Swan Lake/Candy levels. Probably the most forgettable part of the game.

 

Snaking Pass - I love love love the snake theme. There are times if I listen to nothing else of the Zool 2 MOD set I listen to this song. I thought it was interesting how you had the snake floating around that you could ride.

 

Mount Ices - This level music was also awesome the level design for the later levels for me seemed to involve a lot of climbing of items. Basically summarized by the "Mount" of the climbing of tall things and "ice" with the slippy platforms. A true combination for frustration.

 

 

About the Zool characters:

The wikipedia gives some good information on Zool, his female companion Zooz, and their morphing dog Zoon. All and all, I always felt like Zool was like a Marvin the Martian type of character.

 

When I literally collected every bit of Bubsy Bobcat franchise I could find, I started to turn my attention to Zool and the Soccer Kid. In the end both of the platforming mascots have material to collect. I thought I saw little plastic figures for Zool, and a plushie for the Soccer Kid that came with the Gameboy Advance game. One thing that amazed me after collecting for Bubsy is how wide spread Zool is on so many platforms. I started to collect Zool software variants but some were really expensive. Somehow I managed to get the Japanese version of the game which is now going for hundreds of dollars? That is ridiculous to me. This was the big reason I didn't collect too much of Zool. There is simply too many variants that are pricey.

 

The second reason is while Zool is an agile character that moves a lot like Sonic, he is kinda dull. Not loved like Sonic, not hated like Bubsy, just .. there. Bubsy would at least show some character, say some phrases, even knock on the screen when he was standing there waiting for the player to move. Zool was just a 2D action hero. The Amiga intro gives Zool a little more character than the Jaguar intro, but not much. Zooz and Zoon add some more depth to the character however. Any time you add a two headed dog to a character they become more likable. And kudos to Zool for getting sidekicks in his game on the Jaguar where Bubsy and other mascots were not able to do the same on the Jaguar platform.

 

 

Overall: I think Electronic Gaming Monthly said it best (on the Genesis version but still applies) "Zool sports great graphics, but ends up with a case of Super Trolland's disease: your character moves much too fast and with little control!"

 

Aside from a character that I could neither love or hate, the game's pace is a bit frantic. It is one thing to be actively engaged in a game, it is another to always have to be on the move and slipping most of the time. I believe Zool 2 is fun in bursts though. If you are looking for a Sonic-like game on the Jaguar that can take a few hits before dying Zool 2 instantly delivers. To me a solid game that I like to pick up from time to time, not for regular play though.

 

Here is the third reason I stopped collecting Zool merchandise: the Jaguar version is the best version I saw, and all other games basically had the same levels. So why look any further? Not the best platformer, but glad this Gremlin travelled from the Nth Dimension to the Amiga and Jaguar dimensions!

 

Trevor Raynsford: Programmer and the porter of Zool 2

Gremlin: The Original Bad Boys - SGR

Screw Attack's review of the Zool franchise.

 

Austin's video review of Zool 2 - long play video.

 

Drunken review of Zool 2.

[Lorfarius]

Started listening to this podcast a few weeks ago and finally caught up today.... loved it so far! Really looking forward to the next episode, Doom has been my favourite especially with the history split over this and Wolfenstein.

[Shinto]

Thank you, Lorfarius! I'm glad you're enjoying the show, I do enjoy making it. I'm about ready to record the episode for Zool 2, which had a longer research cycle than I expected, but should be pretty info-packed.

[Rootvonroot]

Just started listening and am loving the podcast

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shinto]

It took longer than I had hoped, and ended up longer than I expected, but the Zool 2 episode has been published. Check it out directly, on iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play (within a few hours of this post, typically), or your favorite podcast player. Show notes are on the blog. Thanks to those who sent in feedback, and thank you all for listening.

 

The next episode will cover what is perhaps the best skiing/snowboarding game on the Jaguar, Val d'Isère Skiing and Snowboarding. I'd love to hear any feedback you might have on this one.

[doctorclu]

The Zool podcast was fun to listen to and not just because I'm in it. And of course I love the musical creations on the end of some of these.

 

As for Val d'Isère Skiing and Snowboarding now there is a fun game. Lots of replayability. It's funny, I am not much into skiing normally, but just how the controls worked and the pace of the game I have returned to this game quite often. Would have been cool if the game could have used the Joyboard that Amiga made for the Atari 2600 game Mogul Maniac to give it the full skiing experience.

 

 

If I had to advertise Val d'Isère Skiing and Snowboarding, an idea I just came up with with some quick Google searching, I would have maybe tried getting a bunch of people in skis on a lift viewed from the ground and on the bottom of the skis have the game advertisement. Something that Infocom would have done.

 

 

I also love the emblem for the skiing location, especially the falcon. Reminds of the double headed eagle you see a lot in Europe that I am very fond of.

 

 

If I don't get a chance to make another bit of feedback on this game I think this is definitely a solid title to almost Hall of Fame in my book. It really is a blast.

 

 

 

[RJ]

Is "Pop Goes The Weasel" (Mount Ices) even public domain?

[JFD62780]

Yo, Shinto!

 

About that Zool 2 thingy, the lollipop company is pronounced "choopa choops". Not chupps.

 

Still, the world-by-world tour krazy-glued my ears in its duration, keep those up!

Edited December 16, 2016 by JFD62780

[btbfilms76]

Great work Shinto! Love the show!

[Shinto]

Yo, Shinto!

 

About that Zool 2 thingy, the lollipop company is pronounced "choopa choops". Not chupps.

 

Thank you! I've added a correction to the show notes.

[RJ]

Dunno if you mentioned it, or if I missed it, but the Spanish verb "chupar" is the infinitive "to suck".

 

Do with that as you will...but I'm sure it has to do with the candy.

[Shinto]

I did not mention that, but even with my limited grasp of Spanish, that was a verb I actually knew.

 

About a dozen years ago, I was working as a DBA/application developer/webmaster for a small business. They didn't have any decent place for their on-site servers, so they stuck them in the storage closet. This room had zero ventilation, so with a few power-hungry boxes in there, it got pretty hot. I hired a guy to help out with some of the coding, and one Saturday, he and I went to Home Depot with the company credit card and came back with a bunch of parts to help with the heat problem in that little room. We strung up ductwork that ran from the servers' PSUs to an impeller we installed in the drop-tile ceiling. Every 15 minutes, that impeller would kick on and literally suck all the heat out of the servers. It was remarkably effective. We called it El Chupa Calor, the heat sucker. The verb conjugation is probably all wrong, but that's what we went with.

 

If I had thought ahead, I would have made this part of the Storytime segment, but too late now!

[doctorclu]

First go at some Val d'Isère Skiing and Snowboarding photoshop art.

[JagChris]

Hey look, Jaguar DOOM: Episode Download & Show Notes

 

(I'm keeping this post short because the podcast episode is so long. I hope you enjoy it.)

I am enjoying this episode. As for the DSP sound and gameplay problems this may be a Dave Taylor specific problem. Other programmers seem to have had no trouble getting the DSP to multitask. Scatalogic being one and high voltage software being the other. Even storm Works Interactive was able to get the music to play during gameplay in their heretic Jaguar Port that uses the Doom engine.

 

Speaking of high voltage software I'm not all caught up on your podcast yet but I have an interview with Adisak on his conversion of NBA Jam tournament Edition or the Jaguar.

 

http://www.jaguar64.eu/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=190

[+CyranoJ]

Ooh, lets see that then.

 

Would love to play me some Heretic....

[doctorclu]

Even storm Works Interactive was able to get the music to play during gameplay in their heretic Jaguar Port that uses the Doom engine.

 

Ooh, lets see that then.

 

Would love to play me some Heretic....

 

I'm with CJ, there was a Heretic version for the Jaguar?

[Lorfarius]

 

 

I'm with CJ, there was a Heretic version for the Jaguar?

 

There was one in the works but like a lot of homebrew projects it seems to have been dropped ages ago.