Sord M5 a cool japanese computer

[lucifershalo]

Here is my Sord M5 collection

 

[san-d-2000]

That's so cool!

Would love to see some screen shots

[san-d-2000]

Boxes also look cool http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOSCONIAN-Arcade-Shooter-SORD-M5-GAME-M5-COMPLETE-JAPAN-Retro-PC-Game-/361233055189?nma=true&si=Y%252FaCemJN1%252B1xs9GXFybj42LbV7M%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[lucifershalo]

oh yes they are, but way too expensive nowadays

[high voltage]

Should be moved to 'Classic Computing' forum.

Edited October 23, 2015 by high voltage

[Pixelboy]

Do you have the manual for Power Pac?

[lucifershalo]

no, I dont have manual

just the short instruction sheet on the other side of the cart

[carlsson]

Generally, Sord M5 games don't seem to have come with any manuals. I've got two Japanese Takara releases, and they only have a short blurb of writing on the box and likewise writing on the back of the cartridge. I've laso got two European Sord releases, bought NIB. They also just have a short blurb on the back of the box and short instructions on the back of the cartridge. Finally I've got a half dozen NIB UK CGL releases. They got screenshots (!) and a bit more writing on the back side of the back of the box, but again nothing else than the short notes on the back of the cartridge. All those have in common that they mention how to control the game from keyboard or joystick, but generally nothing about the game itself, scoring etc.

 

Pixelboy, if you like I can scan a small promotional folder which contains a picture and a short blurb of Japanese text about Power Pac. IMHO that is the closest to a manual you'd ever come, in combination with instructions how to control the game but as I seem to recall you're working on a Colecovision port, there is little point mentioning which keys on the keyboard can be used instead of a joystick.

[Pixelboy]

Generally, Sord M5 games don't seem to have come with any manuals. I've got two Japanese Takara releases, and they only have a short blurb of writing on the box and likewise writing on the back of the cartridge. I've laso got two European Sord releases, bought NIB. They also just have a short blurb on the back of the box and short instructions on the back of the cartridge. Finally I've got a half dozen NIB UK CGL releases. They got screenshots (!) and a bit more writing on the back side of the back of the box, but again nothing else than the short notes on the back of the cartridge. All those have in common that they mention how to control the game from keyboard or joystick, but generally nothing about the game itself, scoring etc.

 

Pixelboy, if you like I can scan a small promotional folder which contains a picture and a short blurb of Japanese text about Power Pac. IMHO that is the closest to a manual you'd ever come, in combination with instructions how to control the game but as I seem to recall you're working on a Colecovision port, there is little point mentioning which keys on the keyboard can be used instead of a joystick.

Thanks for the offer. Yes, I'll be publishing the ColecoVision port of Power Pac this Christmas, and I haven't started working on the manual yet (I will be doing that in November). I was mostly hoping to gather some general info about scoring, or special features that I should mention in the CV version's manual, etc. I can't read japanese, so I don't think a scan of the japanese "blurb" will help me much.

[high voltage]

What's Power Pac never heard of that one before

[+Tarzilla]

What's Power Pac never heard of that one before

That is the M5 name for the stripped down version of the Super Pac Man arcade game. A few things missing like the speed up button from the arcade.

Edited October 24, 2015 by Tarzilla

[phreak97]

Collecting for 15 years and I still regularly learn about systems I've never heard of!

 

Edit: I didnt know this one because it's a computer more than a console.

Edited October 25, 2015 by phreak97

[some_canuck]

3.58mhz Z80, TMS9918, and a SN76489... sounds like a pretty decent system. somewhere inbetween a C64 and a MSX i guess... i wonder how some of their games stack up against ones on similar platforms.

[carlsson]

Hardware wise, it is just about the same as a ColecoVision with different type of controllers and of course a keyboard since it is a computer, even though BASIC comes in cartridge form rather than built into the computer.

 

The games vary in playability, not due to hardware limitations but rather who made them. Some of my favorites would be Guttang Guttong, Pooyan, Super Cobra etc, of which none is exclusive for the system but fine ports.

 

What I never quite figured out is which was developed first, the Sord M5 or the ColecoVision. Both use off the shelf chips, and there might've been a common reference implementation. Then came the Spectravideo SVI-318/328 series which became the reference design for the MSX standard a year later.

[darthkur]

Sweet set up. I'm very envious. The Sord M5 is something that I've been wanting to add to the collection.

[carlsson]

FWIW, a friend of mine just went through his games and found a loose manual sheet for Dig Dug. It means there might exist a similar manual sheet for Power Pac, although based on empirical evidence, only 1 of 10 M5 games still has a manual sheet at all.

[Nebulon]

Awesome!