carlsson Posted August 10, 2021 Author Share Posted August 10, 2021 Here's the summary for Week 31, running from August 2 - 8. We logged 3979 minutes of eligible play, playing 57 games on a total of 19 systems. Top 10: 1. Final Fantasy II (IV) (SNES) - 745 min. (#3) 2. Chrono Trigger (SNES) - 330 min. 3. Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (SNES) - 303 min. 4. Jr. Pac-Man (Arcade) - 166 min. (#1) 5. Defender (Atari 8-bit) - 165 min. 6. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 158 min. (#4) 7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES) - 150 min. (#5) 8. Tetris (Game Boy) - 148 min. (#2) 9. Subterranea (Atari 2600) - 144 min. 10. Space Mines! (Atari 8-bit) - 117 min. Pre-NES top 10: 1. Jr. Pac-Man (Arcade) - 166 min. (PN#1) 2. Defender (Atari 8-bit) - 165 min. 3. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 158 min. (PN#2) 4. Subterranea (Atari 2600) - 144 min. 5. Space Mines! (Atari 8-bit) - 117 min. 6. Battlezone (Arcade) - 100 min. 7. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 88 min. (PN#6) 8. Phoenix Lair (Atari 8-bit) - 86 min. 9. Atlantis (Atari 2600) - 65 min. 10. Stramash Zone (Vectrex) - 60 min. Top 10 systems: 1. SNES (1528) (#3) 2. Atari 2600 (564) (#4) 3. Atari 8-bit (448) (#2) 4. Arcade (360) (#1) 5. Genesis (275) (#7) 6. Game Boy (178) (#5) 7. NES/Famicom (108) 8. PC (Windows 95/98) (105) 9. NEC PC-9801 (81) 10. Vectrex (60) Boy, the SNES truly dominates this week being both #1 on the systems list and holding the top three places on the individual list. Final Fantasy II (IV) is the overall most played game while Jr. Pac-Man by a margin of only one minute takes the pre-NES title ahead of Defender and Solar Fox closely behind. We have yet two more members to the 1000 Minute Club: #454 Final Fantasy II (IV) (SNES) - 1453 min. #455 Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis) - 1011 min. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurritoBeans Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Game Boy Tetris - 210 minutes MZ-80K Asteroids - 20 minutes PC-9801 Door Door - 50 minutes Dragon Slayer - 25 minutes Lode Runner - 80 minutes Mystery House - 10 minutes I won't be getting any more time before Monday but that's alright, it's because I have to clean some shelf space for more old computer stuff! The PC-9801F arrives Wednesday alongside a PC-9881N disk unit. I didn't need the 8" floppy drives but I really do want them... Door Door was pretty entertaining, Dragon Slayer is just classic, Lode Runner has been my favorite so far, and Mystery House is the same name as the Apple II game not the same game. The MZ-80C will have new power supplies on Tuesday, the old board is fully toasted so it's being tossed for some modern 120V-capable alternatives. I found someone had made an Asteroids port but I can't say I recommend it over any others, I respect what it does for the hardware but man is it choppy to play. And of course the Game Boy got dragged along, more Tetris this time practicing in the heart levels. Not much to say, I haven't set any new records for myself but I am still loving it. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Pendleton Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Nothing but Saturn this time and not much of it. Saturn Asuka 120% Limited - 57 Layer Section - 13 Radiant Silvergun - 62 Sonic R - 6 This game is supposed to have analog controls because it says that on the back of the box, but I tested it with the Multi Controller thoroughly and the game doesn't actually have analog controls. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted August 15, 2021 Author Share Posted August 15, 2021 Atari 8-bit: Busy Baby - 26 min. Phoenix Lair - 55 min. Runner Bear - 32 min. Space Mines! - 27 min. The previous HSC round ended today Sunday followed by a new one. For sure we're not sticking to the evergreen smash hits, but dig rather deep into the library. This week we're playing the diaper oriented game Busy Baby from 1983 and the infinite Runner Bear from 2020 with Mario style graphics. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Just one game this week for Classic. My modern consoles took my attention away! lol Arcade: Dig Dug II -- 60 minutes 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarian7 Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Atari 2600 Hunchy 2 - 5 minutes Kaboom! - 152 minutes Solar Fox - 53 minutes 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 @digdugnate, I don’t need to tell you, but Dig Dug II is the definition of a hidden gem. I like it maybe even a bit more than the original. I thought the DS game that fuses the two games into one complete experience was really ingenious and a ton of fun, one of my favorite retro updates ever. I was very light this week as well. Turbografx CD: Ys Books I & II - 490 minutes. Played through Ys I in two sittings. (It would have been one if not for all the backtracking in Darm Tower.) It took about 15 tries to kill Dark Fact, who was the only boss I really struggled with. There is zero fat in this game experience. Respawns are virtually instantaneous, cutscenes are automatically skipped, there are fast exits from every menu. It makes the DS remake look tragically incompetent. I missed the golden vase, but otherwise I completed it 100%. Genesis: Phelios - 30 minutes. I got to the start of chapter 4 in easy mode on my first try. I am starting to remember the various tricks and should be able to finish easy mode next time. I played it on a Nomad with an original screen, which is a bit of a handicap. If you have an Evercade and the Namco cart with it, do yourself a favor and give it a shot. The trick is holding down the B button to charge your shot for the entire game then momentarily pressing A or C to fire the charged shot. That way you’re always ready. I said before that this was a Dragon Spirit spiritual sequel, but it also incorporates a lot of the feel of Final Blaster, which similarly depends on your normal charged shots and makes weapons upgrades a secondary concern. Atari 7800: Dark Chambers - 100 minutes Started on Easy and played through to level J on Advanced. Final score 456270. I kind of got sloppy towards the end because I didn’t intend to play for this long. One on One Basketball - 20 minutes I couldn’t believe it when I first broke the backboard. This is really sophisticated and plays really, really well, but the AI is so bad that if I were Larry Bird or Dr J I would have sued. I wish I had local friends into 7800 games. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 My times for the week: Atari 7800: Donkey Kong - 7 min. Ikari Warriors - 3 min. Master System: ALF - 20 min. Double Dragon - 12 min. Secret Command - 2 min. SNES: Ys IV: Mask of the Sun - 299 min. PlayStation: Return Fire - 75 min. Beat Ys IV. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 14 hours ago, jgkspsx said: I couldn’t believe it when I first broke the backboard. This is one of those gaming moments that I wish I could experience again for the first time. I first played this game on the C64 and had a similar reaction. I was so happy to read this. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 15 hours ago, jgkspsx said: @digdugnate, I don’t need to tell you, but Dig Dug II is the definition of a hidden gem. I like it maybe even a bit more than the original. I thought the DS game that fuses the two games into one complete experience was really ingenious and a ton of fun, one of my favorite retro updates ever. I'm not sure which I prefer over the other. I think I'm kind of in the Dig Dug 2 camp myself because I think the mechanics are neat. More times than not I'll start over to see if there's an optimal way to use the drill to kill the most bad guys by throwing them in the water. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGameCollector Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 This week I have Dragon Warrior for NES - 80 minutes Just leveling up and buying each piece of equipment one by one. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oyamafamily Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 ATARI 7800: Pac-Man Collection - 103 minutes ATARI 8-BIT: Turmoil - 15 minutes COLECOVISION: Frostbite - 55 minutes @jgkspsx Do you have a copy of Pac-Man Collection for your Atari 7800? If no, you should pick up this Homebrew at AtariAge Store. It's very fun with much more options to choose. Also, you can compete against me posting your scores (preferably with video) at LVLUP SCORE site. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 I have no homebrew at all yet! I am really, really bad at Pac Man and friends, though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 A much more eventful week for gaming around here this week! To start off the week I wrapped up my playthrough of Doom 3 on the Switch, then went back and revisited a handful of 16-bit era games. First I did a quick playthrough of Mortal Kombat II on the 32X, which is definitely my favorite (and I'd argue the best) home console port of MK II. After that the misses joined me to play some Castlevania: Bloodlines on the Genesis, trading off the controller between levels. We didn't manage to beat it, but we did get to the last level which isn't too bad considering we're both out of practice Next up I spent some time playing Contra III for the SNES, and while I didn't make it very far into the game it was still a lot of fun to play. Having not done terribly well at Castlevania or Contra, I decided to revisit my all time favorite SNES game Star Fox! I really know this game like the back of my paw and had no problem beating it without using any continues, which was really satisfying after bombing out at the previous two games. Finally, to cap off the week I started yet another playthrough of my all time favorite game Alien: Isolation. It's one of those games that no matter how many times I beat it I'm always happy to come back and spend some more time in it's world, and this time around I dropped the difficulty down from the Nightmare setting I played it on last time to Hard for a more leisurely experience and decided to go for 100% completion and find all the collectibles this time around; which is something I've never done before. So far, so fun! Ineligible Alien: Isolation (Nintendo Switch) - 610 minutes Doom 3 (Nintendo Switch) - 205 minutes Arcade Ms. Pac-Man - 8 minutes Sega 32X Mortal Kombat II - 25 minutes Sega Genesis Castlevania: Bloodlines - 150 minutes Super Nintendo Contra III: The Alien Wars - 147 minutes Star Fox - 65 minutes Total Video Game Play Time This Week 1,210 minutes (20 hours 10 minutes) [395 minutes eligible] Individual System Play Times This Week Nintendo Switch: 815 minutes Super Nintendo: 212 minutes Sega Genesis: 150 minutes Sega 32X: 25 minutes Arcade: 8 minutes 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 @Skippy B. Coyote Contra III can be pretty tough on a good day! I'm not sure how I managed to finish it as a teenager. (Well, I do, but that would require admitting my reflexes suck now). StarFox is one of my fave SNES games for all its 'warts'. I think the soundtrack is what does it for me along with reasonably tight controls. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agb Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 Sorry for the late submission Atari 2600 Keystone Kapers 25 Solar Fox 154. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted August 17, 2021 Author Share Posted August 17, 2021 Here's the summary for Week 32, running from August 9 - 15. We logged 2828 minutes of eligible play, playing 39 games on a total of 16 systems. Top 10: 1. Ys Book I & II: Ancient Ys Vanished (US) (TG-CD/PC Engine CD) - 490 min. 2. Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (SNES) - 299 min. (#3) 3. Tetris (Game Boy) - 210 min. (#8) 4. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 207 min. (#6) 5. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 152 min. 6. Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis) - 150 min. 7. Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES) - 147 min. 8. Pac-Man Collection (Atari 7800) - 103 min. 9. Dark Chambers (Atari 7800) - 100 min. 10. Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior) (NES/Famicom) - 80 min. 10. Lode Runner (NEC PC-9801) - 80 min. Pre-NES top 10: 1. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 207 min. (PN#3) 2. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 152 min. (PN#7) 3. Pac-Man Collection (Atari 7800) - 103 min. 4. Dark Chambers (Atari 7800) - 100 min. 5. Dig Dug II (Arcade) - 60 min. 6. Frostbite (ColecoVision) - 55 min. 6. Phoenix Lair (Atari 8-bit) - 55 min. (PN#8) 8. Runner Bear (Atari 8-bit) - 32 min. 9. Space Mines! (Atari 8-bit) - 27 min. 10. Busy Baby (Atari 8-bit) - 26 min. Top 10 systems: 1. SNES (511) (#1) 2. TG-CD/PC Engine CD (490) 3. Atari 2600 (389) (#2) 4. Atari 7800 (233) 5. Game Boy (210) (#6) 6. Genesis (180) (#5) 7. NEC PC-9801 (165) (#9) 8. Atari 8-bit (155) (#3) 9. Sega Saturn (138) 10. NES/Famicom (80) (#7) The Ys games have a strong week, securing the first two spots on the overall list followed by Tetris and Solar Fox, whereas the later in its turn takes the pre-NES title ahead of Kaboom! On the systems list, the race between SNES and TG-CD is close but the Nintendo wins by a margin of 21 minutes with the 2600 in a strong third. No new members to the 1000 Minute Club etc. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 In personal statistics, this is the first time I’ve ever topped one a’ these. Now I really regret not playing Ys III for 330 minutes 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Pendleton Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 I am ultra tired, so it's bed time and I hope to sleep for at least 13 hours. I tested a bunch of games on the RetroTINK-5X Pro to see how it handles various things, so lots of games with estimate and not a lot of time in general aside from Dracula X on the Saturn. That said, today I finally managed to actually kill the final boss in Thunder Force V instead of getting the bad ending. It took me a practice run to do it and I ended up losing all but my last life on that ridiculously difficult final boss, but I did it and I got a 1CC. No miss is next, I think. Arcade Akumajou Dracula - 6 This was released in the USA and probably other places as Haunted Castle, where it underwent some rather huge changes. The credit/continue system is totally different in the Japanese version and the game is also way easier than the international version is, so try this one if you have difficulty with Haunted Castle. I'd still recommend playing Rondo of Blood or something else instead, though. Saturn Akumajou Dracula X ~Gekka no Yasoukyoku~ - 370 Panzer Dragoon Zwei - 2 (estimate) Radiant Silvergun - 21 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 27 Thunder Force III - 10 Thunder Force IV - 40 Thunder Force V - 69 Dreamcast Ikaruga - 10 (estimate) Sonic Adventure (Japan) - 12 (estimate) Neo Geo AES/MVS Andro Dunos - 3 (estimate) Metal Slug X - 7 Genesis/MD Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 5 Vampire Killer - 3 SuperGrafx Daimakaimura - 1 PC Engine CD Akumajou Dracula X Chi no Rondo - 9 Super Darius - 4 Tenshi no Uta - 1 This game totally breaks on almost every scaler and line multiplier. It only partially breaks on the RetroTINK-5X Pro, so unless you have a CRT or a MiSTer, where it also runs perfectly, don't play this game without the RetroTINK-5X Pro. Tokimemi Memorial - 3 PC Engine R-Type I - 1 PS1 Castlevania Chronicles - 8 Tales of Phantasia - 3 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 Playing some favorites this past week. Arcade: Dig Dug II -- 30 minutes Ms. Pac Man -- 30 minutes Pac Man -- 30 minutes 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oyamafamily Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 ATARI 2600: M*A*S*H (for HSC Silver Medal Semifinals) - 55 minutes ATARI 8-BIT: Commando - 5 minutes Dig Dug - 5 minutes Gorf - 1 minute Kangaroo - 10 minutes Keystone Kapers - 1 minute Megamania - 10 minutes Millipede - 14 minutes Missile Command - 2 minutes Pengo - 2 minutes Pole Position - 5 minutes Q*Bert - 24 minutes Turmoil - 17 minutes COLECOVISION: Venture (for HSC) - 20 minutes 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted August 22, 2021 Author Share Posted August 22, 2021 Atari 8-bit: Busy Baby - 35 min. Runner Bear - 37 min. Not so much played, but I significantly increased my personal bests on both games which is what matters most to me these days. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt_Woloch Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 Here are my times for this week (August 16th through 22nd) on classic systems... Arcade: Jr. Pac-Man - 8 min. Tetris (Atari Games) - 11 min. Turtles - 15 min. Wonder Boy - 13 min. Wonder Boy (Prototype?) - 10 min. Sega Master System: Alex Kid in Miracle World - 29 min. his week was my first week back at work, but I still managed to get in some playing time. I tried to set up MAME to emulate the Sega Master System, but I only got to run the game built into the BIOS, Alex Kid in Miracle World, in which I beat the 1nd level once and got into the shop. Also mentionable is the prototype version of Wonder Boy which is a bit different to the final version and also still has some bugs. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agb Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Arcade Asteroids 30 all bad scores Gaplus 24 PB Atari 2600 IKari Warrior 5 Solar Fox 62 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 No modern gaming again. Almost exclusively played on my 7800 and my GBA SP. Atari 2600: 10 minutes or less: Dark Cavern (Berzerk but sadistic? Don’t get it) Moon Patrol (great port) Raiders of the Lost Ark (I need a joystick coupler) Wizard of Wor (seems a lot easier than the arcade game, a good thing) Space Jockey (it’s like an Activision game knockoff? Kinda neat…) Spider Fighter (a little too frantic for me as ever) Congo Bongo (better than I remembered) Mega Force (so pretty! I keep dying!) Burgertime (oh yeah, I loathe this port) Turmoil (I am not sure what’s going on here) Bermuda Triangle (another Activision like game, this seems really touchy) Commando Raid (this seems really touchy, it’s hard to aim. Why not paddle support?) Towering Inferno - 15 minutes. I am not sure what the white square on top is, but this is a pretty good addition to my firefighting game list. Winter Games - 15 minutes. I am not sure how many of these I actually like. Luge is pretty impressive, though. MASH - 15 minutes. Not seriously going for a high score. Skateboardin’ - 15 minutes. Some pretty impressive stuff in the late releases. Sky Jinks - 15 minutes. Now that’s a good time. Solar Fox - 25 minutes. I see what all the fuss is about. Secret Quest - 15 minutes. I swear this was easier on the Evercade. Stampede - 15 minutes. Secretly the best Atari 2600 game. Fast Food - 15 minutes. This feels Activision-level fun to me. Laser Blast - 35 minutes. I wanted to go until I earned a patch but I forgot what score that was at and stopped trying after 60000. How many hours would it take to hit a million points? Sheesh. Atari 7800: Ms Pac Man - 15 minutes. I think this is the version I’ve played the most in my life. I know, I need to try Bob’s… but I suck at the arcade game Food Fight - 20 minutes. Really addictive. I’m really glad the Evercade compilation included this. Choplifter! - 20 minutes. This is really impressive graphically, but I am worse at it than any other version of Choplifter I have recently played. Is it harder? Realsports Baseball - 15 minutes. Why are the controls like this??? Karateka - 20 minutes. Why are the controls like this??? Game Boy: Rod Land - 65 minutes. I am getting the hang of this. Really quite violent when you think about it. Hiden Inyou Kikouhou: Ca Da - 60 minutes. Quite a learning curve but very rewarding. Crystal Quest - 65 minutes. Steven R Bjork of Color Computer clone game and Stellar Lifeline fame did a great port of the Mac classic here. How does it control with a D pad? Surprisingly well. Very addictive. Adventure Island 2 - 20 minutes. Sooo slow. Game Boy Color: Konami GB Collection Vol 2 - 15 minutes. Just Quarth. Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog - 15 minutes. Game Gear: Faceball 2000 - 20 minutes. Pretty impressive to play a fps on a Game Gear. Kaitou Saint Tail - 20 minutes. This seems like a pretty lame minigame anthology linked by an overworld I don’t understand. I don’t know anything about the anime so this is just kind of odd. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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