NovaXpress #1 Posted January 4, 2006 The legendary Double Dragon MAME cab of Omaha has been getting quite a workout. The best part has been showing many of my favorite games from back East to the childhood-arcade-deprived MMF. He now knows the joys of Future Spy and hopefully soon will obtain Mystic Marathon. Meanwhile I somehow never saw Zookeeper until now, so happy fun to me. Then there are the games which came out of nowhere. We tried out one called Screw Loose which is worth a few spins. It's a prototype which had been developed for Mylstar by Tim Skelly (Reactor/Star Castle) and in an interview at the time of the crash he called it the best game he ever made, but it was abandoned after testing. It's a lightning-fast shooter. You control a disembodied spirit which somehow has a springy head and hands which fly off when you take a hit. It's one of the most bizarre games I've ever seen, and over 20 years after reading about it I finally played it and was blown away. Is there anything else worth abandoning Wizard of Wor for? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+uosipa llamxew #2 Posted January 4, 2006 (edited) Here's a quick (long) list of some favorites. I'm not sure how obscure they are, but I've never seen any of them in the arcades. A lot of these are cutesy platformers too... so be warned (if you aren't into that sort of thing). Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves Anteater Arabian Bagman Baluba-louk no Densetsu Baseball Stars II Ben Bero Beh Black Widow Bogey Manor Boggy '84 Bonanza Bros Burning Force Capcom Baseball Capcom Sports Club Chack'n Pop Chameleon Charlie Ninja Chicken Shift Circus Charlie Complex X Dr Micro Funny Mouse Guzzler Hopper Robo I,Robot Intrepid Jump Coaster Jumping Jack Kitten Kaboodle Kram Major Havoc Marvin's Maze Minky Monkey Monster Bash Mouser Naughty Mouse Nibbler Noboranka Oli-Boo-Chu Pandora's Palace Penguin Bros Peter Pepper's Ice Cream Factory Pipi & Bibis Ponpoku Pop Flamer PuLiRuLa Quantum Round-Up Scrambled Egg Sinbad Mystery Space Dungeon Space Invaders '95 - Attack of the Lunar Loonies Spelunker I & II Splendor Blast Super Glob Tactician The Amazing Adventures of Mr. F. Lea The Pit Thunder Ceptor Tinkle Pit Tube Panic Volfied Warp & Warp Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa Yam! Yam!? Edited January 4, 2006 by mojofltr Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jess Ragan #3 Posted January 4, 2006 I was pleasantly surprised with The First Funky Fighter. It's not a versus fighting game at all, but a battle against hundreds of bloodthirsty sharks and crocodiles, seen from a first person viewpoint. It works a little like Whack-A-Mole... nasty creatures appear on the screen, and you punch the button that corresponds to their onscreen location. The game is short, but the graphics are terrific, with stylish comic book artwork and some of the most outrageous violence you've ever seen in a video game. Violence is nothing new in video games, but even after a decade of Mortal Kombat, some of the stuff you'll see in The First Funky Fighter will leave you speechless. The only problem you may encounter is that the game requires nine buttons, while the standard arcade cabinet only has six at most. I played the game with the numeric keypad on my keyboard, and it works pretty well that way (although you lose the visceral impact of sinking your fists into giant padded buttons!). JR Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ILA2600 #4 Posted January 7, 2006 The only game in Mojofltr's list I remember seeing in the Arcades back then was Arabian!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Inky #5 Posted January 8, 2006 (edited) Check out Cameltry. That is a great game I wish I would have seen in the arcade around where I lived. EDIT: I also like Chicken Shift. Edited January 8, 2006 by Inky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MegaManFan #6 Posted January 8, 2006 Check out Cameltry. That is a great game I wish I would have seen in the arcade around where I lived. EDIT: I also like Chicken Shift. 996157[/snapback] I've actually got Cameltry for SNES, although for the US release of the game they changed it's name to "On the Ball." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+uosipa llamxew #7 Posted January 8, 2006 I'd love to play Aztarac with the right arcade controls! It's just too darn hard with my current setup... but it's beautiful! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ze_ro #8 Posted January 8, 2006 My recommendations: Pandora's Palace Dock Man Dr. Micro Major Havoc ESP Ra.De. --Zero Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MegaManFan #9 Posted January 8, 2006 My recommendations: Pandora's Palace Dock Man Dr. Micro Major Havoc ESP Ra.De. --Zero 996382[/snapback] Everybody should play Major Havoc. Everybody should know Major Havoc. Talk about your unheralded classics. BTW Ze_ro, get an import version of Bonk 3. It's much cheaper than the NTSC. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yuppicide #10 Posted January 9, 2006 A lot of those games were common in arcades around me in New Jersey: Ones I've seen: Anteater, Arabian, Bagman, Baseballk Stars II, Black Widow, Circus Charlie, Scrambled Egg, and the Moo Mesa one. Some of them I've seen in multiple arcades.. Moo Mesa, Arabian, Baseball Stars II, and Circus Charlie. I recall a bootleg Circus Charlie that allowed you to select what stage to play and one where you had to go through them from start to finish. Baseball Stars II was very common. It was in a lot of arcades. I recall the roller rink (yes roller skates not blades) had it. A lot of those games are really fun and interesting.. Jumping Jack, Jump Coaster, etc. You should check out Gals Panic. There's a few different. It's like QIX but better and with japanese women in it. Here's a quick (long) list of some favorites. I'm not sure how obscure they are, but I've never seen any of them in the arcades. A lot of these are cutesy platformers too... so be warned (if you aren't into that sort of thing). Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves Anteater Arabian Bagman Baluba-louk no Densetsu Baseball Stars II Ben Bero Beh Black Widow Bogey Manor Boggy '84 Bonanza Bros Burning Force Capcom Baseball Capcom Sports Club Chack'n Pop Chameleon Charlie Ninja Chicken Shift Circus Charlie Complex X Dr Micro Funny Mouse Guzzler Hopper Robo I,Robot Intrepid Jump Coaster Jumping Jack Kitten Kaboodle Kram Major Havoc Marvin's Maze Minky Monkey Monster Bash Mouser Naughty Mouse Nibbler Noboranka Oli-Boo-Chu Pandora's Palace Penguin Bros Peter Pepper's Ice Cream Factory Pipi & Bibis Ponpoku Pop Flamer PuLiRuLa Quantum Round-Up Scrambled Egg Sinbad Mystery Space Dungeon Space Invaders '95 - Attack of the Lunar Loonies Spelunker I & II Splendor Blast Super Glob Tactician The Amazing Adventures of Mr. F. Lea The Pit Thunder Ceptor Tinkle Pit Tube Panic Volfied Warp & Warp Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa Yam! Yam!? 993822[/snapback] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shep #11 Posted January 9, 2006 I love Taito, one of my favorite developers. However, I had never played or even heard of "The New Zealand Story" until I downloaded a bunch of ROMs. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I enjoy it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+FujiSkunk #12 Posted January 9, 2006 You can't exactly call them obscure, but I'll say that I wouldn't have gotten addicted to KLAX and the Puzzle Bobble series if it weren't for MAME. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shep #13 Posted January 9, 2006 Scrambled Egg 993822[/snapback] Sounds like a fun game! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yuppicide #14 Posted January 10, 2006 I had a chance to steal a bootleg Scrambled Egg board along with a few other boards sitting up top of a pharmacy/deli in one building. I always regret not taking them... or atleast I should have asked to buy them cheap. There was also a whole display and just about every Smurf figure ever made. I want them too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gregory DG #15 Posted January 10, 2006 Shuuz. I love that game. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MegaManFan #16 Posted January 10, 2006 I love Taito, one of my favorite developers. However, I had never played or even heard of "The New Zealand Story" until I downloaded a bunch of ROMs. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I enjoy it! 996977[/snapback] That game got released for NES under the title Kiwi Kraze. On SMS it stayed the same. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NovaXpress #17 Posted January 10, 2006 I love New Zealand Story, was addcited to it in the arcades. Cameltry as well, I feel sorry for those who haven't played it. It's interesting to revisit games I've played a lot to see if they still hold up. Did I play so many hours of Magic Sword because it was a brilliant game, or because it was readily available in my student union? The second, definitely the second. Try out Blaster Master as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Inky #18 Posted January 10, 2006 Did I play so many hours of Magic Sword because it was a brilliant game, or because it was readily available in my student union? The second, definitely the second. I played the game Arabian all the time at the local arcade. I thought it was a fun little game. Recently replayed it on MAME, and I can't for the life of me see what I was so enthralled about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZylonBane #19 Posted January 10, 2006 I'm Sorry. So very, very Japanese. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cybergoth #20 Posted January 10, 2006 Hi there! Oli-Boo-Chu is pretty obscure. Definitely worth a look though Greetings, Manuel Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeeT #21 Posted January 11, 2006 Oh My God! You will be addicted to this weird Japanese puzzle game. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shannon #22 Posted January 12, 2006 klax bomberman rampart bubble bobble are the only games that come to mind that I became hooked on and have never seen (or at least paid attention to) in an arcade. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tiggerthehun #23 Posted January 14, 2006 I too dug the Cowboys of Moo Mesa... Unexpected, for sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cybergoth #24 Posted January 20, 2006 Hi there! Another obscure game I found highly enjoyable is Time Tunnel Greetings, Manuel Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowser724 #25 Posted January 20, 2006 an old b/w one called Boot Hill. I believe Outlaw was based on it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites