At the recent XBox 360 Summit Hudson announced a remake of the
original Far East Of Eden: ZIRIA for XBox 360.

Here's what 1UP.com had to say-

"Hudson held a hot hand this afternoon, revealing anime role-playing
game Tengai Makyo Ziria from Sakura Taisen developer Red
Entertainment. The game features animated video clips integrated with
cel-shaded gameplay that is reminiscent of PS2 game Dragon Quest
VIII. Little is known about the Xbox 360 version of Tengai Makyo,
although its opening narration in English leads us to believe the
game may see release in North America."

I'm guessing that it will be more of an original game than the TM:
Manji Maru games on PS2/GC, since the original game went through so
many revisions and isn't considered as legendary as the sequel.

I'm still holding out on a Fuun Kabuki Den remake in any shape or
form.

Although I'd already planned on picking up an XBox 360 early on to
showcase my new DLP Projector, I now have no choice(although I still
have yet to get an import PS2 + TMIII).

Ya, R-Type Complete's soundtrack is complete suck.

I just gave a quick listen, but the Stage 1 music, the most important
track in the game and one of the greatest tracks in gaming music, has
been 'enhanced' by the power of CD to sound like this-

http://members.shaw.ca/justin_cheer/rtypecd.mp3

Its a slap in the face.

No other game not already on PCE CD deserved a CD soundtrack than R-
Type and this is what they thought we'd like?





--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...>
wrote:
> I should buy the Side Arms special CD along with the R-Type CD. They
> both sound great.
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > The arcade original and Hu Card versions are titled Hyperdyne
> > Sidearms.
> >
> > The CD game itself, which features the HuCard game and an
entirely
> > new 'remixed' game titled Before Christ, is title Side Arms
Special.
> >
> > Both games on 'Special have awesome CD music, which alone is
worth
> > the purchase of the game.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...>
> > wrote:
> > > That looks about right to me, except maybe some other versions
of
> > > Sidearms might be missing (Hyperdyne Sidearms?).
> > > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> > > <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > > > 1941 Counter Attack
> > > > 1943 Kai
> > > > Adventure Quiz Capcom World: Hatena No Dai Bouken
> > > > Buster Bros/Pomping World
> > > > Chiki Chiki Boys
> > > > F1 Dream
> > > > Forgotten Worlds
> > > > MakaiMura/Ghouls N Ghosts
> > > > Sidearms
> > > > Sidearms Special
> > > > Son Son II
> > > > Strider Hiryu
> > > > Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
> > > > Tenchi O Kurau/Dynasty Warriors
> > > > Tiger Road/Tora e no Michi
> > > >
> > > > What am I forgetting?

R-Type Complete isn't so hot. They kinda wrecked the game with the
soundtrack.

I don't remember if the music is actually lame, but it definately did
not fit the game and was totally different from the awesome original.

The 'cinemas' are also a waste of a good opportunity.

You're better off just picking up the Turbografx version of R-Type on
HuCard which has the complete game and way better music(I prefer it
to the arcade).

Side Arms is awesome and better than arcade perfect other than being
only single player.




--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...>
wrote:
> I should buy the Side Arms special CD along with the R-Type CD. They
> both sound great.
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > The arcade original and Hu Card versions are titled Hyperdyne
> > Sidearms.
> >
> > The CD game itself, which features the HuCard game and an
entirely
> > new 'remixed' game titled Before Christ, is title Side Arms
Special.
> >
> > Both games on 'Special have awesome CD music, which alone is
worth
> > the purchase of the game.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...>
> > wrote:
> > > That looks about right to me, except maybe some other versions
of
> > > Sidearms might be missing (Hyperdyne Sidearms?).
> > > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> > > <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > > > 1941 Counter Attack
> > > > 1943 Kai
> > > > Adventure Quiz Capcom World: Hatena No Dai Bouken
> > > > Buster Bros/Pomping World
> > > > Chiki Chiki Boys
> > > > F1 Dream
> > > > Forgotten Worlds
> > > > MakaiMura/Ghouls N Ghosts
> > > > Sidearms
> > > > Sidearms Special
> > > > Son Son II
> > > > Strider Hiryu
> > > > Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
> > > > Tenchi O Kurau/Dynasty Warriors
> > > > Tiger Road/Tora e no Michi
> > > >
> > > > What am I forgetting?

I should buy the Side Arms special CD along with the R-Type CD. They
both sound great.
--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
> The arcade original and Hu Card versions are titled Hyperdyne
> Sidearms.
>
> The CD game itself, which features the HuCard game and an entirely
> new 'remixed' game titled Before Christ, is title Side Arms Special.
>
> Both games on 'Special have awesome CD music, which alone is worth
> the purchase of the game.
>
>
>
>
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...>
> wrote:
> > That looks about right to me, except maybe some other versions of
> > Sidearms might be missing (Hyperdyne Sidearms?).
> > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> > <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > > 1941 Counter Attack
> > > 1943 Kai
> > > Adventure Quiz Capcom World: Hatena No Dai Bouken
> > > Buster Bros/Pomping World
> > > Chiki Chiki Boys
> > > F1 Dream
> > > Forgotten Worlds
> > > MakaiMura/Ghouls N Ghosts
> > > Sidearms
> > > Sidearms Special
> > > Son Son II
> > > Strider Hiryu
> > > Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
> > > Tenchi O Kurau/Dynasty Warriors
> > > Tiger Road/Tora e no Michi
> > >
> > > What am I forgetting?

The arcade original and Hu Card versions are titled Hyperdyne
Sidearms.

The CD game itself, which features the HuCard game and an entirely
new 'remixed' game titled Before Christ, is title Side Arms Special.

Both games on 'Special have awesome CD music, which alone is worth
the purchase of the game.




--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...>
wrote:
> That looks about right to me, except maybe some other versions of
> Sidearms might be missing (Hyperdyne Sidearms?).
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > 1941 Counter Attack
> > 1943 Kai
> > Adventure Quiz Capcom World: Hatena No Dai Bouken
> > Buster Bros/Pomping World
> > Chiki Chiki Boys
> > F1 Dream
> > Forgotten Worlds
> > MakaiMura/Ghouls N Ghosts
> > Sidearms
> > Sidearms Special
> > Son Son II
> > Strider Hiryu
> > Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
> > Tenchi O Kurau/Dynasty Warriors
> > Tiger Road/Tora e no Michi
> >
> > What am I forgetting?

There were only two versions of Sidearms, one on HuCard and one on CD-Rom2.
Both are listed.


In a message dated 6/28/2005 8:13:50 AM Central Standard Time,
k3ranu@... writes:
That looks about right to me, except maybe some other versions of
Sidearms might be missing (Hyperdyne Sidearms?).


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

That looks about right to me, except maybe some other versions of
Sidearms might be missing (Hyperdyne Sidearms?).
--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
> 1941 Counter Attack
> 1943 Kai
> Adventure Quiz Capcom World: Hatena No Dai Bouken
> Buster Bros/Pomping World
> Chiki Chiki Boys
> F1 Dream
> Forgotten Worlds
> MakaiMura/Ghouls N Ghosts
> Sidearms
> Sidearms Special
> Son Son II
> Strider Hiryu
> Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
> Tenchi O Kurau/Dynasty Warriors
> Tiger Road/Tora e no Michi
>
> What am I forgetting?

1941 Counter Attack
1943 Kai
Adventure Quiz Capcom World: Hatena No Dai Bouken
Buster Bros/Pomping World
Chiki Chiki Boys
F1 Dream
Forgotten Worlds
MakaiMura/Ghouls N Ghosts
Sidearms
Sidearms Special
Son Son II
Strider Hiryu
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
Tenchi O Kurau/Dynasty Warriors
Tiger Road/Tora e no Michi

What am I forgetting?

There's a good chance that you won't like the levels/gameplay since
most people don't, but it still has a bunch of entertainment value,
especially if you're a Golden Axe fan and the price is very reasonable.

Altered Beast may be a better port, but this is the Sega game that got
the real CD treatment.




--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...> wrote:
> I still haven't got to play the PCE CD version of Golden Axe but I do
> want to try it out myself to see what all the fuss is about of the PCE
> CD version. It looks cool enough to me in the screenshots and the
> cinemas seem very welcoming.

Yep, Kaze-Kiri is definitely an over rated title. Everything besides
the formula it uses for gameplay is excellent. Lets imagine if
Kaze-Kiri actually used stages like a platform game and they were at
least decent and kept the same bosses from the game; Kaze-Kiri could
have easily been the best or one of the best games of all time!
Unfortunately I guess the designers got lazy after the graphics,
sound, and controls department.

More games I find over rated:

Dracula X (just barley classifies as being over rated)
Sapphire (mainly because of it's massive price tag)
Air Zonk (Don't get me wrong, it is certainly a fun game, but I find
it to get a bit boring after so long.)

A few games I find under rated:

It Came From the Desert (Okay so I am a sucker for cheesy FMV games!)
J.J. and Jeff
Keith Courage

I still haven't got to play the PCE CD version of Golden Axe but I do
want to try it out myself to see what all the fuss is about of the PCE
CD version. It looks cool enough to me in the screenshots and the
cinemas seem very welcoming.

OVER-RATED:


Kaze-Kiri: If it were as common as Keith Courage everyone would be
asking where the gameplay is. Bravoman also has a number of moves,
but his game is still way better than this... -and the aesthetics are
nothing special.

Shubinman III: I've mentioned before how underwhelmed I was with this
game. I'm listing it as over-rated since I seem to be one of the few
who doesn't appreciate it.

Cosmic Fantasy 2: I liked it back in the day and still appreciate it
since it is a Turbo game and WD's awful "translation" actually fits
here(but nowhere else). But the game needs to have the hour-long turn-
taking boss fights fixed at the very least. If I remember correctly,
WD fucked this game by "fixing" it like they "fixed" Eternal Blue.
Still, this game would be in this list if everyone didn't rate it so
high.

Magical Chase: It doesn't feature 256 colors onscreen(no Turbo/PCE
game does) but it is a more or less a Super Deformed Lords Of
Thunder. Another game few would care much about if it was packed in
with the original TG16 and given a crappy american comic. Again, I
still love it like pretty much all PCE/Turbo games, but its way too
over rated.

Beyond Shadowgate: Now this is the KING of over rated Turbo games.
Again, it not only doesn't feature 512 or 256 simultaneous colors, it
actually has only 16 colors or less in the bg's and the worst amatuer
sprites and ugly english art around(except the bg's). Its short, side
scrolling and has some of tthe worst endings of any Turbo games.
Still worth playing through once as a Turbo game, but don't believe
any of the crazies who tell you that it defies the specs of the
system.

Sapphire: Similar to Beyond Shadowgate in crazy rumours, but is
actually a good solid game, but not really great. First of all,
although we here the stories less frequently now that the Internet
has caught on, it does not use the processing power of the Arcade
Card to push realtime 3D graphics that rivals early Playstation &
Saturn games. The '3D' portions are a poor-man's DK Country. Stills
looks nice enough and is moderately fun as a CD2 or SCD game. I don't
know where the 18 Megs of RAM is being used though and once again, if
Forgotten Worlds traded publishing places with this game, it'd just
be another shhoter.

Macross 2036: Another decent shooter that was blown out of proportion
more so back in the day. Take away the Macross license and we'd have
never heard of it.

Air Zonk: I love it as much as anyone but the gameplay isn't very
good.



UNDER-APPRECIATED:--------------------------


Golden Axe: it's not the greatest game ever made nor the best port,
but not nearly as bad as most people who turn it on once and condemn
it after 5 minutes will tell you. And it's greatest shortcoming is
the limited gameplay of the original. Great arcade CD soundtrack.

Final Lap Twin: A fun arcade racer and great little RPG. The last
race is still too tuff though.

Tengai Makyo Series, particularly Kabuki Den: Even if these games
received the praise out side Japan as they do inside, they'd still be
under rated.

Farjius Neo Metal Fantasy: Such an amazing RPG with unbelievably boss
graphics. It big, fun, aesthetically great, but even with my
walkthrough on GameFAQs, am I the only outside of Japan to actually
play this game through?

Side Arms & Side Arms Special: One of the better(or my fav) Capcom
arcade games in it's time. Afterplaying the original on MAME again
the other day, it actually looks arcade superior with it's scrolling
stars versus the arcade's static bg's. Plus, like Golden Axe, you get
another redone arcade CD soundtrack.

Super Darius: Even though the gameplay suffers from the cut from 3
screens to one, in that you don't have much room to dodge many of the
screen filling attacks, its still awesome and otherwise arcade
perfect. The real kind of arcade perfect, graphics and sound(and
gameplay). Also one of the best game soundtracks ever.

Strider: More so than Golden Axe, its not that bad a port. Also more
so than Golden Axe, the original version was limited gameplay wise.
What we do get is graphics translated from the arcade instead of the
Genesis/Megadrive's simplified completely redrawn bg's. If all you
care about is graphics, then I don't know why you'd get so excited
about the original in the first place.  But this one still looks good
and plays as good as a Strider port can. Plus another classic arcade
soundtrack boosted by CD.

Conan Boy Of Future: Even I haven't taken the time to play through
it, but from what little I've seen it looks like a great platformer
on a system severely lacking platformers.



I love the games that I seem to be taking jabs at as over-rated, and
only point out potential shortcomings in such a context(over-rated-
wise).

Golden Axe was one of my very first CD games. After getting ripped
for $500 from a store adverting in EGM, I was still dying to get a
Turbo CD.

The local electronics store in my home town had a Turbo CD and
Fighting Street and Monster Lair.

But after a visit to japan, they brought back Golden Axe, Side Arms
Special and Super Darius.

Once I managed to order another Turbo CD from Radio Shack, I Golden
Axe and Super Darius(2 or 3 months before the actual Turbo CD
arrived) and later Side Arms Special.

I used to look through the manuals everyday imagining what the games
would be like and wondering why we couldn't get nice color art filled
manuals over here.

Before this, Golden Axe was the one game that the store had opened to
demo the system.

Everyone was blown away by the overall pesentation(menus and such),
especially the CD voice(more so than the cinemas). And even the
Genesis lovers(during the console wars) wouldn't knock the in-game
content too much since even they understood how limited the original
Golden Axe is gameplay-wise anyways.

Like all Turbo games I owned, I played the game to death. After
mastering it, I would play through and finish it again and again.

The gameplay is pretty much intact, but some of the enemies are too
cheap and Death Adder in particular is just ridiculous.

Its easiest with Tyris, not too bad with Axe Battler but near
impossible with Gilius Thunderhead.

The ending cinemas are satisfying but not too long and are similar.
But at least each character does get their own ending.

I don't know if the developers had access to the original content
that went into the arcade original or anything, but it is unfortunate
that the didn't take advantage of the PC Engine's abilities to
produce what should've been the definitive version of the game.

I still love it, flaws and all. But knowing the games as well as I
do, I realize that the aesthetics aren't THAT far off, the gameplay
is more or less intact except for the excess cheap spots. I've always
found the biggst short-coming to be the sound effects.

I'm just glad that I was able to experience it as I did back in the
day so I can appreciate it to this day. Otherwise I wouldn't give it
a chance either(everyone trying it nowadays just hates it).

However, the game is worth it for the soundtrack alone if you're
a 'classic' arcade fan.

Wow, haha. That's quite strange alright.

I was 'reading' an issue of PC Engine Fan today when I came across this
page-

http://members.shaw.ca/black_mustard/pcefan.jpg

(the yellow streaks are from my buggy scanner)

This is the entire full page as it appears in the magazine.

The games previewed are- Tengai Makyo III: Namida, Angels 2: Holy
Night, Space Fantasy Zone, Missile Fighter and Motteke Tamago.

The thing is, every one of these games never made it out. But they all
wound up on the same page somehow...

Angels 2, Space Fantasy Zone and Motteke Tamago have since made the
rounds on cdr in one form or another(a promo version of Motteke Tamago
has an english patch).

mda3212 has an english search engine for Yahoo Japan Auctions on his
awesome site here-

http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~japangaming/link.php




--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...>
wrote:
> I usually just pronounce it as Shubibin Man. Have you tried looking
> for this game on Yahoo! Japan auctions? Of course you'll need some
> kind of service to send you the auction.
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, projectblowed_mc
> <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> >
> > Yeah, in my favorites, I have Shubibinman, Shu Bi Bin Man, &
> > Syubibinman.  Which are the 3 ways I've seen it spelled but maybe
I
> > should bookmark a few of the japanese sellers as a whole.  I
guess
> > I'll live if I never find it, but, it'd be nice to have!
> >
> > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> > <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > >
> > > There aren't too many Shubibinman games in general on eBay
these
> > days.
> > >
> > > You're best bet would be to bookmark the seller lists/stores of
> > some
> > > of the big japanese sellers and browse ocassionally.
> > >
> > > Most list their games quickly without spelling titles correctly
or
> > > often not even close to the real names.
> > >
> > >
> > > You can find a lot of good deals and harder to find items this
way.
> > >
> > > Also, some of the bigger sellers do requests. If someone has
> > > everything but SM4 for SFC, they'd probably happily sell you a
> > copy
> > > that is either not listed or they can pick up.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, projectblowed_mc
> > > <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I have a rom of it(SFC) but I would like to pick it up on
ebay.
> > > > I've been keeping my eyes peeled but having seen anything
other
> > > then
> > > > the other 3 games.

I usually just pronounce it as Shubibin Man. Have you tried looking
for this game on Yahoo! Japan auctions? Of course you'll need some
kind of service to send you the auction.
--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, projectblowed_mc
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
>
> Yeah, in my favorites, I have Shubibinman, Shu Bi Bin Man, &
> Syubibinman.  Which are the 3 ways I've seen it spelled but maybe I
> should bookmark a few of the japanese sellers as a whole.  I guess
> I'll live if I never find it, but, it'd be nice to have!
>
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> >
> > There aren't too many Shubibinman games in general on eBay these
> days.
> >
> > You're best bet would be to bookmark the seller lists/stores of
> some
> > of the big japanese sellers and browse ocassionally.
> >
> > Most list their games quickly without spelling titles correctly or
> > often not even close to the real names.
> >
> >
> > You can find a lot of good deals and harder to find items this way.
> >
> > Also, some of the bigger sellers do requests. If someone has
> > everything but SM4 for SFC, they'd probably happily sell you a
> copy
> > that is either not listed or they can pick up.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, projectblowed_mc
> > <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> > >
> > > I have a rom of it(SFC) but I would like to pick it up on ebay.
> > > I've been keeping my eyes peeled but having seen anything other
> > then
> > > the other 3 games.

I agree with a lot of people on this one that it is indeed a very fun
game, but definitely not the greatest. It is one of the PCE's top
action games to play and it's graphics are quite impressive for a
System Card 2.0 game.

By the way, I would love this hear this story about you and the
secretary of Working Designs. She wasn't having an affair... right? :)

Those sampler discs would be a great idea actually. Also any of those
Ultrabox series or that other series would be great as well.

Oh and yes Gates and Lords of Thunder have excellent level design and
blend in enough skill with patterns. Mighty awesome shooters.

Alright, I posted my SFZ covers in the Files section.

They're modelled after NEC Avenue's other titles. The back insert is
styled like Monster Maker, which SFZ was supposed to be released with.

The inside cover and CD label are Super Darius/Side Arms Special style
(two of my first and favorite CD games).

These were made before I taught myself how to really use Photoshop, so
they will be replaced by something with at least a hand drawn logo
hopefully sooner than later.

I really appreciated Keith Courage back in the day.

Seeing it around or before the Turbo's release was what made me want
one in the first place. And this was after already becoming
accustomed to Genesis.

Although the cities are pretty much useless(why bother even letting
you talk to people if it won't affect gameplay?) I remember them
being the drawing point for people back them.

People always said how colorful it was. Which now seems ironic since
most later shunned colorful graphics for dark Genesis games...




--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...>
wrote:
> I have to agree that the Duo has the best pack-in of all time,
mainly
> because it gives you many games which happen to be some of the top
> Turbo games at the time. It sure was an improvement over the Turbo
> Grafx 16 pack-in of Keith Courage, even though I am one of those
> people who actually enjoy Keith Courage :D .

Yeah, I remember reading about that not too long ago, but forget the
details.

Wasn't it that there is an actual unaccessible rom hidden in a
console or something, kinda like Bomberman on the 3-In-One disc?






--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Perry" <dave@n...>
wrote:
> From what I understand, one of the NEC machines (I don't remember if
> it's the PC Engine or the Duo) had provisions for a game built right
> into the console. But it wasn't done...obviously. :)
>
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> >
> > The CDX with Sonic CD was cool, but after that I can't think of
any
> > decent launch pack ins.
> >
> > Alex Kidd in Miracle World built into the SMS2 is pretty cool. I
wish
> > more systems had good games built in.
> >
> > As for the Shermatlock & Sol Feace bundle, it did look like they
were
> > trying to copy the Duo's "multimedia" set, but instead stressed
the
> > weakness of "multimedia" and shoddy CD games(a cart game with CD
> > music + a FMV game).
> >
> > Although the Turbo was passed off as a "multimedia" device, I'm
glad
> > that the "medias" consisted of shooters, rpg's, platformers
etc...
> > instead of video "mixing" and choose you own adventure type trash.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, grant@s... wrote:
> > > >The Turbo Duo is still and I beleive always will be the system
> > with
> > > >the best pack-in software.
> > >
> > > Since they no longer pack in full software out of the chute
> > > (pathetic...although there are some decent system/game package
> > deals sometimes later on for
> > > late adopters), it will always be.  Speaking of, I love these
> > system and software
> > > "deals" nowadays, with two or so worthless games packaged with
a
> > system to
> > > lure wouldbe buyers.  For some reason, it works in this
country.
> > Go figure.
> > > Back on the Duo, I remember how reactive Sega was after the
Gates
> > pack-in,
> > > packaging Sol-Feace with the Sega CD.  That was a goofball
move, as
> > Sol-Feace (or,
> > > alternatively, Sol-Deace) wasn't even a tenth of the game that
> > Gates was, with
> > > shoddy graphics, a distinct lack of color (even for the
Genesis),
> > and major
> > > flicker (of NEC Avenue stature).  I think, at that point, that
Bari-
> > Arm was
> > > already out for Mega CD...and that certainly would have made a
> > better
> > > giveaway...and something that at least approached the quality
of
> > Gates.  Then again,
> > > we're talking shooters...so it doesn't matter anyway, as the
things
> > sometimes seem
> > > to often generate a lot of buzz, but don't sell worth crap.
Some
> > morons have
> > > stated in the past, for instance, that the Saturn would've been
> > saved if
> > > Radiant Silvergun would have been released here.  B.S.  In the
big
> > picture, next
> > > to nobody in the mass gaming public would've bought it...just
like
> > every other
> > > shooter release, no matter the pedigree.  However, for some
reason,
> > select
> > > developers in Japan keep making the blasted things for abnormal
> > gamers like me
> > > (certainly it's what drew me to the PC Engine in the first
> > place)...so I can
> > > look forward to scattered releases of varying quality
throughout
> > the year.  This
> > > year, for me, that ended up being Gradius V for PS2 on the high
end
> > of
> > > things...and the indescribably bad Chaos Field for DC on the
low
> > end of things.
> > > Still, though, I'd rather have a system packed in with Chaos
Field
> > than a system
> > > packed in with Halo 2.  Strange but true.
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...> wrote:
> Thank you. Didn't this Turbo Grafx Network used to have a different
> Yahoo! Group and then switched to like a PHP message board for awhile?
> Maybe that was some other group.
>
> Yes I have Lords of Thunder as well and love it as much as I do for
> Gates, although I think Gates is a little better. Most people think
> Lords is much harder but I find Lords to be a pretty easy game if you
> just use the Earth armor. I can beat it without dying just by using
> the Earth armor. Really fun game.
>
> I can't think of any videos for games for the moment, except maybe 3X3
> Eyes. Videos for some obscured CD games would be nice to see :) .


Back in it's heyday, the TG Net was pretty much the busiest TG message
board around and was a Yahoo Club.

But when Yahoo forced all Clubs to become Groups, it pretty much
destroyed it. Everyone hated the new setup and this is when my life
started betting busier so I couldn't keep topics going as much.

So I eventually started an EZ board(or something), which is the format
every message board uses now. But it was already too late and not
enough people made the transition and I wasn't able to keep up either
so that one eventually died out and the originator here has been
sporadic since, with activity increasing more and more frequently as
I've tried to take an active role again at the same time I've rekindled
my Turbo/PCE gaming/collecting.

Lords is more balanced and more fare in that you actually have hit
points. But once you begin to master it, the shop feature just makes it
easier since you can then always afford to be fully powered up. But at
least you can crank up the difficulty.

Gate is more unforgiving the farther you get. But is still one of the
fairest one-hit shooters around. I personally hate pattern shooters
like R-Type(except I love R-Type) where there isn't much real gameplay,
just memorizing the only safe path through each area. Gates balances
the best features of all shooters with just enough pattern attacks,
bullet & obstacle dodging and a simple but fufilling power up system.

Of course, what really makes both Gate & Lords stand out from other
great shooters is the constantly changing levels. Each single level in
either game is as diverse(bg's and offense) as half of to a whole
regular shooter. Its like playing 3 cool levels each round.

I've been thinking lately about which games might be obscure enough but
still worthwhile to post clips of. I was thinking of recording the menu
of one of the sampler disc(forget the name at the moment) volumes and
maybe Sol Moonarge, Louga, Sylphia and the unreleased Angels II & Space
Fantasy Zone(I made covers for this which I'll repost after finding
them).

From what I understand, one of the NEC machines (I don't remember if
it's the PC Engine or the Duo) had provisions for a game built right
into the console. But it wasn't done...obviously. :)

--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
>
> The CDX with Sonic CD was cool, but after that I can't think of any
> decent launch pack ins.
>
> Alex Kidd in Miracle World built into the SMS2 is pretty cool. I wish
> more systems had good games built in.
>
> As for the Shermatlock & Sol Feace bundle, it did look like they were
> trying to copy the Duo's "multimedia" set, but instead stressed the
> weakness of "multimedia" and shoddy CD games(a cart game with CD
> music + a FMV game).
>
> Although the Turbo was passed off as a "multimedia" device, I'm glad
> that the "medias" consisted of shooters, rpg's, platformers etc...
> instead of video "mixing" and choose you own adventure type trash.
>
>
>
>
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, grant@s... wrote:
> > >The Turbo Duo is still and I beleive always will be the system
> with
> > >the best pack-in software.
> >
> > Since they no longer pack in full software out of the chute
> > (pathetic...although there are some decent system/game package
> deals sometimes later on for
> > late adopters), it will always be.  Speaking of, I love these
> system and software
> > "deals" nowadays, with two or so worthless games packaged with a
> system to
> > lure wouldbe buyers.  For some reason, it works in this country.
> Go figure.
> > Back on the Duo, I remember how reactive Sega was after the Gates
> pack-in,
> > packaging Sol-Feace with the Sega CD.  That was a goofball move, as
> Sol-Feace (or,
> > alternatively, Sol-Deace) wasn't even a tenth of the game that
> Gates was, with
> > shoddy graphics, a distinct lack of color (even for the Genesis),
> and major
> > flicker (of NEC Avenue stature).  I think, at that point, that Bari-
> Arm was
> > already out for Mega CD...and that certainly would have made a
> better
> > giveaway...and something that at least approached the quality of
> Gates.  Then again,
> > we're talking shooters...so it doesn't matter anyway, as the things
> sometimes seem
> > to often generate a lot of buzz, but don't sell worth crap.  Some
> morons have
> > stated in the past, for instance, that the Saturn would've been
> saved if
> > Radiant Silvergun would have been released here.  B.S.  In the big
> picture, next
> > to nobody in the mass gaming public would've bought it...just like
> every other
> > shooter release, no matter the pedigree.  However, for some reason,
> select
> > developers in Japan keep making the blasted things for abnormal
> gamers like me
> > (certainly it's what drew me to the PC Engine in the first
> place)...so I can
> > look forward to scattered releases of varying quality throughout
> the year.  This
> > year, for me, that ended up being Gradius V for PS2 on the high end
> of
> > things...and the indescribably bad Chaos Field for DC on the low
> end of things.
> > Still, though, I'd rather have a system packed in with Chaos Field
> than a system
> > packed in with Halo 2.  Strange but true.
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I have to agree that the Duo has the best pack-in of all time, mainly
because it gives you many games which happen to be some of the top
Turbo games at the time. It sure was an improvement over the Turbo
Grafx 16 pack-in of Keith Courage, even though I am one of those
people who actually enjoy Keith Courage :D .

Thank you. Didn't this Turbo Grafx Network used to have a different
Yahoo! Group and then switched to like a PHP message board for awhile?
Maybe that was some other group.

Yes I have Lords of Thunder as well and love it as much as I do for
Gates, although I think Gates is a little better. Most people think
Lords is much harder but I find Lords to be a pretty easy game if you
just use the Earth armor. I can beat it without dying just by using
the Earth armor. Really fun game.

I can't think of any videos for games for the moment, except maybe 3X3
Eyes. Videos for some obscured CD games would be nice to see :) .

--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, "k3ranu" <k3ranu@y...> wrote:
> I didn't have any Turbo systems when growing up, so I really got into
> the scene three years ago when I was 14 on emulation. I downloaded
> Gates of Thunder and played it for the first time the summer that
> followed and I thought it was pretty cool and impressive, but I didn't
> think much of the game, probably because I wasn't as much into
> shooters at that time. However when I started playing the game months
> later, I got really into and came to love it! Up until now it stands
> as one of my favorite shooters and I still enjoy and admire it each
> time I play. I can beat the game without about two-three lives now.
> Such a great game.

Cool man, welcome to the Group.

As you know by now, if you like shooters, the Turbo/PCE is the system
to play.

Have you tried/beaten Lords Of Thunder yet?

Aeroblasters is still one of my favs after the big ones that everyone
likes. Even if it isn't console exclusive or 100% faithful to the
arcade original( prefer the TG-16 version).

I have pretty much every CD & HuCard game anyone would care about, so
if you ever want a video clip or anything, just lmk and I'll either
post it here in the Files section or host it on my own webspace.

And if you ever need help completeing a game, I've beaten most of them
and can usually help.

I didn't have any Turbo systems when growing up, so I really got into
the scene three years ago when I was 14 on emulation. I downloaded
Gates of Thunder and played it for the first time the summer that
followed and I thought it was pretty cool and impressive, but I didn't
think much of the game, probably because I wasn't as much into
shooters at that time. However when I started playing the game months
later, I got really into and came to love it! Up until now it stands
as one of my favorite shooters and I still enjoy and admire it each
time I play. I can beat the game without about two-three lives now.
Such a great game.

--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, console_lover <no_reply@y...>
wrote:
> LOL!
>
> Been gone awhile, but still remaining true to the TG-16 and PCE!!!
> And I'm glad everybody's still here!!



Unfortunately, everyone's not all still here, but I hope to draw people
back sooner than later. Many are still members who check in every once
in a while.

I simply don't have the same ammount of free time I used to, but I'm
trying...

I am however, crazier than ever over Turbo/PCE.

Right now I tracking down the last Turbochips I need to complete the
set.

--- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, console_lover
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
> Ahhh yes... I too remember the first time I saw GOT. At a kiosk just
> the same, and I blew past the 1st level like nobody's business and
> couldn't want it more... The music was such a HUGE jump for even the
> PC-Engine world....
>
> I agree with your comment on emulation. It is indeed obvious to
many,
> especially those I still newly introduce to the PC-Engine, just how
> far advanced both the hardware and developers were back then. Just
5
> months ago a guy here at my work had Hyperdyne-Sidearms up on MAME.
He
> made an odd comment about how there was never a home-port of it and
> how it would suck royale even if there was. I brought in my
> Turboexpress the next day and showed him.. (Boy was he amazed...)
> People running emulators now, comment all the time how the quality
of
> games actually varied a great deal back then, and how things they
> thought were so great now suck, whilst things they never knew, made
> fun of, or wouldn't other wise even look at, now are percieved to
> actually be "better" overall. Too bad people's judgement of the TG-
16
> was clouded...
>
> Ah Well, time to boot up Gate of Thunder!!! You've inspired me once
> again!!
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In turbografxnetwork@yahoogroups.com, kabuki_danjiro
> <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> >
> > Earlier this year, I moved into a new house. Afterwards I was
> > horrified to find that I'd lost my 3 in 1 Super CD disc(I found
the
> > caee with manuals).
> >
> > After giving up on finding it, I looked around on eBay and some
other
> > sites for either the 3 in 1 or at least the import GOT.
> >
> > I could barely find either, just the odd over priced import.
> >
> > However, I recently recovered the lost disc while unpacking and
love
> > the game now more than ever.
> >
> > The coolest thing about emulation, particularly MAME, is now we
can
> > get an accurate depiction of how all those lofty arcade games
really
> > looked.
> >
> > And boy do the PC Engine games stand up beautifully. Gate and
Lords
> > Of Thunder look, sound and play as good as any arcade shooter.
> >
> > Back in the day I was equally impressed, but arcade games always
> > looked more detailed and shaded in a cabinet.
> >
> > I still remember the first time I saw Gate Of Thunder in action.
> >
> > It was at one of those independant Radio Shack's that carry all
kinds
> > of consoles. It was within a week or two of the Turbo Duo's launch
(so
> > I didn't own it yet).
> >
> > There were a few systems set up playing demos and walking by I
saw
> > Gate's intro cinema and first level and thought, "Wow, that game
> > looks really good, even for a Neo Geo game".
> >
> > When I finally noticed that it wasn't a Neo Geo in the glass
case, I
> > actually looked around the cabinet to make sure it was a Turbo
Duo
> > playing on the monitor.
> >
> > The only other time I can remember off hand having a similar
reaction
> > was the first time I say Daytona USA(up to that point thinking
that
> > Virtua Racing was state of the art) or maybe visiting the first
kid
> > in the neighborhood to get an NES).
> >
> > The first time playing GOT again, I'm pleased to say that I made
it
> > to a couple screens before the last boss before hitting Game Over.



What I don't get, is how people don't talk trash about how much the
GBA sucks, but a GBA quality(visually) game on a 'classic' console is
supposed to be primative?

Side Arms is one of those arcade games I always wanted on SMS or NES,
but knew(even though I was only like 10 years old) that it would be
majorly changed like 1941, Trojan and GnG.

When I got Side Arms Special as one of my very first CD games for my
Turbo CD(Ys I & II wasn't even out yet), I thought it was as good a
port as could be hoped for for 16-bit, but not quite as detailed
or "glowy" as we called it in parts of the backgrounds.

This was juding from my cloudy memory of the now MIA arcade cabinets
and old magazine screenshots that I later assumed were actually
arcade screen shots.

Now with the marvel of emulation(and internet pcb marketplace) I can
see how the PCE/Turbo ports are pretty much pixel for pixel perfect
(not 'SNES SFII looks real close at home' perfect, -really more or
less identical).

It sure will be cool if one of these up and coming Turbo programmers
hacks/mods at least the Hu Card rom of SideArms to include 2 player
gameplay.

It'd be a lot easier than some the upcoming projects like Neutopia 3.