@twenty90seven I'm sorry, mate, I purposefully tested Capcom Arcade Stadium on my standard, launch model PS4 with a DualShock 4, so I don't know the answer to your DualSense haptic feedback question, yet.
I try to review collections like this on the oldest hardware, just to see if the emulation is running well, without any crashes.
I didn't read anything about DualSense haptic feedback in Capcom Arcade Stadium in preparation for this review, but I can't say for sure.
It's a bank holiday weekend here in the UK, so I have plans, but if I get the chance I'll look into this more for you.
@Ristar24 I hear you regarding wishing that the Amiga versions were included with The Bitmap Brothers Collection 1 on Evercade. I'm interested in the Evercade VS as a home console, multiplayer option for our cartridges, too.
The lack of Amiga ports on Evercade makes me even more grateful for the work Factor 5 and Ratalaika Games put into Turrican Flashback, which we discussed a few months back.
I definitely get the impression that it's a more challenging job to emulate 50Hz Amiga home computer games on modern consoles, than 16-bit console games. This is especially when you consider getting the audio running correctly, and altering the joystick controls to work more efficiently with multiple buttons on a DualShock.
The more developers that work on Amiga games, the more possibilities will open up for lots of potential Amiga classics in collections in the future, though. Fingers crossed!
@Amnesiac Cheers for you comment, and I agree with everything you've said, because I'm very happy with how Capcom Arcade Stadium turned out.
I hope people check it out on PS4 as you're spot on that a lot of care has gone into the user interface, plus the number of configurable options, displays and challenges that the developer has lavished on this collection.
Even if anyone is unsure about buying all three packs for £32.99, it's worth checking out the games list for each pack, because I especially think that the 'Pack 3: Arcade Evolution ('92 – '01)' line-up is fantastic value on its own for £11.99.
@Ristar24 Thanks for your kind words about my review, and I agree about how great both Remixed and Reloaded versions of the PSP's Capcom Classics Collection are to play on PS Vita, it's just so convenient to play all those retro games on Sony's handheld.
I'm interested in the Blizzard Arcade Collection too, but I haven't bought it yet, so I hope you enjoy it.
@playstation1995 I really enjoyed the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, although like you say, there are some repeated games from that collection in Capcom Arcade Stadium, but the more people who get to discover Warriors of Fate, Armored Warriors and Battle Circuit the better, in my eyes.
You make such a quality mention of the Grandmaster's creepy laugh at the start of Strider, too. This reminds me of just before you start the second, snowy Siberian level – which is my favourite stage in the game – and the Grandmaster says in an unnerving voice, "Hum, it is Strider Hiryu. He will never leave Eurasia alive."
I've been looking through old magazines as some background reading to this review.
I enjoyed the final page Killer Feature in Wireframe Issue 12, which looked at how arcade Bionic Commando was unusual to not have a jump button in 1987. Wireframe also notes how over time the arcade version has become less famous than the later NES game, which reminds me of how the original Ninja Gaiden coin-op is now less well known than the NES version.
I also pulled out lots of Retro Gamer mags, with Annual Volume 2 having a big Ultimate Guide to 1942 by Graeme Mason. The 200th issue of Retro Gamer recognises Street Fighter II: The World Warrior as being one of the games of the decade for the 1990s too – so it's interesting that Capcom Arcade Stadium has added to Street Fighter II's history by removing the Rising Sun flag from the background of E. Honda's Japanese Bath House stage.
Finally, there's an awesome The Making of Strider feature by Darran Jones in Retro Gamer Issue 76, with quotes from its co-creator Kouichi Yotsui.
If anyone has any questions about this review, please let me know. I’m interested in hearing about the games people like the most in Capcom Arcade Stadium, taking into account that Strider is one of my favourite games of all time.
I've listed all 32 Capcom Arcade Stadium games below:
Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985, action platformer, single player).
1943: The Battle of Midway (1987, vertical shmup, two player co-op).
Capcom Arcade Stadium Pack 1: Dawn of the Arcade ('84 – '88) £11.99
Vulgus (1984, vertical shmup, single player).
Pirate Ship Higemaru (1984, single screen maze action, single player).
1942 (1984, vertical shmup, single player).
Commando (1984, top-down run-and-gun, single player).
Section Z (1985, horizontal shmup, single player).
Tatakai no Banka (1986, action hack-and-slash, single player). This is Japanese only ROM, the Japanese version of Trojan.
Legendary Wings (1986, vertical shmup, two player co-op).
Bionic Commando (1987, run-and gun/grapple arm platformer, single player).
Forgotten Worlds (1988, CPS-1, horizontal shmup, two player co-op).
Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1988, CPS-1, action platformer, single player).
Warriors of Fate (1992, CPS-Dash, hack-and-slash beat-'em-up, three player co-op).
Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting (1992, CPS-1, one-on-one fighting, two player vs.).
Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994, CPS-2, one-on-one fighting, two player vs.).
Powered Gear: Strategic Variant Armor Equipment (1994, CPS-2, mech beat-‘em-up, three player co-op). This is Japanese only ROM, the Japanese version of Armored Warriors.
Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness (1995, CPS-2, one-on-one fighting, two player vs.).
19XX: The War Against Destiny (1995, CPS-2, vertical shmup, two player co-op).
Battle Circuit (1997, CPS-2, beat-'em-up, four player co-op).
Giga Wing (1999, CPS-2, vertical shmup, two player co-op, developed by Takumi).
1944: The Loop Master (2000, CPS-2, vertical shmup, two player co-op, developed by Eighting/Raizing).
Progear (2001, CPS-2, horizontal shmup, two player co-op, developed by CAVE).
This news article must have stuck in my head, because I'm not only sitting here with a cup of tea on a Bank Holiday Monday morning reading the Returnal cover feature in the final 187th May issue of Official PlayStation Magazine UK, but I've also been flicking through my original Super Play binder, which holds the first 12 issues of the mag.
Hats off to @SoulChimera for mentioning above about the first issue of Super Play, which included the free pin badge, as well. That free gift reminds me of when Mean Machines had a Contra Spirits jigsaw as a freebie, too, and I'd say that both Mean Machines and Super Play are two of my truly favourite magazines.
For retro mag fans, it's also definitely worth a read of Damien McFerran's detailed The Making of Super Play Magazine Nintendo Life feature, to understand the impact that the SNES mag had from its very first issue.
Have a good Bank Holiday Monday, to everyone in the UK.
@playstation1995 That's interesting, I didn't know that there was a GamePro TV!
I don't actually know much about American video game shows, although I've heard a little bit about a Canadian one called Electric Playground.
As far as I understand, Electric Playground was presented by Victor Lucas — who still does retro gaming YouTube videos — as well as Tommy Tallarico, who composed the music for Earthworm Jim.
Like @Ristar24 mentioned, our main nostalgic gaming TV shows in the UK were GamesMaster and Bad Influence. There have been UK TV shows since, one I remember was called The Blurb, and it was presented by Lucy James who now works for GameSpot.
@TheArt Good call on highlighting John's reviews, though, his sense of humour is great.
I remember the Taxi Chaos review that you linked to above too, like you said earlier, it was hilarious.
Yet again he had a cracking tagline with 'Lazi taxi', and the Cons were brilliant from "Our car spawned under a bus", then saying, "That was actually funny, though".
@playstation1995 Yes, we got GamePro here in the UK, mate, but only as an import magazine, like with Electronic Gaming Monthly.
I used to go to a shop called Borders, which imported US magazines, including skate magazines like Thrasher and Transworld Skateboarding. I have a few issues of GamePro and EGM — plus GameFan was a really good American gaming mag — but unfortunately Borders shut down.
It was a shame when the GamePro website was closed down too, because there were a lot of great articles that were lost without access to that site, from what I can remember.
@TheArt Cheers, although the 'Cons' in my reviews are more the standard "No online multiplayer" type responses.
Could you be thinking of John Cal McCormick's Push Square reviews?
John makes me laugh with his writing style, for example when he reviewed PS4 Five Dates not only did he have the tagline 'Daters gonna date', but one of his 'Cons' was, "No option to release wolves into the dates' rooms"!
@Ristar24 and @Futureshark — I remember when I was a kid I received C64 The Last Ninja 2 as a present, and inside the box it had a ninja mask and a plastic shuriken. I always thought that was a cool box set for my C64.
I sold my C64 and games to put the money towards an Amiga 500, but I wonder now if that Last Ninja 2 package is a collectible for C64 retro gamers today.
@StartWars and @huyi Awesome, it's fun to flick through old mags, especially from the 1990s.
I'm a bit obsessed about keeping hold of my gaming mags, just a few examples of my complete magazine collections are full sets of Mean Machines, Super Play, Ultimate Future Games, Arcade, and I also have later mags like every gamesTM and now all the OPM UK mags too.
I have all the issues of Retro Gamer and Wireframe released so far, as well, but as StartWars will understand with keeping the Official PlayStation Mags since 1995, the main issue I have with collecting magazines is the amount of space they take up!
Great stuff, though, I like to hear from other retro mag fans and collectors.
@lolwhatno Taken literally, you play as Selene in Returnal and she's killed over and over, so she has to often restart her adventure.
Basically, as Selene you die on and on, but the true brilliance of Stephen's 'Selene Die On' tagline is that it's a clever play on the name of the 1990s Canadian pop singer, Céline Dion.
@Ristar24 Have fun playing The Last Ninja on your C64, mate. Like @Futureshark mentioned above, Ben Daglish's SID chiptunes were legendary.
When I was buying Returnal at GAME in Liverpool yesterday, I was doing a bit of glancing in the window of a shop called MenKind, where they had a C64 Mini on display for something like £40.
I don't know if it's any good, but it has games like Armalyte, California Games, Creatures, Cybernoid, Hawkeye, Impossible Mission, and Paradroid included, I think.
It even has both C64 Speedball games on it, from what I could tell, so the C64 Mini may be worth a punt.
I love print, so it's always sad to hear of a magazine closing down, but the resurrection of PLAY with the same team working on it makes me feel hopeful for the mag's future.
I've never missed an issue of OPM UK, so this news means that I'm in a position where I have all 187 issues of Official PlayStation Magazine UK in my collection, too.
@Robocod Agreed, Henk Nieborg's portfolio as a pixel artist is very impressive, and like you say, the Kickstarter project was clear about their plans.
I think Battle Axe is successful at delivering upon following in the tradition of its old school inspirations, so I hope that gamers get to experience it, and learn more about the amazing talent of the artists behind it.
I agree with the comments above about Battle Axe's price point.
For me personally, I received a PS4 digital review copy through Push Square, but I'm still going to buy a physical version of Battle Axe. This is because I consistently pay upwards of £35 to collect physical pixel art games like Blazing Chrome and The Ninja Saviors, where I replay short core game modes over and over.
I personally relish the skill based replayability of Battle Axe, but you have to put time into mastering it. I play it differently as Fae the Dark Elf, where I charge aggressively into close quarters, with twin blades melee attacks, and dash back to safety. This contrasts with Iolo the Druid, where I stick to a set point on the edges of the play area, carefully shooting enemies from a distance with his fixed shot fireballs.
There are also tough Trophy tasks, like achieving 'S' ranks, and beating the game without dying, or progressing to higher levels in Infinite Mode.
The trouble is that this replay value is based upon improving your skills, and relishing a challenge. Many gamers will unfortunately see Battle Axe as a short game, which is low on content, where a fast character like Fae can complete the four main stages of Arcade Mode within 40 minutes.
Therefore, realistically, a higher digital price point will not be seen as good value, regardless of it receiving a 'Good' score of 7/10.
Also, it's worth taking into account that Battle Axe releases tomorrow, the same Friday 30th April release date of Returnal, and many PlayStation fans lucky enough to own a PS5 will budget their money towards Housemarque's big release. It’ll be a shame if a higher digital price point ends up pricing Battle Axe out of being an impulse indie purchase.
**** Edit: A quick update to this comment, PS4 Battle Axe has released a day early on Thursday 29th April, so it's available on the PS Store now priced digitally at £34.99.
@Ristar24 I was reading a Retro Gamer Annual from 2014 – as it has 'The Making of Golden Axe' article I mentioned above inside – and it also has a 'Creating Chaos: The Making of Chaos Engine' feature in the same bookazine as well, with quotes from The Bitmap Brothers' co-founder Mike Montgomery.
I guess in regards to Battle Axe being completed in under an hour, this game length fits with other retro games, as The Chaos Engine can be beat in a bit more than an hour too. The Chaos Engine was similarly a two player co-op game as well, but it's longer, though.
Talking about similarities between the top-down run-and-gun gameplay, I've also been playing PS2 Neo Contra recently, so just like how Konami's PS2 game doesn't use the right stick, perhaps Battle Axe could have benefitted from twin stick controls for shooting projectiles – since Fae has slower respawning daggers, but Iolo has fast fireballs, and Rooney's cannon balls cover distance.
Also, thanks for letting me know about Digital Foundry's coverage of Battle Axe, I'll check out their YouTube channel to watch that video.
As always, if anyone has any questions about Battle Axe, please let me know.
I was grateful to Push Square for organising this review for me, because its mix of run-and-gun and fantasy hack-and-slash genres are my cup of tea – to the extent that I'm going to buy a physical copy of Battle Axe for my collection.
It has many nods to retro games, with the heroes resting at a camp fire being reminiscent of Golden Axe, or how Ælfwen's shop is straight out of Capcom titles like Forgotten Worlds. You can unlock a Trophy if you 'Destroy 25 Generators', just as you would playing Gauntlet.
Battle Axe's gameplay has elements of strategy in aiming for an 'S' rank in each of the four stages, as well, with using Fae's ability to dash away from close-up danger, or collecting gold coins to buy expensive items such as the lightning bolt that bolsters Iolo's fireball projectiles.
I've also enjoyed the incredible detailing in Henk Nieborg's pixel art visuals in the past, for example in Contra 4, and I appreciated this graphical style back when I reviewed Thor: God of Thunder on Nintendo DS for Nintendo Life. More recently Nieborg created the graphics for Bitmap Bureau in the PS4 game Xeno Crisis.
Also, Manami Matsumae's compositions are legendary amongst Capcom fans, going back to the original NES Mega Man games, and I've heaps of nostalgia for her tunes in arcade titles such as MERCS.
Finally, the Makoto Uchida quote I refer to in the introduction was taken from Retro Gamer's 'The Making of Golden Axe' feature, where Uchida explains that, "Originally, it was called 'Battle Axe'. The development team members liked it, but we gave it up for licence reasons. The next name was 'Broad Axe'. This was an English word that we thought would match the original Japanese title."
I like how the name Battle Axe reminds me of Golden Axe, and also the PC Engine's Legendary Axe too.
@Gremio108 and @Culjoseth – I read Push Square's ONRUSH review, and I listened to your advice by spending a few fun hours in ONRUSH's Superstar single-player, so cheers for both of your responses.
Like Gremio108 mentioned, I found a small element of repetition in its focus upon destroying drivers, as opposed to racing for a position. In this respect, the mode I'm enjoying the most so far is where you capture multiple zones, because it give a sense of achievement that you'd normally get from placing first in a traditional racer. Plus, it's appropriately called Lockdown Mode, which felt apt.
Thanks again, because I've had a blast so far, especially as it scratches that Evolution Studios MotorStorm dirt scrambling itch!
@Poskito and @Wormold — I popped into the Quick Play option of ONRUSH's online multiplayer early this Sunday morning, and I was surprised that it was more active online than I expected for a June 2018 release.
@Ristar24 Hey mate, great minds think alike, because I'm playing the exact same retro games as you this weekend.
I was talking about Midnight Resistance with @LieutenantFatman in the comments section of my PS4 Turrican Flashback review the other day, so I've also been playing Mega Drive Midnight Resistance by means of the Data East Collection 1 on my Evercade this weekend, too. Talking about quality retro run-and-gun music, Midnight Resistance has one of my favourite soundtracks, as well.
By playing the Turrican Flashback collection, I've also got a better understanding of why the consensus is that Mega Turrican is superior to Super Turrican. The Mega Drive game is closer to the atmosphere of the earlier Amiga releases, and it has stronger boss encounters, with a more coherent gameplay ending.
Both of these 16-bt console games are great though, and I still have a soft spot for Super Turrican, predominantly from playing it on the Wii’s Virtual Console. The SNES game is really bright and fun, with visually diverse levels. I just wish it had more boss battles, and a final encounter against The Machine would have made more sense.
@Loki7T1 It is a shame that you’ve been having so much trouble with the sound, mate.
The only reason I brought up the control settings is because from my memory of playing Amiga games they were predominantly controlled with a joystick with one or two buttons. Sometimes you even had to hold upwards on the joystick to make a character jump in an Amiga game.
This means that to release the first two Amiga Turrican titles on PS4 the developers would have had to remap all of the controls for the extra buttons on the DualShock 4. I think they did a great job with the new control scheme, especially with separate buttons for jumping, the manoeuvrable laser, turning into the wheel, bombs and the line attack.
I just wondered if this would have created difficulties in the emulation process, so I was troubleshooting if changing the controls may have disrupted the emulation.
The only other thing I can think of is that in the UK when I first got into 16-bit consoles it was a big issue that our PAL TV system was only 50Hz, so our games ran slowly, and the music sounded slowed down. Therefore, we would import consoles from Japan and the US, or modify our UK consoles to play games faster in NTSC 60Hz, as they were originally created.
However, the first two Amiga Turrican games were made in Germany, and created to run at 50Hz for Europe, so this may have made it harder for the developers to recreate the Amiga's output for modern PS4 consoles. I don't know if this would affect the sound, though.
Like I said, I'm just speculating and troubleshooting ideas.
Fingers crossed there's a patch soon that fixes it for you, because if you're experiencing sound issues, it's likely someone else playing it must be, too.
@Loki7T1 Yes, I thought it was unusual that Turrican Flashback has no trophies at all for Super Turrican. In some respects, I think that many people will play a lot of Super Turrican most of all, because the SNES game is so colourful and action packed, with arcade-like gameplay.
I completely understand why you feel so frustrated with the sound issues in your game, like I said, it doesn't really help you to hear things have been fine for me.
In your comment you mentioned that you have the same settings as me, but that you changed the button mapping.
If it helps, I could boot up the first two Amiga Turrican games in Turrican Flashback on my standard PS4 now, and if you tell me the changes to your button set-up, I could change the controls in my game to see if it triggers anything my end to make the sound stutter.
@Robocod Cheers for the Eurogamer link about Rebellion acquiring The Bitmap Brothers' portfolio in November 2019, I like learning about retro news like this. It sounds like it's been just over a year since they made the acquisition, so fingers crossed that we get to learn about Rebellion releasing some classic Amiga Bitmap Brothers games soon. I looked up more about the March 2019 PS4 release of GODS Remastered on Robot Riot Games' website, and it says that it was made "In cooperation with Mike Montgomery, owner of The Bitmap Brothers, and Sound of Games." I wonder if Mike Montgomery is still involved now that Rebellion owns Bitmap Brothers' classic library, although the Eurogamer article has a quote saying that he passed the torch to Rebellion.
@Vorlon Great stuff, it's good to hear that you still have access to different Amiga computers, and all of your discs. I have a boxed A500 here, but it's not my original computer, I got it later on. Sadly, the way my retro collection is stored, I don't have easy access to my Amiga, I'm afraid.
@XinGViruS Memories of gaming with friends and family, like what you've shared with a cracking list of 16-bit computer games, is one the reasons why I enjoy retro gaming so much. It's not just about remembering playing the old games, it's remembering who you were playing the games with back in the day that makes the nostalgia so strong.
@Loki7T1 In preparation for this review I spent many hours of repeated play of both Turrican and Turrican II on my launch model, base PS4, but I didn't have any problems with the music. Since then I’ve downloaded the Version 1.01 update file, and played Turrican Flashback on my PS5 too, and the music sounds great on my standard PS4 and PS5. I predominantly played Trophy Challenge mode on default settings, with no wallpapers. This doesn't really help you, but I hope you can sort it out, because stuttering sound must be frustrating, especially as the music in both Amiga games is fantastic.
@Balosi and @hi_drnick I agree with you both, they should have found a way to include the C64 games in this collection, especially since the origins of the series come from Manfred Trenz's C64 game design.
Also, when Balosi refers to real time strategy games like Amiga Mega-Lo-Mania – which had a nice, detailed art style, as Sensible Software were great at drawing tiny sprite characters – it made me start to reminisce about Bullfrog's Syndicate too. I always thought that Syndicate looked much better on the Amiga than the SNES version.
@Robocod Like you mention, I remember a lot of Amiga era games were given a graphical overhaul and released on PS3, for example Speedball 2 Evolution was an October 2011 PS Mini release. I've just watched its PSP trailer and it refers to The Bitmap Brothers, Tower Studios and Vivid Games all being involved. I'm not up-to-date with who holds the rights to the Speedball franchise now, though.
As you know, GODS was a Bitmap Brothers Amiga game, and GODS Remastered was published in 2019 on PS4 by a team called Robot Riot Games.
Both of Team17's Alien Breed and Superfrog HD were released on PS3 in 2013, but as you’ve also suggested, there was a tendency during the PS3 generation for developers to update the graphics of Amiga games.
From memory, I played Robocod as the PSone Classic version on my PS3, I think
I agree completely, I really hope that Turrican Flashback encourages publishers to release Amiga games in their pure pixelated, original 2D form. The Amiga days were good times indeed!
@sanderson72 Yes, there’s a good possibility that you played the original 1990 Turrican first on the C64. Manfred Trenz developed it on C64 before the Amiga version, and I noticed while researching this review that C&VG's C64 review was published three months earlier than the coverage of the Amiga version, where Paul Rand scored C64 Turrican with 93% in the May 1990 Issue 102.
You make a really intriguing point about how you view the original PlayStation as a spiritual successor to the Amiga, as well. When I think about it, the Amiga had a long lifespan, so the C64's bedroom coders in the UK who joined development teams to create Amiga games may have sometimes skipped the 16-bit consoles, and went straight to PS1 development in 1995.
Just using Psygnosis as an example, they released numerous games in the first few years of the PS1, from WipEout to Destruction Derby, and G-Police.
Sony must have been conscious that the PlayStation was a newcomer in the console hardware business in 1995, so they actively encouraged smaller developers with welcoming ideas like the PS1's Net Yaroze software development kit, which was accessible to hobbyist coders. This would have made the PS1 attractive to Amiga developers, too.
@XinGViruS A few of the comments here remind me of just how much I used to play computer games by visiting family and friends. I got to play many more games than I would have normally on my cousin's Amiga, even after I sold mine and moved on to 16-bit consoles.
@LieutenantFatman Thanks for your response, and your thoughts on putting the time in to earn a Platinum trophy, even with challenging retro games. It's cool that the level 3-1 vertical shooter-esque section in the first Turrican still sticks in your mind, it shows how Manfred Trenz's game design was memorable through variety and by bringing an arcade flow to home computer games.
@BertMan666 I agree, a big highlight of playing these four Turrican games again is the music, I remember loving Super Turrican's soundtrack when I bought it on the Wii's Virtual Console too. Even when I wasn't playing the games, I’ve still been blasting Chris Huelsbeck's tunes while writing this review.
@Carl-G Like you mention with First Samurai, I hope that the Amiga is embraced more by publishers, so that more 16-bit computers games get released and preserved on modern consoles. Just as one example, I have such good memories of split-screen multiplayer Super Cars II, but I've not played that game in something like thirty years.
@Voltan The first time I saw DOOM was also on my cousin's PC. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, I was astounded by the technical leap in its fast, smooth and action packed first-person perspective.
If anyone has any questions about Turrican Flashback, please let me know.
I’m interested in hearing anyone else's memories of gaming on home computers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, or if anyone bought an Amiga or Atari ST for retro gaming later on. As a kid I went from an Acorn Electron to a BBC Micro Model B, then to a C64 and Amiga 500, before I even bought my Mega Drive.
Therefore, I especially enjoyed revisiting the first two Turrican games for this review. As I was looking through Issue 105 of C&VG, which I mention above, I found an 80% scoring review of the Amiga's conversion of Midnight Resistance too, which was another 16-bit computer run-and-gun port that I have heaps of nostalgia towards.
Also, what is your preference in regards to earning trophies in retro collections? Do you like to prove your skills like in Turrican Flashback’s "cheaters don’t win trophies" way, or if you put the time in to complete an old game using save states for convenience, do you think the trophy should still unlock?
@StonyKL Cool, I didn't expect to find myself reminiscing about my youth visiting Southport's arcades here, so this has turned into a pleasant surprise.
We used to skate from Southport train station to down by the pier where there was a helter skelter slide park, which also included a concrete snake run with banks for skating.
We'd stop at lots of the arcades on the way, so I can remember playing Konami's four-player Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coin-op with my mates, and also Shadow Warriors — which was the arcade beat-'em-up version of Ninja Gaiden that I loved. I know that it was 1988 and 1989, because the arcades were flourishing enough for them to regularly make new machines available.
I also have fond memories of the arcades at New Brighton, good times indeed!
@B_Lindz Yes, mate, you're correct in your observation. I wasn't sure if I should mention it here, but it's very fresh and recent, and at the forefront of my thoughts.
To be honest, I thought that mentioning it felt relevant in regards to 2020 being a tough year, because I think many people can relate to going through a hard time.
At least a New Year is coming for fresh starts, so I hope that 2021 is a good year for everyone.
Thanks for your kind comment, and all the best to you.
@carlos82 I agree, PS4 Resident Evil 2 set the standard for developers going above and beyond at establishing the atmosphere of a 32-bit game — in this case with the Raccoon Police Department setting, with surrounding cells, labs and hidey-holes — but with presentation and gameplay that still feels relevant today.
I like how you describe them as "recreations" of PS1 classics, because I think that Capcom's team must have genuinely loved their source material in creating that game. Just imagine having a crystal ball in 1998 and seeing just how much video games would advance 21 years later.
Just to elaborate on a few points in my Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 section, I feel that this year, and the PS4 generation in general, has been particularly great for remakes that expand upon PS1 games.
I think that publishers like Activision and Capcom, and developers who balance the feel of a retro game with modern additions to the gameplay, should be commended for recreating the nostalgia of a 32-bit classic, but freshened up for modern standards.
Also, when I refer to "groms" above, I'm affectionately harking back to my days as a skate grommet in the late 1980s. I tried to rekindle how we embraced talking with our own slang and terms as skaters, through being influenced by skate videos like Public Domain, Shackle Me Not, and Streets on Fire.
I was still skating when the first PS1 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was released, so I saw its huge influence first hand, and how it encouraged more people to skate. The thing is, skating wasn't cool in the north of England in the late 1980s, for example we'd get legged through Birkenhead and jumped on the train to Southport for having skateboards.
Yet, the THPS PS1 games helped change people's attitudes towards skateboarding, to the point that our gobbledygook language with using words like "sick" has become pretty common to hear nowadays from young people. I love how these remakes bring back so many good memories.
@LieutenantFatman Cheers for the recommendation, I remember when NG:DEV.TEAM released Gunlord on the Neo Geo and Dreamcast years ago — I can't believe that it was as far back as 2012, actually — so it's cool news that Gunlord X has arrived on PS4. I love the Euro-style design that Turrican brought to the run-and-gun sub-genre. I'm also a big fan of Super Turrican on the SNES. Chris Huelsbeck's music was so amazing, so it was a real treat to receive the Turrican CD with Chris Huelsbeck's remixes, included with Issue 200 of Retro Gamer magazine. Thanks for the heads-up!
@Robocod Spot-on, a Ghosts 'n Goblins/ Ghouls 'n Ghosts collection by Capcom that took into account both the PSP, as well as the PS2's Maximo games would be awesome. It's good to hear from another fan of the computer ports of Midnight Resistance, too.
@playstation1995 Here you go, mate, this is a link to Nintendo Life's feature, Hardware Review: SNK Neo Geo Mini International Edition. The Neo Geo Mini is shaped like a miniature arcade cabinet, complete with its own small screen, but it can also be connected to a TV with a HDMI cable. It has a quality list of 40 Neo Geo games.
@playstation1995 Yep, I have both the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, and the Castlevania Anniversary Collection on PS4, and as you mention, they are both really great retro compilations. Good call about hoping for a disc collection of Neo Geo games, I would buy that on day one. I'd be chuffed even if they simply released the PS2 version of SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 on PS4, but I think that SNK views the Neo Geo Mini as a way to make more money than a collection, I'm afraid. You never know, though!
@SoulChimera Great stuff, I'm really pleased that my review inspired you to check out Blazing Chrome. I was a little apprehensive that the readers may be less interested in a Mini Review of a five month old release, but a comment like this one could open up the possibility of covering more Mini Reviews of slightly older indie and retro releases on PS4.
@LieutenantFatman It's great to hear from another gamer who loved Midnight Resistance, mate. My nostalgia levels are sky high for that game after playing Special FX's quality two-player conversion on the Amiga, and then a closer graphical version, but single-player only port on the Mega Drive. I was buzzing when I got to play the novel and clever aiming system with the rotating joysticks on the coin-op version when I went to Play Blackpool years ago.
@playstation1995 Sending a shout-out to you, because you reminded me in the comments of my Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019 to check out the Contra Anniversary Collection, so I bought it today at £7.99 with 50% off in the UK PS Store's current January sale.
@Ralizah I agree, the visual effects in Blazing Chrome feel like the cutting edge of the late 16-bit era, or even like the potential of a 2D sprite run-and-gun game during the 32-bit era, for example if 3D wasn't so prevalent in run-and-gun games like Contra: Legacy of War, and C: The Contra Adventure.
Thanks to Push Square for publishing this review as it links to my Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019 list. When Blazing Chrome released in July 2019 it was a couple of months before the disappointing Contra: Rogue Corps came out, and people responded that Blazing Chrome feels like the true spiritual continuation of the Contra series.
I'm a fan of side-scrolling run-and-gun games – I mention Midnight Resistance above, and the Amiga port cemented my appreciation of the subgenre in 1990 – so I absolutely love Blazing Chrome. The music by Dominic Ninmark and Tiago Santos is brilliant, and the vocal CD track 'The Danger' tune by Kristine is fun for the end credits. Take Mission 5's Hidden Outpost as one example, which I mention has an energetic tune, but once you ditch the bike the music makes a fantastic change to icy chimes and chugging guitar riffs in the Snow Base.
Mission 5 starts with a frantic snow hover bike opening, as you jump spikes like the horse and Jet Ski sections in Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master. The detail in the snowy backgrounds reminds me of the graphics in Irem games like GunForce II, a style that Nazca developed further with Metal Slug. The mission ends with a snaking, teeth chattering machine diving out of a toxic pool, as the level design shows how set pieces often make a great run-and-gun game.
If anyone has any Blazing Chrome questions, please let me know.
@carlos82 and @Gmork___ I went to a party on New Year’s Eve at my cousin's house, and he was also recommending that I should buy The Messenger. From what I've heard I would really love the visual design, as it shifts between 8-bit and 16-bit styles. I'll definitely keep The Messenger in mind.
@Kienda Just as a follow up, it's worth mentioning that I buy many of my digital retro games in sales. For example, if you search 'Anniversary Collection' on the PS Store at the moment you can find Konami's Arcade Classics, and Castlevania, or Contra collections all on sale. The same 'Anniversary Collection' search will bring up Street Fighter 30th Anniversary, and SNK 40th Anniversary collections, all of which are better than half price in the PS Store's current January sale.
As a general response to the comments here, I also think it's cool how many people are saying that they like the diversity in the picks of our Top 5 games of 2019. There's been lots of variety in Push Square's Games of 2019 individual writers' lists, and it's spot-on that the readers are open to the team having varied tastes in gaming. It's heartening to receive a positive response, because it makes it possible for us choose more obscure and unexpected indie and retro games. Thanks again, everyone!
@Kienda I don't actually have an arcade stick set up on my PS4, so I may not be the best person to make recommendations, but one possibility would be to focus on buying retro coin-ops on the PS4, because by their very nature they were built to be played with an arcade stick.
I particularly like retro pixel art games following on from the style of the 16-bit era, and if you have similar taste, plus you enjoy one-on-one fighting games, then Neo Geo games are a great pick. The ACA NeoGeo games from Hamster Corporation cost £5.79 each, and include classic one-on-one fighters like The King of Fighters '98. If you search for 'ACA NeoGeo' on the PlayStation Store there are also shoot-‘em-ups (Blazing Star, Pulstar, and Last Resort), side-scrolling beat-'em-ups (Sengoku 3), and top-down run-and-gun games (Shock Troopers, or Shock Troopers 2nd Squad).
SNK Playmore has also released Neo Geo games separately to Hamster, so sticking with one-on-one fighters you can find the excellent Garou: Mark of the Wolves for £11.99. It's not that well publicised on the PS Store, but SNK Playmore also has Neo Geo compilations on PS4 that were originally released on PS2.
Buying collections of games is a cheaper way to get more retro games in a bundle to use with your new stick, so a few SNK Playmore examples are Art of Fighting Anthology (£11.99), Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol.2 (£11.99), and Fu'un Super Combo (£11.99 for two less well known SNK fighting games, Savage Reign and Kizuna Encounter). As for side-scrolling run-and-gun games the PS2 compilation version of Metal Slug Anthology is an easy way to get lots of Metal Slug games in one purchase of £15.99.
Aside from the Neo Geo, if you do a separate search of 'Arcade Archives' on PlayStation Store, there's lots of choice of retro coin-op games from beat-'em-ups like Double Dragon to Vigilante, and recent releases like Irem's graphically detailed shoot-'em-up In The Hunt. Again they cost £5.79 each.
If you stick with coin-op collections, I highly recommend the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle for seven quality arcade Capcom brawler games, with online co-op available. If you like older arcade shoot-'em-ups, Konami’s Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection has eight games, and most are shooters, including Gradius, Gradius II, Salamander, and TwinBee.
It's worth checking each game that I’ve mentioned to see if it includes online multiplayer, or if they only allow for local multiplayer games. Take into account that I play most of my retro games through local multiplayer with friends, so online multiplayer is not hugely important to my retro purchases.
I hope this gives you a few ideas of retro coin-op games for your new arcade stick. Cheers!
@playstation1995 Thanks lots for you kind comment, I always appreciate the positivity you bring to the comments section of Push Square's retro articles and reviews.
I still need to buy the Contra Anniversary Collection. I held back from getting it, because I already own many of the games in various releases on other systems, plus I wanted to wait to play Contra: Hard Corps until my girlfriend bought me a Mega Drive Mini for Christmas. I'll still pick up the collection at some point, though, especially for the convenience of having so many classic Contra games in one place on PS4.
Big cheers to Push Square and Nintendo Life, as always, for giving me the opportunity to write about retro games. It's also cool to me that my Top 5 2019 list was published on New Year's Day.
All of my picks take me back to fond memories of specific retro games, so nostalgia is heavily involved in my choices, but each game has been boosted by a PS4 lick of paint.
I hope that 2020 is an awesome year for everyone, and it's going to be especially exciting for Push Square with the upcoming release of the PS5. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!
@Powerpellet Good question! The Ninja Saviors reminds me a bit of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, because it feels like a cross between a remaster and a remake.
For example, the main tracks, kart racers and Adventure mode were the same, but CTR Nitro-Fueled added new tracks and characters, had a harder difficulty level, and changed the feel of driving karts slightly, so it ended up being more than just a remaster of the PSone engine with upgraded graphics.
Similarly, all of the eight stages, enemies and the three main characters from the SNES' Ninja Warriors Again are exactly the same in the PS4's Ninja Saviors. Therefore, I could see how people could view Ninja Saviors as being a graphical overhaul as a remaster, and I would agree to a point.
However, the game feels a bit smoother and more responsive, has new two-player co-op, the difficulty level feels different, and the PS4's 16:9 widescreen makes the fighting area wider to view – so I would imagine that it's not built purely on the same engine or code as the SNES game. Also, the inclusion of the two extra characters with brand-new controls and move sets expands it beyond a remaster to becoming a remake in my eyes.
@playstation1995 Cheers, and good call mate, because Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja has a similar perspective to the Ninja Warriors games, since the scrolling play areas are confined to a single plane, as opposed to how you could walk deeper into the backgrounds in games like Double Dragon. It also makes me laugh how President Ronnie said to the Bad Dudes, "Let’s go for a burger" at the end of that game. I miss the heyday of the arcades, too.
@Dan_ozzzy189 The Ninja Saviors is £15.99 on the UK's PS Store, while River City Girls is nine pounds more at £24.99. However, I hear what you're saying, especially when a compilation on PS4 like the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle — which I mentioned in my previous post — includes seven games for £15.99. A lot of care has gone into Tengo Project's remake of The Ninja Warriors Again, though, and it makes an expensive, sought-after SNES game much easier to experience.
If anyone has any questions, please let me know. I'm happy talk about PS4 The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors, but I also own the Super Famicom version of The Ninja Warriors Again from 1994, as well as the 1987 Arcade Archives The Ninja Warriors on PS4, so I can answer questions about those retro games, too.
In regards to my point about a difficulty spike in Ninja Saviors when you face the final boss Banglar at the end of stage eight, this hurdle is mostly dependent upon how good you are at grabbing enemies and throwing them upwards. Ninja Saviors is a skill based side-scrolling beat-'em-up, and it benefits from its emphasis on mastering each character's controls, but in general beating the single-player mode on Normal difficulty is trouble-free – I personally found it easier than the Super Famicom game.
Once you beat Normal mode you unlock Hard difficulty, which will test your skills more, and there's variety between mastering the five characters' different moves. Also, while there is no Platinum trophy, I noticed that a number of the trophies are based around clearing the game without using continues, or by beating it in faster times.
I enjoy short games anyway, and the game length of one hour is a throwback to the 16-bit generation, but there's plenty of replay value if you enjoy gameplay that builds upon the Kung-Fu Master-style, with moves more similar to the 1990s Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle-type brawling games.
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Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium (PS4) - Capcom-asters of 32 Arcade Games from 1984 to 2001
@twenty90seven I'm sorry, mate, I purposefully tested Capcom Arcade Stadium on my standard, launch model PS4 with a DualShock 4, so I don't know the answer to your DualSense haptic feedback question, yet.
I try to review collections like this on the oldest hardware, just to see if the emulation is running well, without any crashes.
I didn't read anything about DualSense haptic feedback in Capcom Arcade Stadium in preparation for this review, but I can't say for sure.
It's a bank holiday weekend here in the UK, so I have plans, but if I get the chance I'll look into this more for you.
Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium (PS4) - Capcom-asters of 32 Arcade Games from 1984 to 2001
@Ristar24 I hear you regarding wishing that the Amiga versions were included with The Bitmap Brothers Collection 1 on Evercade. I'm interested in the Evercade VS as a home console, multiplayer option for our cartridges, too.
The lack of Amiga ports on Evercade makes me even more grateful for the work Factor 5 and Ratalaika Games put into Turrican Flashback, which we discussed a few months back.
I definitely get the impression that it's a more challenging job to emulate 50Hz Amiga home computer games on modern consoles, than 16-bit console games. This is especially when you consider getting the audio running correctly, and altering the joystick controls to work more efficiently with multiple buttons on a DualShock.
The more developers that work on Amiga games, the more possibilities will open up for lots of potential Amiga classics in collections in the future, though. Fingers crossed!
Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium (PS4) - Capcom-asters of 32 Arcade Games from 1984 to 2001
@Amnesiac Cheers for you comment, and I agree with everything you've said, because I'm very happy with how Capcom Arcade Stadium turned out.
I hope people check it out on PS4 as you're spot on that a lot of care has gone into the user interface, plus the number of configurable options, displays and challenges that the developer has lavished on this collection.
Even if anyone is unsure about buying all three packs for £32.99, it's worth checking out the games list for each pack, because I especially think that the 'Pack 3: Arcade Evolution ('92 – '01)' line-up is fantastic value on its own for £11.99.
Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium (PS4) - Capcom-asters of 32 Arcade Games from 1984 to 2001
@Ristar24 Thanks for your kind words about my review, and I agree about how great both Remixed and Reloaded versions of the PSP's Capcom Classics Collection are to play on PS Vita, it's just so convenient to play all those retro games on Sony's handheld.
I'm interested in the Blizzard Arcade Collection too, but I haven't bought it yet, so I hope you enjoy it.
It was such cool news to read on Nintendo Life that UK Legends The Bitmap Brothers Are Joining The Evercade Lineup, as well. Woo-hoo!
Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium (PS4) - Capcom-asters of 32 Arcade Games from 1984 to 2001
@playstation1995 I really enjoyed the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, although like you say, there are some repeated games from that collection in Capcom Arcade Stadium, but the more people who get to discover Warriors of Fate, Armored Warriors and Battle Circuit the better, in my eyes.
You make such a quality mention of the Grandmaster's creepy laugh at the start of Strider, too. This reminds me of just before you start the second, snowy Siberian level – which is my favourite stage in the game – and the Grandmaster says in an unnerving voice, "Hum, it is Strider Hiryu. He will never leave Eurasia alive."
Man, I love playing Strider so much!
Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium (PS4) - Capcom-asters of 32 Arcade Games from 1984 to 2001
I've been looking through old magazines as some background reading to this review.
I enjoyed the final page Killer Feature in Wireframe Issue 12, which looked at how arcade Bionic Commando was unusual to not have a jump button in 1987. Wireframe also notes how over time the arcade version has become less famous than the later NES game, which reminds me of how the original Ninja Gaiden coin-op is now less well known than the NES version.
I also pulled out lots of Retro Gamer mags, with Annual Volume 2 having a big Ultimate Guide to 1942 by Graeme Mason. The 200th issue of Retro Gamer recognises Street Fighter II: The World Warrior as being one of the games of the decade for the 1990s too – so it's interesting that Capcom Arcade Stadium has added to Street Fighter II's history by removing the Rising Sun flag from the background of E. Honda's Japanese Bath House stage.
Finally, there's an awesome The Making of Strider feature by Darran Jones in Retro Gamer Issue 76, with quotes from its co-creator Kouichi Yotsui.
Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium (PS4) - Capcom-asters of 32 Arcade Games from 1984 to 2001
If anyone has any questions about this review, please let me know. I’m interested in hearing about the games people like the most in Capcom Arcade Stadium, taking into account that Strider is one of my favourite games of all time.
I've listed all 32 Capcom Arcade Stadium games below:
Capcom Arcade Stadium Pack 1: Dawn of the Arcade ('84 – '88) £11.99
Capcom Arcade Stadium Pack 2: Arcade Revolution ('89 – '92) £11.99
Capcom Arcade Stadium Pack 3: Arcade Evolution ('92 – '01) £11.99
Re: Official PlayStation Magazine UK Canned, PLAY Branding Resurrected
This news article must have stuck in my head, because I'm not only sitting here with a cup of tea on a Bank Holiday Monday morning reading the Returnal cover feature in the final 187th May issue of Official PlayStation Magazine UK, but I've also been flicking through my original Super Play binder, which holds the first 12 issues of the mag.
Hats off to @SoulChimera for mentioning above about the first issue of Super Play, which included the free pin badge, as well. That free gift reminds me of when Mean Machines had a Contra Spirits jigsaw as a freebie, too, and I'd say that both Mean Machines and Super Play are two of my truly favourite magazines.
For retro mag fans, it's also definitely worth a read of Damien McFerran's detailed The Making of Super Play Magazine Nintendo Life feature, to understand the impact that the SNES mag had from its very first issue.
Have a good Bank Holiday Monday, to everyone in the UK.
Re: Official PlayStation Magazine UK Canned, PLAY Branding Resurrected
@playstation1995 That's interesting, I didn't know that there was a GamePro TV!
I don't actually know much about American video game shows, although I've heard a little bit about a Canadian one called Electric Playground.
As far as I understand, Electric Playground was presented by Victor Lucas — who still does retro gaming YouTube videos — as well as Tommy Tallarico, who composed the music for Earthworm Jim.
Like @Ristar24 mentioned, our main nostalgic gaming TV shows in the UK were GamesMaster and Bad Influence. There have been UK TV shows since, one I remember was called The Blurb, and it was presented by Lucy James who now works for GameSpot.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 374
@TheArt Good call on highlighting John's reviews, though, his sense of humour is great.
I remember the Taxi Chaos review that you linked to above too, like you said earlier, it was hilarious.
Yet again he had a cracking tagline with 'Lazi taxi', and the Cons were brilliant from "Our car spawned under a bus", then saying, "That was actually funny, though".
Cheers, mate, I've had a good chuckle here!
Re: Official PlayStation Magazine UK Canned, PLAY Branding Resurrected
@playstation1995 Yes, we got GamePro here in the UK, mate, but only as an import magazine, like with Electronic Gaming Monthly.
I used to go to a shop called Borders, which imported US magazines, including skate magazines like Thrasher and Transworld Skateboarding. I have a few issues of GamePro and EGM — plus GameFan was a really good American gaming mag — but unfortunately Borders shut down.
It was a shame when the GamePro website was closed down too, because there were a lot of great articles that were lost without access to that site, from what I can remember.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 374
@TheArt Cheers, although the 'Cons' in my reviews are more the standard "No online multiplayer" type responses.
Could you be thinking of John Cal McCormick's Push Square reviews?
John makes me laugh with his writing style, for example when he reviewed PS4 Five Dates not only did he have the tagline 'Daters gonna date', but one of his 'Cons' was, "No option to release wolves into the dates' rooms"!
That Five Dates review cracks me up!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 374
@Ristar24 and @Futureshark — I remember when I was a kid I received C64 The Last Ninja 2 as a present, and inside the box it had a ninja mask and a plastic shuriken. I always thought that was a cool box set for my C64.
I sold my C64 and games to put the money towards an Amiga 500, but I wonder now if that Last Ninja 2 package is a collectible for C64 retro gamers today.
Re: Official PlayStation Magazine UK Canned, PLAY Branding Resurrected
@StartWars and @huyi Awesome, it's fun to flick through old mags, especially from the 1990s.
I'm a bit obsessed about keeping hold of my gaming mags, just a few examples of my complete magazine collections are full sets of Mean Machines, Super Play, Ultimate Future Games, Arcade, and I also have later mags like every gamesTM and now all the OPM UK mags too.
I have all the issues of Retro Gamer and Wireframe released so far, as well, but as StartWars will understand with keeping the Official PlayStation Mags since 1995, the main issue I have with collecting magazines is the amount of space they take up!
Great stuff, though, I like to hear from other retro mag fans and collectors.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 374
@lolwhatno Taken literally, you play as Selene in Returnal and she's killed over and over, so she has to often restart her adventure.
Basically, as Selene you die on and on, but the true brilliance of Stephen's 'Selene Die On' tagline is that it's a clever play on the name of the 1990s Canadian pop singer, Céline Dion.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 374
@Ristar24 Have fun playing The Last Ninja on your C64, mate. Like @Futureshark mentioned above, Ben Daglish's SID chiptunes were legendary.
When I was buying Returnal at GAME in Liverpool yesterday, I was doing a bit of glancing in the window of a shop called MenKind, where they had a C64 Mini on display for something like £40.
I don't know if it's any good, but it has games like Armalyte, California Games, Creatures, Cybernoid, Hawkeye, Impossible Mission, and Paradroid included, I think.
It even has both C64 Speedball games on it, from what I could tell, so the C64 Mini may be worth a punt.
Re: Official PlayStation Magazine UK Canned, PLAY Branding Resurrected
I love print, so it's always sad to hear of a magazine closing down, but the resurrection of PLAY with the same team working on it makes me feel hopeful for the mag's future.
I've never missed an issue of OPM UK, so this news means that I'm in a position where I have all 187 issues of Official PlayStation Magazine UK in my collection, too.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 374
With so many people playing Returnal this weekend, it's worth giving a shout-out to Stephen's sub-heading for his review.
'Selene Die On' has to be a contender for 'The Best Push Square Tagline of 2021 So Far'.
Re: Mini Review: Battle Axe (PS4) - Top-Down Mix of Brawler and Run-'n'-Gun with Henk Nieborg Pixel Art
@Robocod Agreed, Henk Nieborg's portfolio as a pixel artist is very impressive, and like you say, the Kickstarter project was clear about their plans.
I think Battle Axe is successful at delivering upon following in the tradition of its old school inspirations, so I hope that gamers get to experience it, and learn more about the amazing talent of the artists behind it.
Re: Mini Review: Battle Axe (PS4) - Top-Down Mix of Brawler and Run-'n'-Gun with Henk Nieborg Pixel Art
I agree with the comments above about Battle Axe's price point.
For me personally, I received a PS4 digital review copy through Push Square, but I'm still going to buy a physical version of Battle Axe. This is because I consistently pay upwards of £35 to collect physical pixel art games like Blazing Chrome and The Ninja Saviors, where I replay short core game modes over and over.
I personally relish the skill based replayability of Battle Axe, but you have to put time into mastering it. I play it differently as Fae the Dark Elf, where I charge aggressively into close quarters, with twin blades melee attacks, and dash back to safety. This contrasts with Iolo the Druid, where I stick to a set point on the edges of the play area, carefully shooting enemies from a distance with his fixed shot fireballs.
There are also tough Trophy tasks, like achieving 'S' ranks, and beating the game without dying, or progressing to higher levels in Infinite Mode.
The trouble is that this replay value is based upon improving your skills, and relishing a challenge. Many gamers will unfortunately see Battle Axe as a short game, which is low on content, where a fast character like Fae can complete the four main stages of Arcade Mode within 40 minutes.
Therefore, realistically, a higher digital price point will not be seen as good value, regardless of it receiving a 'Good' score of 7/10.
Also, it's worth taking into account that Battle Axe releases tomorrow, the same Friday 30th April release date of Returnal, and many PlayStation fans lucky enough to own a PS5 will budget their money towards Housemarque's big release. It’ll be a shame if a higher digital price point ends up pricing Battle Axe out of being an impulse indie purchase.
**** Edit: A quick update to this comment, PS4 Battle Axe has released a day early on Thursday 29th April, so it's available on the PS Store now priced digitally at £34.99.
Re: Mini Review: Battle Axe (PS4) - Top-Down Mix of Brawler and Run-'n'-Gun with Henk Nieborg Pixel Art
@Ristar24 I was reading a Retro Gamer Annual from 2014 – as it has 'The Making of Golden Axe' article I mentioned above inside – and it also has a 'Creating Chaos: The Making of Chaos Engine' feature in the same bookazine as well, with quotes from The Bitmap Brothers' co-founder Mike Montgomery.
I guess in regards to Battle Axe being completed in under an hour, this game length fits with other retro games, as The Chaos Engine can be beat in a bit more than an hour too. The Chaos Engine was similarly a two player co-op game as well, but it's longer, though.
Talking about similarities between the top-down run-and-gun gameplay, I've also been playing PS2 Neo Contra recently, so just like how Konami's PS2 game doesn't use the right stick, perhaps Battle Axe could have benefitted from twin stick controls for shooting projectiles – since Fae has slower respawning daggers, but Iolo has fast fireballs, and Rooney's cannon balls cover distance.
Also, thanks for letting me know about Digital Foundry's coverage of Battle Axe, I'll check out their YouTube channel to watch that video.
Re: Mini Review: Battle Axe (PS4) - Top-Down Mix of Brawler and Run-'n'-Gun with Henk Nieborg Pixel Art
As always, if anyone has any questions about Battle Axe, please let me know.
I was grateful to Push Square for organising this review for me, because its mix of run-and-gun and fantasy hack-and-slash genres are my cup of tea – to the extent that I'm going to buy a physical copy of Battle Axe for my collection.
It has many nods to retro games, with the heroes resting at a camp fire being reminiscent of Golden Axe, or how Ælfwen's shop is straight out of Capcom titles like Forgotten Worlds. You can unlock a Trophy if you 'Destroy 25 Generators', just as you would playing Gauntlet.
Battle Axe's gameplay has elements of strategy in aiming for an 'S' rank in each of the four stages, as well, with using Fae's ability to dash away from close-up danger, or collecting gold coins to buy expensive items such as the lightning bolt that bolsters Iolo's fireball projectiles.
I've also enjoyed the incredible detailing in Henk Nieborg's pixel art visuals in the past, for example in Contra 4, and I appreciated this graphical style back when I reviewed Thor: God of Thunder on Nintendo DS for Nintendo Life. More recently Nieborg created the graphics for Bitmap Bureau in the PS4 game Xeno Crisis.
Also, Manami Matsumae's compositions are legendary amongst Capcom fans, going back to the original NES Mega Man games, and I've heaps of nostalgia for her tunes in arcade titles such as MERCS.
Finally, the Makoto Uchida quote I refer to in the introduction was taken from Retro Gamer's 'The Making of Golden Axe' feature, where Uchida explains that, "Originally, it was called 'Battle Axe'. The development team members liked it, but we gave it up for licence reasons. The next name was 'Broad Axe'. This was an English word that we thought would match the original Japanese title."
I like how the name Battle Axe reminds me of Golden Axe, and also the PC Engine's Legendary Axe too.
Cheers everyone.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 365
@Gremio108 and @Culjoseth – I read Push Square's ONRUSH review, and I listened to your advice by spending a few fun hours in ONRUSH's Superstar single-player, so cheers for both of your responses.
Like Gremio108 mentioned, I found a small element of repetition in its focus upon destroying drivers, as opposed to racing for a position. In this respect, the mode I'm enjoying the most so far is where you capture multiple zones, because it give a sense of achievement that you'd normally get from placing first in a traditional racer. Plus, it's appropriately called Lockdown Mode, which felt apt.
Thanks again, because I've had a blast so far, especially as it scratches that Evolution Studios MotorStorm dirt scrambling itch!
@Poskito and @Wormold — I popped into the Quick Play option of ONRUSH's online multiplayer early this Sunday morning, and I was surprised that it was more active online than I expected for a June 2018 release.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 362
@Ristar24 Hey mate, great minds think alike, because I'm playing the exact same retro games as you this weekend.
I was talking about Midnight Resistance with @LieutenantFatman in the comments section of my PS4 Turrican Flashback review the other day, so I've also been playing Mega Drive Midnight Resistance by means of the Data East Collection 1 on my Evercade this weekend, too. Talking about quality retro run-and-gun music, Midnight Resistance has one of my favourite soundtracks, as well.
By playing the Turrican Flashback collection, I've also got a better understanding of why the consensus is that Mega Turrican is superior to Super Turrican. The Mega Drive game is closer to the atmosphere of the earlier Amiga releases, and it has stronger boss encounters, with a more coherent gameplay ending.
Both of these 16-bt console games are great though, and I still have a soft spot for Super Turrican, predominantly from playing it on the Wii’s Virtual Console. The SNES game is really bright and fun, with visually diverse levels. I just wish it had more boss battles, and a final encounter against The Machine would have made more sense.
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
@Loki7T1 It is a shame that you’ve been having so much trouble with the sound, mate.
The only reason I brought up the control settings is because from my memory of playing Amiga games they were predominantly controlled with a joystick with one or two buttons. Sometimes you even had to hold upwards on the joystick to make a character jump in an Amiga game.
This means that to release the first two Amiga Turrican titles on PS4 the developers would have had to remap all of the controls for the extra buttons on the DualShock 4. I think they did a great job with the new control scheme, especially with separate buttons for jumping, the manoeuvrable laser, turning into the wheel, bombs and the line attack.
I just wondered if this would have created difficulties in the emulation process, so I was troubleshooting if changing the controls may have disrupted the emulation.
The only other thing I can think of is that in the UK when I first got into 16-bit consoles it was a big issue that our PAL TV system was only 50Hz, so our games ran slowly, and the music sounded slowed down. Therefore, we would import consoles from Japan and the US, or modify our UK consoles to play games faster in NTSC 60Hz, as they were originally created.
However, the first two Amiga Turrican games were made in Germany, and created to run at 50Hz for Europe, so this may have made it harder for the developers to recreate the Amiga's output for modern PS4 consoles. I don't know if this would affect the sound, though.
Like I said, I'm just speculating and troubleshooting ideas.
Fingers crossed there's a patch soon that fixes it for you, because if you're experiencing sound issues, it's likely someone else playing it must be, too.
In the meantime, enjoy Gunlord X!
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
@Loki7T1 Yes, I thought it was unusual that Turrican Flashback has no trophies at all for Super Turrican. In some respects, I think that many people will play a lot of Super Turrican most of all, because the SNES game is so colourful and action packed, with arcade-like gameplay.
I completely understand why you feel so frustrated with the sound issues in your game, like I said, it doesn't really help you to hear things have been fine for me.
In your comment you mentioned that you have the same settings as me, but that you changed the button mapping.
If it helps, I could boot up the first two Amiga Turrican games in Turrican Flashback on my standard PS4 now, and if you tell me the changes to your button set-up, I could change the controls in my game to see if it triggers anything my end to make the sound stutter.
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
@Robocod Cheers for the Eurogamer link about Rebellion acquiring The Bitmap Brothers' portfolio in November 2019, I like learning about retro news like this. It sounds like it's been just over a year since they made the acquisition, so fingers crossed that we get to learn about Rebellion releasing some classic Amiga Bitmap Brothers games soon. I looked up more about the March 2019 PS4 release of GODS Remastered on Robot Riot Games' website, and it says that it was made "In cooperation with Mike Montgomery, owner of The Bitmap Brothers, and Sound of Games." I wonder if Mike Montgomery is still involved now that Rebellion owns Bitmap Brothers' classic library, although the Eurogamer article has a quote saying that he passed the torch to Rebellion.
@Vorlon Great stuff, it's good to hear that you still have access to different Amiga computers, and all of your discs. I have a boxed A500 here, but it's not my original computer, I got it later on. Sadly, the way my retro collection is stored, I don't have easy access to my Amiga, I'm afraid.
@XinGViruS Memories of gaming with friends and family, like what you've shared with a cracking list of 16-bit computer games, is one the reasons why I enjoy retro gaming so much. It's not just about remembering playing the old games, it's remembering who you were playing the games with back in the day that makes the nostalgia so strong.
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
@Loki7T1 In preparation for this review I spent many hours of repeated play of both Turrican and Turrican II on my launch model, base PS4, but I didn't have any problems with the music. Since then I’ve downloaded the Version 1.01 update file, and played Turrican Flashback on my PS5 too, and the music sounds great on my standard PS4 and PS5. I predominantly played Trophy Challenge mode on default settings, with no wallpapers. This doesn't really help you, but I hope you can sort it out, because stuttering sound must be frustrating, especially as the music in both Amiga games is fantastic.
@Balosi and @hi_drnick I agree with you both, they should have found a way to include the C64 games in this collection, especially since the origins of the series come from Manfred Trenz's C64 game design.
Also, when Balosi refers to real time strategy games like Amiga Mega-Lo-Mania – which had a nice, detailed art style, as Sensible Software were great at drawing tiny sprite characters – it made me start to reminisce about Bullfrog's Syndicate too. I always thought that Syndicate looked much better on the Amiga than the SNES version.
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
@Robocod Like you mention, I remember a lot of Amiga era games were given a graphical overhaul and released on PS3, for example Speedball 2 Evolution was an October 2011 PS Mini release. I've just watched its PSP trailer and it refers to The Bitmap Brothers, Tower Studios and Vivid Games all being involved. I'm not up-to-date with who holds the rights to the Speedball franchise now, though.
As you know, GODS was a Bitmap Brothers Amiga game, and GODS Remastered was published in 2019 on PS4 by a team called Robot Riot Games.
Both of Team17's Alien Breed and Superfrog HD were released on PS3 in 2013, but as you’ve also suggested, there was a tendency during the PS3 generation for developers to update the graphics of Amiga games.
From memory, I played Robocod as the PSone Classic version on my PS3, I think
I agree completely, I really hope that Turrican Flashback encourages publishers to release Amiga games in their pure pixelated, original 2D form. The Amiga days were good times indeed!
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
@sanderson72 Yes, there’s a good possibility that you played the original 1990 Turrican first on the C64. Manfred Trenz developed it on C64 before the Amiga version, and I noticed while researching this review that C&VG's C64 review was published three months earlier than the coverage of the Amiga version, where Paul Rand scored C64 Turrican with 93% in the May 1990 Issue 102.
You make a really intriguing point about how you view the original PlayStation as a spiritual successor to the Amiga, as well. When I think about it, the Amiga had a long lifespan, so the C64's bedroom coders in the UK who joined development teams to create Amiga games may have sometimes skipped the 16-bit consoles, and went straight to PS1 development in 1995.
Just using Psygnosis as an example, they released numerous games in the first few years of the PS1, from WipEout to Destruction Derby, and G-Police.
Sony must have been conscious that the PlayStation was a newcomer in the console hardware business in 1995, so they actively encouraged smaller developers with welcoming ideas like the PS1's Net Yaroze software development kit, which was accessible to hobbyist coders. This would have made the PS1 attractive to Amiga developers, too.
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
@XinGViruS A few of the comments here remind me of just how much I used to play computer games by visiting family and friends. I got to play many more games than I would have normally on my cousin's Amiga, even after I sold mine and moved on to 16-bit consoles.
@LieutenantFatman Thanks for your response, and your thoughts on putting the time in to earn a Platinum trophy, even with challenging retro games. It's cool that the level 3-1 vertical shooter-esque section in the first Turrican still sticks in your mind, it shows how Manfred Trenz's game design was memorable through variety and by bringing an arcade flow to home computer games.
@BertMan666 I agree, a big highlight of playing these four Turrican games again is the music, I remember loving Super Turrican's soundtrack when I bought it on the Wii's Virtual Console too. Even when I wasn't playing the games, I’ve still been blasting Chris Huelsbeck's tunes while writing this review.
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
@Carl-G Like you mention with First Samurai, I hope that the Amiga is embraced more by publishers, so that more 16-bit computers games get released and preserved on modern consoles. Just as one example, I have such good memories of split-screen multiplayer Super Cars II, but I've not played that game in something like thirty years.
@Voltan The first time I saw DOOM was also on my cousin's PC. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, I was astounded by the technical leap in its fast, smooth and action packed first-person perspective.
Re: Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
If anyone has any questions about Turrican Flashback, please let me know.
I’m interested in hearing anyone else's memories of gaming on home computers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, or if anyone bought an Amiga or Atari ST for retro gaming later on. As a kid I went from an Acorn Electron to a BBC Micro Model B, then to a C64 and Amiga 500, before I even bought my Mega Drive.
Therefore, I especially enjoyed revisiting the first two Turrican games for this review. As I was looking through Issue 105 of C&VG, which I mention above, I found an 80% scoring review of the Amiga's conversion of Midnight Resistance too, which was another 16-bit computer run-and-gun port that I have heaps of nostalgia towards.
Also, what is your preference in regards to earning trophies in retro collections? Do you like to prove your skills like in Turrican Flashback’s "cheaters don’t win trophies" way, or if you put the time in to complete an old game using save states for convenience, do you think the trophy should still unlock?
Cheers everyone.
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2020
@StonyKL Cool, I didn't expect to find myself reminiscing about my youth visiting Southport's arcades here, so this has turned into a pleasant surprise.
We used to skate from Southport train station to down by the pier where there was a helter skelter slide park, which also included a concrete snake run with banks for skating.
We'd stop at lots of the arcades on the way, so I can remember playing Konami's four-player Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coin-op with my mates, and also Shadow Warriors — which was the arcade beat-'em-up version of Ninja Gaiden that I loved. I know that it was 1988 and 1989, because the arcades were flourishing enough for them to regularly make new machines available.
I also have fond memories of the arcades at New Brighton, good times indeed!
Cheers, and all the best to you for 2021, too.
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2020
@B_Lindz Yes, mate, you're correct in your observation. I wasn't sure if I should mention it here, but it's very fresh and recent, and at the forefront of my thoughts.
To be honest, I thought that mentioning it felt relevant in regards to 2020 being a tough year, because I think many people can relate to going through a hard time.
At least a New Year is coming for fresh starts, so I hope that 2021 is a good year for everyone.
Thanks for your kind comment, and all the best to you.
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2020
@carlos82 I agree, PS4 Resident Evil 2 set the standard for developers going above and beyond at establishing the atmosphere of a 32-bit game — in this case with the Raccoon Police Department setting, with surrounding cells, labs and hidey-holes — but with presentation and gameplay that still feels relevant today.
I like how you describe them as "recreations" of PS1 classics, because I think that Capcom's team must have genuinely loved their source material in creating that game. Just imagine having a crystal ball in 1998 and seeing just how much video games would advance 21 years later.
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2020
Just to elaborate on a few points in my Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 section, I feel that this year, and the PS4 generation in general, has been particularly great for remakes that expand upon PS1 games.
I think that publishers like Activision and Capcom, and developers who balance the feel of a retro game with modern additions to the gameplay, should be commended for recreating the nostalgia of a 32-bit classic, but freshened up for modern standards.
Also, when I refer to "groms" above, I'm affectionately harking back to my days as a skate grommet in the late 1980s. I tried to rekindle how we embraced talking with our own slang and terms as skaters, through being influenced by skate videos like Public Domain, Shackle Me Not, and Streets on Fire.
I was still skating when the first PS1 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was released, so I saw its huge influence first hand, and how it encouraged more people to skate. The thing is, skating wasn't cool in the north of England in the late 1980s, for example we'd get legged through Birkenhead and jumped on the train to Southport for having skateboards.
Yet, the THPS PS1 games helped change people's attitudes towards skateboarding, to the point that our gobbledygook language with using words like "sick" has become pretty common to hear nowadays from young people. I love how these remakes bring back so many good memories.
Re: Review: Blazing Chrome - JoyMasher's Homage to the Best 16-Bit Run-'n'-Gun Games
@LieutenantFatman Cheers for the recommendation, I remember when NG:DEV.TEAM released Gunlord on the Neo Geo and Dreamcast years ago — I can't believe that it was as far back as 2012, actually — so it's cool news that Gunlord X has arrived on PS4. I love the Euro-style design that Turrican brought to the run-and-gun sub-genre. I'm also a big fan of Super Turrican on the SNES. Chris Huelsbeck's music was so amazing, so it was a real treat to receive the Turrican CD with Chris Huelsbeck's remixes, included with Issue 200 of Retro Gamer magazine. Thanks for the heads-up!
@Robocod Spot-on, a Ghosts 'n Goblins/ Ghouls 'n Ghosts collection by Capcom that took into account both the PSP, as well as the PS2's Maximo games would be awesome. It's good to hear from another fan of the computer ports of Midnight Resistance, too.
Re: Review: Blazing Chrome - JoyMasher's Homage to the Best 16-Bit Run-'n'-Gun Games
@playstation1995 Here you go, mate, this is a link to Nintendo Life's feature, Hardware Review: SNK Neo Geo Mini International Edition. The Neo Geo Mini is shaped like a miniature arcade cabinet, complete with its own small screen, but it can also be connected to a TV with a HDMI cable. It has a quality list of 40 Neo Geo games.
Re: Review: Blazing Chrome - JoyMasher's Homage to the Best 16-Bit Run-'n'-Gun Games
@playstation1995 Yep, I have both the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, and the Castlevania Anniversary Collection on PS4, and as you mention, they are both really great retro compilations. Good call about hoping for a disc collection of Neo Geo games, I would buy that on day one. I'd be chuffed even if they simply released the PS2 version of SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 on PS4, but I think that SNK views the Neo Geo Mini as a way to make more money than a collection, I'm afraid. You never know, though!
@SoulChimera Great stuff, I'm really pleased that my review inspired you to check out Blazing Chrome. I was a little apprehensive that the readers may be less interested in a Mini Review of a five month old release, but a comment like this one could open up the possibility of covering more Mini Reviews of slightly older indie and retro releases on PS4.
Re: Review: Blazing Chrome - JoyMasher's Homage to the Best 16-Bit Run-'n'-Gun Games
@LieutenantFatman It's great to hear from another gamer who loved Midnight Resistance, mate. My nostalgia levels are sky high for that game after playing Special FX's quality two-player conversion on the Amiga, and then a closer graphical version, but single-player only port on the Mega Drive. I was buzzing when I got to play the novel and clever aiming system with the rotating joysticks on the coin-op version when I went to Play Blackpool years ago.
@playstation1995 Sending a shout-out to you, because you reminded me in the comments of my Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019 to check out the Contra Anniversary Collection, so I bought it today at £7.99 with 50% off in the UK PS Store's current January sale.
@Ralizah I agree, the visual effects in Blazing Chrome feel like the cutting edge of the late 16-bit era, or even like the potential of a 2D sprite run-and-gun game during the 32-bit era, for example if 3D wasn't so prevalent in run-and-gun games like Contra: Legacy of War, and C: The Contra Adventure.
Re: Review: Blazing Chrome - JoyMasher's Homage to the Best 16-Bit Run-'n'-Gun Games
Thanks to Push Square for publishing this review as it links to my Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019 list. When Blazing Chrome released in July 2019 it was a couple of months before the disappointing Contra: Rogue Corps came out, and people responded that Blazing Chrome feels like the true spiritual continuation of the Contra series.
I'm a fan of side-scrolling run-and-gun games – I mention Midnight Resistance above, and the Amiga port cemented my appreciation of the subgenre in 1990 – so I absolutely love Blazing Chrome. The music by Dominic Ninmark and Tiago Santos is brilliant, and the vocal CD track 'The Danger' tune by Kristine is fun for the end credits. Take Mission 5's Hidden Outpost as one example, which I mention has an energetic tune, but once you ditch the bike the music makes a fantastic change to icy chimes and chugging guitar riffs in the Snow Base.
Mission 5 starts with a frantic snow hover bike opening, as you jump spikes like the horse and Jet Ski sections in Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master. The detail in the snowy backgrounds reminds me of the graphics in Irem games like GunForce II, a style that Nazca developed further with Metal Slug. The mission ends with a snaking, teeth chattering machine diving out of a toxic pool, as the level design shows how set pieces often make a great run-and-gun game.
If anyone has any Blazing Chrome questions, please let me know.
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019
@carlos82 and @Gmork___ I went to a party on New Year’s Eve at my cousin's house, and he was also recommending that I should buy The Messenger. From what I've heard I would really love the visual design, as it shifts between 8-bit and 16-bit styles. I'll definitely keep The Messenger in mind.
@Kienda Just as a follow up, it's worth mentioning that I buy many of my digital retro games in sales. For example, if you search 'Anniversary Collection' on the PS Store at the moment you can find Konami's Arcade Classics, and Castlevania, or Contra collections all on sale. The same 'Anniversary Collection' search will bring up Street Fighter 30th Anniversary, and SNK 40th Anniversary collections, all of which are better than half price in the PS Store's current January sale.
As a general response to the comments here, I also think it's cool how many people are saying that they like the diversity in the picks of our Top 5 games of 2019. There's been lots of variety in Push Square's Games of 2019 individual writers' lists, and it's spot-on that the readers are open to the team having varied tastes in gaming. It's heartening to receive a positive response, because it makes it possible for us choose more obscure and unexpected indie and retro games. Thanks again, everyone!
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019
@Kienda I don't actually have an arcade stick set up on my PS4, so I may not be the best person to make recommendations, but one possibility would be to focus on buying retro coin-ops on the PS4, because by their very nature they were built to be played with an arcade stick.
I particularly like retro pixel art games following on from the style of the 16-bit era, and if you have similar taste, plus you enjoy one-on-one fighting games, then Neo Geo games are a great pick. The ACA NeoGeo games from Hamster Corporation cost £5.79 each, and include classic one-on-one fighters like The King of Fighters '98. If you search for 'ACA NeoGeo' on the PlayStation Store there are also shoot-‘em-ups (Blazing Star, Pulstar, and Last Resort), side-scrolling beat-'em-ups (Sengoku 3), and top-down run-and-gun games (Shock Troopers, or Shock Troopers 2nd Squad).
SNK Playmore has also released Neo Geo games separately to Hamster, so sticking with one-on-one fighters you can find the excellent Garou: Mark of the Wolves for £11.99. It's not that well publicised on the PS Store, but SNK Playmore also has Neo Geo compilations on PS4 that were originally released on PS2.
Buying collections of games is a cheaper way to get more retro games in a bundle to use with your new stick, so a few SNK Playmore examples are Art of Fighting Anthology (£11.99), Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol.2 (£11.99), and Fu'un Super Combo (£11.99 for two less well known SNK fighting games, Savage Reign and Kizuna Encounter). As for side-scrolling run-and-gun games the PS2 compilation version of Metal Slug Anthology is an easy way to get lots of Metal Slug games in one purchase of £15.99.
Aside from the Neo Geo, if you do a separate search of 'Arcade Archives' on PlayStation Store, there's lots of choice of retro coin-op games from beat-'em-ups like Double Dragon to Vigilante, and recent releases like Irem's graphically detailed shoot-'em-up In The Hunt. Again they cost £5.79 each.
If you stick with coin-op collections, I highly recommend the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle for seven quality arcade Capcom brawler games, with online co-op available. If you like older arcade shoot-'em-ups, Konami’s Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection has eight games, and most are shooters, including Gradius, Gradius II, Salamander, and TwinBee.
It's worth checking each game that I’ve mentioned to see if it includes online multiplayer, or if they only allow for local multiplayer games. Take into account that I play most of my retro games through local multiplayer with friends, so online multiplayer is not hugely important to my retro purchases.
I hope this gives you a few ideas of retro coin-op games for your new arcade stick. Cheers!
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019
@Kidfried Thank you kindly, all the best to you!
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019
@playstation1995 Thanks lots for you kind comment, I always appreciate the positivity you bring to the comments section of Push Square's retro articles and reviews.
I still need to buy the Contra Anniversary Collection. I held back from getting it, because I already own many of the games in various releases on other systems, plus I wanted to wait to play Contra: Hard Corps until my girlfriend bought me a Mega Drive Mini for Christmas. I'll still pick up the collection at some point, though, especially for the convenience of having so many classic Contra games in one place on PS4.
Cheers again, and have a fantastic 2020, mate!
Re: Game of the Year: Jamie's Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019
Big cheers to Push Square and Nintendo Life, as always, for giving me the opportunity to write about retro games. It's also cool to me that my Top 5 2019 list was published on New Year's Day.
All of my picks take me back to fond memories of specific retro games, so nostalgia is heavily involved in my choices, but each game has been boosted by a PS4 lick of paint.
I hope that 2020 is an awesome year for everyone, and it's going to be especially exciting for Push Square with the upcoming release of the PS5.
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!
Re: The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors - A PS4 Remake of a Classic Beat-'Em-Up
@Powerpellet Good question! The Ninja Saviors reminds me a bit of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, because it feels like a cross between a remaster and a remake.
For example, the main tracks, kart racers and Adventure mode were the same, but CTR Nitro-Fueled added new tracks and characters, had a harder difficulty level, and changed the feel of driving karts slightly, so it ended up being more than just a remaster of the PSone engine with upgraded graphics.
Similarly, all of the eight stages, enemies and the three main characters from the SNES' Ninja Warriors Again are exactly the same in the PS4's Ninja Saviors. Therefore, I could see how people could view Ninja Saviors as being a graphical overhaul as a remaster, and I would agree to a point.
However, the game feels a bit smoother and more responsive, has new two-player co-op, the difficulty level feels different, and the PS4's 16:9 widescreen makes the fighting area wider to view – so I would imagine that it's not built purely on the same engine or code as the SNES game. Also, the inclusion of the two extra characters with brand-new controls and move sets expands it beyond a remaster to becoming a remake in my eyes.
Re: The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors - A PS4 Remake of a Classic Beat-'Em-Up
@playstation1995 Cheers, and good call mate, because Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja has a similar perspective to the Ninja Warriors games, since the scrolling play areas are confined to a single plane, as opposed to how you could walk deeper into the backgrounds in games like Double Dragon. It also makes me laugh how President Ronnie said to the Bad Dudes, "Let’s go for a burger" at the end of that game. I miss the heyday of the arcades, too.
@Dan_ozzzy189 The Ninja Saviors is £15.99 on the UK's PS Store, while River City Girls is nine pounds more at £24.99. However, I hear what you're saying, especially when a compilation on PS4 like the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle — which I mentioned in my previous post — includes seven games for £15.99. A lot of care has gone into Tengo Project's remake of The Ninja Warriors Again, though, and it makes an expensive, sought-after SNES game much easier to experience.
Re: The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors - A PS4 Remake of a Classic Beat-'Em-Up
If anyone has any questions, please let me know. I'm happy talk about PS4 The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors, but I also own the Super Famicom version of The Ninja Warriors Again from 1994, as well as the 1987 Arcade Archives The Ninja Warriors on PS4, so I can answer questions about those retro games, too.
In regards to my point about a difficulty spike in Ninja Saviors when you face the final boss Banglar at the end of stage eight, this hurdle is mostly dependent upon how good you are at grabbing enemies and throwing them upwards. Ninja Saviors is a skill based side-scrolling beat-'em-up, and it benefits from its emphasis on mastering each character's controls, but in general beating the single-player mode on Normal difficulty is trouble-free – I personally found it easier than the Super Famicom game.
Once you beat Normal mode you unlock Hard difficulty, which will test your skills more, and there's variety between mastering the five characters' different moves. Also, while there is no Platinum trophy, I noticed that a number of the trophies are based around clearing the game without using continues, or by beating it in faster times.
I enjoy short games anyway, and the game length of one hour is a throwback to the 16-bit generation, but there's plenty of replay value if you enjoy gameplay that builds upon the Kung-Fu Master-style, with moves more similar to the 1990s Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle-type brawling games.