JB0

Just now thought of this...The PCEngine pad was an NES pad. So the Rev comes with a PCE pad. Pr'ly not. The NeoGeo home system was a disaster, really. And the arcade scene is mostly dead now. The only arcade boards that aren't based off current-gen consoles are based on the PC. I really think the NeoGeo and CPS2 were the beginning of the end for arcades. Once those hit the cabinets, hardware quit evolving so rapidly. It was just CPS and NeoGeo games for a long time, and that gave consoles a lot of time to catch up. Hell, CPS2 wasn't retired until the Dreamcast. And a Saturn could do literally perfect ports, and still have power left over. Only reason the PS couldn't was it didn't have enough RAM. Capcom waited too long to upgrade. And when they did, they let the CPS2 team sabotage the CPS3. Then they just said to heck with it and jumped to NAOMI. SNK... they waited too long(not NEAR as long as Capcom, though. The PS1 and Saturn were out, but not the N64), and then just never tried again. The NG64 wasn't what it should have been, and SNK just never came back to the idea.

Basara would have died really fast if it wasn't for those convential weapons. Without the other pilots running interference, he would've been swarmed and torn apart. That's probably part of why Gamlin became a major character. It put a face on his protectors.

Why does she want to play with Roy's boys with she already have Max's boys in her grasp? Probably explains why they only had daughters. 383835[/snapback] Thousands of years of sexual segregation and repression. When she snapped, she snapped BAD.

OMG yes! Mars Matrix had sprite based slowdown. that was a great game, and hard as hell in the later missions. I loved the "Mosquito Attack" or whatever it was called where you absorbed the enemies bullets and unleashed a mega attack. That game was more like a puzzle shooter, you had to be in the right places at the right times to make it through. You even had to let some enemies live in order to absorb their bullets. 383810[/snapback] I always called the mosquito device a shield. The bomb isn't really worth using. It's weak compared to throwing all the shots back. And Ikaruga is a puzzle-shooter. It's all pattern memorization and color-matching. MM CAN be done purely on reflex. I play that way all the time(I despise pattern-based gameplay, and refuse to memorize the enemy patterns). In a run unparalleled to this day, I zoned out and ran through to stage... 6 I think... just dodging and shooting. No shield usage at all. Then got distracted, realized what I'd actually been doing, and was immediatly eviscerated. Never been able to even come CLOSE to that performance again, and I REALLY wish I had it on video tape, just so I could say "See? You don't need shields!" One more nomination: Metal Storm. AKA "You can't do that on the nes!" Another irem game. While it's a platform shooter, everything I said about RType applies. What sets it apart from everything else, gameplay-wise, is gravity reversal. Up + jump reverses gravity in the level. Down + jump sets it back to normal. While this could easily have been done VERY badly, or even just uselessly, irem pulled it off flawlessly. It's required from stage 1, and the reversals get REALLY elaborate later on. But the motion to do it is so intuitive that it becomes second nature immediatly, and it's a VERY easy skill to get a good grasp on. Technology-wise? Nothing much, really. It's just THE most animated NES game ever. Everything is amazingly fluid, from your walking animation to the gravity flip to the mines that just sit there and do nothing to your character's explosion. And it has THREE background layers. That's more than the Genesis' 2, and only one less than the maximum 4 on the SNES(the actual # usable varied with graphics mode). All rendered in software on the NES, which isn't exactly known for it's fast processor. The game puts early SNES titles to shame.

I figure it will be mainly games that were released in the US. I don't think Dracula X was ever localized for the US. Technically, Dracula X only EXISTS in the US. But I DO know what you mean, and Rondo of Blood never had a localization. It wouldn't be hard to do, though. There's only a handful of japanese text, all contained on the intro sequence and title screen, so it's really just a matter of dubbing the game and replacing the Akumajo Dracula logo with a Castlevania logo. Konami would be fools to ignore the possibility. I'd rather see the PCEngine SuperCD version. With CUTSCENES. Just out of morbid curiosity. ... I wonder who owns Toaplan's properties now, anyways.

This is the best "Valkyrie" game behind the Macross title on the PS2. The VF-X series could only dream of being half as good as BattleCry... 383698[/snapback] *nods* It was a great game the first time through, but I tried replaying it and all the faults show through. It's just not really that fun anymore, with the possible exception of VS mode(I don't know anyone that wants to play with me, so that goes unused). Tempest definitely counts. And it's definitely something I meant to include.

They pointed out why not shortly after Kakizaki was added. Odds of dying are a lot higher in space. Any blast that wounds you has penetrated your cockpit, and your flightsuit. With a pierced cockpit, your little bubble of air is leaking away, probably rather rapidly. That's a Bad Thing. And while the Macross flightsuits WERE sealed up airtight for space missions, they probably cease to be so once they recieve damaged. The YF-21 has breast intakes. It works backwards.

Fygar is definitely awesome.

Whadda ya have against silicon? And is it just me or is this the worst starter post ever? Anyways... I've got a fair bit of shooters, single-screen, scrolling, and 3D. I prefer games that are more skill-based and less memorization, and fast > slow. Some of my favored games... Parsec on the 99/4a. Not a GREAT game, but it IS good. Was one of my first, and has a remarkably ahead-of-it's-time feature in the form of variable "lift", which is similar to the speed controls found in MUCH later shooters such as Image Fight, Aleste, Einhander,and the PS* RTypes. RType series. I'm really love/hate with this one. irem is VERY good at making games that suck me in and then make me want to hurt someone. The later levels of the series pull out everything I hate about the genre, but the early stages are just too much fun. Salamander(arcade) and Salamander 2. Gradius done right. I want to like Gradius, but I just can't. Salamander fixes it, and is the orphaned bastard child because of it. Sadly, most home Salamander games revert to Gradius. Defender. The first scrolling shooter. It's fast, it's responsive, it's not pattern-based, it's a mean son of a daughter that eats you alive... What's not to love? I DO prefer ports with non-faithful controls over the original game, though. This may have to do with not having access to an arcade cabinet to practice on, but I can't get the hang of the arcade control style. Asteroids. Enough said. Again, it's random. Starts slow, but picks up after a few levels. It's more of a thinking-man's game than a lot of others, since you have to keep track of ship velocity and figure out what shot angles will do what to the titular space rocks. Yes, I realize that everyone else in here is looking for scrolling games, but I don't care. Mars Matrix. Slowdown on a Dreamcast. I repeat: Slowdown on a Dreamcast. In a SPRITE-BASED game. HOLY CRAP THAT'S A LOT OF BULLETS. And yet, it does it without making me think it's being "unfair." With the number of shots on screen at any given time, that takes a LOT of skill as a developer. Sinistar. BEWARE, I LIVE! This one's hard to explain if you haven't played it. IT's one of those games that just comes together. Mining crystals to make bombs, blasting workers to delay the Sinistar's construction, frying warriors to keep your ship alinve, and the verbal abuse from the Sinistar itself all blend together to make one of the most impressive games of the first era. Some stuff I missed. Kick-ass, but overlooked. This is a great game. And I'll kick myself later for not including it in the list, especially as it's better than some stuff I DID remember. I just know too many games to keep 'em all straight in my head. Robotech: Battlecry. Flamebait. Okay, this one doesn't really deserve a spot on the list. It's here because I think cel-shading works really well for the license, and having full control over the VF-1's transformation isn't done often enough in the games. Macross: 2036. Fanboy nomination. It's pretty. It's fun. It has Komillia in it. If only you could transform on-the-fly. While not really the best of the scrolling Macross games, it IS my favorite for the moment.

I think Centipede was on the right track. There is no problem that can't be solved with the applicaiton of heavy artillery.

But that's so fuuun. I guess I stand corrected. But mecha boobies are still unexcusable, and so is the fact that Kawamori had anything to do with it. 383444[/snapback] But MECHS. With BOOBS. The only way it could be better is if there were missiles in there!

The modern video game industry isn't driven by techies. It's driven by the people that make movies like *insert lame PoS here* best-sellers. ... I always said the TG16 was like an NES+, but to see Nintendo agree with me... It's not really clear. There ARE GameCube controller and memory card ports, but contrary to popular belief there is NO indicator as to whether these are supported by, or even visible to, Revolution software.

You're very mistaken. DigDug was all about organic gardening. See, our hero COULD have just sprayed pesticides on his vegetabls and called it a day, but instead he went for the chemical-free approach.

Agreed. As much as I like Roy's character, it was a necessary death to move Hikaru's development forward. Besides, even if Roy hadn't died what makes you think that Kawamori would have chosen him to focus the story on? 383414[/snapback] Yes. If Hikaru had died, the logical new focus would have been on Max and Millia's whirlwind romance/homicide attempt.

You can always say 'GUARDIAN' mode... **runs for macross city bomb shelter** 383258[/snapback] LOL. You are one brave man, indeed. The Guardian, er, Gerwalk, would be, in the real world, one of the most practical modes. It's acutally a fundamentally flawed mode. It LOOKS like a good idea, but aerodynamically, it's worthless. You may as well just use a squatting battroid and open up the throttle. But it usually looks cool. Oh, good grief...

I hate GERWALK. It's too hard to say.

I was sort of catching up, and covering what I'd missed. I REALLY hope it's not another recolored DualShock case.

Well I don't dispute his input into the story, but giving his extensive creative credit because he drew storyboards seems a bit much. I said more involved in. Not "more of the creative force behind." I was just jabbing the whole "Without the rest of the SDF team to keep him in check we get mecha boobies" sentiment. I thought it was kind of absurd and figured I'd take a bit of time to actually pull the credits up instead of just speculating idly. Were I inclined to speculate idly on Kawamori's vision of the Macross universe, I'd comment on the fact that most of the Macross 7 cast is stuffed into the background for the duration of the Kawamori-scripted story and try to draw conclusions from it. ... Actually, the movie DID have a diffrent feel to it than most of the TV series episodes, now that I think about it. Also had a QRau with a green-haired woman in it, which is the important bit. Kawamori seems to have a thing for large women. Well I expect he did have input, but likely no more than any other team member, however the director had final say in what was filmed and how it looked. Hence his directorial credits show that his vision of the Macross universe are best displayed in DYRL, Flashback, Mac Plus, Macross Zero, etc... Which are generally regarded as the favorites of the franchise. 383182[/snapback] *nods* It just seems like SDF was more of a group effort. I know at least some of the staff were supposed to be good friends before they started in on the show, and can see them bouncing ideas off each other and then just splitting the credits up among the group. But maybe I'm just being a romantic.

No problem. They would. Except that a VT-1 has no place in combat. If it ever gets into a fight, it has strategy A. get the hell out of there, and strategy B. ramming speed. Strategy A is best met by dropping to F mode and opening the throttle. In an atmosphere, as you noted, FAST packs on F mode slow you down massively. They also muck with the control. In a combat situation, if you're in F mode primarily and wind up in an atmosphere, it's a good idea to blow FAST packs off too. And if you have FAST packs, both legs can be used for hovering while the FAST packs augment the "backpack" thruster. It's sort of a jack of all trades design, officially. Faster than battroid, slower than fighter. Bit more maneuverable than fighter, bit less so than battroid. But I've always considered GERWALK a fundamentally broken design, so... *shrugs* I'm thinking about it, and I think the only way it could maneuver if it were a real vehicles is with verniers. The backpack is forward thrust only. The wings are going to be worthless for steering, if for no other reason than the arms are interfering with their airflow. Nose thrusters would rotate you fast, though. ... Hmm... verniers might make for some interesting fighter mode maneuvers, too. Thrust-vectoring, eat your heart out. (They still muck with aerodynamics, though. Best to hide them behind trap doors when in atmosphere, I think.) Yah. Though now that I think about it, the feet could function as movable verniers, which offsets things. It's an awkward workaround, though. Mainly useful for rolling forward and back. Seconded. GERWALK may be fundamentally broken, but I'd hate to see it vanish from Macross.

As long as we're talking about credits... I yanked Kawamori's work history off the Compendium, so we can quit just throwing random ideas out. http://macross.anime.net/production/creato...hoji/index.html The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Creator*, Production Supervisor*, Mecha Design, Storyboard*, Script (episode 36) *under penname The Super Dimension Fortress Macross the Movie: Do You Remember Love Story Script Supervisor, Script, Mecha Design, Director The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 Executive Director, Compilation, Mechanical Design Macross Plus Creator, Executive Director, Mecha Design, Storyboard Macross 7 Creator, Supervisor, Mecha Design, Storyboard (episode 27) Macross 7 the Movie: The Galaxy's Calling Me! Creator, Script, Supervisor, Mecha Design Macross Plus Movie Edition Creator, Executive Director, Mecha Design, Storyboard Macross 7 Encore Creator, Supervisor, Mecha Design Macross Dynamite 7 Creator, Series Script Supervisor, Mecha Design, Ending Photography Macross Zero Creator, Director, Mecha Design A bit of rummaging gets us... (note that this isn't complete, as several games listed have no credits) DYRL game: Executive Direction Macross VF-X: Executive Direction, Mechanical Design. Macross VF-X2: Executive Supervisor, Mechanical Design, Opening Animation Storyboard Macross Plus Game Edition: Game & Movie Supervisor, Design Supervisor Macross M3: Mecha Design, Story Supervisor And because I can... The Vision of Escaflowne Creator, Supervisor/Series Script Supervisor, Script (episode 1), Storyboard (20) In point of fact, he was MOST involved in DYRL and the Macross 7 "movie", being the actual scriptwriter for both. He was MORE involved in SDF than the Mac7 series, as he did ALL the storyboards and one script instead of just one storyboard. SDF was also closer to the origin, so his "creator" credit carries more weight. Creator should show up in all Macross products, including orphans like Macross 2. It just indicates that the Macross universe was originally Kawamori's idea. http://www.animeigo.com/Liner/MACROSS.t Animeigo's liner notes list Kawamori as the Phantasm editor. The Kawamori commentary on each episode also implies that all the episodes were collaborative efforts. Every comment references "the creators" as a collective entity, which implies that while one person may have technically been responsible for a given episode, all of them were providing a signifigant degree of input.

All true. Maybe GERWALK too. It's not like it's aerodynamic to start with. Partially offset by the high maneuverability of Macross' micromissiles, but point taken. Remember the FAST packs carry their own fuel, though. And the VF-1 greatly reduces energy directed to the turbines while in battroid mode(the Zero excuse for this is that it enables them to reinforce the battroid with surplus energy), so there's nowher near the thrust available as there is in F and G modes. If the FAST packs were selectively ejectable, you could blow away the leg modules and backpack missile pods while keeping the arm launchers and backpack thrusters. As an all-or-nothing solution, it's going to depend on your usage. High-speed atmospheric pursuit isn't an area where FAST packs are even remotely useful. As Hikaru's goal was to catch up to the powered armor units, the FAST packs would be a hindrance. The VT-1 has no combat capacity whatsoever. May as well just go for the easiest configuration to fly, which happens to be a naked jet. It's explicitly identified as ground armor. http://macross.anime.net/mecha/united_nati.../vf1/index.html "GBP-1S ground-combat protector weapon system" It's not ideally suited to space combat. It's massive(in the sence that it has much mass, not in the sense that it's large) and features very limited verniers. Both are major no-nos for space combat. The GBP is worse than a naked VF-1 for space combat. It IS, however, good for attacking a heavily-armored, low-maneuverability vehicle due to it's large payload. So Hikaru is less than a complete moron for taking it out, as that happened to be what he was up against. FAST packs would've been better, as they add missiles while enhancing space maneuverability instead of reducing it. But they weren't available at that point in time. Which was it's design goal. It makes a VF-1 into a Spartan with a jetpack. And no one's debating they suck for fighter combat in an atmosphere. GERWALK and battroid modes are already as aerodynamically sound as a Corn Flakes box, though. Especially battroid mode, which isn't even intended to fly. The added boost and weaponry is more relevant than the lost aerodynamics in those modes.

Aside from FamiClones, it sounds kind of like a Super FamiCom.

Well I got the idea that inside the SDF1 when max was facing off against the bigger Qrau in one of the episodes of the tv series, that Milia wouldn't really rely so much on homing missiles because of the indoor-sy-ness of the environment and that both of them needed good directed weapon accuracy. (rather than fire as many micromissile swarms and run away) Yah. In close quarters, the Macross Missile Strike just doesn't work. A traditional straight-flying missile would, but since they weren't packing those(and the QRau lacks straight-fire launchers anyways), it came down to guns and lasers. Good point. I think the VF-17 and YF-21/VF-22 arm-mounted weapons were a good solution to that problem. Possibly a direct response to it. The head turret either didn't track fast enough or lacked a certain degree of kick(probably the latter). For whatever reason it seemed to be rarely used. The FAST pack actually has other advantages in battroid mode, though. The battroid seems to have a lot less thrust from the main engines than other modes, which hinders it's mobility in some regards. The FAST pack gives it the ability to do some GERWALK-style maneuvering without losing time to a transformation. If the nozzles were redirectable(like in Macross 2036's non-cannon VF-1xR series), it would expand on that capacity. While the ability to do a Macross Plus-style boost punch is of questionable utility, the "dash" move attached to that punch isn't. You can't outrun a missile. Realistically you can't outmaneuver a missile either. Acceleration is good, though. Wait until they're almost on you, then rapidly change velocity and they'll detonate where you WERE instead of where you ARE. The nature of the VF-1 makes the largest acceleration possible in the direction the nosecone is pointing, especially with FAST packs. Rapid velocity change against the nose is also possible through quick application of GERWALK mode or the retro-verniers. Without FAST packs, these are equally valid as a rapid forward boost. Should also be able to boost "upwards" with GERWALK, though I never saw that done in the show. Again, in a non-FAST-pack situation, that's equally valid as boosting forward. What's ALSO never shown in the anime is flying oriented along any axis other than direction of flight. Since there's essentially no drag in space, there's no need for constant thrust along your axis of flight, and you're free to point the plane in any direction you wish while cruising along. This also leaves you capable of less predictable motion, since you won't be boosting along your axis of flight. Good point. Especially since gravity is likely coming into play in an urban battleground.Like I said, though, there's other reasons to want FAST packs in a ground battle. I suspect that's why the GBP had the backpack boosters built-in, given it was designed explicitly FOR ground combat. I think we went into this a while back. Cost and effectiveness of beam weapons doesn't quite match that of your standard projectile weapons. 382934[/snapback] Which makes sense until you consider that they're packing more and stronger energy weapons into the later VFs anyways. So they're eating the cost of energy weaponry on every VF, regardless. Given ammo is essentially free and unlimited, there's no cost benefit to NOT using energy weaponry. While the original VF-1 lasers might've had difficulty burning through target armor before it moved, that's not the case of the stronger weaponry seen on more modern vehicles. The Ghost X9 seemed to have no gun. But it had enough other diffrences from the VF series that it's not clear if that was a merit-based decision or a cost-cutting measure. The gunpod makes sense as a backup weapon, especially given the unknown nature of the enemies the VF is designed to fight*, but not really as a primary weapon. *Humanity knows the Zentradi, and through the zentradi they know the supervision army. Beyond that, it's a big universe with a lot of room for, say, superconducting fibers woven through armor to dissipate laser heat and a strong magnetic shield to deflect charged particles.

*laughs* But if I recall, Basara actually loves Oscar Mayer weiner... 382684[/snapback] actually, isn't it weiners? he was always eating two of them in the same bun, even when he ate after mylene.... 382946[/snapback] Well, they say no one can eat just one...

The strike cannon(and head laser) has one major advantage over the gunpod. It's got an unlimited ammo supply as long as the plane has electrical power. I'm actually surprised they're still using projectile weaponry as the primary weapon into the Macross 7 era. A highly skileld space pilot won't fly at top speed all the time(actually, top speed isn't really a concept that applies to space flight). The more speed you have, the harder it is to change direction. So for a Macross-style dogfight, slower is actually better since you can make drastic heading changes rapidly.