for NESiCAxLive

that face when the Hemp Derived Cannabinoids Produced With Accordance To The 2018 Farm Bill gummies start hitting and you're playing this shit with at least one centisecond of input lag because the 720p lcd display in the cab takes an analog video signal (JVS(VGA)) and not digital video. (this shit is why people use framemeisters/OSSCs/retrotinks/etc, things like this are measurable.)

on the other hand i do appreciate squenix allowing what is basically their arcade division to keep these older works working in cabinets, what with that endangered species that is the public arcade. but i'd rather be playing an absolute slapper like Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 instead!!!! i'm also still not sure about the games as a service model hitting the arcades as well, even if it means i get to play a weird port of my beloved Densha De Go! 2.

recommend it if you're a tetris weirdo, but i will never really love to play this verison, yet i love returning to it every now and then.

this is my go-to tetris pallete cleanser when i'm fully in tetris brain, something that hasn't been the case for a little over a year now. this era of tetris is quite fascinating, and of all console versions of tetris, this feels the most like a home computer version with its single rotation, only hard drop and less-conventional lives system. the controls feel as if they were intended to be mapped to arrow keys where a player could have their fingers on multiple separate digital actuators at all times.

this era around the late 80's was probably the most interesting period in the overall splintering and iteration of tetris as it was unleashed up on the world, they were all just learning how to cook up those quadruple rectangles and it resulted in a genuine mechanical variety that unfortunately isn't found in any tetris released in the current era. i have no idea what BPS was even trying to do here, still feels as if they're in the progress of figure out how to make tetris work on a pad. it is of zero surpise that that shortly after this, BPS would devise their own system with lock delay as a core principle of tetromino arrangement. one of the the strains of tetris that BPS would, towards the end of the 90's, overcook and would demand that to be the only tetris dish served. BPS's impending near-strangulation of tetris started here, and on many days, i would rather play this over NEStris. thankfully BPS would figure out how to cook it just right for a bit in their successor to this one (plus bombliss!)

cleared on dreamcast some time ago but it was the naomi version for the day. ive fallen off lmau (lifting my arms up. duck duck go dot com search "shruggie" to see what i mean)

it's a sicko mode, raw version of tetris in the spirit of sega's 1988 interpretation, the foundational single button primate neuron activator. this time it's got some very light wall kicks (only against the walls of the field, not the "ceiling". this requires a delay between the piece entering the field and your ability to rotate) and 2 buttons for rotation rather than one. firmly still in the old school of tetris, before the dreary days of 7-bag and hold piece. that randomizer pulls no punches, yet not quite to the degree of the one seen in strange creature that resides within the Zeroes of nintendo's Tetris v.1.1 (1989) for their dot matrix game handheld (with! stereo sound!). as a completeable solo iteration of the soviet four blocks dropping a lot, it's solid, challenging endeavour. as i don't tend to like tetris multiplayer i haven't really tried the VS mode without absolutely mopping the floor against friends whose brains have not been poisoned by TGM. it's scoring system is tied to some unfortunate imagery, but here it's always earned.

the incredibly chaotic way its randomizer works makes it a slight bit behind the changes arika started introducing to their interpretation of sega's 1988 primate neuron activator. you will at some point get absolutely bodied by the randomizer on some credits, and it will absolutely put your ability to recover while maintining a relatively clean, gapless stack through its paces. the speed peaks and valleys, a staple amongst the sega school of tetris, are always loved, tripping up a player if they're a bit too lost in the sauce. in particular, the speed fluctuation and eventual upward curve seems to impact pre-hard/firm drop tetris a bit more, as that addition to piece control tends to make it way less noticeable if a player's just going full full voltage through those darn neurons. and precisely why arika's TGM sits alongside Sega Tetris (1999) as one of the best full oldhead, pre-SRS, pre guideline iterations of the timeless chaotic tetromino assortment by way of recognizing patterns computer program. it gets fast, but the lock delay makes higher gravity manageable in a way that nintendo's tended to lack for a while.

it's got the Homie, that large green friend. tetris effect for the freaks, not without flaws but always a straightforward, lovely tetris. mildly prefer this to ТЕТРИС SEMIPRO-68k, but TGM1 still hits everything just right when it comes to the oldhead sega tetris (1988) and its descendants. the 3D backgrounds here get nuts but some too are a bit unfortunate (but not the one with The Homie, and the Best Video Game Thinking Music to ever grace speakers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6qUB13LTTc

also vividly remember the kid at my elementary school who told me about the word "shit" loving the Shit out of this game back around 2003 and i was fascinated by his descriptions of what could take place in it. probably better than most Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC works from the past 6-7 or so years, which are just barely-evolved versions of what DMA design was cooking up here and a little bit earlier with space station silicon valley on the n64. i usually get pretty bored about halfway in every time i've played, and just end up driving around liberty city listening to some mad tunes from the legendary moving shadow records or some dubs mixed by the scientist over at king tubby's (rip) studio. that's pretty much the case with every subsequent game in this series, but with different music, actually.

protect M2 by any means necessary. only play 7MT.

a better-than-arcade-perfect port of Service Games Amusement Machine Research & Development #2's rawest racing experience, down to the checkerboard pseudo-transparent shadows. if you've played/loved ANY Sega AM2 or Amusement Vision game in the post Model 1 era, and have yet to play virtua racing?? what are you even doing?? VR effectively laid the groundwork for most of sega's non-sonic team output up until around 2006, brutal tracks that end up being more about a race against time than a race against others, where any mistake (improper line/cornering, any collision) at all will lead you further and further from first place. it has more composed music-for-the-sake-of-being-music than what one would experience as an F1 driver, but the synthesized engine sounds, tire squeals and exhaust pops are a form of music themselves. timeless, borderline abstract presentation that wasn't matched by any of it contemporaries or any of its successors. the only reason there isn't a shitload of dust on my switch. raw, focused racing for 5 minutes at a time.

however, none of the tracks here even come close to the elegance of daytona usa's dinosaur canyon, but frankly few ever will (wipeout hd's chengou project comes very close to being as good as dinosaur canyon)

fun, fairly competent but otherwise unremarkable shooting game from the school of toaplan, not unlike seibu's other games in the raiden series. fast aimed bullets, a larger player hitbox (compared to what would be codified with dodonpachi and using the C Button Cheat in garegga) and delayed bombs are to be expected. by shooting game standards it is not too hard to come by in the sates united, as with other games from seibu in the style of raiden. notable to me for being an x86-based arcade game from well before the era of "just put jamma and/or JVS on a pc running windows". a definite "play a credit if you see it" recommendation, which also extends to any of the raiden games, as this is just one of those with a Spaceship visual exterior.

(you can change the autofire rate in the service menu by the way)

part of me wonders if sega mandating all sanwa parts (JLF lever and OBS buttons) in VF2 tournaments had something to do with familial ties or something. (us seimitsu enjoyers are still feeling the ramifications of this today)

it's the first fighting game that's actually good that i personally enjoy. (i respect SFII and AOF more than i like actually playing SFII and AOF) it plays like fighting and not like what one would see in a fantastical shonen manga. VF2 picks up the pace and framerate from the first (both in arcade and at home), and as a result it just feels slick and immediate, which is necessary in a game where 1-2 frames between inputs changes just enough of the move to make a difference. performing combos is less like inputting an arcane sequence of 20+ inputs on an 8way lever and 6 buttons and more like just getting more hits of varying strength in fast enough, like you know, fighting. decry the admittedly uninspired character designs (save for jacky) all you want, but the moment-to-moment tension and 100% mental capacity required by a round is unparalleled by anything, save for tekken 3 and 5. one of service games amusement machine research and development #2's finest moments, only matched by Daytona USA, later installments of Virtua Fighter and Outrun 2[006/ Special Tours] . AM2 said Fuck The Kick Harness, and it was beautiful.

skunk smell emanating from somewhere nearby and it 100% is your dumb fault. a collective may be at fault. gather around the video computer system and plug an Actually Good Controller in to the video computer system. (SEGA Model No. MK-1653 if you know what's good for you)

I Have Just Mouth And I Must Eat

VCS games of this early-80s era live or die on their absurdities, and Telesys' Fast Food absolutely delivers. the chaos of the late pre-crash north american market is best exemplified by this game about a mouth in a void, devouring unfulfilling sustenance at varying degrees of speed. the movement of the character feels especially bouncy, and that's the mechanics. it it does the one thing it does, and it doesn't feel like it's falling apart while doing it.

i get that people decry these games based on the quality of things released after over 40 years of a zero-sum race to continuously shrink the microprocessor have passed. that's fine, but the sheer joy of showing this dingy 8-track lookin thing that was probably picked out of someone's garbage or left to dust in a closet for 30 years to someone, starting the game and going "That Is The Most Accurate Art I've Ever Seen On An Atari Game" at the same time is something to be cherished. atari games aren't meant for Rodd Toddgers to Totally Play For 24 Hours Straight Just Trust Me Walter Day, they're best experienced socially just because of how bizarre they might be, and fast food is no exception. when you're tired of this after 5 minutes, toss lost luggage in, then toss in whatever you get from the stack of these shits without even looking, get tired of that in 5 min, etc.... all while having a joyous time.

good advice for any person playing any sort of game - video or otherwise: it feels better to laugh at your failure states and learn.

the best of the True "Boomer Shooters". [1] [2]

the pre-scrolling shooting game with possibly the greatest emphasis on movement, not just with the single axis given to the player, but from the waves of enemies as well. shots move at just the right speed, with the player's shot limit increased to 2 per ship, but with a set minimum interval between. the large insectoid creatures [3] (an aside: what is it with shooting games and violence toward insects?? see also Centepede, Millipede, Gaplus [aka Galaga 3], Mushihimesama) make their dive toward and away from you with utmost grace, from the very start of each stage and the graceful movement doesn't let up for a single moment, even when they are at the idle formation. each galagan moves in distinct ways, not unlike the ghosts of the Jean-Less "Patman", with those blue and yellow bee-like things being the most devious: faking the player out by circling back toward them just before going off screen, or splitting into a chain of 3 things that also look like they could sting. the challenging stages are to this day the best intermission sections ever put into an arcade game: just enough of a break to catch a sip of water, coffee or tea, but engaging enough to encourage and help foster player mastery.

most galaga cabs out and about these days are either retofitted with an LCD (understandable these days as cathode ray tubes are long out of production and dwindling as they fail with age. but, more often than not, arcade LCDs taking in an analog signal from the edge connector [galaga is pre-JAMMA] without any sort of external upscaling have egregious input latency.), or i end up seeing it in a modern nostalgia-bait barcade-fodder combo Ms. Pacman/Galaga cab, which is fine, but still feels not right. i'd typically be respectfully ambivalent seeing this out in the wild, remembering how i grew tired of it after playing it for weeks via namco museum 64 when i was very young. but after coming across it in a sit-down table cab for the first time, i played it on a whim, and somehow made it to stage 16 on my first credit of galaga in nearly a decade. that experience pretty much helped me understand why namco earned such reverence for their works during the arcade's golden age. [4] [5] it's incredibly refined, and the ramp in speed immediately after the 2nd challenging stage is just on point. as it is a work from its era, for the arcades, it has simple, but immediate to understand mechanics which would be quite futile to explain in detail: you just shoot the Galagans and attempt to get the best score you can, and go for the dual-ship configuration if you wish. as it is a work from its era, it is, especially in the wake of the strive for photorealism and "Could [new game with shiny browns] Be The Citizen Kane Of Gaming????" [6], commonly dismissed and reduced to just another footnote in the medium's history. [7]

[1] that is not Tempest, but its design is bit of an edge case of what was commonly done during the invader-era of STG. that will be saved for another time.

[2] the reason i KNOW for a damn fact that galaga is a "Boomer Shooter" is because like 13 years ago my dad saw me playing world renowned mobile gacha game developer Computer Art Visual Entertainment Company, Limited's DoDonPachi (1997) and said "ohh hey.... that's like galaga!!!!"

[3] without an established scale for the size of the player ship, we can only come to such conclusions by way of assumption. the sprites of the craft the player controls and the insectoids (i am not sure if the developers at namco gave them all indivudal names as they would in xevious, the last "Boomer Shooter" ever made.) occupy roughly the same space onscreen, and assuming that the player craft is single-occupancy for just the pilot, it would make sense that the insectoid creatures serving as opposition in this computer-controlled video game are about the size of a small airplane, if we were to compare it to something which exists on earth. i certainly have not seen an insect or crustacean the size of one of those, personally.

[4] i, frankly think it's criminal to be a video game enjoyer to be outright dismissive of anything older than Super Mario Sixty Four. based on how often i see "game is bad because it's Atari" or something along those lines, it is evident that there is a gross misconception loading to a broader mischarachterization of arcade design as ill-placed boomer nostalgia, deriding such works as "mindless", especially when it comes to works from the period between taito's space invaders and the north american release of nintendo's 8-bit home console, when video arcade games made the move from discrete logic to microprocessors. this is something i too have been guilty of in the past, as the era i grew up in was dominated by the likes of halo and counter-strike.

[5] my opinion is that the real "golden age" of the arcade, on the basis of average game quality and design advancements, was post-street fighter II until development for sega naomi games ceased. but that's not what historians wish to push, it doesn't make sense for infancy of any medium to be considered a "golden age". maybe something is referred to as a "golden age" based on Profits Earned or something like that.

[6] i would much rather see more works within this medium that channel the same energy as The Toxic Avenger (1984)

[7] like this

personal fact: i am pretty sure this is what i played on september eleventh, 2001 after coming home from school. shouts out to namco museum 64 even tho you sucked compared to the playstation volumes.

everytime i feel like im in the absolute peak of a depressive spell i go and look the video on youtube dot com titled "Asm-ng-ld's Lair" and proceed to realize that The Pression is not a one-size fits-all ailment, and comes in many different shapes and forms, at least im not breathing in hella mold spores from the soda cups i got a few months ago at the Watered Burger down the stroad.

played for about 2 months back in like 2010ish because i had a few friends who themselves fell victim to this peice of software for a little bit (they are not still playing it today, thankfully). every time i played with them i just kept saying to myself "I really could just be playing Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup instead and not have to be a 15 bucks a month sucker".