Side Arms Special and Dragon's Curse WOW!!!!

[esteban]

I don't know if you guys noticed, but it's obvious he's playing them in an emulator so obviously it doesn't matter about s-video VS component, etc.  He even says at the end that he questions whether the Turbo Duo Dynastic hero exists so obviously he's playing an ISO of it.

Good observation

I thought he was very fair, there's no PRO SEGA slant to it.  He says that the colors in the Duo one are deeper, but that the Genesis is just brighter and more cartoony.  Also I totally agree on the music thing, you can't beat the original songs for how awesomely catchy they are, the redone CD soundtrack was good but it didn't have the same charm.  Plus he even mentions that the Duo one has a better translation, better ending, and cooler last boss fight, wheres the PRO SEGA agenda there?

OK, I re-read this article to refresh my gray cells. I think you're right, he was pretty fair, and he even pointed out that some things boil down to personal preferences (i.e. the aesthetics... I like many of the character re-designs).

I've read all the articles at sega-16.com and I guess my comments about pro-SMS / Sega were more a generalization about how I feel they treat PCE / TG-16 titles overall. For example, I haven't re-read it, but IIRC, the Dungeon Explorer face-off definitely had a pro- Sega vibe Also, there must be another Wonderboy article at sega-16 that poked fun at the PCE versions, because I remember some stuff that was nowhere to be found in the article I linked to.

I love sega-16 though, it's just that I don't think they go out of their way to appreciate TG16 / PCE versions.

Like I said, I feel that "the more versions, the better" and appreciate different variations of my favorite games.

"is version X better than version Y?" is an excellent format for examining the differences between games, but in the end I want to play BOTH versions!

That's why I still have PCE Strider on my "wanted games" list
Don't worry, I remember how you feel about Strider -- my expectations are realistic, I think ...

[GUTS]

Haha Strider, just don't pay too much for it!  I was actually talking with Zig about Strider the other day and he mentioned that he didn't think Strider was a game that aged very well, I gotta agree actually after playing the arcade version some on the PSX.  The control is pretty stiff, the collision detection is bad, and it just seems kind of glitchy.  I used to think it was just the Genesis port that was like that, but the arcade suffers from the same stuff, just to a slightly lesser degree.

I still think Strider has infinitely cool characters and a premise, but I have to question all the praise that gets heaped on the actual gameplay.  I'd be curious what you think about the subject too.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I still love Strider personally.  And I was just mentioning my point of view, I don't consider any of the Hudson versions bastardization's, like what he calls them.  And I think Dynastic Hero once again, has a fantastic soundtrack, with more charm then what came over here as Wonderboy 5.  Speaking of which, I thought both Gate of Thunder & Dynastic Hero's music were done by T's music?

[Kaminari]

T's were a late in-house band like many Japanese publishers used to have (think JDK, KKC, SST, Zuntata...). We owe them Lords of Thunder, Sapphire, Hyper Wars, CD Denjin... But Gate and Dynastic were solely composed by Nick Wood, a 40 year old kid from good old Liverpool who's been living in Japan for about 15 years.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Wow, you're filled with alot of knowledge, you never cease to amaze me!  Well, I went ahead & ordered a copy of his album

[esteban]

Haha Strider, just don't pay too much for it!  I was actually talking with Zig about Strider the other day and he mentioned that he didn't think Strider was a game that aged very well, I gotta agree actually after playing the arcade version some on the PSX.  The control is pretty stiff, the collision detection is bad, and it just seems kind of glitchy.  I used to think it was just the Genesis port that was like that, but the arcade suffers from the same stuff, just to a slightly lesser degree.

I still think Strider has infinitely cool characters and a premise, but I have to question all the praise that gets heaped on the actual gameplay.  I'd be curious what you think about the subject too.

I know! I've been waiting for a decent price, one of these days I'll take the plunge.

Personally, I still think that Strider rules. Yes, I agree that it doesn't seem as perfect as it once did (back in the day, I wouldn't have criticized it that much, if at all). But, despite this, I really think it is an epic, balls-out action slashin' jumping fiesta and I love it. Seriously, how many games out there (even NEW games) capture the feel of jumpin' and slashin' like Strider did (does)?

I have to be honest, I dig Ninja Gaiden on Xbox (though it still kicks my ass)... NG is one of the few contemporary games that got me excited and had some of the feeling as Strider did in the arcades (I know it might sound weird... that's just the way the game struck me).

And the Neo-Soviet stuff in Strider, the character designs, the variety of levels... man, I just love all that stuff... the entire Strider universe is kool as hell and very well done, IMO, when it comes to creating a rather unique atmosphere.

BOTTOM LINE: Like many games, Strider is showing its age. Where once I could find no fault, now I see some imperfections that make it less god-like  ... but I still love it, I'd still recommend it to folks, and I'll still  praise it -- though I may throw in some disclaimers. But I always have to throw in disclaimers when recommending games, so that's nothing new (i.e. the only way I could get my friends to give JJ & Jeff a chance was to characterize it as a  bastardized Wonderboy 1 / Adventure Island).

RELATED GAME: Strider needed a proper sequel. There's some arcade game, I forget the name, that is very Strider-esque and seems very, very kool. Back during the post- GameFaqs / pre- famiconsumer days I remember reading about it. Some fellow had taken tons of in-game screenshots and provided extensive commentary (I don't know if it was emulated in MAME at that point).

It was a Japan-only arcade game, NOT done by Capcom, that seemed to copy the best things in Strider.

[akamichi]

RELATED GAME: Strider needed a proper sequel. There's some arcade game, I forget the name, that is very Strider-esque and seems very, very kool. Back during the post- GameFaqs / pre- famiconsumer days I remember reading about it. Some fellow had taken tons of in-game screenshots and provided extensive commentary (I don't know if it was emulated in MAME at that point).

It was a Japan-only arcade game, NOT done by Capcom, that seemed to copy the best things in Strider.

Well, the proper sequel is of course Strider 2, but I know what you mean.  I was happy when Strider 2 came out, but the game itself wasn't as exciting as the original.  Also, by that time the sequel was like 7 years after the original.  

As for the arcade Strider-like game, you're probably talking about Cannon Dancer.  I played some Strider-like game a while ago and after reading about Cannon Dancer, I thought it was that game, but after seeing the pictures, it doesn't look like the game I played.  Memory is hazy because I only played that game once and the title was in Chinese.

Oh, that Cannon Dancer link was taken from this article on Strider and Strider style games.  Run Saber seems really cool too.

[esteban]

RELATED GAME: Strider needed a proper sequel. There's some arcade game, I forget the name, that is very Strider-esque and seems very, very kool. Back during the post- GameFaqs / pre- famiconsumer days I remember reading about it. Some fellow had taken tons of in-game screenshots and provided extensive commentary (I don't know if it was emulated in MAME at that point).

It was a Japan-only arcade game, NOT done by Capcom, that seemed to copy the best things in Strider.

Well, the proper sequel is of course Strider 2, but I know what you mean.  I was happy when Strider 2 came out, but the game itself wasn't as exciting as the original.  Also, by that time the sequel was like 7 years after the original.  

As for the arcade Strider-like game, you're probably talking about Cannon Dancer.  I played some Strider-like game a while ago and after reading about Cannon Dancer, I thought it was that game, but after seeing the pictures, it doesn't look like the game I played.  Memory is hazy because I only played that game once and the title was in Chinese.

Oh, that Cannon Dancer link was taken from this article on Strider and Strider style games.  Run Saber seems really cool too.

Rock on, Osman is it! Yes, yes, yes. This game looks so friggin' awesome. And you know what? The web page you linked to might have been created by the same person I read -- EXCEPT that I read about Osman on a message board at game.com or something like that. Maybe this fellow took his original post and made it into a proper webpage.

One of these days, I'm gonna play Osman. Run Saber looks sweet as ballz as well, I totally agree with you.

ALSO: after reading that 1up article, I found out that there was a year long manga serial prior to the release of Strider! That kind of build-up (assuming the manga was decent) is just too awesome. I am cynical and will usually dismiss tactics like this as a contrived promotion -- a marketing tactic with little merit. That said, if a halfway decent manga or novella was used to promote a game... hmm, well that's actually a really kool concept.

The trick, as I see it, is convincing folks to take the time to read the novella / manga in the first place.

FOR EXAMPLE: I literally stumbled upon a fake documentary on  TV about the "Blair Witch" back in the day. I watched it with my friends and it was so kool. At this point, we didn't know it was a promotion for a movie. We thought it was semi-serious at best... but we were intrigued. At the end of the mock documentary, they provided a link to their website, which was also designed to look like a straightforward site... not a glitzy promotional site to view trailers.

Anyway, this is one of the few examples of creative promotion that totally IMPROVED the experience of the actual product. Seeing this fake documentary made Blair Witch the movie WAY more fun.

NOTE: I'm not a big fan of Blair Witch, I had a blast seeing it. That's it (never re-watched it, though I would now) -- but I still think it was remarkably awesome to promote the movie as they did.

FURTHERMORE: Of course, television programs (or should I say 22-minute advertisements) have been used to promote toy lines for ages (G.I. Joe is my personal fave). But this is an expensive endeavor, and often the television program (or movie) are of questionable quality.

[Kaminari]

Well, I went ahead & ordered a copy of his album

I don't think you'll regret it. There's various material in it, mostly commercial jingles and soundtrack excerpts with a unique touch.

And I can't wait to listen to your own productions

[ParanoiaDragon]

Glad you can't wait   I can't wait either.  Right now, we have numerous projects, so I'm not sure which one will be the first to be released.  Mysterious Song, I actually only did some remixing to the music, so, none of the songs in that are mine.  That might be our first game.  We'll just have to see.

edit-That Cannon Dancer game looks great!  Does it work on MAME?