Sidearms

[runinruder]

Type 5 Boss (Level 4): The second of the weird rotating bosses, this one shoots lasers at you. Use the laser cannon to take it out quickly. This is the only one of the rotating bosses you fight that you have nothing available to block its shots.

If you position yourself in the bottom-right corner of the screen before he appears, he won't be able to touch you with those lasers. 

[Black Tiger]

What do you guys mean by washed-out?  I find the graphics to Sidearms to be extremely crisp, colourful, detailed, and high-resolution (as Capcom often pointed out on their game boxes.) 

Yeah, I love the detailed coloful sprites. It was nicely shaded graphics like that everyone I knew back then was looking for in 16-bit games. It may look "dated", just  like the arcade, compared to the best of the later PC Engine games, but it still looks a hell of a lot better than so many other PCE games from its time that nobody knocks the visuals of.

[Tatsujin]

copy that!

[esteban]

Random question: Several years ago, I tried to find the Japanese Famicom version of Section Z. Does it exist? Is it hard to find?

Famicom Disk System only. You can also save on that version too.

Crap, that's why I couldn't find it. Crap, the FDS is a barrier to my dream! I don't have the time nor the money to deal with the FDS.

You say you can save your progress with Section Z FDS? Do you know how it works? For example, are there checkpoints by stage? How about continues? Point me to a FAQ, if necessary . Thanks in advance (yes, I'm too lazy to look this up myself).

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Back on topic:

runin: Thunderforce II is great, but it never seemed like a singular, cohesive game to me. The shift between overhead and horizontal always felt like I was shifting to another, completely separate game. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, especially because TFII competently delivers both parts of its shizophrenic self. I like it!

However, if I were to evaluate hybrid games on their "cohesiveness", then I would put the likes of Lifeforce (NES) and Blaster Master (NES) or Contra (NES) well above TFII.

Again, I'm really not knocking TFII, because it's great and refreshing. I don't value cohesiveness over everything else: it's simply one lens to evaluate a game.

everyone: Has anyone here played Sidearms' "black and white mode" and / or "slow-motion mode" for the entire game? Is it possible?

Also, I recall some folks having a technical discussion about these modes. What is actually going on here? Were these modes implemented for fun, or did they help the developers in some manner (i.e. I suppose slo-mo could be useful in this regard)?

[nat]

everyone: Has anyone here played Sidearms' "black and white mode" and / or "slow-motion mode" for the entire game? Is it possible?

Also, I recall some folks having a technical discussion about these modes. What is actually going on here? Were these modes implemented for fun, or did they help the developers in some manner (i.e. I suppose slo-mo could be useful in this regard)?

Are these accessible on the cartridge version or just the CD? How do I access them?

[Ninja Spirit]

Random question: Several years ago, I tried to find the Japanese Famicom version of Section Z. Does it exist? Is it hard to find?

Famicom Disk System only. You can also save on that version too.

Crap, that's why I couldn't find it. Crap, the FDS is a barrier to my dream! I don't have the time nor the money to deal with the FDS.

You say you can save your progress with Section Z FDS? Do you know how it works? For example, are there checkpoints by stage? How about continues? Point me to a FAQ, if necessary . Thanks in advance (yes, I'm too lazy to look this up myself).

Don't know about all that, I just played the ROM and after the title screen there's a Zelda type data screen.

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Sidearms arcade being 1cc'ed!!!

[esteban]

everyone: Has anyone here played Sidearms' "black and white mode" and / or "slow-motion mode" for the entire game? Is it possible?

Also, I recall some folks having a technical discussion about these modes. What is actually going on here? Were these modes implemented for fun, or did they help the developers in some manner (i.e. I suppose slo-mo could be useful in this regard)?

Are these accessible on the cartridge version or just the CD? How do I access them?

I've done it with U.S. HuCard, but I'm sure it works with Japanese HuCard and CD as well. I grabbed this from a cheat site:

Sidearms
Monochrome mode:
Press Up + I + II + Run at the title screen.
Slow motion:
Press Down + I + II + Run at the title screen.

I haven't verified this info, but I can the working code in an old magazine if necessary.

I've only fiddled with these modes myself... I never actually considered playing the entire game until today!

[ccovell]

Yeah, neither mode is very interesting.  The Slow-Motion mode is not even that; more like a strobe-effect mode since the game plays at regular speed, but all the scrolling and sprites are updated at a much lower framerate.

I have no idea what the purpose of this really was.  Any ideas?

[esteban]

Yeah, neither mode is very interesting.  The Slow-Motion mode is not even that; more like a strobe-effect mode since the game plays at regular speed, but all the scrolling and sprites are updated at a much lower framerate.

I have no idea what the purpose of this really was.  Any ideas?

I have ideas, but they're goofy.

1. The developers implemented the modes just for the hell of it.
2. Monochrome mode was for the developers who were programming the game on their laptops out in the sun. It provided the contrast they needed with their poorly-backlit LCD screens.
3. Strobe-mode provided a less-hectic display of the action, allowing folks to check sprite positioning and the flow of the game with less distractions.
4. The developers wanted future generations to ask, "Why?" This thread is proof that they have succeeded.

5. Personally, I think that these modes could have been used to create a special end-of-game montage (as other games had done and continue to do... the beginning of Neutopia II, etc.): black-n-white + slow-motion gameplay footage with ending credits and ending music! That's my final answer!

EDIT: Also, monochrome could have been used to create some interesting demos of gameplay for the "attract mode"... well, this point is debatable . I don't know if B&W demo mode would have been enticing, unless it was used for dramatic effect (i.e. where demo eventually fades into color) or, I could see B&W gameplay being used as a kool backdrop for a "high score" screen...

[nodtveidt]

If you position yourself in the bottom-right corner of the screen before he appears, he won't be able to touch you with those lasers. 

Ooh, good to know. I'll give it a try next time I play.

I have no idea what the purpose of this really was.  Any ideas?

I read somewhere awhile back that it was of historic value...like a tradition of sorts. No idea what it's tied to or where it originated, but Sidearms isn't the only game to have these two very specific modes.

For the record, I have played thru Sidearms in black-and-white mode, but the other mode (which has a name, I just don't know it, it's in Japanese) is virtually unplayable.

[Mr Bonk]

Does anyone have the ost (in mp3) for this I like it better from the HuCard than the CD version, the same as the R-Type Hucard is way better than that CD Complete version..

[Tatsujin]

sorry, at the moment no hucard but http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=2440.0

voilà

[Black Tiger]

Does anyone have the ost (in mp3) for this I like it better from the HuCard than the CD version, the same as the R-Type Hucard is way better than that CD Complete version..

I've got both Side Arms and R-Type's soundtracks in mp3 right here-

http://www.superpcenginegrafx.com/music.html


Side Arms was recorded from real hardware, but R-Type is the one soundtrack on my site that was recorded from emulation(soon to be replaced by the real thing).

Yeah, neither mode is very interesting.  The Slow-Motion mode is not even that; more like a strobe-effect mode since the game plays at regular speed, but all the scrolling and sprites are updated at a much lower framerate.

I have no idea what the purpose of this really was.  Any ideas?

I think the tricks just break the game.

I got those two "modes" as well as a 4-in-1 screen mode occasionally when my Kisago got bumped while playing a game or it just wasn't lined up correctly at the start.

There are other games with glitchy 'tricks' like those, but I think thats all they are.