Summer Caravan VS Summer Carnival

[SuperDeadite]

I'm interested in the history of these tournaments.  Were they completely seperate or were they joint efforts?

Seems to me that the Summer Caravans were directly run by Hudson, and the games played were all from the Star Soldier/GunHead/
Bomberman series.  Those super rare "Special Version" HuCards were the games used in the later tournaments.

Was the Summer Carnival totally Naxat Soft's doing?  I know they used Spriggen for '91, Alzadick for '92, and Nexzr Special
for '93.  Were there any other Carnivals before or after these dates?

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[FM-77]

I don't know the answer, but there are other carnival games for the Famicom. Summer Carnival '92: Recca (über-expensive - very technically impressive) and another one (I think).

[Tatsujin]

caravan was always a yearly hudson event, since early famicom times. carnival was, let's say from the others like kaneko interstate, naxat, nazca..

[SuperDeadite]

caravan was always a yearly hudson event, since early famicom times. carnival was, let's say from the others like kaneko interstate, naxat, nazca..

Ok so Carnival was a joint effort, but seperate from Hudson.  Good to know, thanks.

[lkermel]

I do not think the two events were related... but I may be wrong.
Hudson Soft started their Competitions back in 1985 and Naxat Soft in 1991. And yes, 1985 was two years before the PC Engine came out. The first games were Star Force, Star Soldier  and Hector (all three Famicom games). Then the competition switched to the PC Engine system in 1988 with Power League Special Version as far as I know...
I have a short history of the competitions there:
Hudson Soft's Caravan Tournaments
Naxat Soft's Summer Carnival
and Caravan Shooting Collection for the Super Famicom which includes the first three games of the Caravan Tournaments.

ASSEMblerEX Also posted this excellent video on YouTube :

[SuperDeadite]

I do not think the two events were related... but I may be wrong.
Hudson Soft started their Competitions back in 1985 and Naxat Soft in 1991. And yes, 1985 was two years before the PC Engine came out. The first games were Star Force, Star Soldier  and Hector (all three Famicom games). Then the competition switched to the PC Engine system in 1988 with Power League Special Version as far as I know...
I have a short history of the competitions there:
Hudson Soft's Caravan Tournaments
Naxat Soft's Summer Carnival
and Caravan Shooting Collection for the Super Famicom which includes the first three games of the Caravan Tournaments.

ASSEMblerEX Also posted this excellent video on YouTube :

So Carnival didn't start till '91.  That would explain that giant '91 on the back of the Spriggen case, and the game only having one version as opposed to Nexzr's 2.  Thanks for the links, your website is another great PC-Engine resource to add to the bookmarks 

[offsidewing]

I have Summer Carnival '93. 

Are Spriggen and Alzadick '92 worth getting as well??

[runinruder]

Spriggan is a fantastic shooter, a sure thing if you enjoy other Compile verticals like Blazing Lazers and MUSHA.  It has a fantastic weapons system, devastating armaments, great graphics, nice music, giant bosses... the works.  There's also a cool Score Attack mode.  It's pretty easy, but certainly enjoyable enough to return to anyway. 

[Tatsujin]

the question "is serei senji spriggan worth to get?" is almost equal to the question "is it worth getting a PC engine?"

[SuperDeadite]

I have Summer Carnival '93. 

Are Spriggen and Alzadick '92 worth getting as well??

As RuninRuder already put it, Spriggen is a must own.  One of the best shooters on the system in my opinion. 

Alzadick is a bit iffy though, the game was created only for the tournament, it is impossible to play it for more then 5 minutes (yes seriously).  I have it because its really cheap here in Japan.  If you have friends that like shooters then it'd be a great game to prove who's the best, but its kinda useless for single player use.

Also if you like Summer Carnival '93: Nexzr Special, you might want to pickup the original Nexzr.  It has some great cut-scenes that were removed form the Special version.  However, it doesn't have the tournament modes and is a lot more expensive...

[runinruder]

Also if you like Summer Carnival '93: Nexzr Special, you might want to pickup the original Nexzr.  It has some great cut-scenes that were removed form the Special version.  However, it doesn't have the tournament modes and is a lot more expensive...

I agree, the cutscenes in Nexzr are cool.  Without giving too much away, I'll say I've always felt they had kind of a "Mospeada-esque" feel about them. 

And last I checked, Wolfgames had the original Nexzr for $59.  That's a pretty darn good price for the game, if anyone is thinking about getting it. 

[offsidewing]

Which Spriggan is the one I should get.  I've seen a couple floating around.  They might be the same one with different 'translations' of the same name.  I just want to make sure I look for the correct one.

Is Star Parodia (sp??) worth tracking down as well?

[runinruder]

The one you want, the cool vertical shooter, is this one:

http://www.wolfgames.com/pcespriggan.jpg

The one you don't want, a mediocre (at best) side-scrolling shooter, is this one:

http://www.wolfgames.com/pcespriggan2.jpg

[Tatsujin]

at least you want both. the vertical just a lot more.