Topic: Arcade SHMUP High Score Thread

@Lroy It must sound crazy to the majority of gamers these days, but I'm actually looking forward the most to something like that.
I was kinda let down to not see a new regular ACA release pop up this week, nor get a preview for one next week either. Star Force was actually a really nice surprise for me.
I had the famicom version for many many years, but I just fell in love with the arcade version since it's release. Such a great mix of Star Soldier, Xevious, Terra Cresta and a bunch of others. Yet hard as nails. The original arcade difficulty setting is on very easy for crying out loud! lol

Really hoping for some great arcade games. Would love to see a Xevious anniversary pack with Xevious, Super Xevious, Fardraut Saga and Xevious Arrangement.
And have I mentioned before that I really want Elevator Action on Switch?

As for new games, I'd love to see some news on Pinball Arcade and when it's releasing.
The digital version of Stern Pinball Arcade has just gotten a patch that allows TATE play which works brilliantly in handheld (or tabletop) mode, either with a pro controller or with the touch screen.

Also, I'd love to see Gundam Breaker coming to Switch, I wouldn't even mind if it was a port of the original trilogy instead of the new PS4/PC game to be honest.
EDF will probably remain a pipe dream I guess, but you never know...
And I still want a Waverace 64 part 2. Not to mention the Virtual Console.
This time (if we get one) it will be so much better since we will be able to pick up all those Japanese only releases as well without having to go to the trouble of buying a second system.

edit: oh, next week will be Aero Fighters 3 for the Neo Geo btw.

@meppi64 Speaking of ELEVATOR ACTION. I've only ever spent a tiny amount of time with the original on emulation but I recall there was a sequel to it and in fact a recent remake/remaster? ELEVATOR ACTION RETURNS correct? Anyone played that, assume it is on PS4 or something?

Oh and @meppi64 you've reminded me I need to pick up STAR FORCE 😉

@Lroy @meppi64 I hope we get some arcade classics announced too. I will be honest, I can't wait for the Star Force weekly challenge (warning, the current top score is very serious! But I'm always up for a challenge!)

@Lroy Oh yeah, Elevator Action Return is brilliant as well.
Quite a bit different from the original though.
As far as I'm aware of it only has been released in the arcades (obviously), as well as on the Sega Saturn and one of the Taito Legends packs on PS2. Would have to see which one though.
edit: that's Taito Legends 2 btw.

@Lroy I own it on Saturn. It's amazing!

@GrailUK
Fun fact. Elevator Action returns was my very first import game for the Sega Saturn in 1998, which I bought because it had an arcade perfect version of the original Elevator Action on it that you can unlock by completing Returns without continues.
I had no idea Returns would turn out to be such a great game at the time I bought it.
One month later I bought Radiant Silvergun as it came out and in the months to follow I would get Capcom generations 1-4 as well. Those were some really good times.

@meppi64 Be attitude for gains! (Edit: Lol, that was the first thing I said in this thread!)
Saturn was a great console for import gaming in the UK. Hope we see Treasure games on the Switch one day

@meppi64 @GrailUK Ah I see, I hadn't realised it was that 'old' if you follow my meaning. I actually never owned either a PS2 or a SEGA Saturn. I think I was N64 all the way at that time or am I confusing console generations? Definitely recall 75% of my friends and I back then turning our backs on SEGA for the Saturn having all been in the SEGA camp during the Master System and Mega Drive era. What a wally I was. Wish I had owned and still owned one. 2D arcade powerhouse that it turned out to be.

Think I had my one and only tenure as an Xbox owner during the PS2 years, chose that over a GameCube along with my social circle at that time. What fools we were, lol!

As for Sony, gaming hardware wise, I only ever put a foot in that camp for the PS3 (best value Blu-ray player for years) and the PS Vita. Not got a PS4 but recognise how well that system has done.

Note: I'm pretty much Nintendo exclusive these days largely down to the fact that is how I can best share the hobby with my wife and children.

@meppi64 Yes, the PS2 has some fantastic sounding arcade collections in its library.

@Lroy I am hoping for lots of ports of old arcade games, and maybe some new shmups. To be honest, I'm not really that interested in playing modern, highly polished big titles like Doom and Diablo III on my Switch. I love the fact it has all of these retro classics on it.

The ultimate announcements would be

Capcom Arcade Classics - Volume 1 - The 80's

Capcom Arcade Classics - Volume 2 - The 90's

SEGA Arcade Archives - Relive your youth with this new weekly series of classic SEGA Arcade games from the 80's and 90's.
Week 1 - Afterburner now with tilt controls
Week 2 - Virtua Cop now with pointer controls
Week 3 - Super Hang On now with tilt controls
Week 4 - SEGA Rally
Week 5 -???

Now in HD with online leaderboards.

@GrailUK @Lroy
Till this day the Sega Saturn remains my favourite system. Even though I have just about every worthwhile system you can think of, that one really stands out for me.
I chose the PSone as it came out due to all the misinformation that was doing the rounds.
Not only locally in the shops, but also certain magazines. EGM comes to mind.

When I got my N64 in March of 97, months before it was even released in Belgium for some really dumb reason (was able to get one from a Dutch store in Antwerp since the system did release in the Netherlands), it soon became clear that, while the games were brilliant, there weren't going to be tons and tons of them.
I was becoming more and more disappointed in the course the PSone was taking in the west.
So many dark and drab games in an attempt to go for the cool and mature market, while not getting many games that I really wanted.
While buying The Raiden Project in the local big video game chain, the shopkeeper actually asked me why I was buying that kind of stuff. lol
Goes to show how much the market was changing and how the new breed of games were starting to be pushed.

So I started to do my own research with the help of two of the magazines who's writers I actually trusted (the french Joypad (http://www.abandonware-magazines.org/affiche_mag.php?mag=84&page=1) and CVG under the watchful eye of Paul Davies).
I didn't have access to all the other great UK magazines that I would end up getting to know years down the line.

I was kinda baffled how the people who put these magazines together absolutely loved the Sega Saturn, even though it was being presented as a worthless system with one or two good games in most places.
But I had gotten to known and trust the writers due to reading the mags for a couple of years now, so I started looking up everything I could find about the Saturn.
Making a list and deciding that if I could find 10 games that truly interested me, I would purchase the system.
It didn't take long to get such list, and then some.
So I went looking for a Saturn, which in 1997 was harder said then done around here.
Ended up driving halfway across the country to a small store that had a couple of systems left.
It cost 238 € on Tuesday, May 27, 1997 with Fighters Megamix (that just came out, even though wikipedia says the game released in Europe in June :-/ ), and some soccer game.
But I've never been fond of soccer, or any sports games, unless it's with a twist (like Mario Strikers), so the shopkeeper was kind enough to let me switch the game out for Sega Rally.

It was late in the evening when I got back home, tired as hell from a long day hunting for the system.
Popped in Sega Rally and I was terrible at it. It played more like a pinball game in how the car would bump from one side of the track to the other, than it looked like a racer.
Popped in Fighters Megamix, and since this was my first Virtua Fighter game and I was used to 2D fighters and super easy ones like Tekken and Toshinden, this didn't go well either.
So I went to be thinking I might have made a huge mistake and thrown a bunch of money away.
The next day I woke up and went back to the games. After struggling for another couple of hours, both of them finally started to click with me and Sega Rally 1995 remains my all time favourite racing game.
Still play it nearly every month as well.

Had another revelation once I got NiGHTS into Dreams with the 3D controller.
I think that was the moment where I actually fell completely heads over heels for the system.
And once I was able to start buying import games for it, there was no going back. Got to know the Official Sega Saturn Magazine thanks to my not so local import shop and discovered a whole world of new games I had no idea even existed.
Nothing had ever come close to that again. Only the Dreamcast was the system I felt something similar to, but since it's life was cut so short, it never reached the same heights.

Although I have to say, my Switch is in a similar spot today and I can't believe that after only one year, I'm already over 140 games for it with tons that I want to get.
Never thought a system would grab me like this again, even though I loved my DS and Vita a ton as well.

Guess I should stop typing before I take up a whole page here.

@wasilewski @grailuk @meppi64 I think if I could go outlandish hopes. I wish Capcom and Konami. Two historically supportive Nintendo third party developers and giants of the arcade era would go all out and release their classic games. Could be a collection like NAMCO or one at a time. Hell, if they can't be hands on, do a deal with Hamster to do it for them.

Ditto for SEGA. If any of those three started releasing their arcade back catalogue on Switch and it was announced at this Direct. I don't think that could be beaten for me in terms of getting what I want on Switch.

How about you fellas?

@OorWullie Ha! Ha! You beat me to it. Great minds 👍

@meppi64 My Saturn was stolen from my mates house by some junkie around 9 months after I bought it. I never got to see the best of the console sadly. Thankfully it was not their last or that would have been a double kick to the balls. Caught who did it a couple of days later and let's just say he won't have played any games for a while. Sadly, the console was already long sold.

Now you're talking @OorWullie!

@Lroy I'd love to see old Capcom games from the 90s being released, the 194X shmups would be great, the old Toaplan shmups, CAVE shooters, 8ing / Raizing shooters, something from Data East like Tumblepop, Crude Buster.

Final Fight, Splatterhouse, Sunset Riders, Pang 3 would also be nice....

There's so many!

@wasilewski We got Splatterhouse. It's in the Namco Museum.

@GrailUK

@GrailUK I didn't pick that one up, that's another one to add to my list. There are too many games and I can't keep up with them!

@meppi64 Was just putting my kids to bed and only now reading your Saturn story: would love to hear that first hand over a pint. Inspiring stuff and love to hear these types of personal gaming histories. Been a real pleasure getting to know you and the other chaps here. The Switch's first year has been amazing in this respect. Totally rekindling and motivating me to reconnect with my arcade gaming roots along with like minded folk. 🍻