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Post by toei on Apr 6, 2021 16:22:15 GMT -5
Wii is definitely on the list, but I was wondering about the systems that literally used light guns in the Zapper/Light Phaser/Justifier/GunCon style. Basically, ones that required a CRT to play. That's a tough one because it's a genre that really thrived in the arcades. The 8 and 16-bit systems were too far behind technologically to have very good ports (when ports were even attempted), and while some of their originals were decent, they weren't on the same level as the best arcade games of the day. And then with the 32-bit generation, one of the issues was that the two biggest companies behind the 3d light gun games of the era were Sega and Namco, so the games are split between the PSX (which has Time Crisis and a few more) and the Saturn (which has Virtua Cop 1 & 2, The House of the Dead, and a few more). Then the genre kind of went dormant on consoles (apart from the Wii) when CRTs were phased out. The PS2 might be it, but even then, looking at lists of games on gamefaqs, there's no console that clearly dominated the field the way it happened with some other genres. The real answer is "the arcades".
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Post by Ex on Apr 6, 2021 22:09:38 GMT -5
Project: Horned Owl is a PlayStation light gun shooter, developed by Alfa System and published by SCEA in 1996. Aside from supporting the Konami light gun, this game also supports the gamepad, and the PlayStation mouse (which I emulated via DuckStation). Project: Horned Owl is a basic arcade-style rail shooter, with the action taking place in a first-person perspective. The most appealing aspect is the character designs were created by Masamune Shirow (of Ghost in the Shell fame). This is apparent in the anime cutscenes, as well as the mecha theme. Players take on the roles of armored police units fighting against a mechanized terrorist force known as Metalica (seriously). The campaign consists of five long missions, playable single player or co-op two player. The gun mechanics are simple. Primary fire is a single shot, or can be charged for a multi-blast shot. Secondary fire releases a screen clearing grenade attack (of limited quantity). Players fire off-screen to reload. Graphically the stages are polygonal, with enemies being 2D sprites. Bosses are sometimes sprites, and sometimes polygonal.
+Anime cutscenes in the Shirow aesthetic.
+Mechs and mechs and mechs galore.
+Backgrounds have many destructible elements.
+Camera motion simulates being inside a mech well.
+High energy OST.
-Very repetitive enemies.
-No auto-fire mode, your trigger finger will get sore.
-No power-ups to nab while going through stages.
-Difficulty is clearly balanced towards two player co-op.
-The 5 stages are too long, should have been 10 short stages. Do you like Shirow's character art designs? Do you like destroying mechs? Then Project: Horned Owl is worth your time. For anybody else, this is merely a decent robot shooting gallery, with no variation in its aesthetic theme or gameplay, for about an hour. I kinda enjoyed the experience, though I really wished there were power-ups in the stages. On normal difficulty, you do get three continues thankfully, which you'll need in single player. Well I think this would have been a fun two player experience for a Friday night, along with pizza and root beer, then a watch of New Dominion Tank Police or Patlabor. I'm still not sure what the "horned owl" bit was about though.
Ex's time to beat: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ex's rating: 6.5/10
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Post by Sarge on Apr 6, 2021 22:58:56 GMT -5
Tried a little Barker Bill's Trick Shooting. It's a'ight, I guess, but like most of these Zapper games, rather slight on content. You get three gallery shooting games: balloon shooting, saucer shooting, and one where you shoot falling objects while they're not behind glass panes. Missing loses you one of your stock of ten lives, but you occasionally gain 1-Ups as well. The last mode combines all three together, and also has both a mini-game where you shoot coins out of your assistant's hands, and then a slot machine gives you a shot at more extra lives.
Really, what's here I suppose compares favorably enough to Duck Hunt, but that game feels like it has a sort of ineffable quality that goes beyond what it is on paper. This one... well, again, it's fine. I'll give it a 5.5/10. It probably isn't any worse than Freedom Force, which was also highly decent, but that game felt more fun thematically (and scraping out a victory in that one felt good). This is just score-chasing.
Oh, the dog totally has the same laugh as the Duck Hunt one.
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Post by toei on Apr 6, 2021 23:26:00 GMT -5
Ex Project Horned Owl is one of those titles that sound familiar to me without the game being. It's pretty interesting for being a seemingly-decent PS1-exclusive light gunner (most of them being arcade ports). Alfa System was one of those companies that specialized in shmups, which is probably where the charging up shots and screen-clearing grenades come from, but they also made Elemental Gearbolt, which I should probably play. Today I learned that Wild Gunman on the NES is based on 1974 electro-mechanical game by Nintendo. Said game was distributed in North America by... Sega. So Sega worked with Nintendo long before the Game Cube. (There were also a few ports of Sega arcade games on the NES, though, like Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier and Altered Beast). Oh, and did I mention that Sega made an electro-mechanical light gun game named Duck Hunt way back in 1969, 15 years before Nintendo?
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Post by Ex on Apr 6, 2021 23:29:48 GMT -5
Elemental Gearbolt, which I should probably play It's next on my docket for this theme.
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Post by Ex on Apr 8, 2021 10:34:54 GMT -5
Elemental Gearbolt is a light gun rail shooter for PlayStation, developed by Alfa System, published by Sony in 1997 (Japan), and Working Designs in 1998 (USA). Elemental Gearbolt has a hybrid sci-fi/fantasy theme, with an aesthetic clearly influenced by the artwork of Jean Giraud (particularly Arzach). The interface supports gamepad, light gun, and the PS1 mouse, as well as co-op. The (somewhat inscrutable) plot is told via well produced anime cutscenes, with animation by Madhouse and direction by Rintaro. The combat system is a bit unique, in that it incorporates multiple firing modes, a combo system, and an experience system. The experience system basically takes points earned during levels, and allows the player to allocate those points to either a higher score, or towards leveling up the damage their attacks do.
+Unique somber atmosphere (for the genre).
+Strong orchestral OST. +Excellent animated cutscenes.
+The rail camera is certainly inspired. +There are health restoratives in the levels.
-Working Designs completely screwed up the difficulty in the English version.
-The target balance is clearly biased towards two-player co-op.
-I wish there was an auto-fire power-up that persisted.
-So much stuff is locked behind multiple game completions.
-No idea what the plot was really about.
I believe the Japanese original version of Elemental Gearbolt is above average for this genre. Unfortunately, if you want to play this game in English, you're stuck with Working Design's butchered up localization. That means you must suffer a difficulty that has been artificially inflated far beyond what Alfa Systems originally intended. (Honestly Vic was more concerned with trinkets than proper game balance.) Thankfully Wrecking Designs did not screw up the actual translation, as that aspect seemed well done. Even the English dub for the cutscenes is bearable. I would strongly recommend playing this game in co-op, it'll make beating it more possible and enjoyable. Or just play the original Japanese version for single player. Difficulty issues aside, Elemental Gearbolt is definitely a unique experience. Its atmosphere is most similar to Panzer Dragoon, so if you're a fan of those games, check this one out. The OST is very enjoyable as well, and the anime cutscenes are excellent.
Ex's final successful run: 45 minutes Ex's rating: 7/10
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Post by Sarge on Apr 12, 2021 22:05:41 GMT -5
Hogan's Alley is a'ight for what it is.
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Post by Ex on Apr 12, 2021 23:32:46 GMT -5
Hogan's Alley is a'ight for what it is. Your shortest review ever. - There's still more games I'd like to sample and possibly beat for this theme. Depends on how my free time during the days go the rest of this month. I usually play Club Retro stuff on downtime with my dayjob.
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Post by Sarge on Apr 13, 2021 22:58:03 GMT -5
Hahaha! Yeah, it was short - didn't feel like writing much at the time, but didn't want to forget recording it, either. Still, much like the other Zapper games I've played, this is really just a simple gallery shooter. There are three modes: - A three-target mode where you have to shoot the baddies and not shoot the good guys. - A segmented-scrolling area where you shoot baddies in windows and whatnot while also not shooting the good guys. - A game where you keep cans in the air and try to get them into prime scoring position on the left side of the screen (there's a 5000-point bin you want, but it's riskier). One thing I absolutely learned, though, is that the civvies better watch out when I'm around. I definitely shot quite a few. Whoops. I think I decided to give it a 5.5/10. It's just too slight, even if it does have a lot of charm. Not nearly as much charm as Duck Hunt, though.
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Post by Ex on Apr 14, 2021 10:29:05 GMT -5
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