Video Game Collecting

Fatal Fury for SEGA Genesis. I love Fatal Fury for a variety of reasons.  Let’s discuss the NEO GEO version first.  The Neo Geo version in my opinion is a ‘perfect game’. By this I mean the programmers got everything right. Some would argue this point, but consider the following: dynamic environments… the backgrounds change their lighting with every round providing the illusion of time passing.  In some cases the weather changes. For example, Tung Fu Rue’s stage has lightning and thunder during Round 1, then it pours rain during Round 2.  The carnival on Raiden’s stage lights up as evening comes.

Next is audience participation. The crowd on the stages cheer and whistle. It sounds authentic- unlike the silent background characters of Street Fighter 2.  The monks clapped in Mortal Kombat, but the whistles and cheers sound like the real deal, as if it was sampled from a real street fight.  Some scenarios will knock you into the crowd which the audience will go crazy and push you back into the street.  I can’t recall any other fighting game that does this.

Let’s move on to the voice overs of the soundtrack.  On Hwa Jai’s and Richard Meyer’s stage the background music has singing, in fact the Richard Meyer’s stage has singing and instruments.  The level (shown below in the SEGA Genesis version) shows the band which of course is present in the Neo Geo version, I swear the music is in perfect timing to the musicians… it might just be a coincidence, but even if its not, its pretty cool.

The backgrounds of Fatal Fury were also cutting edge and very detailed and 19 years later I still notice new things in them. Raiden’s stage in particular has so many little things in it including the Merry-Go-Round, Pirate Ship, Carl’s Jr. Star, Evil Tree, Roller Coaster, and a Ferris Wheel.

Duck King’s stage featured subway cars going by in the distance and a hotdog stand that featured walking hotdogs that remind me of Burger Time.  And this is why Fatal Fury became significant to me… I remember playing Fatal Fury for the first time on a Neo Geo 4 slot MVS at a greasy dive called ‘Circus Burger’ in downtown Las Vegas.  This place was filthy, and attracted plenty of riff-raff.  There were no tables, no chairs, just a four seat bar to order your burger, and the Neo Geo machine.  The machine was loud and experiencing the game with the smell of the dumpy burger joint on Duck King’s stage just seem to fit perfectly with the level design.  To this day when I drive down that particular part of Fremont street, I can’t help think of Fatal Fury.

Anyways, I could go on and on about Fatal Fury, but let’s look at the SEGA Genesis version…

 I bought it complete from the Classic Gaming Expo 2010 in Las Vegas this past weekend and I knew what I was getting into.  I had rented the game many, many, years ago, and I knew it wasn’t an exact port.  But despite that I wanted it still.  There are a handful of differences in this version (to the good) that I could almost say it’s an enhanced version.

Being a port, there were some obvious graphical changes, but some improvements as well.  For example, the women on Richard Meyer’s stage were redrawn and look more proportional compared to the Neo Geo counterpart.  Additional details were included like Billy Kane in the background which is absent from the original version (picture #3).  One of the graphic cuts was the chandalier that Richard Meyers used to hang from and twirl his legs.

At random points in the game you’ll start a fight and suddenly the other selectable players will ‘join in’ and challenge you.  This was absent from the original game, but this actually makes it more fun as you have two additional fights to win in order to complete the game.

The computer AI is more difficult in the SEGA Genesis version.  It almost seems that the programmer has the computer just doing random moves.  The hit detection is slightly different from the Neo Geo version and it requires you to be much closer to the enemy to make contact. 

The bonus stage with the arm wrestler is gone and is replaced with punching tires on Michael Max’s Beach.

The voice of the announcer is different, and no longer will it say “Roooooooooooooooooound ONE!”  Instead all it says is “Fight”.

All in all this is a pretty excellent port.  Its by far not perfect but retains the spirit of Fatal Fury, which compared to other arcade ports (Neo Geo in particular) that goes a long way.

Well with my latest PedroGames.Com spending spree I acquired Fighting Golf.  This was my last hold out for completing the SNK collection on Nintendo NES.  It was the last title for a variety of reason.  1.) I had always anticipated I’d find it cheap in a store. 2.) I always figured I’d get a copy in a lot.  Needless to say things didn’t turn out the way I had thought.

Also, for some reason when I get interested in a game it always seems like the price shoots up.  Fighting Golf is not worth $5 and why I couldn’t find it cheaper locally is beyond me.  There certainly isn’t a short supply of this game.

All of these titles I got from http://www.videogamepriceguides.com except for Baseball Stars, Crystalis and P.O.W.  P.O.W I got from a co-worker and the other two I got from eBay in a sad moment of my life when I felt it necessary to mutilate Nintendo NES cases to put computer mobo’s inside them.  Yes, I know, I’m a sinner.

Incase you’re wondering, or you can’t see in the picture below, the 14 games are: Ikari Warriors 1,2,3, Alpha Mission, Crystalis, Baseball Stars, Touchdown Fever, Little League Baseball, Guerrilla War, Mechanized Attack, P.O.W, Fighting Golf, Iron Tank and Athena.

SNK was heavy on war games and Sports, but not so much on RPGs (thank goodness).  With the exception of Crystalis I believe every one of them was also an Arcade release, if not in North America certainly some place else (TNK III = Iron Tank).

The SNK Nintendo NES legacy was obviously warm up for the NEO GEO, and I’m happy to finally have all 14.  Watch the video below of title screens and some game play footage for all 14 titles (except Baseball Stars which I couldn’t get the damn game to start).  Enjoy.

As mentioned earlier I got a good deal on Mechanized Attack for Nintendo. I found the auction through http://www.videogamepriceguides.com/. It’s not particularly rare but it has seemed to be frequently over priced.

Seeing the title screen is enough to fall in love with this game. I imagine it’s the largest Uzi to be featured in a Nintendo game. The game came out in 1990 so the reference to an Uzi is not surprising. Operation Wolf which clearly inspired this game featured an Uzi. There is something genuinely empowering in holding one.

I only need two more games to finish off the SNK collection for the NES. This evening I submitted a best offer on Mechanized Attack and the seller accepted it. Woohoo! All that’s left is
Touchdown Fever and Little League baseball. I guess good things come to those who wait.

My phone, which I use for most of my blogging needs took a major dump tonight. In addition to hundreds of video game related photos that I lost I also lost hundreds of photos of my son. Unique photos that I’ve not had the opportunity to share.

It also deleted Qik which I use for the occasional streaming video and the Iris browser. Technically they were wiped of the micro sd card and not the phone. But I don’t care, the photos are lost forever.

One more piece of gaming news concerns my http://www.videogamepriceguides.com/ site. It has gotten too time consuming to maintain it’s blog (and this one and the three others I work on) so I’ve decided to fold them together. More details coming soon…

Ikari Warriors is a badass game. A plane goes down in the jungle and suddenly you are in a war zone. You have a supply of ammo and grenades. You can steal a tank. The plot should have been left at that. But nooooo.. Victory Road (Ikari Warriors 2) has some convoluted space theme, where by you start out by killing robot spiders or some garbage. That monstrosity should have ended the franchise. But nooooo! Ikari Warriors 3 comes out which has an awesome opening cut scene with some artistic effects like seeing the reflection of the convoy in the main character’s eyes. By the time the gameplay starts you wonder if the programmers should have focused less on the artistic acheivement and more on the gameplay. Everything starts out with kicks and jumps. Where are the weapons? On site Procurement? That’s over played! This isn’t Metal Gear!

Anyways enough of the rant. Lets focus on the orignal. Have you listened to that music? The NES version isn’t as good as the arcade’s but it gets the job done. And what exactly is the job? Killing. And plenty of it. Put a bullet into the enemy and they’ll dance around like spastics before giving up the ghost. Steal a tank and squish those sons of bitches. War has never been so colorful with a sixteen color palette. SNK did a fantastic job. The arcade game was perfect. The rotary joysticks made the killing easy. The NES version is presented at a lower frame rate. Similar to Ghosts N Goblins. I believe a 3rd party made both of those titles. But it still gets the job done. And remind me again what the job is- oh that’s right: killing!

Iron Tank is underrated. Seriously. As a kid I don’t know how I over looked this title.

My Grandfather served in World War II, in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. He knew plenty about the war, not just about Japan but Europe as well. Like most old people he shared his life stories and from that I learned plenty about the war. Probably more so than other children my age.

The stories inspired my interest in war. I played with army men and tanks and jeeps but on a higher level than other children. Videogames dealing with war always captured my interest. 1942, 1943, Land Sea Air Squad, Ikari Warriors, Commando, Guerrilla War, Sky Shark, the list goes on and on…

Then a few months ago I rediscovered Iron Tank. As a child I know I’d have thoroughly loved this game. A functional tank. Enemies abound. Lush landscape! Awesome music!

As a kid you could find all of my war toys in my mother’s plants. The 3rd Infantry division would secure the Nativity scene under the Christmas tree while the armored divisions rained fire down onto Santa’s Village. The train would help facilitate troop and weapon movement.

Iron Tank reminds me of this. It looks like a toy. Toy tanks toy soldiers and even plastic scenery. Rescue hostages. Communicate on the radio. Win the war!

Iron Tank is fun.

I purchased Athena on eBay today as well. I’ve never played the game really, and it looks kidish.

I have nothing further to comment on this game except to say that it’s one of the ones I needed to finish off the SNK collection. I still need Mechanized Attack, Alpha Mission, Fighting Golf, Touchdown Fever, and Little League Baseball.

Mechanized Attack will be the last of the SNK military games for the NES to acquire. I’m deeply saddened by this event. Fighting Golf, Touch down Fever, and Little League Baseball are all “girl games”. Just kidding. I have some interesting information about Mechanized Attack but will save it for when I purchase the game.

I’m joking, she’s not a hussy.

Ikari Warriors is a badass game. SNK had a habit of releasing badass games in the arcade and translating them to the NES. I should be receiving the Ikari trilogy either tomorrow or the day after. But I’m so hyped up about it I wanted to mention a few things about them.

Look at these mofos. They are ready to rip you a new one. Don’t even dare look at them cock-eyed. 80′s videogames were the best. These guys could have been Spike and Hammer:

That’s right. NOT BILLY AND JIMMY! Their street names are Spike and Hammer. See the resemblence? Nevermind lets move on.

The Ikari Warriors are not limited to killing humans. They don’t even need guns. That guy with the sword is gonna cut one of those aliens sack’s off and feed it to them. They should have just changed them to apes and made this a Planet of the Apes game. Get your hands off me you damn dirty APE! Voice and Morse Code? What the…?

By now the Ikari Warriors are so famous that SNK doesn’t need to hire a professional artist for the box art. The Ikari Warriors are so tough now that they don’t need guns. They’ll just toss you around. Why is the dude in blue standing on the girl’s leg who’s about to give the evil guy a ******? Nevermind. Come up with your own conclusions.

Seriously though, SNK made some really badass games. Despite the weird boxart, you can tell they really cared about their craft. In the coming weeks I’m going to demonstrate exactly what I mean. Gosh, I can’t wait for tomorrow or the next day.

I received a bunch of games this week and I’ll follow up later on this week’s NES collecting progress, but I wanted to point out this awesome gem. P.O.W: Prisoner Of War is a perfect example of how I feel a game should be made. The combat system is fairly simple- simpler then that of Double Dragon but certainly higher then say Kung Fu. I mention this first because it would be my only criticism.

Otherwise lets start with the music. It’s fantastic. It has a hint of urgency that really sets the pace. The next time you are racing home from work because you feel explosive diarhea coming on just think of this game’s music. I promise you’ll make it in time.

Lets talk about items. Beating to death the guards in the barracks and trucks earns you gear. Body Armor: Cool. Brass Knuckles: Instantly turns your enemy into a quadralepligic. Machine Gun: Your mother would be proud.

Graphics? Detailed stages with a layout requires no convincing that this is a prison camp. Parts of the environment scrolls in front of you adding depth that many platformers miss.

That’s all I’ll mention about this game. Its badass. It’s a testament to the spirit of any American Veteran P.O.W. Make sure you play it on Veteran’s day. And be thankful that real life P.O.W.s sacrificed a lot so we can have the freedom to play this gem.