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NEC PC-Engine/SuperGrafx => PC Engine/SuperGrafx Discussion => Topic started by: SamIAm on April 23, 2012, 10:43:12 PM
Title: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SamIAm on April 23, 2012, 10:43:12 PM
After taking part in a clinical trial (testing new blood-pressure medicine), I got an influx of cash and felt like splurging a bit. I hesitated on a Laseractive system, as much as I'd like to have it, and settled on a Supergrafx. 10,000 yen got me the system, boxed in good condition, as well as Aldynes and Battle Ace as loose Hucards.
I only had experience playing a Duo-RX before, so right away, I enjoyed finally trying a normal PCE controller instead of the six-button pad. I do kind of prefer the 6-button, though. Anyway, the look of the SGX is pretty cool, and I especially like the way that the Hucards are top-loaded and game labels are very nicely presented. That little door on my Duo means that I don't even know what's in there right now.
Aldynes is hard as hell, but fun, and the music is good as expected. Is there an options menu in this game?
I just might pick up Daimakaimura, although I do have the arcade-perfect Saturn port. It's really a question of getting it for the charm.
If you can remember any good SGX topics that are worth reading, whatever else the contents, please let me know!
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: soop on April 23, 2012, 10:51:05 PM
After taking part in a clinical trial (testing new blood-pressure medicine), I got an influx of cash and felt like splurging a bit. I hesitated on a Laseractive system, as much as I'd like to have it, and settled on a Supergrafx. 10,000 yen got me the system, boxed in good condition, as well as Aldynes and Battle Ace as loose Hucards.
I only had experience playing a Duo-RX before, so right away, I enjoyed finally trying a normal PCE controller instead of the six-button pad. I do kind of prefer the 6-button, though. Anyway, the look of the SGX is pretty cool, and I especially like the way that the Hucards are top-loaded and game labels are very nicely presented. That little door on my Duo means that I don't even know what's in there right now.
Aldynes is hard as hell, but fun, and the music is good as expected. Is there an options menu in this game?
I just might pick up Daimakaimura, although I do have the arcade-perfect Saturn port. It's really a question of getting it for the charm.
If you can remember any good SGX topics that are worth reading, whatever else the contents, please let me know!
SUPERGRAFX HI FIVE!!!
Yeah, It's a sweet system man. I'd always wanted one, and it kind of makes me happy just to have it, though I haven't played it in a while.
I have a loose Daimakaimura if you're interested, and I'm looking to replace my Granzort with a boxed version too. Those two are my favorites, though I haven't really given Battle Ace much of a chance.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Tatsujin on April 23, 2012, 10:59:11 PM
Congrats sam :)
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Arkhan on April 24, 2012, 02:12:14 AM
Battle Ace is awesome.
If you like cock-pit view shootygames with an arcade feel to them.
It gets alot of flak, but really the game is pretty friggin cool.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SuperDeadite on April 24, 2012, 03:18:23 AM
the tru SGFX games are daimakaimura, 1941, aldynes and..yeah thats it :)
That's all a growing boy needs.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SamIAm on April 24, 2012, 08:26:07 AM
Prices being what they are, I'll pass on 1941.
Granzort was actually at the place where I bought the system, and I just didn't notice that it was a SGX game. I liked , so I'll go see if I can get it cheap.
Daimakaimura is also probably cheaper to get here due to shipping. Thanks, though, soop. :)
Here's a blog I just found with an interview with an Aldynes developer. http://junkfarm.blog.ocn.ne.jp/ Some tidbits: -There were originally going to be 10 stages instead of 7. The music was probably done for the other 3. -The sound team was pretty disconnected from the project. -The Supergrafx apparently didn't really have its own dev kit, but it was still easier to deal with than the MD and SNES. -He also says that they were expecting 4mb for the rom, but when they got 8, it was a mixed blessing because it gave them freedom and gave them so much work to do. -The project had to be done within a year. -It was made with a PC-98 that had PCE stuff built in.
...and that's about all there is of interest.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Mathius on April 24, 2012, 05:41:45 PM
You simply must get Daimakumura! Having an arcade version on the Saturn will increase your enjoyment because it will give you the opportunity to see just how well the SGX did with its port of the game. :)
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: spenoza on April 24, 2012, 06:45:51 PM
I have mixed feelings about Aldynes. I know almost everyone here loves it to death, but getting stuck with that right-angle weapon for a long time can really suck. When it is useful it's awesome, but otherwise it's no fun. Also, the music is of mixed quality. Some of it is really good, but some is just meh. Further, the behavior of the little option things can be uncooperative at times. The long and short of it is that I don't see much going on that couldn't have been done on a stock PCE.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: soop on April 24, 2012, 10:56:31 PM
I have mixed feelings about Aldynes. I know almost everyone here loves it to death, but getting stuck with that right-angle weapon for a long time can really suck. When it is useful it's awesome, but otherwise it's no fun. Also, the music is of mixed quality. Some of it is really good, but some is just meh. Further, the behavior of the little option things can be uncooperative at times. The long and short of it is that I don't see much going on that couldn't have been done on a stock PCE.
I know, right?! This is the PC Engine, and while you can have some games that are fun if not technically incredible, it's so easy to gloss over something that doesn't stand out.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: ccovell on April 24, 2012, 11:10:59 PM
SamIAm, if you do get GranZort (not the best of games.......) then there are a few cheat codes to increase your enjoyment of it a bit:
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: esteban on April 25, 2012, 12:26:41 AM
Threads like this make me regret selling my SuperGrafx and games. (http://junk.tg-16.com/images/pcgsad.png)
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SamIAm on April 25, 2012, 05:59:35 AM
Aldynes is so hard, it makes me want to barf.
I've been playing for a couple of days, and I just now made it to stage 5 (with help from continues). By then, it gets absurd.
The bit in stage 3 where the red balls are flying out of the background is bullshit. Has anyone actually memorized a pattern to get through that part? If I find out that those are random, I'm giving up.
At least stage 4 had the decency to be fairly easy.
This is 100% a memorization game. There's basically no twitch-reflex action going on - it's all about choreographing a path through the stages. You don't react to the enemies and bullets so much as to your own sense of timing. Granted, manic shooters are the same way once you start aiming for a 1CC and a high score.
I'll keep playing it since I like the washed-out look and the music. For now, though, I think I need to load up Star Parodia or something.
By the way, if anyone has a good rip of the music (not a winamp/HES rip), a share would be most appreciated. :)
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Arkhan on April 25, 2012, 06:06:39 AM
why do you keep posting cheat codes for games , lol. First legion, now this.
cheats are for pussies!
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SamIAm on April 25, 2012, 07:31:57 AM
Turns out the shop didn't have GranZort after all. To bad, because I wouldn't mind an action game like that one. What does it normally go for, anyway?
I just gave Aldynes another go. Made it to the stage 4 boss in one credit. The stage 3 orbs are way easier to deal with if you have supports and hold the fire button to make them circle you.
I'm going to keep going. Also, the stage 4 music is great. :)
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Arkhan on April 25, 2012, 07:37:03 AM
yeah, uncovering the cheats is sweet. Using them, is not :D
For God so hated the gaming world, that he gave his only unwanted son, that whosoever believeth in the HG101 review should not play fairly, but opt to have everlasting lives, infinite power ups, and multiple save states, for deadlines sake.
— John Szczepaniak 3:16
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SamIAm on April 26, 2012, 01:52:45 AM
Speaking of funky writing:
Although the sonics are a little tinty... (http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/7606/aldynesreviewed9op.jpg)
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: soop on April 26, 2012, 02:51:47 AM
Although the sonics are a little tinty... (http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/7606/aldynesreviewed9op.jpg)
I can't believe magazines used to get away with such little work. Much as I hate Edge, thank f*ck they came along.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Arkhan on April 26, 2012, 03:06:12 AM
"Apparently the only way NEC can pump out an awesome shooter is with CD technology" or whatever
Ken, you're a moron.
"the megadrive can emulate the scrolling"
no shit sherlock.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: ccovell on April 26, 2012, 03:42:53 AM
not to mention "bonified".
bonifiedv.pp. fr. bonify: To make sth. into a bone; To cause sth. to become bone-like. (usage note: shows lack of education and/or Illinois upbringing.) OED discourages use.
[-(
They should have fired those guys and given me a job. Yes, in 1991. Even at 13, I would have written circles around those hacks.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Arkhan on April 26, 2012, 03:46:36 AM
yeah, uncovering the cheats is sweet. Using them, is not :D
For God so hated the gaming world, that he gave his only unwanted son, that whosoever believeth in the HG101 review should not play fairly, but opt to have everlasting lives, infinite power ups, and multiple save states, for deadlines sake.
I'm wondering about this myself lol. Maybe he is laying the groundwork for another John Szczepaniak HG101 article.
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on an apparent inside joke with this John Szczepaniak. Is there an opinion of his articles in general, they are not respected or something in particular that he said that you didn't like ?? The context of saying "another John Szczepaniak HG101 article." seems to indicate a form of derision against him, plus your joke, but I'm clueless as to the history of how/why it came to be, that's why I ask... I'm very curious and I'd like some more info on him for reasons I go into below.
See, I only knew him as "Sketcz" before your post, now I know his full name. He's a hack that once wrote a drive-by hit-piece on me on the blog section of HG101. The central premise of his hit-piece was that I was trying to make all of my Ys patches disappear, but in his incompetence, he posted a link to my temporary site right at the beginning! As soon as you would click on my site, the FIRST thing you would see was a Download Panel to your left with mediafire links to ALL existing patches, even a red link to the leaked Felghana patch!! So how do you make such a blatant mistake like that? He did other things too, like taking an Ys IV title screen image and putting the Communist Hammer & Sickle symbol on it, his angle being that he was combating the big, bad, evil capitalist NightWolve and what not, etc.
Like all arrogant hacks, they're above an apology, let alone admitting to any wrongdoing, so I never found out if it was because his browser wasn't working with my site or he was just deliberately lying. So what did I do having been slimed by this guy? I posted a response to his entry, but it was censored. Then I contacted Kurt Kalata who owns/runs HG101 and pointed it all out to him, LOOK, here is a link to my site, there is a Download Panel right friggin' there, what is the basis for this lunatic's central claim ??? Kurt responded by deleting Sketcz/John's ENTIRE hit-piece and made a very mild apology, "I apologize for the post using grossly outdated information...", blah blah, and said he should've "researched things better", but by the end of it, he sorta kinda did try to provide a rationale for what led him to do it... There's more context to it: I had demanded "romhacking hacks.net" stop hosting all of my patches because of their extortion threats and being shitty in general, so I figure that got him going, but the fact that he linked right to my site and couldn't see it for himself with nobody else pointing it out to him, I dunno, it was pure laziness and/or incompetence. Anyhow, I've been working on an article of my own and I actually included a few paragraphs on Mr. Szczepaniak, so I'm gonna be returning the favor soon.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: ProfessorProfessorson on April 26, 2012, 01:57:58 PM
I'm wondering about this myself lol. Maybe he is laying the groundwork for another John Szczepaniak HG101 article.
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on an apparent inside joke with this John Szczepaniak. Is there an opinion of his articles in general, they are not respected or something in particular that he said that you didn't like ?? The context of saying "another John Szczepaniak HG101 article." seems to indicate a form of derision against him, plus your joke, but I'm clueless as to the history of how/why it came to be, that's why I ask... I'm very curious and I'd like some more info on him for reasons I go into below.
See, I only knew him as "Sketcz" before your post, now I know his full name. He's a hack that once wrote a drive-by hit-piece on me on the blog section of HG101. The central premise of his hit-piece was that I was trying to make all of my Ys patches disappear, but in his incompetence, he posted a link to my temporary site right at the beginning! As soon as you would click on my site, the FIRST thing you would see was a Download Panel to your left with mediafire links to ALL existing patches, even a red link to the leaked Felghana patch!! So how do you make such a blatant mistake like that? He did other things too, like taking an Ys IV title screen image and putting the Communist Hammer & Sickle symbol on it, his angle being that he was combating the big, bad, evil capitalist NightWolve and what not, etc.
Like all arrogant hacks, they're above an apology, let alone admitting to any wrongdoing, so I never found out if it was because his browser wasn't working with my site or he was just deliberately lying. So what did I do having been slimed by this guy? I posted a response to his entry, but it was censored. Then I contacted Kurt Kalata who owns/runs HG101 and pointed it all out to him, LOOK, here is a link to my site, there is a Download Panel right friggin' there, what is the basis for this lunatic's central claim ??? Kurt responded by deleting Sketcz/John's ENTIRE hit-piece and made a very mild apology, "I apologize for the post using grossly outdated information...", blah blah, and said he should've "researched things better", but by the end of it, he sorta kinda did try to provide a rationale for what led him to do it... There's more context to it: I had demanded "romhacking hacks.net" stop hosting all of my patches because of their extortion threats and being shitty in general, so I figure that got him going, but the fact that he linked right to my site and couldn't see it for himself with nobody else pointing it out to him, I dunno, it was pure laziness and/or incompetence. Anyhow, I've been working on an article of my own and I actually included a few paragraphs on Mr. Szczepaniak, so I'm gonna be returning the favor soon.
Nothing you've said there surprises me one bit to be honest, as the guy seems to just make crap up to be filler for rushed and poorly researched articles (from what I can tell about his Rayxanber piece, and what others seem to be saying). At any rate, may this thread do you some service then to help repay his favor in kind. Everything you are wanting to know is explained here: http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=11628.0
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: esteban on April 26, 2012, 02:05:28 PM
Aha! Another layer of insanity is peeled away!
(http://junk.tg-16.com/images/pcgs.png)
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: spenoza on April 26, 2012, 02:11:37 PM
Can we get a Like button add-on for the forum? I hate to quote and then type shit when all I really want to do is "like" this ONE POST that is awesome.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SamIAm on April 26, 2012, 08:08:25 PM
I concluded this little spending spree with the purchase of Granzort, Daimakaimura, and Super Star Soldier today. Now I've got all the Supergrafx games I can imagine buying.
Daimakaimura is cool, and Granzort and Battle Ace at least look playable. Aldynes, on the other hand, is going to give me a lot of top-quality gaming time. Overall, I'm glad I went with this instead of the Laseractive.
By the way, I've noticed that a lot of folks seem to like Super Star Soldier even more than Soldier Blade. What do you like about it?
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Necromancer on April 27, 2012, 03:07:38 AM
By the way, I've noticed that a lot of folks seem to like Super Star Soldier even more than Soldier Blade. What do you like about it?
Heresy! Soldier Blade is the best of the soldier series. :mrgreen:
I've only played SSS for about 10 minutes, but so far, I agree.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: soop on April 27, 2012, 03:46:13 AM
Soldier Blade IS the best IMO, but that said, I have a lot of love for Super Star Soldier. Put it this way, if I owned a Turbo Grafx store, I'm sure a demo unit playing SSS would shift a fair few units.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: NightWolve on April 27, 2012, 04:13:38 AM
SSS provided plenty of replay value for my TurboExpress. I was never into the idea of a portable; the TE is the only one I ever bought cause of TTi's $99 sale (and maybe thinking I'd get the TV tuner eventually), but playing SSS once in a blue moon in bed with my TE was enjoyable...well, not as "enjoyable" as say taking a shit in a porta-potty (http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=11636.0) mind you, but yeah! ;) It's a solid, challenging shooter, especially if you enter the code to access the maximum difficulty, and a good deal of its awesomeness in my book stems from the music from stages 2 and 6.
I tried Soldier Blade a couple of years ago with Magic Engine, and I dunno, I didn't form any bond with it; I played it, beat it, and never thought about it again. I recall it was more colorful than SSS, but I don't think it had good music or anything that really stood out which makes a big difference. I own the CD of "Summer Carnival '93 - Nexzr Special" and I think a lot of the fondness of that game comes from the music.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Tatsujin on April 28, 2012, 05:33:38 AM
got the SGFX for 10'000 yens at a Hard Off about two years ago (but had one already back in the 90s which i've sold when moved over). it is in super cibler mintler cond. like its last owner purchased it on release day, opened it once and yeah, just closed it after that forever..lol. only the box has some used marks.
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: Samurai Ghost on April 28, 2012, 05:45:45 PM
Nice collection! Nice 1941. Super nice Darius Alpha!!
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: motdelbourt on April 28, 2012, 07:43:59 PM
Aldynes, more like Awesome-dynes
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SuperDeadite on April 28, 2012, 07:52:02 PM
got the SGFX for 10'000 yens at a Hard Off about two years ago (but had one already back in the 90s which i've sold when moved over). it is in super cibler mintler cond. like its last owner purchased it on release day, opened it once and yeah, just closed it after that forever..lol. only the box has some used marks.
Darius sucks without the glasses :P
Title: Re: Got a Supergrafx!
Post by: SamIAm on April 28, 2012, 11:19:03 PM