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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Game of the Month: July 2025 - Shapeshifter
« Last post by Necromancer on August 06, 2025, 12:24:16 AM »
I failed again to beat this one.  It's never been an easy game, but holy fork did I struggle this time.  Will the 1cc be forever out of reach?!?

Probably.... but I still like how this game plays (a bit clunky) and looks good.
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Game of the Month: August 2025 - Kiaidan 00
« Last post by geise on August 05, 2025, 10:15:23 PM »
Yeah, Geppy X is also pretty good on ps1.
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Game of the Month: August 2025 - Kiaidan 00
« Last post by Naniyue on August 05, 2025, 09:40:33 PM »
If you like 70's giant robot anime, Kiaidan (PCE SCD) and Geppy X (PSX) are the games to get!
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Game of the Month: August 2025 - Kiaidan 00
« Last post by geise on August 05, 2025, 09:26:35 PM »
Kiaidan 00

Here is a Hori shooter I've had for a while but never finished. No idea why. It's a good shoot me up. I love Riot and Alpha Systems. Plus, it's published by Telenet. This game definitely pays homage to the classic Toei series like Mazinger Z and Grandizer. I believe there's around 7 stages.. Youight against armies of flying insectoid enemies and other space ships and humanoid robots. The robot you pilot can use different sort of weaponry, from standard blue spreading bullets, to green laser waves and even a sort of 'yoyo' attack. Stages have a standard structure with quite big end of level bosses. Your main weapon can also be charged and trigger a powerful and destructive attack. The game has nice graphics, decent music, and a good amount of cut scenes. Hope you all enjoy!
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Naniyue's Return to Turboland
« Last post by Naniyue on August 04, 2025, 01:07:36 AM »
Shooter Interlude - Toy Shop Boys

The toys gone awry theme is kind of fun, but again, it's just too difficult for me.  At best I can make it to stage 3.  I like the music of stage 2.  It sounds pleasant, but don't let that fool you into thinking the game is easy!

Stage 2 starts at roughly 4:50.





!!!! CONTEST QUESTION 3 !!!!

The Cutting Room Floor lists only one cameo in Exile, but I know of two others!  Name all three.
Hint:  They're only portraits with no onscreen characters.


****************************

"This is NNN (Neo Nectaris News)  bringing you a live report.  It seems that the Union army has once again beaten back the Guicy, moving on to Stage 16.  While Union tactics have been good, it is disconcerting how long it takes for them to finish a mission.  Should we continue to trust those currently in command, or should we get someone who can speed their way to victory?"

I think the redness of Mars compliments the colors of the units in battle more so than the light beige color of the moon stages.

"This is NNN with an important announcement!  A gigantic bio-mechanical monstrosity has been seen on the battlefield of Saffah!  The gargantuan beast has been eliminated, but how much of it was luck versus actual strategy?  Stay tuned for further reports!"

It's funny how the monitors in factory view look like CRTs, when odds are, by the time Neo Nectaris takes place, they'd likely have better viewing technology.

I'm on the last stage!  Well, of the normal campaign anyway.  I don't remember ever playing the advanced one.  I think I was worn out by then, like I am now.  I have played a LOT better this time, though!

The last stage is a PUZZLE!!!  Soooo many monsters!  Will have to try again tomorrow!


!!!! OMEDETOU !!!!

FINALLY!  I must have started the last level twenty times!  FINALLY got it right!  Talk about cat and mouse!  I don't think I'm ever going to play that level again without cheating!
Decent enough ending.   Definitely a sequel that outdoes the original in EVERY way!  PLAY IT!!!!!



My favorite music tracks are at:

9:37
16:50
21:40
31:55
35:20

**************************************************

Tengai Makyou I (PCE(S)CD), part III - Defeated the first of the 13 cultists!  My strategy actually worked: RUN from enemies to save your strength for the boss!  Problem is, in most JRPGs I've ever played, running is, more often than not, PUNISHED!  And yet, here I can, at least so far.

Got Tsunade and let her get killed, since I was in a lazy rush, yet Ziria survived and won the battle.  Apparently having any fallen party member means loss of money.  As long as we ultimately win the battle, I won't care too much.

***************************************************

Shooter Interlude: Kiaidan 00

I might as well play this one again, since it's game of the month.
If you like 1970's giant robot anime, you'll feel right at home with this one!
"Rocket punch!" . . . uhh. . I mean . . . "Kiai smash!"

Alas, I am terrible at this one too, even with a shield gauge!


Stage 1:

The jets kind of look like F4 Phantoms, and can even be spared destruction if you keep the enemies off of them!
I like how the gerwalk-ish robots come in from the background.
Had to use a cheap tactic to beat the boss!

Stage 2:

Already palette swapped enemies.  Yeah, I know, memory and all that.
Interesting backgrounds!
Again, Gravity Form!!

Stage 3:

Classic cloud stage!
The green orbs barely give any shield energy back!  Talk about STINGY!!!!
The small pterodactyls remind me of Laserbeak from Transformers.
I can manage the first two stages with practice, but this one?  Sheesh!
"Breast Fire!"  Uhh ... I mean ... "Burning Wave!"

Stage 4:

"Fighting in a winter wonderland!"
Giant, robotic dust mites!  Oh my!
In Japanese video games, there seem to be a lot of enemies that are, or are inspired by, red and blue oni, or even acala/fudou:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oni
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acala

Stage 5:
How can you NOT get hit?!
Nice bio midboss!
Why do so many shooters make you go too fast?!

Stage 6:
MAN!  The bosses!

Stage 7:
FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE!!!  How do you guys and gals manage to legitimately beat these games?!  My GOD!

Conclusion:
Nice homage to Mazinger and the like, but the gameplay is TFD!  Not so much the stages themselves, but the bosses!  I'll never beat this one fair and square!


TFD = TOO FREAKING DIFFICULT!


****************************

Requests, anyone?

Is there a particular game you would like me to (re)try, cheat, not cheat, get insanely frustrated with, or have a pleasant time playing?

Coming soon:  Ys I & II!!!!!
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Naniyue's Return to Turboland
« Last post by Naniyue on August 01, 2025, 08:45:29 PM »
When I first played the original, I made it to map 4.  Much later, when I borrowed it from a friend, I accidentally discovered the surround tactic.  THAT changed everything! You gain bonuses to atk/def depending on friendly units next to you, and if you can attack from around the back, this greatly hinders maneuverability in the fight, and therefore there is a HUGE reduction in enemy def.  Terrain counts as well, of course.  And luck.  And hopefully, the CPU won't cheat, leaving just one unit of an enemy left that stays in your way at just the wrong time.

Sometimes, your very first moves count.  I was just playing stage 9, and only two turns in I knew I had lost.

I can do turn-based.  It's real time strategy that I'm terrible at!  I just CANNOT keep all that stuff in my head, looking at one end of the map while something else is happening on the other side, and I just can't split my attention because there's not enough time!


  In Military Madness, tension is part of the appeal!  Did you guess right? Wrong? Played it smart, or just got lucky?  Thought you had lost it all just to turn it around?  Knew it would happen but wish it hadn't, or in the long run glad that it had?  And you sit there, waiting for the units to line up.  Then that cannon takes two seconds too long to fire, leaving you on the edge of your seat for the results.

The western name for the series fits MUCH better!  Kind of like how Resident Evil sounds better than Bio-hazard.

 He he.  Just had my max capability, full rabbit squad ANNIHILATED by a 3-star, full enemy rabbit squad on the same terrain.  Nigh impossible! WHAT a surprise, indeed!

Have you tried Vasteel?  I wasn't as good at that one, strategically, but my arcade skills kept me afloat!

I had forgotten that the game also takes place on Mars.  And now, the fate of humanity is in my hands!  No, no pressure.  No pressure at all . . . .  #-o

Contest question 2:
True or False: Space Fantasy Zone was never officially released.
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Naniyue's Return to Turboland
« Last post by Mathius on August 01, 2025, 07:00:33 PM »
Few games infuriate me more than Military Madness. The game has for the time the best (only?) in-game visual instruction manual on console, yet by map three the computer is so tough I always end up throwing in the towel. I can't imagine how Bucci soldiered through the entire game for his video review. Yet I always come back for more due to the game's thick atmosphere thanks to it's music complimenting its space theme so well.
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Naniyue's Return to Turboland
« Last post by Naniyue on July 30, 2025, 08:50:09 PM »
Thank you for your support!



Back to run and gun games, we have:

Mystic Formula (PCE SCD) -

  An average game.  The graphics are okay, but you've seen better on the same system.  The story is basic, with decent cinematics.  You get to choose between four characters, each with different weaponry that can be powered up.  Similar to The Legendary Axe, you can wait for your shots to charge up, or go in blazing with constant but weaker ones.  Scrolling is a bit off, but you get used to it.  At least on easy difficulty, you can bum rush your way through most stages, but one hit deaths and start-of-stage continues keep the game from being a complete cake walk.  The graphics for the final boss do stand out.

  Worth a shot!  Get it?  :icon_cat_derpy:

If you are a viewer of 80's and 90's anime, the more you play these CD games, the more voices you will recognize.  Raiden, the main male character, definitely has a voice I've heard before.  I'm not good with voice actor's names, though.

********************************************

!!! NEO NECTARIS !!!

This game is responsible for me losing two consecutive nights of sleep.  Not from playing it, but waiting for it to come in the mail!  It did NOT disappoint! If you liked Military Madness, then this one is required playing.  A true sequel that outperforms the original.  And it includes the original game!  Of course, the CPU is still a cheating bastard!  Almost every time you desperately need a particular attack to work, AND your stats and position are favorable, you'll STILL miss!

WARNING!  You can only save after completing a mission, so be sure you can devote the time it takes to beat later stages. 

From my blackout/brownout topic:
  "I was playing Neo Nectaris, getting things handed to me the way that game does, when after three long hours of edge of your seat play, the tide had miraculously turned!  BUT, as I was finally close to winning, I had a feeling that the power would go out.  Yup."

NOTES: 
There is a PC DOS Military Madness game with additional maps and even new units!  I've never finished it, though.  I probably should do that . . .



With better 3D graphics nowadays, the PSX version doesn't look as good anymore.  Perfect example of older, less technologically advanced 2D graphics (Turbo) looking better in some ways, especially color, than 3D ones.

***************************************

Peripherals, etc. I (used to) own:

Alas, I sold a couple things when I needed money, or gave stuff away.
For example, I still have the manual for Bomberman '93, but the game is long gone.  I gave it to a friend a quarter century ago!
My multiplayer tap is gone.
My 128k memory base is gone!  But that thing ate through batteries, anyway!  I didn't have an adapter for import hucards, as I was focused on CD games, so the ten no koe bank was impossible for me to use at the time.
I DO still have two 6 button Avenue Pads!!  They save you a couple button presses when playing Emerald Dragon.
At a bookstore, I bought a color illustrated guidebook for the first Record of Lodoss War game that came with the game!  It was a neat little package that only cost me about 1,000 Yen, or about $10!  After beating the game, I gave it to the same person that has Bomberman '93.
I still have one mailer from Turbozone Direct!  At one time, they had sent me a free copy of that Hudson 1993 music CD, but I have no idea where that went!


********************************************************
  :bonkthis: !!!!! TURBO TRIVIA CONTEST !!!!!  :bonkthis:

Over the course of this thread, I will ask ten questions about the Turbografx/PC Engine.  The first, second, and third people to PM me all ten correct answers will receive a prize!  These are TBD, but will all be Turbo related!  Contest good only in the contiguous 48 states, as I will pay the shipping charges.

Question one:
  In Ys I, which track number on the CD is the music for the abandoned mines?

***************************************************

More Neo Nectaris!

I was originally going to leave things as they were, but I've decided to play through the whole thing again, and tell you how it goes.

First things first, I had forgotten how good the graphics are!  They really went the extra mile, or is that kilometer, since it's made in Japan.  The music is a big upgrade, very military like and appropriate.  That opening title sequence with the moon is still awesome and effective! 
(This clip cuts off the first and last couple seconds of the title for some reason.)



今,     命運    は  あなた の 手 に!
Ima, meiun wa anata no te ni!

Now, our fate is in your hands!

My hands?  We are soooo SCREWED!  :-[


UPDATE:

It took me three tries to beat stage three.  I never said I was good at the game!  Already had one of those BS moments when I should have annihilated the target.  Eventually, I was needlessly attacking a surrounded unit, when I saw the way clear to take the enemy base.  Tsk tsk.  Armchair general my behind!  More like below even private!

Stage 4: I am already getting better at predicting the outcome of battle.  Now, to predict everything else, so I can actually beat the stage!
I like the factory capture sequence of the original better.  The graphic in Neo has a nice anime look, but it's stationary with no special music.
The real skill comes in getting it right the first time!  I'll never be THAT good a player, at least not consistently, but it's still fun!
Got it on the second try.
The map graphic for the Grizzly tank looks to me like there's a large guy's upper torso and arms sticking out of it.
Beat map 5 on the first try!  Yay!  Don't expect THAT to happen often!
And map 6!  BED.  NOW!!!!

Okay, no  more stage by stage!  Just highlights.

First, I had forgotten how many new units there are!
Compared to games of today, there are so few animation frames!  I think that's one of the reasons Prince of Persia stood out in its time.
It's also interesting how much data such a, nowadays, low spec machine as the turbo can handle.  We're looking at multiple units at various coordinates with many different abilities and states of activity and well-being, plus the graphics and sound effects, plus the math played out in an attack, etc. etc.  There's a lot of stuff going on!
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Naniyue's Return to Turboland
« Last post by Mathius on July 30, 2025, 02:39:58 PM »
I've got nothing to add but keep it up please.
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TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion / Re: Naniyue's Return to Turboland
« Last post by Naniyue on July 29, 2025, 11:10:18 PM »
I remember buying these clear colored, medium sized bouncy balls with puyo eyes!  Gave them to one of my sisters a loooonggg time ago!  And a Bomberman B-Daman before they became extra robot-like.

********************************************

Exploring Dungeon Explorer, Part I
 
After about ten years, I've tried playing DE II again over the last few months.  I thought I'd pretend to be new at the game, but ended up dying in places I wouldn't have otherwise, so I lost interest.  But, now that I've started this thread, I figured I'd play through both again. 


Dungeon Explorer (Turbochip) - I first played this one a very, very long time ago, with the latest run no more than seven years ago.

OVERVIEW:
The next step in the evolution of Gauntlet, in my opinion, though the quest mode of Gauntlet IV on the Genesis could be considered such, too.  While not quite an RPG, Dungeon Explorer still has elements of such, with NPC interactions and stat increases. 


Thoughts as I play:

Atlus was involved?!
Why does the opening look so damned ugly?
I chose the fighter.
Dummy me went the wrong way and got killed.  Starting over.
Okay, NOW I'm going south like I'm supposed to!
I prefer the numerical view of my stats, but that's in DE II.
I'm going to use all of my knowledge of the game(s) to get through.
Farming for potions and stat increases is helpful, but beware those will o' the wisps!
Tried almost every class, but died too easily.
The monsters at the bottom of the status bar remind me of the cacodemons from DooM.
I'm back to the fighter, though I will naturally change to the princess once I can.
I tried several times to rescue the princess without dying, and then that damn munchkin right after that got me!  Well, at least I got her password before then!

One day later, after work:

Oohh yeah!  Now THAT'S how I play!  Finally made it back to town with the fighter without dying!  I think my DE skills are back!  I still may die at some point, but I wanted to reach that particular point at least.

To be continued!

EDIT:
I swear that the music of Dungeon 2 takes a tiny bit of inspiration from Earth Wind & Fire's "September".

September:


Dungeon 2:


While we're at it, I might as well show the similarities between "Willy and the Hand Jive" and the music at one of the bars in Shadowrun for the Genesis:


Willy and the Hand Jive:


Shadowrun, Bar 4:


****************************************************

Exploring Dungeon Explorer, Part II

No, I won't be doing this stream of consciousness approach for every game.  It's just a fun little experiment.  Like seeing into the mind of a fellow player.

Changed to the princess. 
Thought I'd double check with the king and also check out the completed dungeons.  I didn't realize the stat increase items would be back, so yay!
Just because I'm using the princess doesn't mean I get to be sloppy!
Took care of the caterkiller again.
The red slimes look like blood cells.
That tiger was a pain, but I got him, barely!
"Witch heads! Witch heads! Roly poly witch heads!"
Damn!  Those purple warriors are TOUGH!  Thank goodness they can't reach me!
Damn those gnome wizards in Cherry Tower!  I had so many on screen at one point that the generators couldn't put out more!  The boss was easy, though.
I've invested too much in hitpoints!  Need more ATK increases!
The sliding tiles are almost more dangerous than the monsters!
Killed Cyclopus!  Took a point in ATK!
Karma Castle's "searchlight" traps are interesting.
Killed Death easily!  Another point to ATK!
Oh, goody!  Rallymaze!  Kinda feels like something from Phantasy Star II.
Monsters have become stingy with potions.
Some of you might be thinking, "Of course it's easy with the princess!"  Too bad!  I'm trying not to die, and her abilities make that more likely.  I have gone through DE II without her before, but it's easier in that one to get more powerups, if memory serves.
Got the dragon!  NEED MORE POTIONS!
286 HP.  How about 386?  486?  Pentium?
Wish I had this as the pack-in turbochip with my duo instead of Ninja Spirit.
The Ratonix Dungeon music is my favorite:

I never could get the hang of analog controls.  Hooray for the d-pad!
Agility at max!  Can't pick up the boots!
With so many generators, I'm afraid of the wisps!  One almost got me a dungeon or two ago!
Another old game that suffers from too much palette swapping.
Wisps out the wazoooo!!!!!
Got the Ora orb!  That imposter king!  Never saw that coming! ;)
Why, that backstabbing Judas! ;)
Oh yeah!  Hardcore style victory!  I could never do that with any other character, though I wouldn't be surprised if some of you have!  I'm just an average player, in comparison.

Conclusion:

Good game!  Well worth playing!  The ending could have been more rewarding, but DE II will take care of all that!  Will explore that one soon!

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