My picks for this weekend are the charming Neo Geo arcade-game Neo Bomberman, and, after an update that fixed the PlayStation emulator problem that I was having a few weeks ago, Metal Gear Solid (which is long enough that it'll probably be popping up in my posts in these threads for a little while longer).


I always quite liked the silly buzzword-salad that's shown during the Neo Geo boot-sequence.



Neo Bomberman is a beautifully-presented spiritual-successor to the Super Bomberman games on the SNES - specifically, it mixes the look and gameplay of 1 and 2, with the presentation and some gameplay-elements of 3 and 4. I'd call Neo Bomberman more of a Super Bomberman title than Super Bomberman 5, to be honest. It's full of charming little touches, too - there's a lot to look at in the very detailed backgrounds, and if you leave Bomberman standing idle he'll patiently look up at you whilst waiting for your next input, which is a really cute touch. I've played the 1991 and 1992 Bomberman arcade titles over the last couple of weeks (both of which were made under license by Irem, instead of being developed by Hudson Soft themselves like this one was), and though they weren't bad by any means, Neo Bomberman is a massive step up from those! I would highly recommend this one to anyone - it's a great jumping-on point for those new to the series.


An update to the emulators in RetroPie fixed the issue that had prevented me from loading from the memory card in Metal Gear Solid previously, so I've resumed playing now that I know that I don't have to redo a large chunk of the game. I'm really enjoying revisiting this iconic title, and it's nice to do so using a controller that doesn't hurt my hands like the PlayStation controllers do - I'm using an Xbox 360 controller for this, and it's really improved the experience of this game for me! Teenage-Pengling always appreciated how well-researched and well-written this game was, and as an adult I appreciate that all the more - it really is fantastic, and though there are a lot of lengthy cutscenes (something that I usually have no patience for) there's also a lot of good gameplay to go with it.


Last but not least, I finally picked up Vampire Survivors after Liam's recent article about the then-upcoming price-rise, and have absolutely fallen in love with it. It very much overlaps with the tactics that a Bomberman fan like myself is accustomed to using (in all honesty, I think that I might be in heaven if Konami were to release a "Bomberman Survivors" ), and for £2.09 it's proven to be a very good buy indeed! It runs great on all of my hardware, including the Celeron N4120-based GPD MicroPC palmtop (it's near-perfect as-is there, and completely perfect if you turn the experimental lag-fix on), which is always a nice bonus. The screenshot above is from my best run so far, which got frustratingly close to 30 minutes!

Quoting: itscalledrealityThis was inspired by a night I had recently while subletting in my ex-roommate's new apartment basement.

I received a Steam Deck in the last few weeks, but more importantly if you're keen today is Friday. Which means I probably landed a new tenement...and I did!

Congratulations on finally finding a new place, itscalledreality! I'll bet you'll be glad once the moving-in part is over with and you can properly get on with life again! Good luck with the final steps.

Last edited by Pengling on 24 September 2022 at 3:43 am UTC

Yes, congratulations on the new place! Hope you won't have anymore water intrusion.

I have quite a bit this week. My finalized my transition to a new organization and start Monday, so I had the past week off.

I thought I was in the mood for a builder or management Sim, but none seemed appealing to me. I ended up playing Half-life 2. I remember when it came out magazines and websitee were giving it unprecedented perfect scores and I figured I'd finally try it. It still holds up as a great game. Obviously not much story, but everything is very focused and moves you right along through the action. It was a tad short. I started it Monday and beat it Tuesday and I don't feel I missed anything significant.

For the rest of the week and weekend I'm playing Metro 2033 redux (WINE/Proton). I really liked STALKER and this has very similar vibes. They even reference it in the game! I'll admit I was a bit conflicted about the game. It doesn't do a very good job explaining the interface/mechanics, which was frustrating. After googling some basics, like how to recharge my flashlight, what the watch does, how the map works, etc etc, I've discovered it's really a fun game.

G'Day everyone....... Its a very average Saturday here....... The week has again been mostly wet and cold with only 1 good day to get things done....... Have not been able to do much again......... Im getting sick of this weather.......

Maggie has been upset that she hasnt been able to go on walks...... So upset that she stole my computer....... And started playing Postal 4 on it....... She was caught red pawed!!!!

Took me three days to get the hair out of the keyboard!!!!

I did get the work done to my car and its all back together...... I took it for a drive earlier after squeezing Maggie into the backseat......... Its all working perfectly again...... Which is great to see......

Also as always I have been pounding the treadmill everyday...... If I keep going the way im going you guys wont recognise me soon.......

Well week three of the NRL Finals started last night and my Parramatta Eels beat the North Queensland Cowboys 24-20 to book their place in the NRL Grand Final next Sunday Night...... They will play the winner of the match night between the Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs......... Its Parramattas first Grand Final apperance since 2009 when they were beaten by the Salary Cap Cheating Melbourne Storm...... And no thats not sour eggs........ Melbourne had the 2009 and 2007 Premiership stripped from them for breaking the salary cap so knowlingly and so systematically From 2006 to 2010.......

In the NFL the Denver Broncos had a close win over the Houston Texans 16-9........ Next up is a prime time Sunday Night game against the San Francisco 49ers......... The Broncos will have to play better........ Its meant to be raining here Monday morning so I might be able to watch it........

As for gaming..... Well.... There was plenty of that again as always........... Lots of retro games in RetroArch..... I completed.......

Console

Castlevania: Dracula X (1995 Konami) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995 Nintendo) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Operation C (1991 Konami) - Nintendo Game Boy - Run and gun


Arcade

Metal Slug 2 - Super Vehicle-001/II (1998 SNK) - Run and gun - Neo Geo
Ninja Kids (1990 Taito) - Beat 'em up

PENGLINGS JINX!!!!!!!!!!
B.Rap Boys (1992 Kaneko) - Beat 'em up


I also played

NFL Blitz (1998 Midway) - Nintendo 64 - Sports (Football)
Tecmo Super Bowl 2023 (2022 TecmoBowl.org) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Sports (Football)
NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995 Acclaim) - Sega Mega Drive - Sports (Basketball)
Looney Tunes B-Ball (1995 Sunsoft) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Sports (Basketball)

The two best games I played this week were........... Castlevania: Dracula X (1995 Konami)...... Yeah yeah I know..... Another week another Castlevania game in the favourite list....... Its a damn good series thats why........ This is one of the weaker games tho and has some problem...... The final boss is a cheap bastard....... Dracula is to cheap to fix his floor so you have to fight him while standing on pillars while dodging fireballs..... One mistake and you get hit and you jump backwards off the pillar and die........ The health bar is meaningless at this point...... Besides the final boss the game is quite enjoyable....... But not as good as Rondo of Blood......
The other was..................... Ninja Kids (1990 Taito)....... This is a damn fun arcade game........ Really nice cartoonish graphics and decent controls....... Its not super amazing or anything but it is great dumb fun...... and the enemy design is very unique and interesting......... You should deffinently give it a go......

The two worst games I played this week were.......... Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995 Nintendo)......... I hated this game with a passion......... I didnt want to finish but I did for the sole purpose of tearing it to shreads in this post....... Since when did Mario know Yoshi from birth?????.......... Since when did the artists get their kids in to colour the game with their crayolas........ And most importantly....... SINCE WHEN WAS YOSHI A TRASNFORMER?!?!?!?!?!....... Once Yoshi turned into a Helicopter I was done...... The throwing egg gameplay mechanic is "meh" at best...... This game just didnt click with me at all.... was very very dissapointed........
The other one was.................... B.Rap Boys (1992 Kaneko)...... Yes Penglings Jinx........ She jinxed me last week....... And it really did turn into the C.Rap Boys......... Stiff controls......... Uninteresting enemy design....... Horrible "C.Rap" music........ Slow and boring boss fights......... And the kicker....... The final boss you have to beat in a singe life bar...... If you die at all during the final boss figtht....... The fight resets....... and you have to start the fight again........ This will join Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy (1994 SNK) and Contra Force (1992 Konami) on the list of games I will never play again.......

Just want to give a quick shoutout to Looney Tunes B-Ball (1995 Sunsoft)....... Its a licenced game done right........ Its basically Looney Tunes NBA Jam........ Just with more Loony Tunes slap stick....... Pies to the face...... Bugs Bunny dressing up as a sexy woman to distract opponents and so on....... The only negative thing to say about this game is that there is no reason to play it over NBA Jam Tournament Edition....... Unless you really want to drain 3's from downtown with Elmer Fudd....... Still a really good game.......

As for this week........ This week is the end point for many series im playing........... Last stop for Contra will be Contra: Hard Corps (1994 Konami) - Sega Mega Drive - Run and Gun....... The final leg in the Mario marathon will be Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996 Nintendo) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Role Playing Game......... And the final stake through the heart of Castlevania will be Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997 Konami) - Sony PlayStation - Platformer.........

As for the arcades...... There will be some more Metal Slug mayhem with Metal Slug 3 (2000 SNK) - Run and gun........ I also want to play some WWF Wrestlefest (1991 Technos) - Sports (wrestling)........

There will also more Tecmo Super Bowl 2023 (2022 TecmoBowl.org) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Sports (Football) and NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995 Acclaim) - Sega Mega Drive - Sports (Basketball)........

As for non gaming......... Need to hopfully get out more and walk the Fleabag......... Also need to get out and mow the lawns...... Its like a jungle out there....... I was thinking of getting a hair cut...... But then that costs money and im to lazy...... I will just stick with the Jesus look a but longer........

Quoting: PenglingNeo Bomberman is a massive step up from those! I would highly recommend this one to anyone - it's a great jumping-on point for those new to the series.

Neo Bomberman was my jumping on point and I had great fun with it!

Quoting: PenglingI always quite liked the silly buzzword-salad that's shown during the Neo Geo boot-sequence.

I always liked that too.......... I use the Universe BIOS v4.0 with my Neo Geo roms...... And it has its own splash screen before the Neo Geo boot sequence....... it looks really nice as well.....


Universe BIOS v4.0 Splash Screen


Dont forget the GIGA POWER!

Quoting: itscalledrealityI received a Steam Deck in the last few weeks, but more importantly if you're keen today is Friday. Which means I probably landed a new tenement...and I did!

That is awesome news mate....... Glad it all worked out well for you!!!...... Also glad you are back to take control on this ride....... Writing the date in the American format last weekend made me feel dirty

Untill next time........ Male platypuses have venomous barbed hooks on their rear feet....... If you happen to get speared by one......... You will have to yank it out while suffering a pain so intense...... Not even morphine will dull it..........

Last edited by StoneColdSpider on 24 September 2022 at 5:51 am UTC

Quoting: denyasisI thought I was in the mood for a builder or management Sim, but none seemed appealing to me. I ended up playing Half-life 2. I remember when it came out magazines and websitee were giving it unprecedented perfect scores and I figured I'd finally try it. It still holds up as a great game. Obviously not much story, but everything is very focused and moves you right along through the action. It was a tad short. I started it Monday and beat it Tuesday and I don't feel I missed anything significant.

Man, you're lucky! I can't play the vast majority of first-person games because they make me queasy - the only exception being if they're very abstract, like GoldenEye 007 for the N64, Minecraft/Minetest, or Bendy and the Ink Machine. I tried to watch a YouTube video of the original Doom a few days ago to see if it would be worth the £3.99 on Steam, thinking that surely a 30-year-old game without modern realistic movements would be abstract enough, and I ended up violently sick!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderAlso as always I have been pounding the treadmill everyday...... If I keep going the way im going you guys wont recognise me soon.......

You'll have to change your avatar to this one.


(Source

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderPENGLINGS JINX!!!!!!!!!!
B.Rap Boys (1992 Kaneko) - Beat 'em up

Hehehehehehehe, I told you that it was likely to end up as "C.Rap Boys"!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderJust want to give a quick shoutout to Looney Tunes B-Ball (1995 Sunsoft)....... Its a licenced game done right........ Its basically Looney Tunes NBA Jam........ Just with more Loony Tunes slap stick....... Pies to the face...... Bugs Bunny dressing up as a sexy woman to distract opponents and so on....... The only negative thing to say about this game is that there is no reason to play it over NBA Jam Tournament Edition....... Unless you really want to drain 3's from downtown with Elmer Fudd....... Still a really good game.......

And this pre-dated those Space Jam movies, too! I wonder if that's where this very weird idea came from?

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderNeo Bomberman was my jumping on point and I had great fun with it!

You picked a great one to start off with.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderUntill next time........ Male platypuses have venomous barbed hooks on their rear feet....... If you happen to get speared by one......... You will have to yank it out while suffering a pain so intense...... Not even morphine will dull it..........

Oh yikes! It just goes to show that you can't always trust something just because it's cute and cuddly!

Last edited by Pengling on 24 September 2022 at 6:15 am UTC