Wacky gaming ads, where art thou?

[Anonymous]

Segata Sanshiro does Japan (http://www.sega-saturn.com/news/021502.html)

God, I miss those golden days of creative marketing campaigns...
Who could forget the likes of Segata Sanshiro, "Sega scream" or "now, you're playing with power"...heck, even some of the early PSX stuff was delightfully kooky and zany (sometimes, both at the same time).
Things were really looking great until Sony came and ruin everything with their precious artsy-fartsy nonsense. Damn you David Lynch and your clear lack of artistic integrity!

Now, we got a bunch of silly people parading in gigantic glass cubes and all those pompous and completely uncomprehensible 'the third place!' ads.

You know, there are few things in this world that can compare to
a 190 pound Judo warrior who goes around assaulting children (especially in disco clubs) and generally speaking, beating the crap out of everyone.
Segata Sanshiro, here's to you!

[Dave Long]

Try this link... http://www.sega-saturn.com/news/021502.htm

[Enkidu]

I was a fan of the Diablo II television ads. Flipping channels to see the barbarian trimming a hedge was one of the more surreal moments of that season.

[GMicek]

Segata Sanshiro does Japan (http://www.sega-saturn.com/news/021502.html)

You know, there are few things in this world that can compare to
a 190 pound Judo warrior who goes around assaulting children (especially in disco clubs) and generally speaking, beating the crap out of everyone.
Segata Sanshiro, here's to you!

I love those ads. Sega's Japanese website had all the ads available online (there were a lot, some of them very bad), but i can't find them there anymore.

That reminds me. I have Segatas Saturn game but have never played it. I'm too lazy to mod my Saturn just to check it out. Anyone ever get a chance to spend some time with it? I'm curious how it is.

[Dave Long]

You don't need to mod your Saturn. Order a Pro Action Replay 4 in 1 cart from somewhere like Buyrite Games and you're playing all the Saturn imports. Saturn was the most import friendly of the consoles in the 32-bit generation through to today.

http://www.buyrite.net

--Dave

[GMicek]

[quote="Dave Long"]You don't need to mod your Saturn. Order a Pro Action Replay 4 in 1 cart from somewhere like Buyrite Games and you're playing all the Saturn imports. Saturn was the most import friendly of the consoles in the 32-bit generation through to today.

http://www.buyrite.net

Thanks Dave. I couldn't find it on Buyrite, but Lik-Sang has it. Buyrite is definately worth checking out some more though, they've got a good number of old games. Too bad they charge an arm and a leg, but that's all good i guess.

Thanks again!

[Alan Au]

Ack! I still have the SEGA scream burned into my unconscious.

- Alan

[Anonymous]

Ack! I still have the SEGA scream burned into my unconscious.

I found an old Sonic doll in a thrift store...you squeeze his stomach and he yells "SEGA!". So I brought him home, gutted him, removed the "SEGA!" noisemaker and re-implanted it in a harmless-looking stuffed wombat. It's quite surreal when someone picks up the wombat and it yells "SEGA!" This especially annoys our friends who have worked with Sega. :twisted:

[Sparky]

Uh, that was me, forgot to login. Really, who ELSE would own a stuffed wombat?

[Dave Long]

Sorry...should have linked directly. This will work...

http://www.buyritegames.com/product_information.asp?number=SS-5IN1CON&back=yes&dept=1079&last=1084

You want to make sure you buy a 4 in 1 or 5 in 1 since they have the extra RAM for games that needed it from Japan. Any of the SNK fighters needed 1 MB and the Capcom games used 4 MB. That's included in these carts along with the conversion from Japanese to English territory and often the ability to use it like a Pro Action Replay (codes to cheat).

Some of Saturn's best games never made it over here including Radiant Silvergun (best scrolling shooter ever made... Treasure!), Cotton 2, Silhouette Mirage (Treasure!), Darkstalkers 3, X-Men vs. Street Fighter (The PSOne version is a travesty), Marvel Super Heroes, all the SNK stuff... etc., etc. It's an importer's dream (or nightmare if you don't have a lot of dough like me back then).

I've told my wife I want only one thing for Christmas, a copy of Radiant Silvergun in Mint condition. Hopefully she'll get it and not have to pay more than $150 for it...but I doubt it. :?

--Dave

[Enkidu]

Uh, that was me, forgot to login. Really, who ELSE would own a stuffed wombat?

Actually, I own a stuffed wombat, too. Even so, the stuffed lemur with baby lemur is cooler.

[GMicek]

Sorry...should have linked directly. This will work...

http://www.buyritegames.com/product_information.asp?number=SS-5IN1CON&back=yes&dept=1079&last=1084

You want to make sure you buy a 4 in 1 or 5 in 1 since they have the extra RAM for games that needed it from Japan. Any of the SNK fighters needed 1 MB and the Capcom games used 4 MB. That's included in these carts along with the conversion from Japanese to English territory and often the ability to use it like a Pro Action Replay (codes to cheat).
--Dave

Ahh, thankyou kindly for the link! I just put my order through, and now feel dirty for paying $8.95 for standard shipping. I'll check out some of those other games. I'm also looking to get Burning Rangers. I've always heard it's a classic, and am really looking forward to finding it. English version is fine isnt it?

[Jason Cross]

Ah damnit Andy! Now I have that song going through my head.

Segata Sanshiro! Segata Sanshiro!

I'll never forget the first time I saw those. Segata Sanshiro is the MAN.

[Dave Long]

Burning Rangers is a classic and another of Sega's properties that should get a sequel but probably won't. Love it or hate it, that's one of the things about Sega that's cool. They do these sensational games and leave them as one offs that end up having a lot of value down the road.

You can get Burning Rangers US on Ebay for about $50 or you can sometimes find them at a couple of online retailers like Buyrite or Video Game Depot (http://www.videogamedepot.com/shop/index.asp?bhcp=1).

BTW, for Dreamcast fans, I'm almost tempted to start a new thread. IKARUGA IS COMING TO THE DREAMCAST! (http://dreamcast.ign.com/articles/363/363511p1.html) Treasure's arcade shooter on the Naomi (Dreamcast) hardware is being ported and will hit September 5.

From the article...

So why Dreamcast? Why now? Japan's multiplatform Dorimaga publication, formerly the Dreamcast-only Dreamcast Magazine, asked Treasure's Masato Maegawa (known in some circles as the company's President, in other circles as God) that very question. "Saying that 'Because it's on Naomi it will also be on Dreamcast' is something that's so easily understood that I'd be lying if I said it wasn't part of my thinking," said Maegawa. "However, we made Ikaruga for the arcades, so we wanted it to first have a life there. If it wasn't a success, a home version would not be possible. It's easy for users to think of Naomi and DC as a set, but we greatly dislike the idea of the arcade version of a game being just a demo test for the home version."

It's so easy to be a fan of Treasure. Their games don't make exhorbitant amounts of money, but they always contain a ton of wonderful ideas and expand on genres so few developers care about anymore. A great scrolling space shooter can rival any epic adventure IMO. I just wish we'd see a few more of them. Needless to say, Importing is required for Ikaruga, but at $60, it will be well worth it. This game has gotten great reviews. It uses a super cool black and white system of firing where each color damages enemies of the opposite color, in a nutshell anyway.

I cannot wait!

BTW. this probably one of two times rekindling of the IGNDC website brings back some great memories of excellent games coverage. Of all the IGN sites, IGNDC was always the best. They were real fans of the games and the system and weren't afraid to stick it to the bad games and really have fun with the big ones. I miss Anoop and friends... This article is indicative of the fun work they always produced.

--Dave

[Dave Long]

Here's a brief gameplay description from a locked IGN Insider article. If you have access... click here (http://insider.ign.com/articles/305/305925p1.html) for the rest.

"You can probably figure out the rest of this, but we'll help you out just in case. If your ship is in dark form and gets hit by light colored bullets, you loose a life; likewise for when your ship is in light form and gets hit by dark colored bullets. You can get hit by bullets and lasers of the same color to no end though, and doing so charges up your super power meter which enables you to unleash a super powerful screen destroying bomb. You can fire at enemies of the same color or different color, although an enemy's energy meter drains faster if you attack while in the opposite mode."

So simple and yet so cool.

--Dave

[Matthew Beaver]

I'm really excited about Ikaruga too. Have you ever seen a movie of it in action? I've never played it, but my eyes glaze over and I go into that shooter trance just watching somebody else play. The whole bullet immunity twist (nearly all Treasure games have some sort of interesting wrinkle on standard gameplay types) looks like it will add a really interesting dynamic, as the movies I've seen make dodging all the bullets look impossible. So the trick is to have your ship in the right form for whatever wave of bullets is being shot at you, with some rapid changing necessary when the bullets get mixed. The movies I've seen are here: http://symphony.gamersgraveyard.com/main/features/7F/ikaruga/

I was really crestfallen when May came and went with no confirmation of Ikaruga's status, but it looks like it's going to happen now. Hell, I'm gonna have to dig out my Saturn and have another go at Radiant Silvergun to get my shooter chops back.

-Matthew

[Dave Long]

Yeah, I've watched the movies. They have a bunch of them at IGN including most of the first level I think. It sure does look like a strategic shooter which are almost always the best type. It's Treasure, so I'll get it for sure even if it's only mediocre, but it looks far better than that.

Maybe I didn't mention it before for the uninitiated but Treasure made a game (http://ps2.ign.com/articles/166/166162p1.html) where you can grab huge boobs and pull 'em. It's so frickin' wacky, it's cool!

$60 as an import is reasonable too since it'll probably go for far more than that in a few years if you're willing to sell. Personally, I can't wait to play it... but I think I said that already. :)

--Dave

[Andy A.]

So, what's all this Ikaruga brouhaha about, anyway?
Sure, it looks mighty purty and all, but it's still just a plain ol' vertical shooter - a genre I though deservedly died back in the Amiga days (Galaga, anyone?)
I might be missing a bigger picture here, but it looks like nuthin' but a retro thang.

It's like going ga-ga over a new, souped up version of Tetris.

[Dave Long]

If it has to be explained to you, you're clearly not someone who would enjoy the game, so why bother posting?

Great shooters are great games just like any other genre you "though deservedly died back in the Amiga days (Galaga, anyone?)". Popularity of a genre has nothing to do with enjoyment of a game.

--Dave

[Andy A.]

If it has to be explained to you, you're clearly not someone who would enjoy the game, so why bother posting?

Hey, I meant that in a totally non-threatening way!

Great shooters are great games just like any other genre you "though deservedly died back in the Amiga days (Galaga, anyone?)".

Survival of the fittest and all. They "died out" because they didn't adapt to the demands of public. People probably got bored with them and were expecting bigger and flashier things from their games.
There's only so much vertical shooting one can take in a lifetime.

Popularity of a genre has nothing to do with enjoyment of a game.?

I'm not saying that popularity of a genre has anything to do with quality - I was merely asking what's with the all hoopla over something that undoubtedly belongs to a niche genre.

[Dave Long]

Sorry...the post seemed pretty inflammatory.

Anyway, this is a big deal. Treasure, the developers, as I've noted above are well known for making the greatest shooter ever called Radiant Silvergun on Sega Saturn. This is a spiritual sequel to that game. It features an innovative attack and "defend" system and isn't just dressed up Galaga. That is unless you're someone that doesn't like the genre.

Shooters are still great fun and the best examples of the genre have all been created in the last five years or so. Ikaruga coming to Dreamcast is a big deal given that Radiant Silvergun still sells for $200 or more on Ebay owing to how hard it is to get and how high a regard it's held in. I've played Radiant Silvergun and it's worth every penny. So I'm excited to grab Ikaruga for $60 to avoid the likely super high prices it'll garner down the road.

As for adapting to the public, I'm pretty tired of games and genres trying to do just that. I'd much rather see developers push the boundaries of these so-called "dead" genres as much as I like seeing them create new genres at the same time. Given Treasure's history of classic game styles mated with totally new ideas, they're one of my favorite companies.

--Dave

[Matthew Beaver]

I'm not saying that popularity of a genre has anything to do with quality - I was merely asking what's with the all hoopla over something that undoubtedly belongs to a niche genre.

"All the hoopla?" Two people on a board with 150 members devoting a couple of paragraphs talking about a game they're looking forward to - it's a madhouse. Shut us up before we destroy the progress of the industry.

-Matthew

[TomChick]

Two people on a board with 150 members devoting a couple of paragraphs talking about a game they're looking forward to - it's a madhouse.

Yeah, but they were pretty enthusiastic. I was wondering what the deal was myself, so I d/led the movies, watched them, shrugged to myself and wrote it off to another one of Dave Long's odd quirks of nostalgia.

I don't get the whole side-scrolling shooter thing either. Sure, it's a way to zone out, but so is channel surfing with digital cable.

-Tom

[Matthew Beaver]

I apologize for the enthusiasm. I'll save all my enthusiasm for contrarian endeavors from now on.

All kidding aside - I like shooters. We get maybe one or two a year these days (almost always on import), most of which wouldn't be noteworthy, were it not for the dearth of contemporary options. Based on the pedigree and movies, I think Ikaruga might be the real deal for fans of this variety of shooter. I don't much care for standard real-time strategy, but I don't begrudge anyone their enthusiasm for "Drag Select 2002 - The Reckoning."

I don't get the whole side-scrolling shooter thing either. Sure, it's a way to zone out, but so is channel surfing with digital cable.


Most action-oriented game genres can be reduced to this, if you feel like it. Fair enough, but I don't agree.

-Matthew

[Dave Long]

Shooters are so much more than zoning out when they're made well. Pick up Mars Matrix for the Dreamcast cheap and you'll see. When you open up the strategy (by earning points in the single player game), you'll see just how incredibly skilled you have to be to "ace" a level. I was completely blown away by some of those play throughs.

The genre has come a long way. Nowadays you do more than just shoot. Mars Matrix, a great example of all that's good about shooters, has a lot of great graphics, excellent sound and gameplay to match. Rather than just shoot, you've got to sometimes absorb the bullets and fire them back at the enemies. It's a strategic exercise coupled with your reflexes.

I don't use them to zone out. If I want to do that I play slower paced stuff that doesn't require my reflexes or making me think too much. Most good shooters are far better than that.

I also fully believe that you must play the great shooters to understand this. You can't just look at a movie or watch someone else. You have to live it.

--Dave