Random crap.
Shimamura has come through again, this time with block cushions. This time I was late, as these were released in September. I learned about these by doing a web search. Like those Sega pillows I bought last year, these are detailed on the underside and since these are block cushions, the sides are detailed too.
Neat stuff.
You may need to click each image to see the images in a larger scale to truly see the effect, since WordPress tends to shrink images to fit.
For scanlines/shaders, you’ve gotta go into RetroPie Setup. From there, Configuration/Tools -> Config Edit -> Config Basic libretro emulator options. Now here you can choose to apply the shader to ALL of the emulators (option 0) or do it for individual emulators. I’m using Final Burn Alpha, so I went to Configure additional options for fba. Option 3 is Video shader enable (3). Click that and enable “True.” Next is Video shader file (4). I chose crt/crt-hyllian.glslp . You can choose it with the glow (crt/crt-hyllian-glow.glslp) to add that aged CRT look. I think there are others that will mimic a curved monitor’s surface. Tinker around and see what you like.
Some of these I do not recognize, but it’s nice to see the F-14 from Afterburner II and the P-38 from 1942 in here! I found this image on Pinterest.
A few weeks ago, a couple of students of mine alerted me to the 100 yen shop Can Do having plenty of neat Pac-Man crap in stock. On my lunch break, I had to go check it out for myself. I scored plenty of neat stuff! This photo is of my loot: clear stickers, zip storage bags, two sizes of masking tape, a keychain, stickers, a trading card, and a memo notepad. Score!
Here’s my Lynx crap. Behold the fancy carry case! I have the type 2 Lynx (the smaller one). I bought a set that came with the console, carry case, screen shield, and several games from an online store called Video Game Liquidators in 1997. Here’s my list of games:
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Chip’s Challenge
Gates of Zendocon
Gauntlet: The Third Encounter
Ishido: The Way of the Stones
Joust
Klax
Qix
Rampart
Roadblasters
Robo Squash
Rygar
Shanghai
S.T.U.N. Runner
Todd’s Adventure in Slime World
Xenophobe
Xybots
Zarlor Mercenary
I had hoped to visit Japan the summer of ’97 with the World Youth Visit Exchange Association (WYVEA), but the trip was cancelled. I had saved up enough money to go, but in the end I couldn’t go. (I went to Japan on my own the following year and made my own arrangements.) So, that summer I bought myself a Lynx and a decent VCR.
After waiting eight years for Ukraine to uphold the Minsk Agreements, after the stand-up comedian-turned-president Zelensky failed to keep his promise to end the genocide, Russia is now having to clean up the Nazi mess that the warmongering Neocons and Obamunists created in Ukraine. Putin is at war with both the Nazis and Biden’s money laundering scheme. Sometimes you cannot have peace unless you destroy the warmongers.
In level 1-3, a secret area shows Snake Plissken from Escape from NY land atop the building on his glider and he hands you his special automatic pistol.
Level 4 is the section that most resembles Blade Runner. The secret area in level 4-4 shows Deckard holding onto the ledge of the building while Batty releases a dove. Cool.
I recently discovered a game publisher called Flynn’s Arcade (awesome name!). Basically, the game is a cross between Dig Dug and Bomberman. You play as a bunny rabbit that poops bombs. And no, I’m not being silly. the game actually says that you poop bombs by pressing the button!
The object of the game is to kill all of the enemies on screen before the timer runs out, and you get bonus points for eating the four carrots on each screen. Press the button to drop a bomb behind you. It’s not like Bomberman where you drop a bomb right where you are, but rather behind your bunny. The delay is very swift, so you must move quickly. You can also dislodge rocks to have them fall on the enemies. Points multiply when you kill more than one enemy.
The emulated CRT scanlines are great in this game. Sometimes these faux retro games go overboard with the scanlines, but they look nice in this game. The game is available for Steam OS, so it runs natively on Linux and Steam Deck. Last year, I discovered Annalynn. Murtop is another such fantastic neo-retro arcade game. Play it or else you suck!
Masaya’s “Assault Suit” series of side-scrolling mecha combat action games is fantastic. My first exposure to the series was Assault Suit Valken, aka “Cybernator” for North America, on the Super Nintendo. I played the crap out of that game, and then I later got Target: Earth for my Genesis. But Valken/Cybernator’s control was fantastic due to the extra buttons of the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo. Playing Target: Earth/Leynos with only 3 buttons, plus the inferior graphics, did not help me to enjoy the game much. I’ve played it again more recently on my Megadrive Mini, and it still just doesn’t play as well as it could, if only there were more buttons. I did, however, play Assault Suits Leynos 2 on the Saturn quite a lot and completed it.
So this is a remake of Leynos on Steam, and it is fantastic. It features Japanese voice acting for when the anime-style characters speak. For some dumb reason, the anime characters were removed for the North American Cybernator port, and I did a review of that game on my old Super Famicom page here. With extra shoulder buttons, this game plays very well. Of course it retains the 2D gameplay, but with updated graphics and beautiful lighting effects.
The game has mixed reviews on Steam, but I suspect that many are from people who are unfamiliar with the original game. I rather enjoyed it, and I waited for it to go on sale before nabbing it. Definitely give it a try if you are a fan of the series.
I like to have this handy in the car, especially on weekends, while my wife Mayu is shopping.
