Atari ST A to Z: Double Dragon II – The Revenge

Today’s Atari ST title is a good example of the general standard of arcade conversions during the 16-bit home computer era.

Technos Japan’s Double Dragon II is a classic of the beat ’em up genre with good reason, and the Atari ST port wasn’t awful — compare it to footage of the arcade original and you’ll see that graphically, at least, it’s surprisingly close.

Like many arcade conversions of the era, though, it was missing a few features… like the background music from the original game. There are many possible reasons this might have been the case — most likely it was either the fact that the ST’s sound chip was never really up to the job of doing sound effects and music simultaneously, or that many of these Western-developed home computer ports of the era were put together from scratch rather than being able to make use of the arcade machine’s original code and audio-visual assets.

Either way, it’s far from an amazing game from the Atari ST, but it’s a good time if you’re looking for some brawler action, or just to experience what an arcade conversion of the era was like.

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated site here!

VenusBlood Frontier: Divine Conquest

If you are one of the many people disappointed in the recent news surrounding Sony cracking down on content with even the slightest whiff of “adultness” about it, you need to start paying attention to the Japanese PC games market if you’re not already.

Parallel to all the kerfuffle  surrounding the cancellation of Omega Labyrinth Z and the news that Xseed was being forced to cut out the “Intimacy” feature from the upcoming Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal, the localised Japanese PC games market has quietly been becoming an even more open and welcoming place to fans of games with adult content than it was already: just recently we’ve seen the release of AliceSoft’s excellent Evenicle on Steam, MangaGamer is continuing to work on English versions of the Rance series… and a long-running, well-received series of fantasy-themed games is getting a much-anticipated localisation.

I’m talking about VenusBlood Frontier, an upcoming Kickstarter-funded localisation project that, as I type this, you have a little over a day to back if it sounds like something you might want to see more of. Hop on over to Kickstarter if you’ve already made your mind up… or read on if you want to know more.

NOTE: For those who care about such things, I am a Kickstarter backer of this project but am otherwise unaffiliated with either Ninetail or JAST USA. Continue reading VenusBlood Frontier: Divine Conquest

Waifu Wednesday: Gurigura

Between the ten different waifus in Evenicle, there’s someone who will appeal to everyone.

Hell, there’s pretty much someone who will appeal to everyone even within the core playable cast of four. And even if someone isn’t your “type”, there are still plenty of interesting and compelling things to discover about them.

As a loud, noisy loli, Gurigura isn’t the type of girl who usually pushes my buttons. But she definitely grew on me over the course of the game, and I came to regard her with a great deal of affection.

NSFW images after the jump!

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Gurigura

Atari A to Z: Into the Eagle’s Nest

Let’s shoot some Nazis!

Pandora’s Into the Eagle’s Nest, first released in 1987, is an early example of the “stealth” subgenre of action adventure, with elements of survival horror, such as resource management. Interestingly, its Atari 8-bit port followed a year after its initial release — which included 16-bit platforms such as the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga — when Atari decided it would make an excellent game for their last-ditch effort at pushing the 8-bit range, the hybrid computer-console XE Games System or XEGS.

It’s an interesting game with some cool twists on the usual top-down action-adventure formula… and hordes of Nazis just waiting for you to mow them down. Just make sure you aim properly.

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated site here!

The Top 5 Creepiest Enemies from Japanese Video Games

No, don’t worry, MoeGamer isn’t becoming a clickbait listicle site!

I was approached by the charming and delightful Luminous Mongoose recently about producing a collaborative post on the subject of creepy enemies in Japanese video games. It is spoopy October, after all, and moreover this month’s Cover Game certainly offers plenty in the underpants-soiling department.

So with that in mind, hit the jump for the first part of this list, and check out Lumi’s site Otaku Essays and Analyses for the rest!

Continue reading The Top 5 Creepiest Enemies from Japanese Video Games

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 11 – Shadow of Silent Probotectravania in Time. Also Asterix

Hello friends, and welcome to another installment of The MoeGamer Podcast!

After our fairly serious discussion last week, Chris and I decided we wanted to keep things reasonably bright and breezy this week, so it’s a mostly retro-themed episode as we reminisce about our memories of classic Konami.

Hit the jump for the new episode in video and audio format, and don’t forget you can subscribe on YouTube for all my videos (including Atari A to Z as well as MoeGamer content) or on Soundcloud for the audio-only version of the podcast. You can also get the audio-only version via iTunes or RSS. I’m good to you, I am.

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 11 – Shadow of Silent Probotectravania in Time. Also Asterix

Sunday Driving: Flagrant Disregard for Civilian Safety – World Super Police

Although there’s still a bit of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed to go, we technically “beat” the game (or saw the staff roll, at least) last week.

With that in mind, I thought I’d change up the format of Sunday Driving a little for greater variety: instead of focusing on one game exclusively, I’m going to cycle around a few games a bit, try out some new things and also act a bit on viewer feedback if there is any.

With that in mind, today I grab something random (but arcade racery) from my shelves and fire it up for the first time. If you want to see more of this particular game, let me know in the comments here or on YouTube! Hit the jump to see the vid.

Continue reading Sunday Driving: Flagrant Disregard for Civilian Safety – World Super Police

Around the Network

Hello everyone! It’s the weekend again, so hurrah for that.

Chris and I have spent the afternoon recording a new episode of the MoeGamer Podcast, so watch out for that on Monday, all being well. This episode’s subject is classic Konami — we had great fun recording this one, so we hope you enjoy listening!

As always, there’s been a bunch of happening on the site and around my other projects this week, so hit the jump and catch up on anything you might have missed.

Continue reading Around the Network

Project Zero: Scream for the Camera

cropped-projectzero-header-4357712This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
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Tecmo’s Project Zero — also known as Fatal Frame in the United States, and simply Zero in its native Japan — has always stood out.

“Survival horror” is most certainly not what it once was, but even during its heyday in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Project Zero set itself apart by eschewing the blood, gore and violent scenes people had come to associate with the genre.

Instead, it provided a rather more contemplative, supernatural tale with its roots in traditional Japanese spiritualism. And by golly has it held up really well since its original release nearly 20 years ago.

Continue reading Project Zero: Scream for the Camera

Lucy Got Problems: What’s an ADHD Succubus to Do?

Know what I love? Demon girls. Know what I love even more? Demon girls who are really bad at being demons.

With that in mind, I knew I was going to have a good time with Lucy Got Problems almost immediately, since it opens with the eponymous succubus rather meekly prostrating herself in front of her superior (and unattainable object of desire) Tiamat, suggesting that she had done something very silly indeed.

One might even say she had encountered some difficulties, or problems if you will…

Continue reading Lucy Got Problems: What’s an ADHD Succubus to Do?

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