I used used to love AVGN for all that it taught me about video game history but after a couple years of being a huge fan it all started to get really obnoxious. Watching you guys I learn so much more and I actually laugh and am not annoyed almost immediately, or at all for that matter. You guys are currently the best gaming channel in my opinion and I truly believe soon you'll be as wrll known as he is. Keep up the phenomenal work, you guys filled my video game void left by James Rolfe, and it was a deep void. Kudos to you guys.
you guys are my new favorite gaming channel! i am slowly watching the whole back catalogue of episodes but damn there's alot of vids! keep it up guys, your videos are awesome!
I can see that, the deliberate pace of many of the enemy encounters also reminds me of Ghouls and Ghosts. Found it frustrating at first, but it became a lot more fun once I learned to take my time throughout each stage.
"I love space harrier,and I may not get the chance to talk about it again...." Fast forward 9 years and I feel like you've mentioned space harrier in more videos than any game,with the possible exception of afterburner lol.i love you're enthusiasm for it though friend.
"I'd love to see Capcom redo Strider." Well, you got your wish!, but just like the first "Strider 2" that was outsourced to Tiertex, the reboot wasn't made by Capcom either.
There is actually a third Rastan game, that only came out in Japan for Arcades. It's pretty good, but also pretty different, since it's a beat 'em up like Golden Axe. Also, the enemies speak in German for some reason.
The reason Strider Returns was by US Gold and not Capcom was because US Gold had the rights to port the original title over to other platforms and they also still had rights to make further games with the license (Sega could only do a port of the first game to the Mega Drive/Genesis). Back then it was common that a few games ported over weren't by the original developer, leading to US versions of games to be very different to ones in Europe as certain publishers only had rights in some regions.
Just found your show about a week ago and have been catching up watching all episodes. Just wanted to say I very much enjoy it and look forward to future installments!!
Game Sack Actually Strider Returns was only published by US Gold, Tiertex were the ones who actually developed it. Tiertex were NORTORIOUSLY know for extremely poor console ports. With Strider Returns they actually had a chance at making something good. No port, just a straight sequel to one of the best side scrollers ever....and they dropped the ball TREMENDOUSLY. Damn does Strider Returns suck. Luckily Capcom gave us the TRUE sequel 10 years later.
Good thing Rastan Saga 3: Warrior Blade was a redeeming game in the arcade. Space Harrier was cool, but I still could never figure out how you avoid random deaths. The draw distance between enemy projectiles was always deceiving.
(person on phone)"Hey, Yu Suzuki!! This is your COUSIN!! you know that sound you were lookin' for? Well here it is!!" (Holds phone up to Space Harrier theme).
I wouldn't say that it cleansed... The sprite & background art on that game are absolutely gorgeous but that and being able to ride flying monsters are really the only things going for it. For the rest it's a forgettable beat 'em up.
Joe, if you were worried about being stranded on a desert island I would advise always being prepared witha copy of Shenmue. Then you would also have a decent version of Space Harrier included (you can only take so much in hand luggage).
it's funny for me hearing you pronounce "taito" as "Tayto", here in ireland that's an iconic brand name for crisps. also on the topic of space harrier ports i hear there is a ZX spectrum port out there, i think the attribute clash (it could only colour the screen in 8x8 pixel blocks with 2 colours in each, the colours bleed when sprites pass over each other) would be appalling.
On the subject of Rastan: Taito made another Rastan game in 1991 called Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga Episode 3 for the arcades, and it was a beat-'em-up similar to Sega's classic Golden Axe series, and in my humble opinion, it was good.
You guys might also want to check out the arcade game Osman. It was developed by one of the guys who was part of the Strider team. You'd have to emulate, I don't think it was released for any home systems, but it is worth it.
Commenting on old videos is fun! For me, Baseball Stars and Baseball Stars 2 on the NES. It removed custom teams, custom players, and managed to play worse on top of it. I was so incredibly disappointed considering Baseball Stars was my favorite game at the time, but fortunately I rented BS2 before asking for it for Christmas.
Dont expect to see the genre get covered, but nobunaga's ambition and romance of the three kingdoms for the nes both got major upgrades with their sequels
Glad to see that you guys hate Tetris 2 as much as I do. Hell, it isn't even Tetris 2! It was originally an unrelated game called Tetris Flash, it's just that Nintendo somehow decided to release it as a sequel. The TRUE Tetris 2 is Tetris 2 + Bombliss for the Famicom. THAT is a Tetris sequel.
I don't know, man. Say what you will about the fugly and clunky Rastan sequel, but at least it had some pretty rad boss battles. And kudos to Taito for keeping the upward sword thrust, even though it doesn't look as cool as it did in the original.
Much like Strider, Rastan got a proper sequel too called Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga III, tho for the most part, it was a Golden Axe-style multi-directional hack & slasher. As far as I know, it was arcade only & actually pretty good!
Oh man, Joe got his wish in that a new Strider game came out a few years after this episode aired and was awesome. It wasn't made by Capcom but it was still a great playing game! Double Helix did a hell of a job despite having a pretty poor track record with movie licensed games. They put out Strider and the fairly amazing Killer Instinct before being bought out by Amazon and nobody has really heard from them since :(
I just try to wipe them down seconds before I press "Record". I don't use anything special other than maybe a damp (with water) paper towel from time to time.
Tetris 2 isn't really Tetris, but it is a really fun game. In my family, we played that game all the time, even after we got our Genesis. I still fire it up and play it with my wife sometimes. It is a great game in the VS mode, even against the computer.
Man i have yet to watch one of your videos that isn't just bursting with MEGA-POWER. Great production and editing, well written and hilarious jokes. "I wanna kill someone right now!!" Lmao.
There was a game I played way back when on the PS One I believe. It was called Jade Cocoon and I believe it was Sony's answer to Pokemon, and I really liked it. Later a sequel came out for it, but I could not get into it.
I know there were other versions on top of that, i think the amiga had a version. my mum absolutely LOVES Space Harrier- she was most pleased when i got her an emulator and a rom on her PC.
Too lazy to read the comments, but about Rastan Saga, try to imagine seeing those huge detailed characters in an arcade in '88. That great sword looks amazing. Also, Rastan III is great. Sadly I think you'll need to import the Japanese Taito memories Vol. 2 to get it, since I don't see it listed as playable in the US Taito Legends
Aww... You never mentioned the GBA version of Space Harrier... It's just like the arcade but with lower resolution... (and much easier because you get tons of lives) It's a pretty good version though...
Castlevania II Simon's Quest. Although Castlevania was a real difficult game, it was well designed and really fun. I rented Simon's Quest and never planned to buy it.
@Ragtime4 Yes they did. I never played them as I wasn't really into feudal Japan. One of my friends played them quite a bit and really liked them. I always needed more action.
I too being a huge Space Harrier fan, don't really think Space harrier 2 was worse. But to each there own I guess. I really enjoyed SH 2. But the master system really had an amazing port back in the day. It so closely captured the arcade that after mastering the SMS version I could go to the arcade and beat that one too.
Another awesome vid... I think one of the more disappointing sequels has got to be Actraiser. Everything that made the first game great, was taken away. UNFORGIVABLE! Great vid guys!
While I somewhat agree that Rastan Saga 2 wasn't as good as the first, it wasn't entirely that bad. I was hoping that you two would've mentioned Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga III. It's a beat'em up, just like Golden Axe.
I must be in the minority, but despite its many issues, I loved Space Harrier 3d. It was perhaps my most played game for that console. As for the original Space Harrier, however, the version I played most wasn't even mentioned here. It was the Commodore 64 version!
I thought it was decent for a 360 launch title. I was neat how much the game changed depending on the difficulty level, allowing you to handle situations in multiple ways. Still don't see this very much. Seems like a very simple game at first, but the different difficulties really added some depth. The MP was fun too... for an early 360 game.
I can tolerate it. It's ok... but that shouldn't be how the sequel to one of the best games of all time turns out. PDZ should have been better. A lot better.
Well, you fail Mr.Gamesack for not liking the music in Rastan 2, at least in the arcade..... the sound effects are ok I guess, and I really like the music, can't say the same about graphics and gameplay.
If you like Space Harrier you should try the DS version of Sega Superstars Tennis it has an awesome remake of Space Harrier, remember the DS version only!
To be fair, they admitted that the title could have worked if it wasn't for the misleading cash-generator-title. I can imagine Tetris 2 being a decent game in itself, it looks like Dr. Mario with whacky, tricky "pills" to me. The only main fault is the title. Luckily, people tend to be a bit smarter nowadays in deciding how to name games.
If you ever do another 'Left in the Arcade' please include the game Carnevil. It's a horror, rail gun game. I believe it's a Midway release, and it was released in either 98 or 99. Or if you do one about horror games, you should include the original Xbox release of Fatal Frame, it's the most effective horror game I've played in that still gives me genuine chills although it doesn't create the ambience or pull the emotional strings like Silent Hill 2 which I consider the best horror game out there.
+Game Sack, I believe the reason Rastan Saga 2 was so lame was that it was never meant to be a Rastan Saga Game. It was made as an entirely seperate game which fell through or something like that so they altered bits of it at the last minute to make it look a bit like Rastan Saga (+stuck the Rastan name on it). Many 'supposed' sequels of great originals suffered from this fate. The third game which I think was a genuine sequel is much better!
Space Harrier is a classic :D I brought it for the 3DS to show the kid and even the wee dude loved it. Thoughts on the new Strider? Thought it was no bad myself, a little to easy at times though.
