I find the 68000 much easier to program than most CPUs. The assembly language is mostly straightforward, it's basically ARM without all the limitations that come with the architecture.
What language are they written in? C? Java? I know C, VB and Python. I have minimal actual programming experience. I work in medical IT support right now but am looking to renew my security+ and my ceh and then hopefully acquire a higher level tech cert. I digress.
@@GOPSlayer Back then it would've been assembly, C, or a mix of the two. Anything higher level than that would've been too slow or memory-hungry for games.
I was going to say something flippant about how could you not know about the x68000 but then I saw it’s a whole new mini product that I had no idea existed. It is really cool!
@@ConsoleCombat i thought the same thing. I was like how'd you not know about the x68000 but then it was a mini console version i had no idea existed and i felt stupid lol
Man, imagine having a dad back in the 80s who imported a x68000 and learned Japanese so you both could play its games. I'd feel like the coolest kid in school being able to brag about my dad's pc that had better looking games than consoles
8:46 Actually, the version of Cho Ren Sha 68K that you played is a previously unreleased version that (from what i read online) was salvaged by the game's author (Famibe No Yosshin) from almost being lost. The visuals and sound effects you see are completely new.
Man, if you had one of these in the 90s for real-- you might have ran the whole neighborhood haha. Watching this makes me feels like I'm reading the back of a GAMEFAN magazine, on the way out of Waldenbooks, on the way to the food court. Thanks for posting!
I am fascinated by this. I find it sort of nice that there are communities out there that not only love older technology, but are actively working to see to it that newer iterations of the hardware they love are being produced. I feel compelled to find out more after watching this.
This is really cool. As a kid I was never even aware of the vast majority of gaming hardware that existed outside of America back in the pre-internet days.
Get ready to pay an exuberant price for it. It's not being targeted to general consumption, but to the niche, top of the hardcore Japanese PC retro enthusiasts.
@@ActionGamerAaron Yeah for sure, the original is also difficult to service too. Better spending $275-$300USD for the 68kZ instead of dropping $2000USD for an original that might not even work and doesn't have all it's peripherals.
@Phantasm I'm pretty certain getting everything for a MISTer would cost even more than getting this assuming the price mentioned before was around $200 - $300. Besides, the whole point of getting this device is not just about the games, but the overall package. You get a sweet and detailed looking outer shell and a keyboard all to accurately depict the original machine. It's a collectors item. Although perhaps pricey, considering it's just a single console emulation box, I think the price is justified especially since this is a very niche console that many may not have heard about or perhaps even have interest in the first place. The makers gotta make a profit somehow with manufacturing this and since there probably won't be a lot of buyers, the higher price is unfortunately the only option unless they decide to go cheap and get crappy or inferior parts to make them.
I completely missed this project - the x68000 is my holy grail hardware desire… one day I’ll buy one from Japan; hoping this project goes further than kickstarter - I’ll start to follow anything I can find.
There was a recent announcement for an official mini console for the NEC PC-8801mkIISR called the Pasocom Mini PC-8801mkIISR. It was officially announced recently in August 2024. It is going to be made by Dempa Micomsoft (the same company that made the Cyber Stick for the Sega Genesis Mini 2).
Hopefully the X68000 core on MiSTer comes to maturity in the near future. All the issues you mentioned (i.e. loading a large library, proper controller support, etc) would be eliminated by the very nature of the MiSTer platform.
The most impressive computer out in the west in 86 was the Amiga. If I saw these games in 87 running on a desktop it would have blown my mind. 80s Japan tech was top tier stuff
Is this impressive, absolutely and blows socks off amiga. However agree huge price differential between this and the a500. Amazing machine regardless of price.
I loved & respect Sharp X68K for what it was at the time, but have you heard of PC's. They existed at this time in the US. DOS 3.0 came out in 84 and DOS 4.0 came out in 88 with CD support. You didn't have to buy micro computers. You could buy the real thing. Hell! The PCJr came out in 84. As far as micro computers go, there was the Atari ST in 85 for 1/3 the price, followed up by the 1040 and Mega STE models in 86, the TT in 1990 for half the price, the Falcon in 91 and Mk X in 92 and then licensed models like the FireBee and Eagle.
I really really wish double dragon was ported onto this sucker. the one from 1987 that lit up the arcades that summer. that game was on fire and everyone wanted it on their console!
I have never been more excited for a mini. I am enough of a retro collector to already own and operate easily most of the originals that the console minis are based off of. But between how rare and hard to get ahold of this computer is. And the passion they had for recreating the original experience this is the one to get. Though I am scared to ask how much....
Most underrated platform ever. Great action games. Great graphics. Really really great soundtracks. The way this console outputs its audio and the soundtracks to games like Cho Ren Sha 68k.. (chefs kiss) rockin'.
What a cool little gem of retro goodness. A few years ago I had no idea this system even existed. I wonder if the Konami code works for that Gradius game. Thanks for sharing this! 😊
68000 AKA Motorola 68K is the CPU the Genesis and other devices at the time used. We learned how to code assembly for it's instruction set in university in 2008. It was fun to go home after class and rom hack sonic a bit. Cool learnings from that class
@@poisonouslead85 it's a decent chip with lots of capabilities. No need to be on later hardware if something is sufficient. Interesting though, as this means it is probably still being manufactured
@@funstuffonthenet5573 Oh ya, it's still being made in large quantities. The plague caused a shortage of 68000's that resulted in a lot of building projects being bogged down because fire alarm installers couldn't get control boards for their fire alarm and sprinkler panels. Edwards Signalling is one manufacturer who comes to mind as being a heavy consumer of 68000's.
Never even heard this was a thing. Awesome to see something like this getting this kind of love. Hopefully they can fix all the bugs. See if there are any homebrew games worth checking out and if they run on it or not? If so, it would be interesting to see what games the X68000 community has created over the years.
So awesome that you got this! I've been following this since the beginning and really want one. How much did you have to pay for this early version? Hopefully you can keep us updated on new X68000 Z news and major software updates.
Yes, hopefully he responds to both your and my comment. Why didn't he address this in the video? Zuiki ran a Japan only crowd fund. How on earth did SLX get one? eBay? If so he must have paid through the nose. Maybe he knows someone in Japan who got one on his behalf. Is like to know because this is on my short list of must own consoles. Zuiki has been absolutely brutal about communicating with fans. They will not respond to English questions on social platforms, not will they say whether an international release is planned. I need answers!
This is so awesome and I wanted one so bad when they announced it. All that changed when the announced the price. Would love to own one but not at the price. Too rich for my blood...lol
Yeah, this isn't gonna be mass produced and is a hobbyist endeavor. This price will stay high because the manufacturer knows it isn't gonna sell a ton.
I was a backer and the one shipped out to me was lost. I was literally sick to my stomach when I was informed that it was unaccounted for. Well fast forward to today, 6/14/23 and FedEx showed up at my doorstep with two units, the “lost” one and the replacement unit. I’ve spent the better part of the day trying to figure it out with the help of Google translate. It’s definitely not your average Mini console for sure, but it’s an mini version of the actual computer. It’s certainly for purists like myself who has several original X68000’s. I’m still ecstatic that I own 2 mini units! 👍
It is the first time I hear about this mini console, amazing how most gaming news website just don't care about stories about videogames that aren't the newest AAA titles.
I’ve got an emulator for this on my modded OG Xbox’s. Those things emulate a lot of older systems pretty well. Got an X arcade tank stick with trackball which pairs well with them.
In 6:52 I can see there is an artefact in Dragon Spirit. There is like a black underscore character stuck in the middle right portion of the screen. It's not present in the previous level though.
The black model was just announced and it's only around $200 with the famicom like game controller and without the keyboard/mouse. It's coming on Amazon Japan tomorrow so I hope it ships to the west.
@@dougoonk5480 Oh well....emulation on the MiSTER for the X68000 core has gotten a lot better...plus it uses .hdf files which load instantly (and it has MT-32 support!). Also, was kinda disappointed with the first game collection for the Zuiki mini...2 games for $40...seriously? Plus, it seems the mini doesn't come with but only one game...Gradius! F$$k 'em!
What about a "Sega Special" on the 68K? I know games like Out Run, Space Harrier, Galaxy Force, Alien Syndrome and Fantasy Zone, to name a few, had ports to it.
Thanks for importing one of these to test out! Been eyeing them but still a bit pricey, I did set up my account at Zuiki though… nice video! I do have one question. The emulator mode, does it run Human68k or is a version of SX Window installed as well? Just wondering if the emulation mode has a gui.
Thanks for covering this. Always wanted a Sharp X68000 but the cost is so prohibitive. I got an FM Towns Marty over the last 6 months and even that turned out to be a time vortex and money pit! I do want a Mini Z but not at $700-800 as it is on the grey market right now. Maybe at $300 but even that's pushing it. In your comments, you mentioned the Hacker Ed. is coming next. I thought that came out already before the Early Access Kit. Wouldn't the final product, the Black Ed., be next?
SDHC goes up to 200gb. The 128's and 200's are old though. The 200 uses a kind of raid controller. I only have 1 128, 1 200. I gave my SDHC 64gb to my girlfriend for her 3ds. These drives do not require the hp or another non windows formatter. They will default to FAT32 dispite the size.
@@SegaLordX I wish I could get my hands on one. I think it would go to 200 even though it seems wildly out of spec. Old, over 32gb chips are more than worth their weight in gold now.
There will be games you can purchase and games you can add yourself. Price depends on how you get it. On ebay you'll pay a premium. The new Black version costs about $200 for the unit itself.
I've played CRS68K's PC port, definitely worth checking out either there or on the X68000 itself! after burner - I wonder if it supports the cyber stick?! thunder force 2 definitely sounds like an emulation issue sprite layering not working correctly. but hopefully they can do firmware updates to fix those issues and some others (like six-button support for SF2) seems like really cool unit, though!
Oh shit, you were actually able to get one. How'd you manage that? I thought you had to have a mailing address in Japan in order to be able to sign up to become a tester. Regardless, good shit...I am rather jealous, m'lord.
How do you actually play any of the games after turning it on? I have one of these as well and it just goes to an OS interface, none of the options on the desktop seem to go anywhere I couod go to play games. I must be missing something.
Hold interrupt, hit reset, and wait for the options to appear. Tell it to boot into emulator. Then drop your SD card(put games inside a folder called X68000Z) in. The games will come up. Choose one and launch. Keep in mind that some games use multiple floppies so you'll need all the proper xdf images.
That method doesn't seem to work with the Gradius or Cho Ren Sha SD cards that came with it out of the box. I just get some sort of error that advises me to reset the device after some time. I'll try it with some other SD cards later.
With the pack in games you need to get the machine to boot to the launcher. Hold interrupt and press reset, in the utility menu choose the first option and set it to boot to launcher.
Nice video. I dipped into X68000 emulation maybe towards the end of last year. The games look good but sound samples are wishy washy on Capcom games like SF2 and final fight tho.
Considering that the genesis uses a version of this course and the 1st 2 metal gear games actually made by Kojima were made for this system it has so much potential to be a must have.
The only thing the Genesis has in common with the x68000 is the CPU and general architecture. The x68000 is FAR more powerful. It has a faster version of the CPU, and the video and sound hardware is signficantly better than the Genesis, and it has a lot more RAM. I often call it a Super Genesis for that reason. It cost a lot more though, this was basically a PC.
is there a guide to setup the sdcard,i formatted 2x sdcard(32gb),then i made a folder games and putted there after burner disk 1 and 2 on it,converted with virtual floppy image,then booted the x68000 up and runned on the desktop emulator,it asked for the system sdcard you get with the system.
