Mini Arcade Alert!

[BrianC]

I get what you are saying, but that doesn't excuse getting jumping on the snake's tail wrong. Not to mention that the Starpath Supercharger port got that and the music right, as well as more arcade accurate patterns. Genesis port gets a free pass becuase it looks and sounds like the arcade, despite getting parts of the gameplay wrong. Ironically, the GB and SNES ports were actually done by the same company, and while they are both inferior, they actually got the jumping on the snake's tail right.

 

There's also a different GB Frogger port in the EU Konami GB Collection 2 and JP Konami GB Collection 4 (if I remember correctly). It still changes some of the music, but more of it is intact than the GBA version. It also looks and plays much better than the other GB/GBC version.

 

Kosmic Stardust, have you seen the c64 Frogger Arcade homebrew? That one looks promising.

Edited November 19, 2018 by BrianC

[Andromeda Stardust]

353k points. It's on like Donkey Kong!

 

Score could still use a bit of improvement. A couple times during the run, I misplaced a piece due to the garbage finger stick not registering when I tilted it. I set up a wicked double T-spin attempt midway through the game and had a T piece ready to deploy with another T piece in the queue. Drop the first T piece in the hole, then rotate the second T piece sideways and spin it into position for a double T-spin. Only problem was the joystick seized up and I misplaced the T-piece by one brick, ruining the attempt and requiring to fill up the holes by nickle and diming the points. Filling two lines in this manner will award the high bonus points of 1200 x current level (in this case 1200*15 = 18k points every time I do that, or 27k if stacked on a previous T-spin). So stupid easy it feels like I'm cheating. The only downside to T-spin is it is impossible to complete lines with a T piece while building a column on the edge to attempt a Tetris. Workaround is to place the well in the center of the playfield instead of on the edge, but this can prove risky. A deep well with one square available on either side would accommodate both the double T-spin or the I-beam.

 

Ignoring T-spins, 38 consecutive Tetris at level 15 would yield 152 lines and only a meager 678,000 points (800 * 15 = 12k points for first Tetris and 18k thereafter). If starting with a single T-spin, it would net 690,000 points and 153 lines. It is impossible to clear more than 153 lines in this version.

 

Fun fact, the theoretical max high score for this version of the game (150 lines) is 2,037,000 points. This could be achieved by scoring a single T spin (12k points) followed by 75 double T-spins (27k points each with 50% bonus * 75 = 2,025,000) and total 151 lines.

 

No, the theoretical limit would be clearing every line one at a time with single T-spins! This would yield 12000 points for the first line cleared by a T-spin (800 * 15) and 149 consecutive T-spins from there (18k each) for a grand total of 2,694,000 points and 150 lines, not counting drops. FYI, you can not do a T-spin on a hard drop.

 

However the likelihood of either is infinitesimally small considering that 75 consecutive double T spins would require 20% or greater of all pieces be T pieces. 150 consecutive T spins would require 40% of all pieces be T pieces. By comparison, scoring back to back Tetris indefinitely (despite yielding much lower final score) only requires 10% of all pieces to be I-beams, so the T-spins, while useful for point bonuses, aren't so practical for maxing out the theoretical score.

 

I would like to see anyone best one million. A lofty goal for sure. That extra zero in the score isn't there for show you know...

 

Other notes, there is an "all clear" icon buried under the overlay. I have no idea how many points it would yield, but in all my years of Tetris playing, I've maybe achieved it once or twice.

[procyon]

ok, thats semi true, its NOT the exact same version, they have the same features but look different:

the NES tengen one came out in 1990, and has the most accurate colors:

<snip>

Lol, you could have just linked to where all of that Ms. Pac-Man information came from: https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Ms._Pac-Man/Home_version_comparisons I'm the guy who put most of that page together

[negative1]

Lol, you could have just linked to where all of that Ms. Pac-Man information came from: https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Ms._Pac-Man/Home_version_comparisons I'm the guy who put most of that page together

yup, thanks.. and i added to it.

 

later

-1

[negative1]

Considering the screen consists of an LED backlit overlay and a button that plays back sound samples, good luck with that.

Actually if you gutted the micro machines ones that are out,

and carefully carved out the hallmark unit, it might actually work.

 

I don't know if i'd be brave enough to try it though.

 

later

-1

[procyon]

yup, thanks.. and i added to it.

Omg, cool! I've never met a fellow StrategyWiki editor on here before. That's awesome

[negative1]

Omg, cool! I've never met a fellow StrategyWiki editor on here before. That's awesome

actually, if you look at talk, and discussions, we did have some back and forth

discussions about additions, removals, editing etc. it was about the home versions

of ms pac man, and how it wasn't released separately for the game boy advance, and

color, and the differences in other versions.

 

i was a lot more active back then.

 

i also way trying to get the script running in GIMP for the cool 3d sprite images,

and never got it working. i wonder if there is an update to that, i still want to

use it. i was talking with najzere, but he said it was an old script, and it

was still flaky too.

 

later

-1

Edited November 23, 2018 by negative1

[negative1]

Not sure where this 2 player machine came from,

you can remove the controls, and it has SD card support,

not sure what system though:

 

 

later

-1

[JBerel]

That was a cheap Chinese import I did some testing with last year. It's probably a rare example of an economy NOAC system with SD card support, but it works exactly like you'd expect one of them to. I'm surprised with the popularity of these kind of things, that somebody hasn't put together a board with proper horsepower and built-in emulators to be sold like a Raspberry pi kit. The R-Pi is an option, but the retro-pi emulator methods are clunky at best. It's high time someone packaged a nice front end with simpler setup and better reliability.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/255982-mini-arcade-alert/?view=findpost&p=3907807

[negative1]

That was a cheap Chinese import I did some testing with last year. It's probably a rare example of an economy NOAC system with SD card support, but it works exactly like you'd expect one of them to. I'm surprised with the popularity of these kind of things, that somebody hasn't put together a board with proper horsepower and built-in emulators to be sold like a Raspberry pi kit. The R-Pi is an option, but the retro-pi emulator methods are clunky at best. It's high time someone packaged a nice front end with simpler setup and better reliability.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/255982-mini-arcade-alert/?view=findpost&p=3907807

thanks, i figured it was covered before,

but i just couldn't find it using search.

not really worth it.

 

later

-1

[JBerel]

Since you peaked my interest in this topic again...I looked to see if there are more powerful units out there these days and found some marginally interesting items.

The NeoGeo mini doesn't appear to be open (yet) to support loading more games, and it may never be well suited to loading other platform games even if they access the Linux kernel in it. So, this might be an alternative which is clearly modeled, if not ripped off their assembly line. Sounds like it suffers the usual import quality issues and may not have a NeoGeo emulator installed in it, but it does offer wider platform support.

 

Then you have this, which may not be a mini, but is a pretty low price point for an all-in-one game system. Looks like a Pandora board powering it. I'm not real familiar with those, so I'd be curious what it's running. I'm assuming it's a low end ARM board running android or linux. Both of these could be complete wastes of money, but I'd be interested if anyone knows more about them.

Another question on the topic of minis, or home brewing your own: What's the most powerful board (short of an X86 or AMD PC board) that would be good for multi platform emulation in the $150 or less area? Would that be the Nvidia Shield/Tegra, the Raspberry Pi 3, or something else? I'm craving a board as capable as a celeron, with no need for Windows, but with support for front ends like launch box or similar. I guess I'll keep waiting. Emulation Station and Retro Pi aren't cutting it for me, and I'm not aware of better linux front ends, though they may be out there.

[twalk]

Another question on the topic of minis, or home brewing your own: What's the most powerful board (short of an X86 or AMD PC board) that would be good for multi platform emulation in the $150 or less area? Would that be the Nvidia Shield/Tegra, the Raspberry Pi 3, or something else? I'm craving a board as capable as a celeron, with no need for Windows, but with support for front ends like launch box or similar. I guess I'll keep waiting. Emulation Station and Retro Pi aren't cutting it for me, and I'm not aware of better linux front ends, though they may be out there.

 

 

https://liliputing.com/2018/11/odroid-h2-gemini-lake-single-board-pc-launches-for-111.html

[negative1]

Speaking of neo geo portable, ben heck did an awesome breakdown

and custom mod build of making it portable:

 

 

later

-1

[Andromeda Stardust]

Speaking of neo geo portable, ben heck did an awesome breakdown

and custom mod build of making it portable:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJomuuq4QZ4

 

later

-1

Yeah his mods are legendary. If anyone's gonna turn the Halmark Donkey Kong ornament into a fully playable arcade, it's this guy.

[ONLYUSEmeFEET]

I created a wiki page for the new 156 in 1 Sega Genesis Mini Arcade.

 

https://bootleggames.wikia.com/wiki/156_Arcade_Game

 

The wiki page is objective, but my subjective opinion is that this is easily the best Mini Arcade currently on the market for the price and quality of games included. TMNT Hyperstone Heist and Super Street Fighter II alone make this thing heads and shoulders above the competition. It also manages to have a USB rechargeable battery to allow for USB-tethered or portable play, no AA/AAA batteries required! Only two drawbacks are its TFT screen has an awful viewing angle from the left side and the sound plays down a key, like AtGames' products. Framerate feels spot-on and the light-up marquee is a nice addition. Overall, for anyone that has yet to join the mini arcade craze, the 156 would be my first recommendation.

Edited November 28, 2018 by ONLYUSEmeFEET

[Tanooki]

So you're saying the sound is just a little off, not atgames bad with screeching beeps and pitches on games like Sonic (the rings) and that it runs at a stable smooth speed? If that's the case, combined with decent audio output, and a screen that's probably similar to the MyArcade/BD devices that really is kind of an all around closed system win there. I thought this thing had a hidden microsd card slot on the side too under the sticker, or was that the crappy slowed down NES garbage unit with the 2 controllers that pull away from it?

[procyon]

Since you peaked my interest in this topic again...I looked to see if there are more powerful units out there these days and found some marginally interesting items.

The NeoGeo mini doesn't appear to be open (yet) to support loading more games, and it may never be well suited to loading other platform games even if they access the Linux kernel in it. So, this might be an alternative which is clearly modeled, if not ripped off their assembly line. Sounds like it suffers the usual import quality issues and may not have a NeoGeo emulator installed in it, but it does offer wider platform support.

 

I have one of these (got a second one on the way.) I can only recommend it after having ditched the stock firmware for a custom firmware that people are developing over at the dingoonity forums. The custom firmware gives a much better experience, adds a few system emulators (although it currently takes one away, Genesis, but that's being worked on) and allows zipped roms which the stock firmware doesn't. It's not great, and it's not nearly as powerful as a GPD XD, but it's a fun little toy for the $70~$90 that it can be found and had for.

[JBerel]

So you're saying the sound is just a little off, not atgames bad with screeching beeps and pitches on games like Sonic (the rings) and that it runs at a stable smooth speed? If that's the case, combined with decent audio output, and a screen that's probably similar to the MyArcade/BD devices that really is kind of an all around closed system win there. I thought this thing had a hidden microsd card slot on the side too under the sticker, or was that the crappy slowed down NES garbage unit with the 2 controllers that pull away from it?

SD card slot is in the red craptacular NES thing with the removable controls. Doesn't look like this Sega unit has SD support.

 

The 300 in 1 sounds interesting with the new firmware, but I'm still on the fence about quality issues.

[ONLYUSEmeFEET]

So you're saying the sound is just a little off, not atgames bad with screeching beeps and pitches on games like Sonic (the rings) and that it runs at a stable smooth speed? If that's the case, combined with decent audio output, and a screen that's probably similar to the MyArcade/BD devices that really is kind of an all around closed system win there. I thought this thing had a hidden microsd card slot on the side too under the sticker, or was that the crappy slowed down NES garbage unit with the 2 controllers that pull away from it?

 

The sound is a little fast and a pitch low, but it doesn't have any impact on Gameplay. I'm not the best Sonic player, but both SSFII and Comix Zone seem to run perfectly fine. The games play far better on the 156 than the 2017 AtGames Flashback HD (which I ended up returning). 156's Screen is closest to the full color TFT Walmart Basic Fun screens used for Q-Bert and Centipede. There's no way to expand the game list, but I'd imagine Genesis/MD clones will start taking over the Famiclone market in the next few years with different sets of games.

[Tanooki]

I figured that was the case with the red NES turd box.

 

My concern over the sound was just that, gameplay on the atgames handheld (firecore) as long as the game wasn't just broken like Contra, ran at the right pace and stable. If the HD more newer console level stuff runs more slop but with improved audio that's a depressing trade off. I saw that list of the games on this little Genesis cab and it's pretty amazingly strong. I think it has a good but somewhat questionable spread of the good games on there with odd omissions. SOR3 but not the others, and a weird choice on Sonic games, and it goes on, plus it's clear it doesn't save looking at that too. Still it's so cheap and with (I was right seeing your post) Bridge Direct NOAC style display panel that they did a fairly solid all around basic job on it. With the decent pull of Konami and Capcom stuff that really helps, though I do wonder why only some of their stuff was pulled lacking Castlevania, Contra, the usual suspects. But hey TMNT, Tiny Toons, GnG, some being there is pretty neat if you want a mini cab.

[BrianC]

Basic Fun surprised me with their recent handhelds. Much of their earlier stuff isn't that great, but it feels like they are putting more effort in their newer products. I like their LCD versions of Q*Bert and Asteroids (and I'm still getting the one with the NES Q*Bert too) and find it a bit funny how Q*Bert has more of the arcade sounds than the other version (though that version is very good in its own right and that has JP developed port of a US game feel to it).

 

Too bad Basic Fun botched Joust in both forms (not their fault with the segmented LCD, it just doesn't translate well, though I may be wrong since I'm going by my play of the Tiger version). The big mistake with the Walmart version is that it is missing the rapid flap button from the NES/FC version. The physics are more like Balloon Fight in the NES/FC Joust (for good reason). The rapid flap button is not needed in the AC version, but the standard flap doesn't flap fast enough in the NES/FC version.

[negative1]

Here's a custom mini dragons lair arcade game,

with more than game on it too.

 

 

later

-1

[Yakumo1975]

Since you peaked my interest in this topic again...I looked to see if there are more powerful units out there these days and found some marginally interesting items.

The NeoGeo mini doesn't appear to be open (yet) to support loading more games, and it may never be well suited to loading other platform games even if they access the Linux kernel in it. So, this might be an alternative which is clearly modeled, if not ripped off their assembly line. Sounds like it suffers the usual import quality issues and may not have a NeoGeo emulator installed in it, but it does offer wider platform support.

 

 

I reviewed one of these on my channel. Let's just say it starts off great but....

 

[+thanatos]

I've searched the thread to no avail, but I apologize ahead of time if I'm bringing up an old subject.

 

I saw the MyArcade Data East collection for $80 at the local target, it's a much larger box than all the others. Anyone here tested one of those? Is it a larger system, or just a big fancy box?

[BrianC]

I've searched the thread to no avail, but I apologize ahead of time if I'm bringing up an old subject.

 

I saw the MyArcade Data East collection for $80 at the local target, it's a much larger box than all the others. Anyone here tested one of those? Is it a larger system, or just a big fancy box?

 

It's a larger system running arcade versions, but it's actually a cheap android tablet running Mame4Droid in a mini arcade shell. Here's a video of it being modified to play more games

 

Turns out I was mistaken with the Genesis Frogger. The snake's tail can be jumped on. I have the segemented LCD Basic Fun Frogger now and I actually like it quite a bit, despite the missing elements from the arcade. I like how the diving turtles are handled in this version. Gakken/Coleco's just disappear, Exclibur's blink, but the ones here show a different picture/"animation" when they are diving.