Jeremy Parish

NES Works 132: Thundercade and Guerrilla War (Patreon)

Published:

2024-03-20 13:22:32

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

guerrilla war micronics nes nes works sammy seta snk thundercade

Content

I hope you don't mind that this episode goes off the rails a little bit toward the end. It's been a long and difficult few months, and this episode is the equivalent of my falling into a fugue state and coming to naked in the middle of a New Mexico convenience store. Wait, no, that would imply I'm running a drug empire here, when in fact Guerrilla War is all about running freedom and casting down evil empires. Or something.

Anyway. Outro aside, this episode is one of those cases of my stumbling into things looking planned when in fact they are not. I didn't realize the connection between SNK and Thundercade (namely: Micronics) while scheduling this episode; it just sort of appeared there unexpectedly. Naked, in a New Mexico convenience store.

Files

Victory road warriors: Thundercade & Guerrilla War | NES Works 132

I've been looking forward to this episode, simply for the cognitive dissonance of A Certain Kind of YouTube comment-leaver who will complain here about how journalists should leave politics out of their writing about video games when one of the video games in question was literally about a Communist rebellion against an American-backed junta. Lay it on thick, ya big babies. For the rest of you, please enjoy the interesting contrast of a SNK game that would have been programmed by Micronics a couple of years earlier side-by-side with an actual game programmed by Micronics in the here-and-now (by which I mean 1989). SNK has come a long way since Ikari Warriors, as you can see in the excellent Guerrilla War. Micronics, on the other hand, has clearly NOT come a long way since then, as demonstrated by the utterly dire Thundercade. Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games (https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books)! SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I is available NOW, and Metroidvania: The First Decade is due in 2024. NES footage captured from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4X and 720p with xRGB Mini Framemeister.