Jeremy Parish

Segaiden #26: Ninja Princess / Super Tank / Champion Kendou (Patreon)

Published:

2022-01-12 13:24:35

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

sega segaiden sg-1000

Content

We have the full assortment of traditional Japanese martial combat weaponry this episode: Shuriken, kunai, bokken, and uh... high-yield short-range missiles? Sure, why not.

After last week's episode, this batch will definitely bring a little disappointment into your life. But that would probably be true as a follow-up to just about any episode; this is far from the strongest trio of SG-1000 games, and makes for a disappointing step backward after the excellent showing the system has largely been putting forward as it nears the end. Only Ninja Princess really holds up, and even then it comes up short (much like our princess' hemline) due to a frustrating technical design choice in adapting the arcade source material.

Ah well! More interesting things next week, honest.

Files

Ninja Princess / Super Tank / Champion Kendou retrospective: Kunoichi calamity | | Segaiden #26

This week bring us the first of a two-part episode—or should that be "the second"? Sega's imprecise SG-1000 launch date documentation makes it difficult to know if Hang On II did in fact debut before or after Hang On (no Roman numeral) for Mark III in October 1985. But the number II there is just for show anyway, as Hang On II is literally just a downscaled version of Hang On—but a very impressive downscaled version! By far the best and most convincing racer on the console, Hang On II was so impressive Sega made a controller specifically to support it. But it does pale in comparison to what waits in the wings for next time... Also up is Bomb Jack, seemingly the final home release from Tehkan before they metamorphosed into the butterfly we know as Tecmo and Bomb Jack became Mighty. AN ambitious and accurate arcade port, Bomb Jack runs afoul of his greatest foe on SG-1000: A limited, visually confusing color palette. Alas. Production notes: SG-1000 footage in this episode was captured from a combination of Sega SG-1000 II with (with Card Catcher; RGB amp mod by @iFixRetro) and @Analogue Mega Sg with card adapter module and DAC. NES/Famicom footage captured from @Analogue Nt Mini Noir. Video upscaled to 720 with @Retro Tink 5X. 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! Also available in print: Virtual Boy Works Vol. I Hardcover: https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books-board-games-and-more/products/virtual-boy-works-book