Jeremy Parish

Feb. Bonus #4: NES Works Gaiden (Casio) #63 - Tutankham & Amidar (Patreon)

Published:

2024-02-25 02:07:57

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

amidar casio konami nes works gaiden pv-1000 tutankham

Content

Well, here we go. I've had to bid farewell to my trusted VHS camcorder, which recently passed a sort of functional point of no return. Maybe it was just sad about all the mooks in the comments section complaining about my "VHS filter." Well, so it goes. I'm afraid you have to look at my mug in crispy 4K from now on. Sorry about that.

On the plus side, please enjoy this video about one of the hardest-to-find video games I've ever come across. I spent literal years looking for Tutankham for PV-1000, and it was the weirdest thing: I had this bizarre feeling for months last year that the game would finally show up for sale online after my wife and I signed our mortgage and needed to be a lot more conservative with money... and sure enough, the literal day after we completed the paperwork, it appeared on Mercari. The fact that you can watch this video shows you how good I've been at deferring passion projects to fiscal reality....

Speaking of fiscal reality (but not really), I'm very nearly done with my next book. If you are currently subscribed here at a physical book tier, you'll be locked in for a print copy once it ships (probably next year). And if you can read this post, well, please expect to receive the PDF before too much longer...

Files

Ghost legs and mummy curses: Tutankham / Amidar | NES Works Gaiden (Casio) 63

Another pair of Konami titles for PV-1000 with Tutankham and Amidar. Unlike last episode's games, this duo's releases under the Casio label are some of the few home conversions of the coin-op originals, making these carts fairly unique and decidedly rare. In fact, Tutankham has the unfortunate dual distinction of being the PV-1000's rarest game, but also (probably) its best. I suppose that's kind of nice, in that it certainly beats something like Pachinko for Sega SG-1000 (rare, expensive, and bad)... but also kind of bad, in that there aren't a lot of options for experiencing Tutankham outside of emulation. Then again, both Tutankham and Amidar for PV-1000 don't exactly present players with pure, ultra-faithful coin-op conversions. Whether due to technical limitations or just a weird artistic choice, both games made their way to PV-1000 suffering from ample compromises. They're still good, just... not 100%. Special thanks to Christa Lee of Sound Retro Co. for modding this PV-1000 for composite output. 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, bonus videos, eBooks, and more! PV-1000 footage recorded from original hardware, modded for composite output by Christa Lee of Sound Retro Co. NES/Famicom footage captured from @analogueinc Nt Mini; SG-1000 footage recorded from Analogue Mega Sg Video; arcade footage generally captured from a MiSTer. All capture upscaled to 4K via Retrotink 4K or to 720p with an xRGB Mini Framemeister.