What happened to beat em' ups?

[Xeogred]

There are some really bizarre old games I used to play I wish I could remember. One was like this weird racing game with what seemed like sci-fi bumper cars.

If you're talking about Hover!, then it's actually included on the Windows 95 CD (along with a Weezer music video).
Apparently there's a Windows store app version now.


I think some genres favored consoles back in the day anyway, due to graphics techniques and all not necessarily being hashed out on PC. Even past that, the focus was just typically very different between console and PC gaming then.

OMG... Hover is it.

I just remembered Elf Bowling too.

[akeley]

Not so much in the obviously superior Sega Master System version though.

You mean the one with vaseline filter applied and the gangland & villains looking like they escaped from a Village People`s production of West Side Story? OK. Regardless of "the look", the micro versions are known to be much closer to arcade port anyway - gameplay & design wise (y`know, the things that kind of matter most).

I never talked about Double Dragon. I posted screen shots of Final Fight on ZXS.

My bad. Doesn`t change the fact it was another turdsome looking port that also played like a turd and never ranked anywhere.

The way you phrased it earlier, calling the majority of the gamers on this board "console kiddies", that came off as arrogant sounding.

There are two ways to approach a post on the internet from somebody relatively unknown to you. One, give`em benefit of the doubt and assume that it`s all lighthearted fun. Two, treat everybody as an arrogant dick and man the barricades, causing arguments where there were none to start with.

Personally, I prefer the former approach - especially seeing as I was under impression this board is populated by people of certain age, who`d hardly get a rise from a "console kiddies" modern trope, on top of the fact that the topic in question regards decades old soft and hardware. Seems I was wrong.

I'd take a NES/SMS over a ZXS any day. My condolences that you were deprived of consoles as a child, and lack the same perspective.

So, we moved swiftly into thinly veiled condescension mode. Well...seeing that`s how things are, lemme say you couldn`t be more wrong - in fact it`s completely opposite. We never envied the console folks their machines, in fact we often pondered that a life with hardware so limited must be quite sad. If I was offered a binary choice between C64/ZX vs NES/SMS - or better yet, Amiga/PC vs SNES/Genesis I would find it quite hilarious that such question is even possible.

A lot of old computer fans are born of a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. I still think the Apple II is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

No matter how hard I tried - squint, look over/under, turn it around - I still struggle to see how did you manage to tie SS into this exchange. I think I do get a gist of this metaphore, it is quite tortured though. In any case, if anybody is under impression that a micro/PC owner from that era should sheepishly stand in the corner when the big boys talk about the real deal, then...well, just have a glance at my reply to the last quote from Exhuminator above.

And since we are in armchair psychology territory, I`ll leave you with the term: "delusions of grandeur". Make of it what you wish.

[alienjesus]

Computers!

Consoles!

[Exhuminator]

I was under impression this board is populated by people of certain age / Seems I was wrong

You have no idea how old I am, nor my history with gaming. I think you'd be surprised to know the average age of gamers on this forum, and how well versed they are in the medium.

We never envied the console folks their machines, in fact we often pondered that a life with hardware so limited must be quite sad.

In contrast; I grew up with computers and consoles, I had both as a kid in the '80s and '90s. Neither was truly better, there were strengths and weaknesses for both sides. To go further; I think PCs excelled in certain genres and consoles excelled in certain genres. As a personal opinion; I believe consoles held the edge when it came to beat 'em ups.

if anybody is under impression that a micro/PC owner from that era should sheepishly stand in the corner when the big boys talk about the real deal

Nobody's saying that. But when a micro/PC owner points at console players and calls them "console kiddies" in reference to their childhood gaming, it comes across as condescending or demeaning. There was no way to know that you were joking when you said that, as sarcasm doesn't particularly come across via text very well, nor have you been around this forum long enough for anyone to know your style of humor yet.

[marlowe221]

Personally, I took akeley's comments as a light hearted poke in the ribs.

Take it easy man!

[Tanooki]

They're not light hearted though it's getting just mean, arrogant, snarky and just flat out wrong given the actual reality of history itself you can't change. I've not seen stuff like this in years truly bred from the euro-computer master race type behavior. It didn't matter how limited or lacking something was, it's what they had, therefore the dually rose tinted-beer goggles get put on and everyone and everything else is wrong and get hot about it when questioned otherwise. It's why I haven't engaged in this thread outside of last mentioning that Onechanbara on the Wii was basically a final fight style beat em up with hot girl and swords on zombies. It has all the same nearly mindless slamming of walking targets.

[alienjesus]

I read it as a light hearted jibe too, nothing to be taken seriously. And I am both a console kiddie and a European.

I dunno why this has gotten people so riled up.

We all know what the best games system of all time is anyway.



I also love that this image of the Pokémon Mini is literally double the size of the actual console.

[BogusMeatFactory]

I read it as a light hearted jibe too, nothing to be taken seriously. And I am both a console kiddie and a European.

I dunno why this has gotten people so riled up.

We all know what the best games system of all time is anyway.



I also love that this image of the Pokémon Mini is literally double the size of the actual console.

We need a video game style kombaya song to sing along with

[marurun]

A lot of old computer fans are born of a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. I still think the Apple II is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

No matter how hard I tried - squint, look over/under, turn it around - I still struggle to see how did you manage to tie SS into this exchange. I think I do get a gist of this metaphore, it is quite tortured though. In any case, if anybody is under impression that a micro/PC owner from that era should sheepishly stand in the corner when the big boys talk about the real deal, then...well, just have a glance at my reply to the last quote from Exhuminator above.

My statement was meant mostly in humor. I grew up with an Apple II as not an NES. In retrospect, almost every action game I played on my Apple was inferior to offerings on the NES (there were rare exceptions, like Lode Runner and Boulderdash). And the Gold Box RPGs were better than any RPG on the NES, but I do know that growing up with the Apple means I give it far more leeway via nostalgia-colored glasses. That's what I meant by the Stockholm Syndrome bit. When you grow up with a flawed thing, you learn to make excuses for it, because you loved it when you were young, so it can't have been that bad, right?

I think that's part of why US gamers do not look fondly on the Speccy. We had the Apple and the C64. We forgive those flaws, but we don't have to for the Speccy.

[Tanooki]

Depending on the genre and all that, the NES was excellent or fell short, no denying it. I started on the NES in the 80s, meddled with the PC in school a little until I got one and went all in Christmas of 90. The NES had to fight for time at that point bringing more of those A game titles as I was more into grabbing PC stuff. By the time the SNES hit it was a fair share thing really as the gap narrowed some, again depending on genre.

The PC had its good points, so did the dedicated console. That's why I don't like seeing either dumped on, but really outside of a few (as noted) gold box type RPGs, and a few other text or point and click heavy type games, the NES in the 80s did it better. Sure FF1 and the DQ titles were solid, but the AD&D level stuff was garbage compared to what DOS got. Take then the SNES with Wing COmmander and it's bad steering on there, then the fluid PC release. Yet on the PC it didn't have the true A game stuff from various platformers as much, fighting games, brawlers, and a few others. It was a true pick and choose/hit or miss situation. Sometimes things got pretty close (Lost Vikings/Blackthorne SNES vs DOS) and Star Control II could be argued as better on 3DO vs PC. You never really can tell but they each had their own strengths.

Admittedly and thankfully I missed out on the pre-VGA era stuff for the most part, but did play some of it in 90/91 with those fun 16 colors. I have an appreciation for things, but it gets a very bit touch and go and mostly just dislike (even back then) when things slid too far back.