Special secret games... Opinions?

[jerryjanis]

This is a little bit off-topic, but you guys probably know better than anybody.

I'm always seeking really incredible games within Mame that I wouldn't have otherwise known about.  What I like most about Mame is discovering a game that could have passed me by otherwise.  The best example I can think of is Renegade.  It's incredibly difficult, but not so tough that you would necessarily give up on it.  It's like Double Dragon mixed with the old-school thrill of end bosses that you really have to think about and experiment before you can beat them.  Double Dragon without continues.  Rad.

Here's my list of really special games that I think deserve to have everybody give them a try, some of which could be easily overlooked.

karate champ (vs. mode - if you have 4 joysticks)
robotron
renegade
munchmobile/joyful road (dual joystick-totally sweet)
rastan (really difficult)
ghouls n ghosts (really difficult)
ninja baseball batman (a pretty good tmnt rip-off)
tapper

In other words, these are the games that I play all the time against my own personal expectation.

What games are you proud to have discovered?  I want to give them a second chance!  Thanks.

[Lilwolf]

btw, I consider almost all those true classics

renegade is great!  I loved that game in the arcade

[SNAAAKE]

did you try cadillacs and dinosaurs by capcom..

ONE GREAT GAME PEOPLE  

has serious game play and music.overall..best game ever...

make sure you give it couple of minutes and you will love the game  

[Grasshopper]

I definitely agree with Ghouls & Ghosts, and Rastan (really cool music!).

You might also try Ghosts & Goblins (the forerunner to Ghouls & Ghosts) and Trojan (another good late eighties platformer).

Defender is another great game (possibly the best ever), but then most people already know that....

Incidentally I used to play a clone of Rastan that used a darker non-standard palette. Has anyone else ever come across it? It doesn't appear to be supported by mame.

[slug54]

I just discovered Pepper II a couple days ago and I am completely addicted, It's Kinda like a Pacman meets Qix game.

Most of the older byoac'ers know about these next three
but some of the younger members may not have played them.

Star castle : A nice vector game definetly worth a shot.

Wizard of War : Great game and even better with 2 players

Scramble  : An old  side scroller that is very tough to beat
                  there's no "continue option" on this baby.
                             
Game I'm most embarrased to say I play : Flicky
My 13 year old daughter and I have been in a heated competition for 6 months to keep our initials on top of this high score list.

                                        Slug54

[The Man]

I've been playing a little Nibbler, Zoo Keeper and Mappy.  

Nibbler is best played with a 4way, but currently I only have an 8way.  The game is fast and furious.  Its not something that lasts long, but you can really get movin.

Oh yeah.  Two player RipOff.

I've also been playing alot of PayperBoy and Star Wars games.  If you're good with your hands, build yourself a TwistyGrip yoke and play these games again.

I built myself a Push and Pull spinner, but put it in storage while the basement is getting finished.  I'll get that baby out and play some Disc's of Tron when its done.

If I think of anymore I'll let you know.  I like these kinda questions, give me the chance to play some games I've never even thought of playing.

Game On.
TM

[jerryjanis]

Ooooh!  I was afraid to mention Discs of Tron because I don't know how many people have the push and pull spinner/dotron setup...  Since it has been mentioned, then Zwackery must be added to my list (but I think you gotta have the push/pull spinner).  I think that only a handful were ever put into production probably because people didn't want to deal with the crazy controls, so it's GREAT that Mame emulates it.

Quote from klov:
"The game was quite a flop due to its quirky controls, which are identical to Discs Of Tron. Do not be surprised if it takes some time to learn how to operate this platform game using these controls. "

Quote from the high score holder at http://marp.retrogames.com:
"Geez, could the controls be any MORE difficult in this game?"

Quote from http://www.zwackery.net:
"The game uses controls identical to Discs of Tron, which makes it difficult to get the hang of right away, but once you become accustomed to the controls, you'll have a blast."

Ha ha ha.  Could it get any sweeter?

[Brax]

It's probably not terribly secret but one game that I've just discovered is 'Toobin! With a release of 1988 that was juuuust past when I was visiting arcades so I had never seen it before.

I'm so glad I have the SF2 button setup. Toobin was a breeze to configure and a blast to play! Two player head to head is great fun!

*plink plink!* Take that Satan!

[Howard_Casto]

Try some of the lesser known capcom platformers like Kinghts of the Round, Captain Commando and Warriors of fate.  Also some of the lesser known konmai beat em ups like cowboys of moo mesa and bucky o'hare  And don't forget the data east classic baddudes.  

I'm Bad!!!!

[CthulhuLuke]

Well there's quite a few shooters out there, like Guwange I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend for any hardcore shooter fans out there, best played on RAINE btw.  But the one that runs in Mame that a lot of people haven't ever even heard of would be Cybattler, which you can read a review at http://www.classicgaming.com/rotw/cybattler/  (notice who wrote it, plus took the screenshots ^_^, and yes, that is my last name)  Great fookin game, awesome style of weapons and what not, definitely worth playing.
    -CthulhuLuke

[Ryan]

A couple of my favorites are:

Elevator Action
Yie Ar Kung-Fu

A few I just found:

Viewpoint
Block Block
Elevator Action II

[SirPoonga]

I've recently discovered Do Don Pachi.  Love it!!
I also found a game that I remember playing as a kid that is addicticting.  Blood Bros.

[OSCAR]

When I take a break from my fav's: Defender, Tempest, Galaxian, Galaga, & Time Pilot, I'll normally fire up one of these:

Ninja Spirit
Yie Ar Kung-Fu
Silkworm
Metal Black
Baseball Stars 2

Occasionally, I'll play Snacks'nJaxson, but I can only take a few rounds of that one because it kinda freaks me out.  

[JustMichael]

Bonze Adventure is great and if you like puzzle type games then you simply MUST try Solomon's Key.
Also one must not forget Kid Niki Radical Ninja (with its sickly sweet music).  

[Ryan]

Just tried Flicky!!   I love it!  

[SNAAAKE]

thunder dragon 2.

great shooter in case no one noticed yet.

[Xiaou2]

Along with some of the greats that everyone has already listed... here are some lesser known but cool games:

rally bike
ninja princess
rescue
cachat
cleopatras fortune
cosmic chasm
jumping jack
loco motion
glob
tac scan
teddyboy blues
brute force
city bomber

[Lilwolf]

HAHAHAHA

I love that everyone is mentioning all the games that I played in the arcade!

What I started to discover is all the NEW games that I've never seen!

I do a "dir roms\<letter>* /os"  to find the biggests games for each letter... then try them since most of them I've never seen or heard of.

There are a lot of good games out there!

I played on a few nights ago that was like a cross between colors and don par<whatever... the neogeo puzzlebobble one>.  But you shoot the bubble over by pulling down on a spring.  Fun game!  

Some of the new shooters are AMAZING also.  Great graphics!  great action.

[toilet]

Damn, someone already mentioned Cadillacs & Dinosaurs.

Here's a couple

Caveman Ninja [cninja]
Battle Garegga [battleg]
Captain Tomaday [ctomaday]
Musashi Ganryuuki [ganryu]
Spin Master [spinmast]

[elsquibbs]

I recently found these treats, and find myself playing them often:

Haunted Castle: Like Castlevania, but with better graphics and infinitely more difficult.

3 Wonders: 3 games in 1, but the best 2 are the games featuring Capcom's character "Lou."

Ajax: Helicopter/Jet game by Konami. You gotta love the part when you divebomb the enemy's battleship.

Killer Instinct: This one is relatively new, but it's my all-time favorite fighting game. This was a Class A find for me.

Stocker: Drive your red sports car like a maniac and avoid the cops.

[SNAAAKE]

Damn, someone already mentioned Cadillacs & Dinosaurs.

hahhahaha....that would be me...love the game man...

here is another.    the punisher (CPS1)

and some good shooter

sen jin
Sengoku Ace
Shadow Force
Shippu Mahou Daisakusen
Stagger I
Storm Blade
Strike Gunner S.T.G
Sand Scorpion
Ryu Jin

[mrhowell]

LADYBUG.  Quite addictive.

[The Man]

When I take a break from my fav's: Defender, Tempest, Galaxian, Galaga, & Time Pilot, I'll normally fire up one of these:

Ninja Spirit
Yie Ar Kung-Fu
Silkworm
Metal Black
Baseball Stars 2

Occasionally, I'll play Snacks'nJaxson, but I can only take a few rounds of that one because it kinda freaks me out.  

You would think you would be playing some Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, Empire Strikes Back, Payperboy and maybe some SpyHunter with that new controller of yours.  I just got my TwistyGrip yoke out again and I found myself playing StarWars for 3 hours the other night.  

Game on!
TM

[OSCAR]

Ah, yes, those will definitely be on my list when my new cab is done and the yoke is installed.  It's kinda awkward to play with it clamped to the desk, but that didn't keep me from getting a few games in!  

[ErikRuud]

Warrior - In 1979-80, my friends and I played this game (and Tail Gunner) at the arcade almost exclusively for three months until it was taken away.  Unfortunately, the MAME Cinematronics engine is very inefficient, and does not run well on my old PC, so I usually play the Retrocade version that does not have sound.

[Trenchbroom]

Can't believe I consider myself a shooter fan and I missed Do Don Pachi.  Shame on me--it's great!

[SNAAAKE]

DUUUDE...

shooter fan...did you try mars matrix and zero gunner 2 on dreamcast...

go get a dreamcast right now in case you dont have one..

man...mars martix is awsome ! ! !

[hyiu]

most of you might already know....

there's a Don Pachi.... seems like another part for
Do Don Pachi....

also... thx for all these "preferred games" lists.....
Dammm.... I'm too busy trying them out with my joystick....

but need to spend time on building my cab !!!!.....    

[Starscream]

This discusion is great.

All these great shooters will keep me happy until 0.62. Which will be shooter heaven.

Cyvern, Giga Wing, Sengoku Blade and Strikers 1945!!!

I hope Sengeki Striker will work soon too (fingers crossed).

[kgriffin]

I am currently addicted to Marble Madness for some strange reason. I just can't stop playing it.

[Lilwolf]

OK... some classics that everyone needs to play:  Most are obvious

robotron... but you have to get into the grove beyond 10th level.  There is a REAL ZEN you can get into!

timepilots... I still play this once a week.  BTW, I need to buy a happs super... I hear it's better for timepilots.

10 yard fight.... Best football game!  I can make it to the pro's now...

Mat Mania... Best wrestling game!



burger time... Never really played it in the arcade... but when I found that if a monster is on the bun when you finish it... it goes down 4 levels... now I die often to get that to happen

chiller!  This game was like a dream for me.  I always thought that I dreamed it because who in their right mind would bring that game out!  Its great!  (also get to see some low pixel nipples

DigDug... Always a classic...

Elevator Action... Again, a classic...  And still fun as hell

Gyruss.. Classis section here

Excite Bike... if you move left and right in a jump, it goes farther... it really does.  

Moon Patrol... classic

karate champ... great 2 players... but I killed my 4player cp so I
can't play it anymore.   Great when you have people over who are good at SF games.


man the list goes on

[SNAAAKE]

found 2 more..

super pool.

BACK STREET SOCCER.

man this socccer game ! ! ! phew...

me and my brother played for like straight 5 hours yesterday...

give it a try..amezing..very fun...

[Brax]

I'm not sure how popular it was but I love Sky Kid. Cartoony graphics, cute music.... It's alot of fun to play

[Minwah]

Give 'Butasan' a try!  Great fun & good in 2 player.  I remember this game on the Amstrad CPC but called 'Psycho Pigs UXB'.  Not sure if there was a european / usa arcade release.

I, like Howard, also love Knights of the Round.  ALL of the Capcom scrolling fighters are great.

Great 1000 Mile Rally (Evolution Model) is great.  And play 'I'm Sorry' just because it's quite bizarre.

Oh, and 'Penguin Kun Wars' too.

And anything that uses a spinner

[neuromancer]

Major Havoc

The mini breakout on the spaceship dashboard is a super cool touch.

bob

[nullb0y]

  !TRON!

[saltlyck2]

What! No mention of Bombjack yet?  One of the best in my opinion.

[Howard_Casto]

I almost forgot... 3 count bout for the neogeo........   It was realeased around the time of the dawn of  "wwf attitude" and although it's only 2d and doesn't have any named wrestlers (at least none that are legally endorsed ) it really gets the whole sports entertainment thing... with parking lot matches and all.  



And although everyone already knows.... don't forget robocop.  

[Malenko]

After typing up my list and eliminating the ones other peole said (like DoDonPachi):

WWF WrestleFest
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
WindJammers (IS AWESOME!)
BreakThru
All Point Bulletin (APB)
2on2 Open Ice Challenge
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Silkworm

[kgriffin]

OK, I am probably showing my age here and this game is probably no secret to the younger crowd but I just played the Metal Slug games and turned on some of my friends (also my age). We are all freaking out at how cool those games are. I played metal slug 2 to the end my first time (with the help of 56 credits)