Author Topic: "ROM Surfing?" (Read 9328 times)

AndyWarne · « **on:** April 04, 2003, 10:08:27 am »

Hi,

As we all know, most of the time we play the old favorite games we have known for years, but how often do people actually check out games we have never played? With almost 3000 to choose from it's a bit hit and miss..
I was doing a bit of ROM surfing the other day and completely by accident came across a game I have never even heard of let alone played. It's called "Bal Cube" and from the first 10 seconds I was totally hooked and have not played any other game since! It's an easy game really (suits me!) very much in the Breakout mould but much better. It also has a really weird graphic background which for some unknown reason seems to be based on Swiss alpine villages. Not to mention the most irritatingly catchy soundtrack..
Anyone else ever stumbled across any real gems by just trying ROMs at random?

ZaneMn · « **Reply #1 on:** April 04, 2003, 10:35:30 am »

I found Renegade. It's not the most sopisticated game but for some reason it's fun. It's just like Double Dragon accept you fight 10 guys at once.

JamesMolloy · « **Reply #2 on:** April 04, 2003, 10:41:57 am »

I downloaded Renegade yesterday too. I'm not sure If I like it yet though.

MilitiaMan · « **Reply #3 on:** April 04, 2003, 10:55:13 am »

Quote from: AndyWarne on April 04, 2003, 10:08:27 am

Anyone else ever stumbled across any real gems by just trying ROMs at random?

Some of you may have played this, but recently I stumbled across a game that I had never played before ... and now I absolutely love it.

It's called DoDonPachi --- it's like 1942 on steroids!

If you want to kill a ton of stuff in a very short period of time, this is YOUR game!

-MM

jalidi · « **Reply #4 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:03:37 am »

I try to play my MAME cabinet at least once a day, and what I usually do is 'Select Random Game' from 'Available' and just let the chips fall where they may.

I have to admit that I've come across a few surprises in the 3000-odd ROM library... the latest was a puzzle game in the style of Tetris called 'Block Hole' --- but with a twist, for instead of assembling pieces into complete squares at the bottom, you had to instead shoot them into place on incomplete shapes coming down from the top of the screen. It's one of my favorite arcade puzzle games now, right up there with Neo Geo's 'Bust A Move'

JamesMolloy · « **Reply #5 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:04:09 am »

Speaking of killing lots of things very quickly I've recently got into Robotron. It was way before my time in the arcades and home conversions never did it justice because you need two joysticks.

If you play it for 5 minutes you've probably blasted 500 aliens. Really intense, really hard, really fun.

OSCAR · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:13:23 am »

Some time after I built my first MAME cab I found Metal Black and Meikyu Jima and I hadn't heard of either one of those before. I find Meikyu Jima particularly addicting and I still play it pretty often. The Japanese cartoony music between rounds cracks me up every time.

jdjuggler · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:18:25 am »

Yes. Robotron was very popular.
I found 2 very interesting games called Darius and Darius II.
This is basically a defender style game, but the cool thing is that the screen is in a super widescreen format. So your field of view is huge compared to something like defender. Check it out, let me know what you think.
JD

PS (for those new schoolers... try Tapper also, the rootbeer version, of course)

pocketz · « **Reply #8 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:22:15 am »

theres a game i found called "I'm Sorry" it has elements of the early games like pacman and digdug with a humorous twist. i find it quite addictive.

Rocky · « **Reply #9 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:43:10 am »

Two games that I've recently "discovered" from the rom list that I really like are:

Speed Coin... it's so simple, yet I have a hard time not playing "just one more game"

Metro-Cross... you race this guy through obstacles before time runs out.

Rocky

gnateye · « **Reply #10 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:43:15 am »

i love to do this, i stumbled onto

quantam - trackabll game, easy to play hard to be good at, super addictive

speed coin - this one i atually tried after i saw people talking about it on this list, super addictive

there are gems, but with over 3000 games it so hard to try them all

AX · « **Reply #11 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:46:13 am »

This thread prompted me to go get a list of all the fighting games available. IE street fighter. Came up with a list of like 20 games i am going to look at this weekend.

mpm32 · « **Reply #12 on:** April 04, 2003, 12:54:44 pm »

I too like I'm sorry. It has some S&M elements to it. Nothing too out of bounds for those with kids. I play R-Type II alot, its a game I never played in the arcade. Most of the time when I went to the arcades I either played Battle Zone or pinball.

Distortion · « **Reply #13 on:** April 04, 2003, 01:08:47 pm »

I discovered Puzzle Bobble, Metal Slug, Super Puzzle Fighter 2, Track and Field, The Punisher, and probably some others I've not mentioned. All good stuff! Puzzle Fighter is one of those games you can play for hours when you've got someone to play against. I've got the neighbor kid totally hooked on it!

Kaeru the Frog · « **Reply #14 on:** April 04, 2003, 01:11:56 pm »

Quote

This thread prompted me to go get a list of all the fighting games available.

MinerAl · « **Reply #15 on:** April 04, 2003, 01:19:58 pm »

Cutie Q, Gee Bee, and Bomb Bee. Great early games halfway between pinball machines and Breakout.

Cinemarcade has a little weekly feature where people review weird non-classic games that they have discovered:
The Games that Time Forgot

Not my site, etc., but fun to see!

CustomArcade · « **Reply #16 on:** April 04, 2003, 01:21:02 pm »

I hate to admit this in a room full of men but "Penguin Wars". Simple To play, Hard to master. Love it and yes I am seeking therapy

Generic Eric · « **Reply #17 on:** April 04, 2003, 01:47:03 pm »

I use mame 32. So sometimes I hit the sort by year date and look for a game from a certain time period.

Or once I find a game I like, I sort by manufactur. Thats how I checked out the psysiko games. I never tried the random function.

Another way I'll check out new games is by coming here. Frequently a post like this is started and lots of games I haven't heard of get mentioned.

CitznFish · « **Reply #18 on:** April 04, 2003, 02:15:34 pm »

I didn't "discover' this one, I remember it from teh arcades and trascked it down in MAME. if you haven't played it yet, give 'Black Tiger' a shot. One of my fav games for sure.

To get you started, here is a little tip. It's a side scroller (left to right) but at teh very beginning go left and shoot the wall a few times.

slug54 · « **Reply #19 on:** April 04, 2003, 03:32:37 pm »

Pepper II

I can't remember how I found this game, but I am hooked and play it all the time. It's kind of a cross between Qix and Pacman. If you just look at the screenshots it looks very dull. But believe me it is very addicting give it a couple of plays and see.

Slug54

AceTKK · « **Reply #20 on:** April 04, 2003, 04:48:54 pm »

If you liked DoDonPachi be sure to check out ESP Ra.De (spelled just like that). It's similar and I think it's better.

-Ace-

SNAAAKE · « **Reply #21 on:** April 04, 2003, 04:55:35 pm »

i found lightning thunder 2 today..its quite amusing..good shooter..

JamesMolloy · « **Reply #22 on:** April 04, 2003, 05:35:24 pm »

Quote from: CitznFish on April 04, 2003, 02:15:34 pm

I didn't "discover' this one, I remember it from teh arcades and trascked it down in MAME. if you haven't played it yet, give 'Black Tiger' a shot. One of my fav games for sure.

To get you started, here is a little tip. It's a side scroller (left to right) but at teh very beginning go left and shoot the wall a few times.

I found Black Tiger too a few days ago. I hadn't played in in 12 years and had long ago forgotten the name. It's excellent stuff. Like Ghouls and Ghosts with RPG elements.

IG-88 · « **Reply #23 on:** April 04, 2003, 05:50:54 pm »

Quote from: CitznFish on April 04, 2003, 02:15:34 pm

I didn't "discover' this one, I remember it from teh arcades and trascked it down in MAME. if you haven't played it yet, give 'Black Tiger' a shot. One of my fav games for sure.

To get you started, here is a little tip. It's a side scroller (left to right) but at teh very beginning go left and shoot the wall a few times.

WOW! What the hell is that? Some kind of time bonus? I've been playing Black Tiger for years and never new that was there! Too cool! I will say that this game is what ultimately led me to MAME. It pretty simple by today standards I know, but it's just got something about it that I like. Others I played alot as a youngster were Rygar & Kid Niki. Both MAME'd! There was this old mom & pops arcade that only had about 10 machines in it, and the greatest nacho's........man I miss that place.

CitznFish · « **Reply #24 on:** April 04, 2003, 05:57:35 pm »

Quote from: dolphinwaxer on April 04, 2003, 05:50:54 pm

WOW! What the hell is that? Some kind of time bonus? I've been playing Black Tiger for years and never new that was there! Too cool! I will say that this game is what ultimately led me to MAME. It pretty simple by today standards I know, but it's just got something about it that I like. Others I played alot as a youngster were Rygar & Kid Niki. Both MAME'd! There was this old mom & pops arcade that only had about 10 machines in it, and the greatest nacho's........man I miss that place.

It's a shied I believe. there are 2 other places in the game with hidden upgrades. Of course i won't tell you where they are.

SirPoonga · « **Reply #25 on:** April 04, 2003, 05:59:18 pm »

Yeah, that's why me FE is going to have a random list. I'm going to fill my list with random games.

IG-88 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 04, 2003, 06:09:04 pm »

Quote from: CitznFish on April 04, 2003, 05:57:35 pm

It's a shied I believe. there are 2 other places in the game with hidden upgrades. Of course i won't tell you where they are.

Ya don't, I'll find then and tell you

OSCAR · « **Reply #27 on:** April 04, 2003, 07:18:35 pm »

Quote from: MilitiaMan on April 04, 2003, 10:55:13 am

Some of you may have played this, but recently I stumbled across a game that I had never played before ... and now I absolutely love it.

It's called DoDonPachi --- it's like 1942 on steroids!

If you want to kill a ton of stuff in a very short period of time, this is YOUR game!

-MM

Ahh, DoDonPachi... Very good. One of my favorite things about that game is the last sentence of the export warning. I can't help but chuckle every time I start that one up.

shmokes · « **Reply #28 on:** April 04, 2003, 07:38:12 pm »

Fullest extent of the Jam...LOL

AceTKK · « **Reply #29 on:** April 04, 2003, 10:25:09 pm »

heh-heh-he I always get a chuckle out of that too :-)

-Ace-

OSCAR · « **Reply #30 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:24:58 pm »

Since we are on this topic, I just found a game I haven't tried before: Sarge

It seems kinda fun, however I couldn't play it very well since it originally used dual Tron-style trigger joysticks from the KLOV pic. I imagine a pair of top fire Supers would work just as well, though.

##edit## - I knew it seemed sort of familiar, very Vindicators-like.

SirPoonga · « **Reply #31 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:45:13 pm »

you could simulate it easy with normal 8-way joysticks.

Jest set left or right to buttons:)

OSCAR · « **Reply #32 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:50:04 pm »

Ahh, yes, it's a 2-way game, good point. See, I told you I just found it!

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #33 on:** April 05, 2003, 12:58:29 am »

I intend to release a new version of emusaver that keeps track of the games it's ran and only shows unplayed games. Optional of course, but it would be a great way to see unusual titles.

Lilwolf · « **Reply #34 on:** April 05, 2003, 11:35:02 am »

One feature I always loved about JFront is that you can set/sort by favorites... but you can ALSO display only non-set favorites. So I set only nonset, hit random, play a game, and rate it...

Sad thing is that I play thisway more then show only my best favorites...

As for games that I find and love. New ones. Every favorite mentioned here I played in the arcade. So most old ones I already know and loved. But I was suprised that some of the newer games that I actually like.

Cue-Ball · « **Reply #35 on:** April 05, 2003, 09:18:35 pm »

Here's a couple of my favorites:

Great 1000 Miles Rally
Mille Miglia 2: Great 1000 Miles Rally

These are, of course, sister games. They both have their good qualities and both are very fun. I just love the sound of the Ferrari 250 as it goes through the gears.

mrhowell · « **Reply #36 on:** April 05, 2003, 09:51:17 pm »

Sarge was very fun in the arcade, Assault is good too.

jerryjanis · « **Reply #37 on:** April 06, 2003, 12:00:46 am »

Mikie... It's wacky, and totally rad. It's quite a fun challenge to figure out what you have to do, and it continues to be really fun to play it afterwords.

Snake Pit... Man, that's an AWESOME game. Trackball in one hand, joystick in the other (the mouse & keyboard works very well also). Run around whipping snakes by the thousands... It's kinda Robotron-esque with some extra features that make it really fun.

Shuuz... A horseshoes game that's really fun for 4 players (with a trackball and beer)... It's a great game even for people who don't usually like video games.

anthony691 · « **Reply #38 on:** April 06, 2003, 12:18:21 am »

Well, a few of my favorites (some classics) are:

Magical Drop III
Super Puzzle Fighter 2
Robotron
Logicpro (1 and 2)
Volfied
Zaxxon
Metal Slug (all)
Pac-Man
Shock Troopers 2nd squad
Vs. Balloon fight (I prefer it over joust)
Qix
Giga Wing
Puzzle Bobble (all)
Zero Point

And oh so many more

jerryjanis · « **Reply #39 on:** April 06, 2003, 12:20:59 am »

Irritating Maze... The name alone is enough to keep me coming back.


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