OK, here's a very hastily-thrown together page with... Er...

Well, it'll be for video gaming things that don't warrant a page of their own.

[I'm sure we'll keep this page constantly updated - Ed]

Shut up, Ed.




First up, a flyer for DeathSmiiles Gaiden: Lost Days (sent to us by Shinobi of the Retro Gamer forum). Click to embiggen.

This is a mobile phone game, and unlike the game advertised on the other side of this flyer (Switch) there is nothing on the internet about this game.

About the only thing we could find was a press release with some screenshots.

Do you know anything more about DeathSmiles Gaiden: Lost Days? Answers on a postcard to the usual address.


Next! A weird patch of vid-con history: MARIO'S HAMMER TIME.

Printed in Official Nintendo Magazine, Mario's Hammer Time was a mercifully short-lived feature wherein readers would send in pieces of non-Nintendo gaming hardware for the staff to destroy. As I didn't hang on to as many issues of ONM during their crap 1998-2001 era as I did N64 Magazine (RIP), I only have four of these available, but at the very least I have the worst that I remember- an Asian PAL Mega Drive with a 32X. You MONSTERS! We'll preserve them here, reservedly. Click each one to embiggen:






Next! A little thing about Beast Busters: Second Nightmare.

Almost every picture on the internet of the cabinet for the game has the Beast Busters logo for its marquee.

Sounds normal, right? Not in Europe!



I've seen this game a few times in Europe- Britain and Majorca, mostly.

I've never seen it in this region with the standard Beast Busters marquee.

Instead, they read 'HYPER TOMMY GUN 64'.

Just let that sink in.


Next! Thievery!

There's a particularly bad game on Xbox Live Indie Games called Dreams of Witchtown.

I downloaded ir because, well, I'm an idiot. But it turns out it was worth it, sort-of.

The game steals art from the Touhou series! Specifically, Immaterial and Missing Power. Oberserve:



Yes, apparently my lone talent is being able to spot traced Touhou art from 10 paces. I'll use this power responsibly.

Also, it's amusing they painstakingly modified the Hong Meiling art... Just to turn her into a Marisa clone. TSK TSK.



Next! Secrets.

The PS2 Sega Ages 2500 port of Dynamite Deka/Die Hard Arcade- which is bloody fantastic, by the way- has an odd set of secrets.

Beating each of the standard modes, then beating any mode with all modes unlocked, gives you a code for a new one, and a password.

Punch the password into the text bar on the Sega Ages: Dynamite Deka website, and the following 'extras' are yours...

WENDIGO - 'TSUNDERE HEART', a page with wallpapers and some sort of competition?
HOLLYWOOD - A page dedicated to Sega Periscope (it's in the game as a way of earning extra credits).
ALIENBURGER - Profiles and pictures of the enemy characters.
TRICLOPS - What appear to be parody versions of the original websites for Dynamite Deka 1 (both arcade and Saturn) and Dynamite Deka 2. The Saturn one replaces the 'This is COOL' logo with, uh, 'This is FOOL'.
ZAIJIAN - 'Ages Report', which is a conversation between Triggerheart and Crueltear from Triggerheart Exelica. Google Translate really doesn't help.



Next! The Puyo Puyo localisation that might not have been...?

There's a World revision in MAME for Puyo Puyo. Some sources say it's actually a bootleg.

I'm not sure, simply because this version actually has new voice samples. That'd take some doing for bootleggers...

In any case, the game was translated and almost all the character names changed.

The entire cast is below, with their 'new' names:



I'm not sure which I find funnier:

That Schezo somehow got renamed Devious... Or that Witch's name still didn't change.


Next! The secret Namco characters in Family Tennis Advance.

(We've sort-of done this already on the Marchen Maze page, but this one looks nicer.)

Developed by Natsume, Family Tennis Advance is... A tennis game. A continuation of the Family Tennis series that started on the Famicom, there are 16 unlockable Namco characters. The problem is that no-one's really bothered to document them. I tried, and failed, to figure out how to get them, but Ragey0 of Random Hoohaas found this page for me that tells you exactly how to do it- go into Exhibition Mode and play a 5-set match against the computer. Win, and you'll unlock one of the Namco guests at random. Below, for your viewing pleasure, are the unlock screens for all 16 of them, and their names are below the picture, in the order they appear



Alice (Marchen Maze), Anna Hottenmeyer (Mr. Driller), Bravoman, Gil (The Tower of Druaga)
Heihachi Mishima (Tekken), Hitomi Yoshino (various Namco sports games including MotoGP and Alpine Ski), Ki (The Tower of Druaga), Klonoa
Susumu Hori (Mr. Driller), Pac-Man, Pino (Toy Pop), Rick Taylor (Splatterhouse)
Taira no Kagekiyo (Genpei Toma Den), WadaDon (Taiko: Drum Master), Valkyrie (Valkyrie no Boken), Wonder Momo




Next! Legally iffy game music.

The main theme to Taito's Rainbow Islands is a wee bit like Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz. Well, the opening seconds definitely are. In any case, the similarity was to the point that a few home conversions altered the main melody of the song while keeping the rest (while most of the home computer versions just kept the music anyway, because why not). There's also one case of the song being completely replaced and another of the offending sound channel being muted via emulation. So... Which versions used which song? We have made a chart to this effect below. The ports with 'altered' versions of the song have links to YouTube videos so you can have a listen.

Version Developer Music Arcade Emulation or Port?
Arcade Taito Over the Rainbow -
Famicom Disco Over the Rainbow Port
NES (US) Disco Alternate OTR #1 Port
NES (Europe) Ocean New Song Port
Master System I.T.L. Alternate OTR #1 Port
Mega Drive Aisystem Tokyo Over the Rainbow Port
PC Engine CD Bits Laboratory Over the Rainbow Port
FM Towns Marty Ving Over the Rainbow Port
ZX Spectrum Graftgold Over the Rainbow Port
Amstrad CPC Graftgold Over the Rainbow Port
Commodore 64 Graftgold Over the Rainbow Port
Amiga Graftgold Over the Rainbow Port
Atari ST Graftgold Over the Rainbow Port
Game Boy Color Nekogumi Bubble Bobble Theme Port
Wonderswan
(as Rainbow Islands: Putty's Party		 MegaHouse? Over the Rainbow Port
Bubble Bobble also featuring Rainbow Islands
(PS1, Saturn, PC)		 Probe Entertainment Alternate OTR #2 Port
Taito Legends
(PS2, Xbox, PC)		 Empire Interactive Over the Rainbow
(Muted Sound Channel Ver.)		 Emulation
Taito Memories II Joukan
(PS2)		 Taito? Alternate OTR #3 Emulation
Taito Egret II Mini
 Taito Bubble Bobble Theme Emulation
Mega Drive Mini 2
 M2 Alternate OTR #1 Emulation
Bubble Bobble / Rainbow Islands
(PC) 		Empire Interactive
(Published on Xplosiv)		 Over the Rainbow Emulation


That last item on the list doesn't seem to exist on GameFAQs- it's this one if you're interested.

It seems this is the only emulated release of the arcade game available in Western territories with the original music.

... Although the Game Boy Color version has the music and never uses it, but can be hacked to put it back in!<




Next! Legally clear and recurring music.

The music used in the shop in Sega's arcade classic Fantasy Zone- the song's usually called Shop-A, as there are two slightly different versions that play in-game- has made reappearances in a few other games. Some obvious, others less so. Here's a list of them, with links to YouTube letting you listen to the song. Obviously, we're excluding any actual Fantasy Zone sequels, because that's where it's supposed to show up.

Game System Year Track Name Notes Sound Clip
Fantasy Zone Arcade 1986 Shop-A - YouTube
Turbo Outrun Arcade 1987 A Huge Pile of Parts - YouTube
Hot Rod Arcade 1988 Parts Shop (?) - YouTube
Super Hang-On Mega Drive 1989 Winner - YouTube
Planet Harriers Arcade 1999 Shop Must play as Opa-Opa to hear it YouTube
Segagaga Dreamcast 2001 Shopping at a shop Second half of the song YouTube
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Arcade Arcade 2010 Magical Sound Shower Short version appears at end of song
Never heard in-game, only on soundtrack		 YouTube

With thanks to this thread at Sonic Retro for the Segagaga/Planet Harriers ones.

Have we missed any? Do let us know, like.




Next! A Sega-tastic submission from two readers.

Apparently there is nothing Sega loves more than throwing Sega references into their Hatsune Miku/Vocaloid games. We mostly focus on the Project DIVA games in this part of the web, but Twitter user @pikuri_ and Misc Tat page regular Liam Ashcroft shared with us some delightful Sega nods in the 3DS Hatsune Miku: Project mirai 2/DX. Let's have a look, shall we?



Let's start with the shots Liam sent us (including the one above) with the two Sega-relevant costumes first- Arle (for Miku) and Satan/Dark Prince (for Kaito)!

These are also used in the Puyo Puyo 39 minigame (which, sadly, is the first Puyo-related release in the West for several years).



Next, two models you can get to decorate your room- Sonic and Opa-Opa, the hero of the Fantasy Zone.



Now to the shots from @pikuri_, an Astro City cabinet with Virtua Fighter 2! I bet Rin plays a mean game as Pai.



Finally, a sit-down Hang-On machine! You could play 3D Super Hang-On on your 3DS, or just watch a Vocaloid play this one instead.


Next! A second Sega-tastic submission from a reader.

Liam Ashcroft sent this bit of Sega Saturn promotional stuff to us. So thanks for that!

Sega Saturn Soft Information Vol. 7, which came with his copy of NiGHTS, for your enjoyment:



In particular, pay attention to the Java Tea in the Virtua Fighter Kids advert.
This is probably for the Java Tea version of the game... Experts, clarify for us!


Next! A missing manual page.

This is the final page of the PAL R-Type Final manual, but if you're from the U.S., you may not have seen it!

It was removed from the American manual for reasons unknown.

It's an interesting read, but whenever I look at it, I get a little sad because it makes me think about Irem a lot. If you read it carefully, you can probably guess that it was translated with little consideration for how it appears on the page- it refers to a timeline on the right (it's actually at the bottom), has just a black box where I think a picture of the Kinmizuhiki flower is supposed to be, and where the timeline shows R-TYPE_ it should be R-TYPE Δ. Even though it's a little vague, it's got a tiny sliver of insight about Irem themselves, specifically the 'void' they entered in the 90s.

And for the record, three R-Type games followed this, with the Irem name intact- R-Type Tactics (R-Type Command in the US), R-Type Tactics II: Operation Bitter Chocolate and R-Type Dimensions (although this is just a port of I and II). And the iPhone ports of I and II, I guess. However, Final was the end of the story if nothing else, as the Tactics games are side-stories rather than carrying on from the events of Final.


Next! A third Sega-tastic submission from a reader.

Alas! It would've been a hat-trick if only I wasn't such a sucker for R-Type.











Anyway, Liam Ashcroft strikes again, with scans from... OK, take a deep breath, and say it with me... Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA extend Special Collaboration Album VOCALOID extend REMIXIES. Phew. This was a special album that was available only with pre-orders of Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA extend, the final PSP game in the series. The album has three songs from the Project DIVA games themselves (one from each game), and then four special remixes based on games represented in Project DIVA extend via costumes- Live and Learn from Sonic Adventure 2, Ignite Infinity from Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity, If You Wished from Valyria Chronicles III, and LOVE14, which was originally a vocal rendition of The Wind is Blowing from Cyber Troopers Virtual On that was sung by Fei-Yen's voice actress Chieko Higuchi (listen to the original here).

You can download a .rar of the scans, in .png format, from here.




Next! A well-known secret in Konami's best PS1 game... In a version you weren't expecting.

So, you probably know that the Saturn version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night added a bunch of extra items and areas (although it's still not the best version of the game for various other technical reasons). One of the new items is a Song Lyric Card found in the Catacombs (it's in the room below the entrance to the Granfaloon/Legion boss fight). The only use this has is a little easter egg- equip it as an accessory, have the green Fairy familiar relic switched on (this is in a secret room in Olrox's Quarters, usually called Fairy, as opposed to the standard blue one which is called Faerie), raise her to Level 12, then sit down in any chair in the castle. Wait long enough, and the Fairy will sing a lullaby called Nocturne to Alucard that was named thanks to the game's soundtrack. While this Fairy is in the Japanese PS1 game (and left out the US/EU versions- in her secret room you'll find the Sword Familiar item instead), the Song Lyric Card and the singing feature aren't.

What you might not know is that there is a PS1 version that adds this singing feature, and it actually came out a few months before the Saturn port! The Playstation the Best and PSOne Books versions of Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku (y'know, the Japanese version of Symphony) are actually revised versions of the game that fix a bug with Richter, correct a spelling mistake on the Game Over screen and also add this little easter egg. The difference is that they didn't actually add the Song Lyrics Card item into the game- instead you just need the green Fairy at Level 12. Sit anywhere, wait, and she'll sing for you. If you'd rather hear it in English, then you can- this same secret works in the SOTN port included in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP), where the green Fairy was added back into the English version, and they translated the song!


Next! Some guest character-centric scans for Konami's Battle Tryst.



As well as providing screenshots we can use for the Guest Characters page, Ragey sent us two other scans from Gamest #211 where he found them- one with information on Pastel's moves in the game, and another advertising the fact she's in the game with the amusing "HAVE YOU SEEN PASTEL?" tagline. We couldn't fit them on the Guest Characters page, but goodness me, we just had to get them on the site somehow. They're wonderfu. Thanks again, Ragey"


That's all for now. More exciting things will be added to this page soon~

Sigh.