Having recently acquired a steam deck, the first thing I did was throw on some emulators so I could play 30-year-old videogames instead of the modern AAA titles I’ve got in my library. To explain, I’ve got the deck hooked up to my living room TV, and fully intend to use it for couch gaming with friends and my girlfriend. Arcade titles make great co-op or competitive games.
However, a decent sized mame set comes with thousands of working titles. Thousands. Many of which aren’t actually games, but computer or hand-held devices, gambling, or weird puzzles about pornography or fruit. To pare this down I’m starting with a base of the “All Killer no Thriller” list of roms, which purports to trim things down quite a bit.
I mean, not enough. There’s still like 600 games, many of which I probably won’t enjoy, or which are single player and thus not good for couch play. So every day I’m going to play one or two of the games I’ve got and decide whether to keep them or not, and once a week I’ll post capsule reviews here. Like this.
’88 Games
Third in a series of Track n Field games from Konami, themed after the 1988 Olympics. As a four player sports game you’d think it’d be great for couch play… but in the end it’s just a lot of rapid button tapping which is hard on the controllers, hard on my thumbs, and hard on my patience. I don’t see ever actually playing this one, so I’m going to pass.
1000 Miglia: Great 1000 Miles Rally
1000 Miglia: Great 1000 Miles Rally is an interesting racing game that draws from Italy’s historic thousand mile rally that ran from the 20s to the 50s until too many people died.
Third person racing games are always neat, and this one plays smoothly – except for the fact that the cabinet hosts a steering wheel and I’m playing with a gamepad. I will, regretfully, have to pass on this title.
1943 Kai: Midway Kaisen
An enhanced Japanese-exclusive version of 1943, a shooter sequel to 1942. Replaces “lives” with a life bar that’s also used to fuel special attacks and the loop maneuver that you use to dodge bullets. A big improvement, generally, over 1942.
I admit it. I’m a filthy casual when it comes to shmups, and 1943 Kai is a tough one, with Midway Kaisen even more difficult. With as many shooters as are on the list, I’m going to pass for now.
19XX: The War Against Destiny
First game in the series to deviate from the World War II theme, setting it against a possible third world war instead. Easier than the above, but still too difficult for me. It’s very likely the case that I should stick to console ports of shooters, as they’re designed to encourage longer gameplay sessions and not suck down quarters. Pass.
2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge
A decent enough ice hockey game. Pass, shoot, score. Interesting twist in that if you play it single player, you don’t control the actions of your teammate unless you want them to pass or shoot. As the name implies it’s 2 on 2, and can accommodate four players at once – making it worth keeping as a couch game for when a few friends are over. It’s use of real teams and players reminds me of NBA Jam. Keep unless I find a better four player ice hockey game.
2020 Super Baseball
Pretty good, as far as arcade baseball games go, with some interesting tweaks/twists, including up-gradable players. Given the decent Super Nintendo Port there’s really no reason to bother with the logistics of a coin-op – despite the superior visuals, the upgrade system makes more sense on a console. Pass.
64th Street – A detective Story
Decent enough brawler for something that wasn’t developed by Capcom, with a unique theme – 20s hardboiled detective fiction. Most of the enemies are decidedly 80s punk. Player controls are a little simple, without much flare in the way of special moves, but one of the pickups is a cat so why not keep it on the deck for the novelty factor? Keep at least until I beat it.
Aero Fighters 2
This shooter feels a bit more my speed, with an interesting array of selectable ships, though the power-ups system is sadly limited on a given playthrough as there are only a few tiers up upgrades. The stages themselves make up for it with a good deal of variety, including a surprising amount of destructable civilian architecture. Plus you can play as a dolphin. Keep.
Aero Fighters Special
Everything I said about Aero Fighters 2 applies here, but maybe even a bit moreso. Keep.
Age of Heroes – Silkroad 2
Hack n Slash brawler with digitized pre-rendered sprites that look really dated now, especially when mixed with pixel-art backgrounds. Despite that, it’s a good four-player game with cool power-ups and special moves systems, and interesting level designs. Another good party game, though one that’s maybe more of a marathon given the length of the game. Keep.
So, that’s that. Pruning ‘88 Games, 1000 Miglia, 1943 Kai, 19XX, and 2020 Super Baseball, and keeping 2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge, 64th Street, Aero Fighters Special, Aero Fighters 2, and Silkroad 2.
