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YouTube video by GameRaveTV This Game is 20 Minutes Long - Starblade Alpha Review| Game-Rave TV Ep. 242

This Game is 20 Minutes Long - Starblade Alpha Review| Game-Rave TV Ep. 242 www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFZb...

"As February comes to an end, I’d like to reintroduce myself. I’m JM (real name: MASASHI MIKAMI), and I was with SNK from April 1, 1991 to January 1995. When I first joined, I worked at SNK’s Tokyo development studio, which was located in Akihabara at the time. Later, in the fall of 1991, SNK Tokyo Development was closed and the team relocated to the Osaka headquarters. During my time there, I was mainly involved in the development of titles such as Mutation Nation, Samurai Shodown, Super Sidekicks, Savage Reign, and the Sega Genesis version of Art of Fighting. I was responsible for character and background pixel art on these projects. I hope to continue sharing memories and behind-the-scenes stories from those days. Thank you for your support. “JM” comes from “J. MIKAMI,” the name used in the staff credits of my early works."

I, JM, was with SAURUS from February 1995 to February 1997. SAURUS was established in part as a tax strategy for SNK, which was making tremendous profits at the time. All of its shares were 100% owned by SNK’s Executive Vice President, Nishiyama. I also believe it was meant to fulfill the promise of bringing the former SNK Tokyo development team back to Tokyo. During my time there, I was mainly involved in the development of titles such as Pleasure Goal: 5 on 5 Mini Soccer and Shock Troopers. After that, I joined Grams (the company that developed titles like QUOVADIS) at the invitation of a junior colleague from my SNK days, and I participated in the development of the Avalon Hill series. However, the company went bankrupt just six months later…

Former SNK / Saurus / GLAM / Camelot graphic designer Masashi Mikami on SNK and Saurus:
xcancel.com/JM_NewBreed/...
xcancel.com/JM_NewBreed/...

Metal Storm box art by Irem in-house artist Shinji Kubota

According to Kiyoshi Utata, who designed approximately 90% of the game's graphics (with some parts redone by director Kengo Miyata), Metal Storm was completed in 1989, but it was not initially released in Japan due to a lack of pre-orders.
The game was finally released in the US in 1991, ...
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Definitely looks like it from the credits. bsky.app/profile/vgde...

Dino had its own domain, "d-no.co.jp," but the Wayback Machine didn't get it.

Dino published a game: This New Japan Pro Wrestling typing game. web.archive.org/web/20011218...

Starfish must have bought them from Marvelous. Dino moved to the same building and floor as Starfish. Starfish and Hot-B USA are listed as group companies. web.archive.org/web/20021103...

The Dino logo: a portrait of a dinosaur with the name "Dino" underneath it

I brought up Dino recently. Looking for something else, I accidentally found the Dino website, hosted by Starfish. web.archive.org/web/20011214...

3-D WorldRunner and other Acclaim NES games

3-D WorldRunner and other Acclaim NES games
Source: Nintendo Fun Club News 3 (Fall 1987)
Scan Source: RetroMags

#retrogaming #nintendo

Kunio-kun series xcancel.com/sionic4029/s...

Tokoro-san no Mamoru mo Semeru mo/Paris-Dakar Rally Special/Elysion xcancel.com/sionic4029/s...

Sion Sawa has posted numerous times about his father (Kazuo Sawa) in the past. Here are two other recent posts: (Hikaru Genji: Roller Panic) xcancel.com/sionic4029/s... (Battle Lane! Vol. 5, Kazuo's debut work) xcancel.com/sionic4029/s...

YouTube video by Replay Burners 1991 [60fps] SD Gundam Psycho Salamander no Kyoui NoDamage ALL

This SD Gundam game seems to have been developed by Genki or its supposed predecessor, IT. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICJ-...

This book about the Neo Geo has profiles of the few third-party companies making games for it, including Sammy. Did you know there was a Canadian Sammy Corporation? archive.org/details/alla...

YouTube video by The Touchback The Strange Story of N64’s Only College Basketball Game

The Strange Story of N64’s Only College Basketball Game www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIR2...

YouTube video by VideoGameEphemera G4 Cheat! Pringles Gamers Guide S02E09 "Inside Tips & Tricks Magazine" (with commercials)

G4 Cheat! Pringles Gamers Guide S02E09 "Inside Tips & Tricks Magazine" (with commercials) www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2EX...

High score table for SD Gundam: Psycho Salamander no Kyoui (arcade)

One of the graphic designers, "J.F. Sebastian," is credited on early Genki games. "I.T" are the first high score initials. The other initials match up with early Genki staff.

YouTube video by Replay Burners 1991 [60fps] SD Gundam Psycho Salamander no Kyoui NoDamage ALL

This SD Gundam game seems to have been developed by Genki or its supposed predecessor, IT. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICJ-...

They had a restaurant in Toronto called Matsuri. ised-isde.canada.ca/cipo/tradema...

This book about the Neo Geo has profiles of the few third-party companies making games for it, including Sammy. Did you know there was a Canadian Sammy Corporation? archive.org/details/alla...

The president of Marvelous was director of AI Electronics, which may or may not be the Aicom subsidiary of the same name, so there may be more to it than that.

I still wonder if Dino, the developer of Love Hina Pocket, was connected to Aicom. gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.p...

Viewpoint design doc

Screenshot from the mini shmup included in Love Hina Pocket

Over the past few months, a former employee of Aicom/Yumekobo has shared information and design docs for some of the games they worked on (Viewpoint, Blazing Star, Fatal Fury 1st Contact, and Love Hina Pocket, a game that includes a mini shmup with an isometric 3D view).
xcancel.com/wildran3/sta...

As promised, here is a thread on Blazing Star (Yumekobo, 1998), sometimes presented as the third episode in Aicom's shmup trilogy (after Viewpoint and Pulstar) according to its director, Wildran.
First, a brief overview of the aborted Pulstar 2 project:
bsky.app/profile/vgde...
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Viewpoint box art by former SNK in-house artist Naohisa Yamaguchi, AKA NaoQ

Viewpoint (NeoGeo, 1992), a thread
The first game developed by Wildran at Aicom was A.B.Cop, an arcade game produced by Sega, on which he worked as a programmer. He then joined the development team for Gun-Dec/Vice: Project Doom (Famicom, 1991) as a sub-planner - he designed the car chase stage
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Screenshot from Pulstar

Screenshot from R-Type

Regarding the relationship between Pulstar (Aicom) and R-Type (Irem), although Wildran had temporarily left Aicom during the game's development, they explained that, to their knowledge, there were no former Irem employees on the game's development team.
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YouTube video by The Touchback The Strange Story of N64’s Only College Basketball Game

The Strange Story of N64’s Only College Basketball Game www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIR2...

Toys "R" Us: Test Drive Arcade featuring Nintendo 64

Toys "R" Us: Test Drive Arcade featuring Nintendo 64
Source: Ultra Game Players 89 (October 1996)
Scan Source: RetroMags

#retrogaming #nintendo

YouTube video by VideoGameEphemera G4 Cheat! Pringles Gamers Guide S02E09 "Inside Tips & Tricks Magazine" (with commercials)

G4 Cheat! Pringles Gamers Guide S02E09 "Inside Tips & Tricks Magazine" (with commercials) www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2EX...

Takehiko Hoashi, planner of Banpresto's Ultra X Weapons, developed by Seta: It was originally supposed to be a side-scrolling game made by Kenji Eno's company, but he was banned (?), and they switched production companies. xcancel.com/picapixels/s...

Flower: This post speculates that maybe "Clarue" was a variation on Craul/Kural Denshi (Dora-chan, Crush Roller).

Maybe that's why Alpha Denshi's name is on it. Always seemed like a Graphic Research game to me. xcancel.com/_QtQ_/status...