#hardcoregaming101

[posthumanwanderings]

Internal Section (Positron / Square - PS1 - 1999)

“Often described as a twisted fusion between Tempest and S.T.U.N. Runner, this Positron game was released exclusively in Japan in 1999, at a time when the PlayStation games catalogue was already vast and varied. Dynamic and irreverent, Internal Section is essentially a complex ‘tube shooter’, an unusual angle that can be considered a welcome addition at a time when horizontal and vertical scrolling shooters were predominant. The mere sight of the initial presentation, or the bizarre imagery printed on the bizarre game manual, tells Internal Section apart from a common shooter. Instead of acquiescing to the adolescent anime characters and pseudo-plots, it evokes the same mature, impersonal and hi-tech ambience of the demoscene computer art subculture. Each of eight levels is divided into four sub stages (A, B, C, D and Boss Fight). When the level guardians are reached, game scheme switches from its tubular form to that of a circular rail drawn around the enemy, where greater shot precision is often required. Internal Section‘s gameplay is utterly unique, allowing the player to instantly choose between twelve different shot types, each of them based on a Chinese zodiac sign: apart from dodging bullets and other obstacles, the key to success lies in the use of the appropriate sign for each situation. Far from a hardcore shooting game experience, Internal Section is all about the experience and aesthetics – rather than superhuman skills – with scattered checkpoints and infinite continues that make it a short, albeit extremely enjoyable video game.

The first impact created by Internal Section originates from the awkward graphic style. Their lack of texture mapping is properly compensated with the addition of smooth and lustrous shading, drawn in vivid colors and wonderful contrasts. Flat polygons pervade the screen as each level displays a predominant color, and each sub-stage exhibits a rich and artful array of pictorial themes. Due to its spartan aesthetics, this uncanny Squaresoft release is bound to be compared with Rez, released by SEGA two years later.

iS also aspires to a perfectly balanced blend of audiovisual and gameplay, including a carefully selected techno music playlist. While not as memorable as the licensed soundtrack from games such as WipeOut, the disk includes 16 original themes that help bring some strong sense of rhythm into the game experience. Similar to Ridge Racer, it also lets the player swap the game disk for an audio CD, essentially giving it a customizable soundtrack. Customizations also include the selection of different ambiences for the levels, a factor that dramatically increases the game’s appeal and replay value.

If carefully observed today, in light of modern shoot’em up revivalisms, iS has achieved a certain state of grace, having risen to a level that only a handful of its counterparts were able to attain. Its flat polygon graphics running smoothly on the television screen and its responsive controls prevent the game from looking or feeling obsolete. In fact, everything about iS contemplates innovation, as well as a very strong desire to evade the usual patterns that have long infected this stagnant genre. Its status as a rare and unpublicized title coming from a major company has contributed, undoubtedly, to the consecration of Internal Section as one of the most engaging and sought after titles from the recent past.“ [article source]

[rainbowheartunicorn]

I totally forgot to post this, me and my partner @haydenluvsanime created a video together! I did a lot of art for this chonker, as well as generally helped with it’s production (not video editing though that’s all Hayden haha) 

It’s the story of Mr. Gimmick, a rare game released for the famicom and NES. It’s kind of kirby esque, but the story behind it is pretty interesting. Please check it out!!!

[nomorepixels]

Idol Hakkenden

©️ Natsume 1989

Image sourced from hardcoregaming101.net

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Top 47K - Base Wars

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the game that’s half baseball, half war, all robot.

[bluepoodle7]

#DogOfBay #JapanOnlyPs2Games

Thinking about the game Dog of Bay for the Ps2 I remember seeing it on G4 back in the day on Xplay and fell into a rabbit hole and loved it. I wish it could be ported since the Game Grumps played it. The music rocks.

Images not mine but link is there. > http://hardcoregaming101.net/dog-of-bay-japanese-video-game-obscurity/

[dreamadot]

Suzuki Bakuhatsu - PlayStation (2000

Actress: Rin Ozawa

[betagarci]

Y tu de quien eres? De #Castlevania the new generation o de Super Castlevania IV. New generation es un juegarraco como casi todo (o sin casi) lo que #konami sacó en #megadrive. Divertido y técnicamente con efectos sorprendentes. Sin embargo me quedo con Super, ese inicio espectacular con el Simon Belmont theme aún me pone los pelos de punta. Y el juego es increíble. Aunque... por qué elegir? Which Castlevania do you prefer? New generation or Super Castlevania? NG (as all Konami games in Megadrive) is amazing, funny and with some spectacular effects for this #console. However I’m with Super Castlevania. The beggining with Simon Belmont theme is incredible as all the game. But... why do we have to choose? #sega #nintendo #retrocollective #retrocollectivespain #supernintendo #castlevaniathenewgeneration #supercastlevaniaiv #simonbelmont #castlevaniabloodlines #johnmorris #ericlecarde #belmont #instagamer #retrogamer #instagamerspain #hardcoregaming101 #gamepress https://www.instagram.com/p/B0ju9r0nUG-/?igshid=7tc84u7efu2c

[kaworuscott]

Policenauts - Hideo Kojima PC-98 1994 This glorious upscaled pixel perfect PC-98 image was done by @densetsu.ch give them a follow! I remember first seeing Policenauts posters in Metal Gear Solid and wondering what it was haha. Alot of people only know this particular image from vaporwave/synthwave/cyberpunk radio and music streams/youtube channels. You often see in the comments people asking what it's from. Snatcher is much more widely known and much easier to get hold of in English due to its western release but I always remembered Policenauts. Years on I came across the Junker HQ page and an English fan translation! Easy enough to emulate for PSX. But I do far prefer the art in the PC-98 version. Sadly though I can't seem to find and English patch for it. Hardcoregaming101 have a great article detailing the differences in Policenauts ports you should check out. If you like visual novel games or just Kojima's general style you should enjoy this! #pc98 #policenauts #kojima #konami #hideokojima #metalgearsolid #cyberpunk #vaporwave #arcade #retrogamer #instagamer #arcadegame #fightstick #fightinggame #streetfighter #playstation #dreamcast #sega #nintendo #ps2 #gamestagram #retrogaming #gameroom #retrogamingcommunity #oldschoolgaming #gamecollector #arcadegamer #anime https://www.instagram.com/p/CG7lphfnVN2/?utm_medium=tumblr

[silver-spook]

"Neofeud has depth and power, a soul few games quite match in terms of justified rage, weariness, and desire to make things better." --HardcoreGaming101 Neofeud is 70% off! Help me finish NF2! (Pictured) https://store.steampowered.com/app/673850/Neofeud/…

https://silverspook.itch.io/neofeud

#indiedev #cyberpunk #SteamDeals #SteamSummerSale

[tumblunni]

okay WHY THE FUCK did they change the Ni No Kuni monsters from ‘imajinn’ to ‘familiars’ in the dub? I’m only just hearing about this damn game and I’m already pissed off at the most minor thing, lol! But seriously man, if you felt you had to change it then why not think up some new english pun instead of just.. stating exactly what it is, in the most boring terms. And I mean its not even a japanese pun anyway! Like if the problem was just ‘kids won’t know the original spelling of genie was djinn’ then FUCKIN CALL THEM IMAGENIES *grump grump* sorry i just get very Feels’d about bad name changes because often a name for a thing can completely change the perception of it. Like I mean imagine if pokemon went the digimon route and never translated any of the punny monster names! It’s turning something silly into something serious and that should be ILLEGAL :< Man I haven’t been this pissed off since the Azure Dreams dub somehow missed the literally-already-english name Monspire and turned it into Monsbaiya instead. And we actually have translation files from the gameboy spinoff to see that it was indeed Monspire! Thank you brave investigators of HardcoreGaming101 who dug up that thing! *grump grump GRUMP* man i know nobody else cares about these things as much as i do so why do i even bother writing this also I’m sad that this game was ps3 only and i dont have one of those :( and i dunno if the sequel is one of those things i could play even though i havent played the first one? it seems to have a complete;y different cast of characters and even replaced the imajinn with different monsters called higgledies (YES! THAT IS THE KIND OF SILLY NAME I DEMAND!)

[sundanceritz]

welp they fuckin ruined Hardcoregaming101

[nomorepixels]

Streets of Rage

©️ Sega 1991

Image sourced from hardcoregaming101.com The sprites kinda borked in the upscale lol.

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Top 47K - A Week of Garfield (feat. Marooney)

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the Japan-only Garfield game that Garfield truly deserves.

[carrollstreetstation]

shoutout to hardcoregaming101.net

if it weren’t for their extensive-ass articles on various games and series like ultima and wizardry a lot of my FPS history posts would be starkly incomplete

[ninetyeightytwo]

Populous II, Mega Drive/Genesis box art (1992)

Source: http://hardcoregaming101.net/populous/populous2.htm

[thegreatklaid]

Hey Guys!

I’m gonna be streaming the first ever HG101 Legue Finals at 9PM CST tonight! The game is Unreal Tournament! The Men? Feynman vs Shoku! 

The place? https://www.twitch.tv/hg_101

You didn’t know we had a league? Well come check out the discord at https://discord.gg/ and we’ll give you more info! We’re playing Street Fighter Alpha 2 really soon!