In trying to catch up from the previous weekend, I was able to see a few interesting things between the Detroit Retro Gaming Show and LTU Expo.
The open play area at the Detroit Retro Gaming Show was beefed up a little more this time around, which included an Atari Jaguar setup running on a GXE monitor. I'd mentioned before I need to dig into the Jaguar version of Double Dragon V, and this let me get a sample. The Jaguar is indeed a video game console, and I need to find more opportunities to really dive headfirst into the system's library.
Do you ever remember that Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom has a unique multi-phase end boss? The arcade offerings at this show were dramatically boosted, providing free play on games such as F-Zero AX, Chunithum, Crazy Taxi, Sonic the Fighter, Tetris the Grandmaster, Twinkle Star Sprites and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. I got some time in on a handful of games, but I would have liked to have put more games in on F-Zero. That seems like a game that could use some videos of multiplayer gameplay.
Despite being so into video gaming, I never did own many of the LCD portable games that were a thing for a hot minute. I always remember the handful that would trickle through the school as classmates brought them in to play while waiting for school to start, but the sheer depth of games released on this format is fairly lost on me. At this show I found a Battle Arena Toshinden Tiger VRT-X. I have to admit it was tempting to pick up based on how random it is, but I'm mostly not a fan of that series and I can only imagine how this actually plays.
The big surprise of the weekend was in finding displays for indie games, with most of this being at LTUX. I have other features on the way in the coming weeks, but the big find was in seeing LoBlast showcasing a very, very, very early build of the NES version of Orange Island. This was a video game project crowdfunded back in 2019, so I was happy to see the homebrew cartridge version of the game still seemingly on track.
More information and media on the NES version of Orange Island can be seen on GemuBaka at the following link:
I've noted before that my collecting has mostly gravitated toward magazines at this point, and that is almost all I walked away with from the Detroit Retro Gaming Show. I found a good stack of publications at very reasonable prices, and I get to check one more issue of Tips & Tricks off the wishlist!
Most of our day was spent at the Detroit Retro Gaming Show, so we had less time to spend at LTUX - an anime gathering at Lawrence Tech University. Still, we got to do a quick lap to check through vendors, artists, an escape room and more. The benefit of being at LTU, was in having game development students present indie game titles at the event. I still need to go through my camera, but I'll have a few to highlight in the future.
There was also an arcade with pop'n music, which is very important, but it also had some cabinets running Bishi Bashi Special, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, StepManiaX, Taiko no Tatsujin and more. However, the real treat was in seeing a cabinet I've never seen before - Taito's Kickthrough Racers!
This was a nice two-player setup that features a scooter platform with handlebars and a pedal to kick back onto to accelerate your character. The game is very cute, giving players a decently wide option of characters and tracks. It's very much Mario Kart in spirit, sprinkling attack and defense items through the courses and featuring pad and ramps to use for turbo boosts.
Kickthrough Racers was a lot of fun, and I can only hope to one day see cabinets linked together for extended multiplayer. I now have a video showing off the game uploaded to the GemuBaka YouTube.