- Joined
- Jul 24, 2001
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- 19,069
I'm playing lots of MSX games lately and thought it could be a good idea to open a thread where we can talk about games and hardware, ask questions and discuss about all related topics.
Let me kick it off with two classics:
H.E.R.O. (MSX1, cart)
H.E.R.O. (Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation) was designed by Activision and originally released for Atari 2600 in 1984. Rescue trapped miners with your backpack helicopter, helmet laser and dynamite charges and blast your way through the underground of Mount Leone. The heli backpack has limited energy so quickly moving forward is essential, specially in later levels that are quite large and contain lots of dead ends.
Really good fun, that one. The game had been ported to various 8bit home computers and I've played many of them but still find the MSX version the most fun because of its speed and accurate controls.
Antarctic Adventure (MSX1, cart)
Developed in 1984 by Konami for MSX computers, got ported to Famicom/NES and ColecoVision. It's a racing type of game, you control a penguin through all of Antarctica and have to dodge sea lions, collect points and food and jump over gaping chasms. Pushing the stick forward or back increases or decreases speed. You have to reach the end of each level before the timer runs out, which can be quite a challenge in later levels.
This game almost gives me a Wonderboy vibe, it's fast and you have to be on your toes all the time. Doesn't look like much at first but gets quite intense.
If you want to play some MSX games but have no original computer, you can always go the emu route, blueMSX is one of the best IMO.
MSX games came out on cartridge, tape and floppy disks. ROM filetypes are .CAS (tape), .ROM (cart) and .DSK (floppy disk).
There also is a flashrom cart available for the original hardware called MegaFLashRom. It has been developed by Manuel Pazos from Spain, visit his website for more info and ordering: http://www.msxcartridgeshop.com/ . I've bought the MegaFlashRom SCC+ 512k 2-slot version which can hold two microSD cards. The cart contains a very elaborate operating system and all files and drivers you need to get going. You can play cartridge ROMs and DSK files with it. I also have some MSX tapes and carts and would love to own more original games but they go for collectard prices. That also goes for some later MSX2+ or TurboR MSX computers. Still, it's possible to find good hardware deals if you're patient enough.
MSX was the starting point for some famous game series like Metal Gear, Herzog (Herzog Zwei came out for the Genny), Aleste, Zanac, Parodius, Puyo Puyo, etc. There not only are shumps and platformers, though, MSX also saw releases of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Ys, Castlevania, etc.
DISCUSS
Let me kick it off with two classics:
H.E.R.O. (MSX1, cart)
H.E.R.O. (Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation) was designed by Activision and originally released for Atari 2600 in 1984. Rescue trapped miners with your backpack helicopter, helmet laser and dynamite charges and blast your way through the underground of Mount Leone. The heli backpack has limited energy so quickly moving forward is essential, specially in later levels that are quite large and contain lots of dead ends.
Really good fun, that one. The game had been ported to various 8bit home computers and I've played many of them but still find the MSX version the most fun because of its speed and accurate controls.
Antarctic Adventure (MSX1, cart)
Developed in 1984 by Konami for MSX computers, got ported to Famicom/NES and ColecoVision. It's a racing type of game, you control a penguin through all of Antarctica and have to dodge sea lions, collect points and food and jump over gaping chasms. Pushing the stick forward or back increases or decreases speed. You have to reach the end of each level before the timer runs out, which can be quite a challenge in later levels.
This game almost gives me a Wonderboy vibe, it's fast and you have to be on your toes all the time. Doesn't look like much at first but gets quite intense.
If you want to play some MSX games but have no original computer, you can always go the emu route, blueMSX is one of the best IMO.
MSX games came out on cartridge, tape and floppy disks. ROM filetypes are .CAS (tape), .ROM (cart) and .DSK (floppy disk).
There also is a flashrom cart available for the original hardware called MegaFLashRom. It has been developed by Manuel Pazos from Spain, visit his website for more info and ordering: http://www.msxcartridgeshop.com/ . I've bought the MegaFlashRom SCC+ 512k 2-slot version which can hold two microSD cards. The cart contains a very elaborate operating system and all files and drivers you need to get going. You can play cartridge ROMs and DSK files with it. I also have some MSX tapes and carts and would love to own more original games but they go for collectard prices. That also goes for some later MSX2+ or TurboR MSX computers. Still, it's possible to find good hardware deals if you're patient enough.
MSX was the starting point for some famous game series like Metal Gear, Herzog (Herzog Zwei came out for the Genny), Aleste, Zanac, Parodius, Puyo Puyo, etc. There not only are shumps and platformers, though, MSX also saw releases of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Ys, Castlevania, etc.
DISCUSS