Battle of the Ports - Chase H.Q. (Show #19)

[@Mark-pr7ug]

The amstrad version was spectacular with everyone expecting it instead to be a 4 colour spectrum port.

[@HuntersMoon78]

Loved the Spectrum version for it's use of the soundchip and beeper for the music

[@HuntersMoon78]

Also the Spectrum is waaaaaay better and faster than the C64 Crappy attempt

[@Novabug]

Great vid, nice seeing all these versions side by side. Even now, the CPC and Speccy versions are impressive given the system constraints. Subbed. :)

[@dazrael5658]

After finally playing the Saturn version I’m surprised you didn’t mention the wonky controls, it really doesn’t seem to control well at all. In fact I can tell that you were struggling with the controls in the video the same way I was, the car seems to veer off the road very easily and has a lot of snap back. I’ve heard it plays better with the analogue controller but it’s a shame as it looks great. The Taito Memories version, while emulation and visually filtered, plays much better.

[@eleanorburns8686]

Console control was certainly better, but I do think the Spectrum and Amstrad did very well for the hardware. The NES version does look very playable, though. Though the Master System was the console of my childhood, I can't give much credit to the Sega 8-bit versions, alas, as that totally flat road is quite a let down, considering "Out Run" had already shown that the SMS could do better.

[@inphanta]

It looks like most of the home ports across the board were pretty poor for this all round. I do think you were a bit harsh on the Spectrum version though. Obviously it’s not going to be as good as the console ports, but for what it is, it’s fantastic. And this is from a die hard C64 head.

[@yorkshiremgtow1773]

Oh yes, the Spectrum version was superb.

[@ianbaggins5063]

Always love watching your vids for your opinion on each version. Ive just been playing the PC Engine version and was curious to see how it stacked up to the others... well I enjoyed it at least! Its definitely got some nasty corners (especially on the final enemy) but I did find I adapted to it all pretty well and managed to clear it a few times. Not the best port ever it seems, but I still had a blast with it.

[@RetroCore]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@rvbrexer]

You should't put computers' control scheme between the cons. Computer joysticks just had one button and all games were like this, that's just the way it was. It's good to warn unaware young players about this, but the judgment shouldn't be: "unplayable because of the control scheme", but more like: "the control scheme takes a while to get accustomed to".

[@RetroCore]

I see that you ur point but even back in the day I thought computer games had crappy controls compared the the arcades. I hated pushing up to jump, especially on platform games way back in the early 80s. Also, something to keep in mind that Japanese computers of the same time utilised 2 buttons. There was nothing stopping western computers from following suit. Sadly only a small handful of games had 2 button support.

[@TechRyze]

@@RetroCore A significant oversight and lack of care, as this was very possible. The Amstrad CPC actually supports THREE buttons, but nobody ever used them, including Amstrad themselves. I'm totally with you on this one. The Amiga and Amstrad are the biggest casualties in terms of borked controls and low effort ports, due to the Atari ST and Sinclair ZX Spectrum merely existing and being cheaper to buy.

[@drrrrzz9145]

awesome. i had the famicom version when i was a kid. by the way, if you want to take a big block of energy off the enemy in one go, try getting side by side with him and ram him sideways :)

[@RetroCore]

Nice hint. I wasn't aware of that.

[@neozeed1984]

noticed the famicom supports the arkanoid controller. interesting, never knew other games used it.

[@RetroCore]

Yep, it sure does. I've not tried it but I can imagine it being pretty good to use as long as the sensitivity it set right.

[@ShadowSumac]

I remember playing this game on NES. It was one of the few racing games, that I liked. Sadly I was able to get only to the 3rd level. Always failed to get 4th criminal.

[@RetroCore]

Don't worry. It is quite a tough game.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Changes were made to the gameplay of both the Master System and Game Gear versions, as Taito tried to compensate for the graphical and audio shortcomings. They knew it wasn't feasible to try and replicate the coin op on such limited hardware, so went for an inspired by... rather than direct conversion of... the coin op.

[@iXien]

All of this is really a question of context. At the time, European publishers bought game licenses to Japanese manufacturers and give only 2 or 3 months to developers (sometimes less) to create adaptations on many computers, sometimes only with an arcade cabinet to study the original game. In a certain point of view, Amiga, ST, Spectrum or CPC versions are epic works that can't be compared to some of the best Amiga games developed by independent guys in their bedroom during one year and a half. If you add the fact that a lot of the children we were never get in touch with any arcade cabinet, for computer gamers, lot of adaptations were wonderful and we had so good time. I keep fond memories of Chase HQ on my CPC and next on my Amiga. The keyboard keys to play? Up to accelerate? No matter for me, it was the standard 😄 Nowadays, of course, I won't advice new players to discover Chase HQ on these computer versions as it is so simple to play the original arcade game but yes, I have no fear to say I love to play some of those conversions. Maybe someone will think it's sad but for me, Chase HQ on arcade is just a good game. The CPC and Amiga versions, here are all my memories 😁 Did you know that there is a GX-4000 non official conversion of the CPC version patched to be played only with a two button joypad, fire 1 to accelerate and fire 2 to activate turbo? And clearly, this CPC version is just astonishing proportionally to the specs of the Amstrad computer. In the end, thank you for all your videos, Battle Of The Port is an excellent idea and you make a fabulous work each time 😄.

[@RetroCore]

Thanks for watching, RIET Julien.

[@aservirfrais]

intéressant ton commentaire

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

@@RetroCore A Mega ST 2 was used for the coding of the home versions, extra samples just added to the 68000 code for the Amiga version.

[@rickstreamgames]

Commodore 64 version looks awful nothing like the Spectrum. Great video though 👍

[@SaturnMemories]

Let's go, Mr. Driver! :)

[@RetroCore]

I remember that phrase. My mates and I in school would say that a lot. Yeah, we were sad.

[@SaturnMemories]

Chase HQ is a great game. You get a pass.

[@Cenon2_]

Oh boy, the Amiga port ain't quite the Lotus.

[@paul1979uk2000]

True, in the right hands, the Amiga could do a lot and just looking at Lotus 2 shows how much better Chase HQ chould be for the Amiga but it's like I used to say to my friend at the time, avoid Japanese games on the Amiga, almost all of them are crap compared to games that take advantage of what the Amiga could do, I figured that out around 1990 and boy was I right and I suspect it was to make Japanese consoles and computers look better then western ones because it happened with way too many ports.

[@Sut1978]

Paul Aiello It took a while for the Amiga to gain traction so most of the arcade ports were actually up ports of the 8-bit or ST versions rather than working on an arcade port from scratch. To be fair their were that many systems kicking around at this point I don’t blame the developers for that.

[@paul1979uk2000]

@@Sut1978 That true and many of the arcade ports ware done in the early days of the Amiga, but I still think many of those ports could have been done a lot better then they ware, in fact some did a remake of those same games for the Amiga and they look and run a lot better. Mind you to be fair, all platforms got bad ports, even the Snes and the Mega Drive.

[@TechRyze]

Glad that Saturn version lets you know that the bad guys have functional ears! 👂 It plays like crap, however, and also has wonky controls. The Amstrad and Spectrum versions are great - especially in the modern day where emulators and modern controller options allow accelerate to be mapped to a 2nd button, and for the Amstrad, the GX4000 modded version allows use of the GX4000 controller. They're both very hard games, though, and could do with having another 15 seconds on the clock, and a couple of extra lanes on the road.

[@RagingRowen]

Lil' update. BITS Studios/Corporation were behind the Gameboy port, not Disco.

[@RetroCore]

I see. Thanks for the input.

[@ShadowSumac]

I remember playing this game on NES. One of the few racing games, that I actually liked, but I never was able to get past Level 4.

[@Duglor1]

Fm towns is the best port. No continues. The quasi-continues are generated by capturing a suspect . The game then gives you an entire 65 seconds to fetch the next suspect and so on until you fail.

[@lurkerrekrul]

For what it's worth, if you're playing the Amiga games on the WinUAE emulator, and you're using a controller with more than one button, you can assign keyboard keys to them. As I recall, you have to select the controller in the Game Ports screen, then go to Input and make sure that Game Ports Panel is NOT selected. Instead edit one of the custom configurations. It's a little bit confusing, but at least you can assign the spacebar or other keys to the extra buttons. Not that it will make this a good game, but at least it makes it easier to play.

[@RetroCore]

Yes, I didn't d read about that but I think I should play the game as it was designed to get the full feeling of what it's like. Or at least when I'm making these videos.

[@lurkerrekrul]

I agree. I just thought I'd mention it for anyone else who might be playing these games on an emulator. :)

[@RetroCore]

lurkerrekrul no worries. It's a great bit of info to be aware of.

[@CFalcon030]

However in that case you will need a joystick and to sit by the keyboard on your desk. Those games were not supposed to be played with a joypad. There is absolutely no reason why turning left or right while pushing up would make you slow down when you are using a joystick. Diagonals are far more accurate on a joystick. The ST and the Amiga are computers and not consoles. You are not supposed to play on a large screen from far away but on a 12" - 14" monitor that sits on your desk. That's why most joysticks had suction cups ;). Still I totally agree that support for a second joystick button would have been great (on the ST, I think amiga supports two button joysticks).

[@sheppo]

Whilst the hardware wasn’t as good as outrun’s I’d say the road in Chase HQ feels more cohesive and real than the road in Outrun. Objects at the side of the road move at the same speed as the road itself, and the hills and dips don’t feel like a ribbon. The audio was generally a lot higher quality (although course the music cannot match Segas amazing songs,)

[@Clasiku]

Oof, the X68000 port is complete garbage, surely Taito opposed to porting the game on a powerful computer (although I might be wrong). The graphics are a blocky mess that look like they belong on the Gameboy Advance. I do have to give them props for the music, it's an absolute banger, powerful stuff!

[@marcocorona3842]

Incredibly the Spectrum version is better than the one for C64 🤣

[@Gridseeker]

Who the hell programmed the Sharp X68000 port!? It´s AWFUL, considering as you mentioned this machine has a lot of nearly perfect arcade ports. That´s some wast of potential.

[@Mik_lackofbits]

I must disagree on an important aspect: home computer players are "supposed" to play with the keyboard within reach. Moreover, Spectrum users are often forced to play with only keyboard itself, and while it may seem awkward at first, it works quite well.

[@RetroCore]

Yes, I know you are meant to use the keyboard. Back in the 80's I owned a C64 myself and my friends owned Spectrums and Amstrads. I was quite lucky to be able to play many different systems even though I never actually owned them. Unfortunately when I make these videos the PC running the games is about 2 meters away from where I sit making it a real chore to play games that require the keyboard :(

[@Mik_lackofbits]

Yakumo1975 I can understand that :) and I agree to the fact that playing these games today with an emulator can be tricky and unconfortable. That been said, I must thank you for all your videos (I 've been watching them since the first retrocore!)

[@RetroCore]

Wow, since the 1st Retro Core. man that's going back a few years.

[@rvbrexer]

Retro Core Can't you map the keyboard to one of the gamepad buttons in the emulator? Usually it's pretty simple task.

[@williamwilliam9993]

In monitoring system on chase hq the japanese version has scrolling text and with the western version the text is not scroll in monitoring system

[@SebasHCG]

haha, no way, the *Arcade is THE BEST* !!! fast, smooth & the larger roads. about the Saturn, i don't have the same feeling, i don't like it much, seems less responsive or less smooth. also, about the Master System, *Battle OutRun* is the ultimate Chase H.Q. to play on 8-bit, one of my fav on SMS.

[@RetroCore]

The Saturn version maybe running at 30fps which is why it feels less polished.

[@SebasHCG]

:), & what about Battle OutRun ?! don't you consider it better than Chase H.Q. on SMS ? it seems weird that nobody noticed that in the previous comments.

[@RetroCore]

To tell the truth I've never played Battle Outrun

[@omgror]

Most 8-bit games had redefinable keys. Just set them to whatever suits you and it's fine.

[@ginesgarrido9219]

Im a C64 user and Chase HQ is million times better in Spectrum and Amstrad CPC than in C64.

[@rvbrexer]

Gines Garrido Seems to me that the C64 version was ported from spectrum. The C64 is certainly capable of showing more than just 3 colours at the same time.

[@rayforceaddict]

I agree. I'm a big C64 fan, but that ZX port is amazing. I hadn't played it until a couple years ago and thought it was still pretty fun. C64 has a better Speed Buggy though ;D

[@anasbakhit4303]

could be mistaken but isn't there's a Sega Genesis port too, I remember playing it ages ago the voice recording of the woman at the radio is really bad as far as I remember.

[@RetroCore]

Ah, that's a different game called super Chase HQ.

[@TrainmasterCurt]

That’s Chase HQ II

[@TrainmasterCurt]

SMS and Game Gear look identical minus the flicker

[@stimorolication9480]

Everyone who played on an Amiga, Atari ST, C64, Spectrum, MSDOS or Amstrad were sitting in front of the computer. Before the days of emulation I have never seen anyone playing any of these systems not sitting in front of the machine/keyboard. So the "can't use turbo as I'm not in front of the machine" is a very strange and invalid complaint. That's not how any of these systems were played. Bad control decisions should be pointed out, but the mere fact that some systems only have 1 button joysticks is not the fault of the game developers.

[@RetroCore]

I never played in front of the computer. I had a Commodore Plus 4 and would play that's sitting on the sofa while the computer was on the table.

[@TheDeeplyCynical]

The Master System version does glitch like that on 60hz modded Master Systems but not in 50hz (it would probably glitch on North American consoles too)

[@ReviewUA-jy7xi]

The Saturn version is actually better than the PS2 version, since it's not interlaced. That's my only gripe about Taito Memories.

[@RetroCore]

Yep, that's right. The Taito Memories version is also an emulation of the Arcade ROM.

[@plushbro9975]

The ZX Spectrum version is leaps and bounds ahead form the C64 version/port.

[@rvbrexer]

EX Heihachi If you play on a CRT that shouldn't make any difference

[@Airola]

I bought the PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) version on Wii Virtual Console and it was pain for my thumb. I was really disappointed to it. Loved playing the arcade when I was a kid and hoped to get that experince from that too, but it was disappointingly bad.

[@RetroCore]

Good job you didn't play the Master System version.

[@1983parrothead]

There are a couple of spinoffs and a sequel as well as some clones/ripoffs/wannabes/etc. Two spinoffs are Quiz H.Q. and Crime City.

[@RetroCore]

Crime City? Can't say I know that one. Sounds more like a scrolling beat'em up.

[@1983parrothead]

Retro Core Same characters, different genre. Has run n gun elements similar to Rolling Thunder trilogy and Shinobi.

[@RetroCore]

Sounds like the type of game I'd enjoy playing.

[@1983parrothead]

Retro Core You might also like ThunderFox (also by Taito) and Sly Spy: Secret Agent (by Data East).

[@kristijannemethmotorolavid2837]

Can you do a Remastered for Chase HQ and S. C. I

[@darkerfalcon3747]

It's right to respect your opinion but i have to disagree with you. The PC Engine version is one of the decent ports that i played which leaved me impressed. It's nice looking, for sure. I think the music is potred well from the arcade. The controls are fine, you have just get the hang of it. To stay on-road, you have to hold the opposite button after you collided with a car: If you get pushed to the right, hold left. While if you get pushed to the left, hold right. The sound effects aren't awful at all, just a bit too noisy. Also this port allows you to ram the criminal's car more than once causing massive damage if you ram it from the side. This version also has an extra sixth and final mission, neither present in the arcade original where you have to face the real big bad of the game, Ben Jordan. But you have to meet one requirement in order to play the sixth mission. See, it isn't awful at all. Let's move to the negative points. The main negative point is it runs too fast. Even when i played the first time, i had a hard time to play due to the game's fast pace. But after a lot of plays, it was no longer a problem for me. The second negative point is the collision detection which it's not awful at all, just wonky: sometimes works fine/as it should be, sometimes... not. Finally the third negative point is the gravity effect which is not a problem, just avoid staying too close to the edges of the road and you should be fine. Honestly saying that this port is awful is a bit exaggerated. Yeah, it's not perfect, but it's *DECENT!* Also another positive point is this version got even an US release which is the version that i play mostly. It has the iconic "Gotcha Nancy!" But unfortunately it hasn't the "Let's go Mr. Driver!"

[@volo870]

To be fair, PC Engine version of S.C.I. Special Criminal Investigation was leaps and mounds better.

[@MarcBarkyMarta]

I really like the TG16/PCE port of Chase HQ - sorry to hear that you didn't. Unfortunately, as good as the Saturn version looked and sounded, I had a very hard time playing it, both with pad and wheel. Felt even more difficult than the arcade game, like the default settings were way too strict. It's extra strange to me, because most of the Saturn ports of Taito games were exceptional.

[@RetroCore]

The Saturn game is very difficult for sure. I play with the 3D analogue controller. Seems to work well with that.

[@NotaPizzaGRL]

Why did some Amiga games have sound but no music or music but no sound?

[@iXien]

Some people use to say that it's because Amiga only have 4 channels to share musics and SFX. But a lot of Amiga games offer fantastic musics AND sound effects. Amiga really had a powerful audio chip and music or SFX could be so marvelous that developers often just made the choice to play only sweet musics on 4 channels or impressive SFX near to be possible only on Amiga at the time. Here we can think about laziness or time limit during development too.

[@kenkooldad8900]

I love your channel!!

[@RetroCore]

Thank you so much!!

[@Sakf504]

The Sharp X68000 port is a joke. A wasted opportunity of what could have been a faithful port.

[@RetroCore]

It sure should have been. Normally it's the FM Towns which is left behind but not in this games case.

[@Sakf504]

@@RetroCore Also, this port is very similar to Full Throttle(another crappy x68000 port) despite being developed by a different developer (Full Throttle port was developed by Sharp SPS, while Chase HQ port was developed by Tierheit) and released in different years (Full Throttle was a early game, while the Chase HQ port was released in 1992, very late)

[@davereen5103]

yappari the sat kicks some major...(again ^^). As usual I can't refrain to point out that emulation on the PS2 (for me) is not an option, when I didn't know better I did buy a couple of Taito Memories but ultimately, the flickering 480i affair was unacceptable (got to have non interlaced 15Khz res with true scanlines on a real CRT no other option or combintion is accepted ^^;).

[@RetroCore]

I don't own any of the Taito Legend PS2 discs but I always hear people saying the XBOX versions are better. Are the PS2 versions pretty bad then?

[@davereen5103]

Retro Core You can clearly see the flickering in the games (and of course there are no scanlines) which makes it appear the same as mame when you connect your PC to the TV using the S-Video output of the graphic card (though modern GFX cards don't have that anymore). To add insult to injury all vertical games don't support Tate mode (O_o) Makes you wonder why you did pay for blatant emulation... If you see the games running on an arcade cabinet they have that distinct ultra sharp scan-lined appearance which is what you get on the Sat (albeit at a price, but alas). The X-Box isn't capable to output 240P (15Khz scanlined output) as far as I know, a friend of mine had modded one with emulators on it, and they all run upscaled and flickering (just the same, at least they were free in that instance) which makes me believe you get the same thing there too. The majority of the games in the collections are available in one form or another (or better, on one system or another) in pure 15Khz scanlined mode, so better get the games separately on those systems (besides, you get to leave the unwanted ones alone ^^)

[@RetroCore]

wow. those colections do sound pretty bad. I'm glad I never forked out for them now.

[@pekkasalmia6831]

While obviously not a port, Super H.Q. on the Super Famicom is pretty good fun. The Mega Drive version not so much...

[@RetroCore]

I think I may own Super HQ. I've definitely played it that's for sure but on what system I don't remember. I do remember being disappointed at the in car view.

[@Sut1978]

I think this is first time I’ve seen a crap X68000 port.

[@RetroCore]

They're rare but they do exist.

[@harrisonosirrah]

would have really enjoyed this if it was narrated. As it is i didn't watch it. maybe ill come back later when i feel like a good read.

[@RetroCore]

sorry. This series is always going to be subtitled. My other show, Retro Core will always have voice overs though.

[@HaroldsStuff]

lies :)

[@spideymetodologic1689]

The way in which you are judging the control of these games is as if you judged the old video games today saying that their visual aspect is old. As an old user of most of the systems that you comment on, every time I read this type of criticism towards these games on old computers... I wonder why I continue to follow this channel. Please, rethink this.

[@RetroCore]

It may seem this way but I'm actually looking at these games from the time they were released and based upon other games around at the time. For example, if you look at Cisco Heat on the ST then look at Chase HQ on the same system, it's clear that Chase HQ could have been better due to how well Cisco Heat runs. I'm also pretty old at 42. I do remember playing a lot of these games when they were new. To be fair though, I was mostly brought up on Japanese systems which did tend to have a higher level of quality so that may tint my opinions at times.

[@SodaGumX]

Criminals hear!

[@MichalBergseth-AmitopiaTV]

You need to learn how to use a Joystick. Please. I love your videos. But you can't play the European games without loving joysticks. I don't blame you, but its the way we played the games back then. I loved Chase HQ on Amiga. Always did!

[@RetroCore]

I know how to use a joystick. I was born in the UK and played computer games. Still doesn't stop me from thinking the control method is crap. I had the classic quickshot 2, Konix err.... The one that you held in your hand and some crappy cheetah joystick back in the day. Once consoles became the norm though with more buttons it became apparent there were many better ways of controlling games.

[@turrican4d599]

@@RetroCore Competition PRO all the way!

[@tonybrian7526]

pushing the up arrow and the left/right arrow is far more suitable if you're playng in a computer you know, don't use a joystick or gamepad in a computer for god sake, use your keyboard and mouse. horrid console gamers.

[@RetroCore]

Err, this isn't a computer game, it's an arcade game so pushing up to accelerate was never the intent of the original developer. Oh and just for your information, I use a. Hori joystick when playing these games.