Legendary Then And Now: AREA 88/UN SQUADRON (CPS1) - Bullet Tengoku

[@GerardoSantana]

First off. great video! in the snes version there are 2 stages you CAN be forced to do. there are 2 planes heading towards area 88. mercenaries. if they reach the base your breifing is in red alert and you must fight them. IMO the first one isnt hard. its only going to beat you if you have been struggling early on. this is just an experience check. the second one, the Wolfpack squadron is a bit trickier since you have more vertical range to handle and dealing with 3 bosses at once using a different set of attacks that can surprise you can be challenging. but still, keep your wits and you'll be fine. the first one is amidst a darkened sky with lightning in the background that blew my mind back then. fun fact: the Quartermaster Corps bonus stages for cash move around. some will slip past your area of operations range BUT if you are fast enough at spotting and selecting them you can still engage it as it slips past your mission range. that can provide a crucial bit of cash. imo once you get the hang of most stages you can just stick with Crusader for the majority of the run and won't need to upgrade. I don't think its possible or worth it to buy every bird. Id say if you want to do a mid season upgrade moving up to Shin, Mickey, or Greg's planes is fine and then mop up with the final one. one thing I like more about the Arcade version is that if you finish a stage the pilot's expression is either confident or, if you barely survived, flustered. we will have to agree to disagree on music. I prefer the SNES version and think its superior. But thats not to say a lot of the Arcade version's music isn't good. honestly you can't go wrong with either.

[@Tengokuno]

Oh yeah, that's right. Seavet also does the same thing, though it's only visible every other time. So 3, by that measure. I haven't had a forced encounter in over 20 years, so I completely forgot about that aspect of it all. Same with the quatermasters. I neever use those as I typically use the Crusader all the way up through the Canyon, then get the F200 for the cave stage... if at all. I've done an all-crusader clear before. Small flex, I know, but yeah, totally forgot about quartermasters moving into the darkened areas and retreating to Project 4 in their entirety. Thanks for pointing these out! I'mma pin your comment. I also do like the SNES soundtrack myself, but something about the FM synth in arcade is just so cool. Except, of course, the Forest Fortress music. SNES beats arcade 100%.

[@GerardoSantana]

@@Tengokuno IMO its def a good flex. that last stage is legit a challenge and that cave is a NIGHTMARE

[@tyelwell9]

I am so happy to see this channel continue into a new era. I got into shooters in a big way about a year ago and I have watched a ton of studio mudprints stuff. Is there a definitive list with all of your review scores somewhere? I need a good place to start finding new schmucks and unfortunately with three jobs, three kids and a wife, I can't go through the entirety of every video. ;) I have watched the three best of the year videos multiple multiple times :) Keep it up!

[@StevenCusic]

the sound is so much better coming out that PCB. People don't realize this but those PCBs have frequency specific lo and hi pass filters built into them and mame doesn't implement them making the explosions in AREA 88 for example sound like a heavy wooden table moving on a marble floor mix with some one crunching tin foil haha. Joe from game sacks talked about this with the shinobi cab also, dang that MAME team lol. And other emulators are not frequency specific lo pass and have no hi pass or notch making them sound like a bunch of bass. I have to use a software called DESKFX with these settings with CPS1 games to get what we are hearing in your PCB recording. lo pass = 240 hi pass = 200 notch = 250 btw thanks for making my technique proven to be effective and true to the source.

[@afriend9428]

*Both are amazing!* ⭐️

[@Tengokuno]

Hell yeah they are!

[@HybridAngelZero]

We are so back, let's goooo! I'll be honest, I never knew Area 88 had that many differences between arcade and SNES! And hey, in a world where Marvel vs Capcom and the Disney Afternoon NES games can get modern ports... hey, maybe there's at least a non-zero chance? xD

[@AlviEao]

Oh snap, a new Bullet Tengoku feature! It’s another banger!

[@Omega579.]

Great video! I encountered this game in the arcade in the late 80’s and was thrilled with the SNES version. This game and Street Fighter 2 were the only SNES games I had for a while when I was living on base overseas in Bermuda and were trusted ‘friends’ to keep me busy. Brings back lots of great memories as a kid.

[@Tengokuno]

The Super NES also kept me company through some rough times, so I can definitely relate. Not many arcades were especially accessible in all the places I've lived, so the home versions were often the only o es I got to play. That said, Street Fighter II is something I've considered grabbing a CPS1 version of. Also, the eeproms for the completely unreasonable "Rainbow Edition" 😅

[@MotWhinnana]

Great game! The SNES version is good but since I never grew up with it and played the arcade first, I still prefer this original version. Also one of the few shmups I really love playing with 2 players, it's fun game for taking a break from the 1CC grind and just shooting.

[@capt.animosiac5093]

One of my all-time favorites. Played this at my local arcade on the weekends. I completed this on one credit a few times. I'll admit I practiced and played quite a bit to get that good. Fun times!

[@Tengokuno]

GG, that sounds like it was quite the endeavor. All of my skills came from SNES, and it took a long time to 1cc back in the day. But I was surprised how much of it actually transferred over to Arcade!

[@capt.animosiac5093]

@@Tengokuno that is interesting because I always found the SNES version a little more difficult than the arcade. Maybe it's me or that game plays like an action-RPG compared to it's counterpart.

[@mbe102]

Absolute gem of a channel! Keep it up!

[@hawaiidkw1]

The thing I always stood out about this game to me was that it had a _vastly_ more positive outlook then either the manga or anime. In the manga, nearly all the important pilots die (including Micky and Greg) and Shin not only completely loses his memory of them and his victories in Aslan but also Satoru's vile treachery which got him banished there in the first place. In the anime, Shin becomes so consumed by war that even after Satoru is ruined he can never return to his old life, and it's heavily implied that he gets killed and Saki's government gets crushed. The game? The rebels are destroyed and the heroes return home triumphant and flush with cash. I do think Capcom made the right decision here, but it's interesting, given how _passionate_ anime fans can be, that this never got any heat.

[@Midekai]

I remember so many shmup fans going crazy over this game. I didn't get a chance to play it until the days of snes and mame emulation. Glad I did.

[@ShadowBasch]

Yay, glad to see a new Tengoku video! It was worth the wait! :)

[@Tengokuno]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@exidy-yt]

Excellent video on one of my fave arcade games and anime franchises to boot! Instant subscription earned and I cant wait to see what else you have!

[@Desolis_]

Lovely episode. I appreciate the time you took to include some of the background info on the hardware itself. Being in an early and deep learning phase about what is even out there and how it functions to begin with made that especially interesting. Looking forward to the next one!

[@Tengokuno]

Thanks, I'm crash-coursing into Arcade Board Expert Status myself, but I have all kinds of neat ones: Konami System GX, Namco System 12, Sony ZN2, Seibu SPI, and more. The most interesting to cover by far will definitely be Taito F3, due to sync quirks and other hardware oddities!

[@MercenaryX21]

UN squadron was my first super Nintendo game

[@Tengokuno]

That's rad! Mine was Pilotwings (after Mario World, of course). I ended up buying the rental copy of UN Squadron where I used to live. Ironically, I never rented it, but a friend of mine did, and that's how I learned about it 😅

[@Momoka7]

I remember I bought me a Japan import of the Snes game back in the day. Loved the game, in the 2000s when playing around with Emulators I got my hands on a CPS noGUI emulator mainly for Alien VS Predator which I played back in the day in Arcade or the D&D games which I had as Japan import on my Sega Saturn, but was even more delighted when I found Area88/UN Squadron. 17:08 Just when I thought you not mentioning it... you mentioned US Navy/Carrier Airwing. That game is also really good, both games are a welcome change to the usual Arcade shmup formula, even my wife loves them. She knows the Manga from back in the day lol.

[@Tengokuno]

I also have Carrier Airwing on CPS1, so it'll be interesting to compare it to the emulated ones on Switch, PC, and Evercade.

[@Momoka7]

@@Tengokuno I would really like to have a old arcade machine, with a original monitor. But then I would not know what game I would like, lol, well it be something like Capcoms AvP or both D&D Arcade games.

[@Tengokuno]

That's the beauty of JAMMA; you can have all kinds and switch them out whenever you want. I really want a candy cab like the Egret II or Sega Blast City, or maybe even a Capcom Status 18. But space is at a severe premium in my dwelling, so a Supergun is all I can work with.

[@Momoka7]

@@Tengokuno JAMMA, never heard of that. Googled about it, so now I know. If I wanted to have a own Arcade Machine, I would probably make my own out of wood and then just need the hardware to put in. So a JAMMA would be ideal as you can hook up any arcade board you like to it. But yeah the space would be the biggest problem. The next best solution is just using MAME and a Arcade Stick, there are cheap MicrtoPCs for $200 that would probably work well and then all you need is a TV/Monitor. I didn't look into it, but what would be cool is if they produced a modern flat display that is physically build to look like a old TV(so with the empty lines between the pixels).

[@estebancruz6194]

I only had UN Squadron & Top Gear for a long time on Snes & got really good at both, but UN Squadron seems lot more difficult today 😅 guess need more practice. I have never played Area 88 but it looks great. The music SNES version I prefer tho. Good stuff, happy gaming!

[@Fattydeposit]

What a brilliant video. Nice to see such detail applied to the arcade board. Looking forward to whatever comes next.

[@Tengokuno]

Thanks. I hope my next one happens sooner than this one, 😄

[@jasonangeles3765]

thanks for the nostalgia! i recently watched to 3 part anime series as I loved the SNES game so much.. its now one of my favorite animes as well..

[@3shibuyallc486]

Great Video! In my opinion, nothing beats the original Arcade game. Ports are cool but In the NES, SNES and Sega Genesis era they jut didn't have the hardware capable of maintaining the original graphics and or sound that arcade boards offered at that time. Ive been playing arcade games since the early 80's and was the first person on my block to have the NES is 1985. Whenever an arcade game would get a port for the consoles, it was never the same. Thank GOD for emulation today. Now I can relive all of my childhood dreams of owning and playing arcade games in the comfort of my own home. I built my own custom arcade with a RaspberyPi 4 running Batocera.

[@darktetsuya]

wasn't super familiar with the arcade version til trying it out in Callus way back in the day. might need to revisit it in mame! I do remember playing the SNES version as well, another one I might have to track down for my collection. a very fun shmup for sure.

[@MrClawt]

The day UN Squadron disappeared from my local arcade was a grim one.

[@Tengokuno]

I never experienced it in arcades back in the day, and yet... I felt that comment.

[@mechzilla569]

havent watched in a hot minute but man its damn awesome you somehow got a PCB

[@Tengokuno]

It was a heck of a journey getting it to work properly - it involved getting MERCS, Carrier Airwing and finally, another C-Board - but in the end it not only worked out, but also resulted in a neat CPS1 PCB library to boot.

[@AndrewDederer]

P.S. The Character Designs for "Sunset Riders" look VERY Shintani, but I know of no "Westerns" that he did. Did he just have fans working for CapCom.

[@GameBoyGuru]

Great stuff, Etrem! I'd love to see a 1-handed 1CC of the arcade version at some point, wink wink nudge nudge ;)

[@Tengokuno]

You know I have the controller for it! It's on my to-do's lol

[@Iffy350]

Good stuff!

[@calculateddeclination5534]

Both the games and anime are awesome. ❤

[@dethringr]

Oh man. I remember playing this game at 7-11 almost everyday. I got really good at it to the point where I can beat the game on 1 quarter.

[@Tengokuno]

GG!

[@JackofNothingess]

Wow Ed I am so jelly right now

[@AndrewDederer]

As someone who played WAY too much of the arcade version, I'd object to your ranking. Shin is the strongest, his shots are narrower but more rapid/damaging (kills bosses faster). Plus, he can buy level 2 bombs at level 1 prices (good for saving $). Could regularly beat on one coin. Micky has a wider shot (widest in the game), but his damage isn't as good. Bosses and big targets can get problematic. Usually took 2 coins. Greg has great coverage, but his damage is really weak, and puts him at disadvantage in air and boss fights. He might take 3 or more coins to win. That tower laser right before the end is the point where the damage difference shows up (Mickey needs to take the fake Greg gun and get in close enough that it hits). The license is held by Shogakukan (Viz in the US) so re-licensing wouldn't be THAT hard. Might get Viz to finally issue some collections and/or finish the story (it's about 27 books long, and the US release got nowhere near the end).

[@Tengokuno]

Thanks for the insight! I drew my character information from various sources listed below. I'm not nearly as well versed in Arcade as I am with SNES or SFC. I did find Micky and Shin to be the most comfortable, and my first 1cc was made with Shin in the end.

[@JB-mm5ff]

we played lifoforce on the nes, un squadron on snes, and einhander for the ps1. Ikaruga on the cube.

[@vtmarik]

A lot of people thought that we'd never see the Capcom Disney games again but they got a collection and a remaster, so there's always a chance that we'll either get it in a collection or maybe even a remaster

[@Tengokuno]

It would be great, but Disney licensing is easy because Disney is everywhere. International manga and anime licensing is often (and notorously) very complex. Super Robot Wars (or Taisen, if you prefer) is a quintessential - though extreme - example. Regardless, I agree: a reissue for Area 88 would be amazing, no doubt.

[@Ramza_88]

Return of the G(amer)!

[@entertainmentwizard2703]

Awesome

[@opa-age]

The manga/anime is even cooler!

[@goatbone]

Great little game. I have the SNES version. I love it but I hate the Capcom 'find the invisible powerup' BS.

[@la8208]

I grew up playing the arcade UN Squadron. I hated the SNES version when it came out, mainly because of the lack of 2 players and the game just didn’t look and sound as good. Gameplay wise it has some nice changes, but it really is more of a home game whereas the original is perfect for the arcade. I also agree the music in the arcade is one of the best gaming soundtracks of all time.

[@drunkinmaster1]

CPS1 games always hold a warm sentimental place in my heart. Much of that experience is the sound and unfortunately the SNES was much too watered down for my taste. Commendable effort from capcom though.

[@Tengokuno]

I wish I spent more time in arcades when I could have. I'm sure I'd have really latched onto CPS1 any chance I got.

[@MOZONEandGlambot]

Hell ya!

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

I'm a big fan of the arcade version. I've tried the SNES port a few times but it seems much harder. Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with the level layouts.

[@Tengokuno]

I firmly believe the core skills obtained from both can help with the other, so layout would be the only hurdle left. It's a fun 1CC for sure!

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

@@Tengokuno I'll have to give it another try. Keep up the great work.

[@hawaiidkw1]

Three things: 1. Limit on main weapon firing rate. 2. The level where you have to destroy a _very_ durable overhead boss. 3. The big one: CANNOT CONTINUE FROM WHERE YOU WENT DOWN; you're always kicked back to the start of the level. Remember what a pain Ghosts 'n Goblins was?

[@KarlSturmgewher]

At least Switch got Un Squadron's successor, Carrier Air Wing/U.S. Navy.

[@Tengokuno]

PC, too! I have the CPS1 boards for it though, so when the Evercade Alpha drops, so will my Carrier Airwing feature :)

[@matthewbatinic5865]

Oh no, you got the China a board. The amp has been dicked with a replacement

[@Tengokuno]

Sounds great to me. Better than my Mercs one, for sure.

[@themadatheist1976]

Borrowed this from a friend back in the day.

[@HattoriZero]

The Area88 SNES version is not superior, it just has more flexibility in the ability to choose the planes and weapons combination compared to the arcade version. Also SNES only has 8 stages compared to 10 stages of the arcade. Carrier AirWing is a slight disappointment as it felt annoying to play compared to Area 88.

[@Tengokuno]

While the SNES version is very obviously technically inferior, I'd say it's still arguably more fun to play.

[@glassjawboxer]

The manga was crazy racist.😝 Pretty disheartening considering how good the game is.

[@Tengokuno]

Yeah, the tone is definitely a complete 180 in a lot of regards.