MAME ROW #107 - Shinobi
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@thelostsoul We kids also had our special places where we could play: department stores, video stores, record shops, restaurants, corner pubs and the like. I remember playing Bagman, Dig Dug, Galaga, Lady Bug, Pengo, Phoenix, Scramble, F1 Dream, and … ta-da … Tron! The latter stood next to another cab that I don't remember in a remote corner of our local "Hertie", if you know that name. ;) There, we also could play at Vectrex consoles on display almost indefinately without anyone of the staff giving a damn.
edit: Oh, and I once crossed the English Channel on a ferry with my mother. The ship had a small arcade hall with 10-15 games in it – and no people in it at all times. Only limited by my slightly higher allowance than normal, it was kids' heaven. :D
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Why are arcades in Germany only for adults?
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@obsidianspider I don't know what the reason was in Germany, but in England you had to be 15 or over to be allowed in an arcade unaccompanied by an adult. I think it was because there were also Fruit Machines where you could gamble real money and it was something to do with minors not being permitted to gamble.
There was no such law in Scotland where I lived, where anyone could go in an arcade (and gamble I think, I don't ever remember anyone stopping us). But on Saturdays we would go to England (my family lived near the border and they would go shopping in the large town over the border) and I remember on one occasion being thrown out of an arcade in the middle of a game of Spy Hunter. We were surprised as we didn't know the law was different up until then. I was particularly annoyed because they wouldn't even let me finish my game.
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I'm fairly sure that in Portugal you need to be either 16 or 18 to play in arcades/amusement centers.
Shinobi is a great choice, I'll gladly send over my scores! I personally find it runs great on AdvMame, is that what you're using for it?
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@gtbfilms Yes, I think this has something to do with gambling machines too. Those arcade games was always together with those Fruit Machines. And Germany in general was always careful at this and maybe they just classified them as gambling, because of real money and the probability to get addicted. At least children should be protected. I mean, I can understand this subject and why it is done. But look t the games today, they are even worse with those ingame item purchases and loot boxes and what not and every kid can do that. With real money you could see how much you spend in.
This is one of the reason I love the emulation community and MAME developers. I can play those games I never had the opportunity to and understand what everyone else in the world is talking and loving about.
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I have not found a way to damage the first level boss, but here's a score to get things started: 25440
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@obsidianspider That first level boss is hard!
You have to jump up and throw a shuriken just after you start to fall from the highest part of the jump. Then it hits him in the face.
However, you only get one chance between his double fireballs, which seem to have an almost random motion.
Apparently you are supposed to be able to dodge them, then move in and hit him again before he can launch new fireballs.
I have never managed to kill him on a single credit.
However I did notice if I add more credits to continue, his health isn't as high the next time. It replenishes, but only to about halfway. Its still difficult to kill him, but not impossible.
The cynic in me says that this was a pretty transparent strategy to extract another credit from the player at the end of level 1!
I'm still trying to work out the movement of these fireballs, to see if I can avoid them more reliably. Sometimes they seem to home in on you!
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It's easier said than done, but the secret is to start the fight by jumping, throwing a shuriken and moving forward. That first shot should register as the boss comes into frame and if you're quick, you can also get two and sometimes three more off before he throws his first fireball. With those three or four freebie shots, you'll be almost half way to beating him. Once the fireballs are in play, it's easiest to deal with them one at a time. When the first one is released, you can remain somewhat close and get another shot off once you're clear to do so. When the second fireball is released, the best thing to do is treat the pair like the Medusa heads from Castlevania. Drawing them backwards, as far as you need to, will allow a lot of time to carefully pick your moment to avoid them high or low.
Assuming the boss is now off screen again, do as you did when you started the fight by jumping, throwing a shuriken and moving forward. This should allow for the same freebie shots as before and if you happen to land them all and you got all your possible shots in previously, he may even fall right there. If not, just repeat the pattern until you've got your final shots in. I used to love this game and hope to compete this week myself, but with work ramping up for the holidays, I've barely had enough time to boot up my Pi recently. At any rate, I wish you all well and as always, good luck on the ROW.
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That first level boss always gets one life out of me at least. I try to reduce its health to about 4, then get close to him and use the special power which usually takes 4 hits off the boss. But it's tricky.
I don't think there's any real pattern to the fireballs unfortunately :( If you hit him before he shoots he'll restart the shooting pattern. Also, I once say a YouTube video of someone who just kicked the guy to death.
I was never able to do it so effectively, but it might help others. Kicking is very time-sensitive, so it's hard to pull off. But it seems it's easier to jump over the fireballs at close range with the right timing.
My score for today was around 33130, but I seem to have a high score of 55160 with a single coin from previous attempts (always lost in some stage on level 2), so I'll go with that.
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Huh. Just noted that Shinobi doesn't have BGM for me at the moment, at least on AdvMame. On lr-mame2003 it works as intended.
What are you guys using to run it?
Have a good weekend.
EDIT: a nice Google search helped me. Go to Audio settings in AdvMame and lower the absurd amplifier setting to zero.
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@pjft Now I can't get out of my head that AdvMame may have a setting called "absurd amplifier". :D
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@clyde That't probably the first technical step towards the invention of the Infinite Improbability Drive :)
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@clyde Now I can't either! :) It sounds like a setting straight from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, though.
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Sorry for missing voting this week everyone. I had some urgent personal matters to attend to the past few days. Would you like to have MAME ROW late this week, or just skip this week and start up again on Monday?
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@obsidianspider Of course, please. Hope all is well!
I'm fine whichever way you choose, really. I'm fine with skipping as this week will be a bit short with the current timeline, but I'll go with the majority vote.
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Happy to skip a week - it will give me a bit longer to try to get past the first level boss!
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@obsidianspider Thats no reason for beeing sorry, we all have urgent matters from time to time. Even when I don't participate here, I come along and read your postings. Skipping is ok, this game is popular and not a bad one. So, why not (this isn't a question).
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Well I managed past the first level boss.
My tactic was to move in on him quickly, his first two fireballs go over your head. If you time it right, you can jump up and throw a couple of shurikens getting two hits on him before he's ready to throw more fireballs. This time I ran away, right to the far left of the screen and ducked down . The fireballs missed me. Then I advance again and this time use my special weapon to knock some health off him. By that point he's only got two or three health left, so I move to the far left to dodge fireballs the in to fire a couple more shurikens. One time I actually died at the exact same time his health hit zero and it counted that as my win.
Then I quickly die on level 2 as I haven't played it enough to know what to expect.
I've never manged to win the bonus round yet either.
My best so far - 45260
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MAME ROW #108 is live
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