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The Jag Bar


btbfilms76

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Got a chance to sit with Skip Jones - animator of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace.  Enjoy this very special episode of Jag Bar as we hear from the horses mouth what it was like to work on this amazing arcade classic. 

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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Out of the three ReadySoft games, I could never get into Space Ace. Would love it if someone found DL2: Time Warp and released it.

Ace is rough, but I think its because the CD rom system is not fast enough to push it.  I have a DVD version of it and play it on my computer and have no problem but the further you get on the Jag it really starts to bog down.

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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Raiden!! BTB and Bobby Collins, aka (Thunder And Lightning) take down an army of deranged aliens in their Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighters… In the basement. Classic arcade bullet-storm "shmup" on the Atari Jaguar.

 

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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Catch up on some Jag Bar today! Lots more games to come including Raiden, Checkered Flag, Cannon Fodder, White men can't jump, AVP, Power Drive Rally, Super Burnout, Missile Command 3-D, Defender 2000, and Highlander.

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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Raiden is a great "couch game".  Games like Raiden, Contra, Ikari Warriors, Double Dragon - basically any two-player co-op game involving a red player and a blue player were absolute blasts to play.  Some of my favorite gaming memories involved these types of games. 

 

Also, way to improvise to create an episode in the middle of a hectic work schedule! Loved it!

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Raiden is a great "couch game".  Games like Raiden, Contra, Ikari Warriors, Double Dragon - basically any two-player co-op game involving a red player and a blue player were absolute blasts to play.  Some of my favorite gaming memories involved these types of games. 

 

Also, way to improvise to create an episode in the middle of a hectic work schedule! Loved it!

Thanks so much, things have been so busy over here, all god things, but Ive been running ragged as of the last few weeks.  I needed to make myself do it or work would just get in the way.  I did two episodes in the basement and then we'll be back in the Jag Bar, also I filmed 6 episodes of Lynx Lounge so we'll be good for a while. 

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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Why so much hate for Battlemorph? It's one of my favorites and a fantastic game, IMO. But you do need to know what you are doing...obviously you finished it BTB, as you showed the end in that Jag Bar episode, but I still just don't get why so many reviewers on youtube hate it so much. It really boggles my mind. Now CF I totally get.

"Slugs, he created slugs?...Is this not the work of a complete incompetent? I would have started with Lasers, 8 o'clock, day one."-Evil (Time Bandits)

"...burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me..."-theme song (Firefly)

"I try to respect him, I really, really do, but he's just such a Smeg-head."-Lister (about Rimmer, Red Dwarf)

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Why so much hate for Battlemorph? It's one of my favorites and a fantastic game, IMO. But you do need to know what you are doing...obviously you finished it BTB, as you showed the end in that Jag Bar episode, but I still just don't get why so many reviewers on youtube hate it so much. It really boggles my mind. Now CF I totally get.

 

To be fair Battlemorph is a pretty solid game.  Shane really didn't like it, but he's a die hard Star Fox fan and was comparing it to that experience.  Each guest I have to explain that it's not fair to judge these games with where we are today, rather think about the time period and what was going on back then.  Now Ive never played Cybermorph, so I really can't compare BM to CM, but I do like Battle and would say its a top CD game for me.

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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I agree with that. I guess I was a tiny bit more annoyed than I should be, due to my experiences with almost all Youtube reviews of BM done by people who don't have a clue how the game is played and clearly never even try to read the manuals to find out or anything. It's just gotten bad press by bad reviewers too many times, IMO. I would not defend Cybermorph nearly as staunchly, even in '93 it wasn't a "killer app" even though it is fun. Battlemorph is clearly leagues better. Battlemorph would have been a "killer app" if released in '93 or '94, but by '95, while definitely a great game, it wasn't what could be considered a "killer app" when looking at the competition, but only to fans of the Jaguar; it was what I'd hoped for from Cybermorph early on, then finally got late in the Jag's life, but when it was all but too late for the Jag. I feel the same about Blue Lightning as I do about Cybermorph as a pack-in...it should have been Battlemorph or Iron Soldier 2.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. I still think people that think Starfox is better than Battlemorph are delusional though...maybe Starfox 64.

Edited by Bakerman

"Slugs, he created slugs?...Is this not the work of a complete incompetent? I would have started with Lasers, 8 o'clock, day one."-Evil (Time Bandits)

"...burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me..."-theme song (Firefly)

"I try to respect him, I really, really do, but he's just such a Smeg-head."-Lister (about Rimmer, Red Dwarf)

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I agree with that. I guess I was a tiny bit more annoyed than I should be, due to my experiences with almost all Youtube reviews of BM done by people who don't have a clue how the game is played and clearly never even try to read the manuals to find out or anything. It's just gotten bad press by bad reviewers too many times, IMO. I would not defend Cybermorph nearly as staunchly, even in '93 it wasn't a "killer app" even though it is fun. Battlemorph is clearly leagues better. Battlemorph would have been a "killer app" if released in '93 or '94, but by '95, while definitely a great game, it wasn't what could be considered a "killer app" when looking at the competition, but only to fans of the Jaguar; it was what I'd hoped for from Cybermorph early on, then finally got late in the Jag's life, but when it was all but too late for the Jag. I feel the same about Blue Lightning as I do about Cybermorph as a pack-in...it should have been Battlemorph or Iron Soldier 2.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. I still think people that think Starfox is better than Battlemorph are delusional though...maybe Starfox 64.

 

Yes its all to easy to have a youtube show - play a game and make snarky remarks… Im trying to do something a little different.  Yes we will come across some bad games, along with the really good ones, but its really a platform for others to play the Jag for the first time.  All of these titles we play are mine, I really supported the system in its life time, I really wanted to see Atari succeed.

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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@btbfilms76:That's really interesting to hear (reason why Shane did'nt really take to Battlemorph), it's often the way, people will be eager to try a game that looks similar to something they loved on previous hardware, on hardware they are just now 'discovering' and then coming away rather dissapointed as their expectations were dashed when they find actual gameplay is very different.

 

 

Lot of Doom/Doom II fans could'nt get on with AVP's slower pace....

 

 

COD fans went to Killzone 2 expecting a sci-fi themed similar exp, could'nt get used to the differing control and 'feel'.

 

 

Sometimes folks stick with the games, learn to appreciate what they offer, sometime even games are patched to suit the more mainstream views (Killzone 2) and people still move on...

 

It's really as simple as horses for courses :)

 

One of the thing I have to tell the guests before we start shooting is you can't compare these games with the games of today, thats just too easy.  I tell them the year of the game and other games that would have been out at that time "so put yourself back in that mind set".  I loved AVP, that was the reason I got the system, It looked amazing for the time, can't wait to cover that game.

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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One of the thing I have to tell the guests before we start shooting is you can't compare these games with the games of today, thats just too easy.  I tell them the year of the game and other games that would have been out at that time "so put yourself back in that mind set".  I loved AVP, that was the reason I got the system, It looked amazing for the time, can't wait to cover that game.

I think it's probably lost on people who don't remember it at the time just how big of a leap the Jaguar was in 1993 and how incredible the games looked when we first saw them in magazines. They were magical. I played Cybermorph for hours.

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It was AVP that blew me away and in an instant simply showcased just how far ahead of the MD/SNES/Mega CD the hardware was.....

 

I'd loved the 2D Alien 3 games on MD and SNES, both different games, but both sweet, but this? OMG....... mindblowing to an Aliens fan like myself. Preview video on Gamesmaster TV sold me the console, the actual game even better, just so atmospheric, espically the Xeno's lurking in the shadows, corpses on the ground etc.

 

Cybermorph? technically fine but just lacked graphical flair, in terms of buildings, craft, weapons etc just looked too basic, ATD etc really needed a graphical designer with a touch of style i feel, visuals were more workmanlike than hand crafted for the game if that makes sense?, but they were a small studio, so it's unfair for me to harp on too much in that regard.

 

AVP simply worked because there was nothing else like it on Console at the time i saw it running.

 

I need to pick up a Cybermorph just to play for kicks, I never got it as a pack in so I have no idea how it plays other then what the internet tells me.  

 

The Jaguar for me was the system that was doing what the other guys weren't, it was like a total break away from the past and we were witnessing the future of what was to come in gaming.  No more side scrollers, no more 2d games of the past, I really bought into the 3D power this cat could deliver.  

But that was the down fall, I feel like all that power and energy went into the tech and the game play took a hit.

 

The cool thing about the Jaguar is that the hit games were unique to the Jag and no one else had anything like it.  

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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I really like Cybermorph. I had one of the very first Jaguars out of Sunnyvale and the game felt groundbreaking at the time. I felt there could have been more music and tighter fit and finish to the game, but that's to be expected from the Tramiels and I was used to that on the Lynx. Still an enjoyable game that I spent hours playing.  :atari_jaguar:

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I really like Cybermorph. I had one of the very first Jaguars out of Sunnyvale and the game felt groundbreaking at the time. I felt there could have been more music and tighter fit and finish to the game, but that's to be expected from the Tramiels and I was used to that on the Lynx. Still an enjoyable game that I spent hours playing.  :atari_jaguar:

 

If I were to pick this up in the wild what am I looking for?  I understand there is a 1 mb and 2mb version, what one should I look for?

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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Another great episode. I've always found it strange that the Jaguar has two pinball games in its realitvely limited library. The tables in Ruiner are more fantastical and have cool themes. Pinball Fantasies is more traditional - almost a simulator - but it has more tables. Both are pretty good for video pinball.

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Another great episode. I've always found it strange that the Jaguar has two pinball games in its realitvely limited library. The tables in Ruiner are more fantastical and have cool themes. Pinball Fantasies is more traditional - almost a simulator - but it has more tables. Both are pretty good for video pinball.

 

It is strange, I picked these up at that event Mike and I met at, and the thing is I don't even remember seeing these on the shelf back when I was buying games for the Jag in its prime.  There were only two places I was able to buy Jaguar games back in the mid 90's - Babbage's and Toys R Us.  Both stores took pride in the fact they stocked Jaguar games - and they priced them way higher then any other games on the shelf. I remember paying well over $70 for some titles, and Im in California… I remember the great TG-16 pinball games very well, but not Ruiner and Fantasies, I'm glad I have them now.

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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