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The Atari Jaguar Game by Game Podcast


nosweargamer

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There is not much to say about Theme Park on the Jaguar. It’s a decent port of the game and is a lot of fun if micromanaging every aspect of an amusement park is your idea of a good time. Things like hiring (and firing) staff, setting prices, reordering supplies, conducting R&D to open new shops and rides, labor negotiations and auctioning off your park is oddly compelling.  While the control scheme is complicated with several menus and icons, it’s not too cumbersome once you learn the ropes.  The “assistant” does a good job of showing the basics to a “new” player and the manual fills in the blanks nicely.  I also like the ability to speed up the passage of time so you can accelerate the evolution of your park - though this can make other elements of park management a little trickier. Graphics are cheerful and bright, and the music and sounds are well suited to the game's "theme." Sounds great, right? 

Unfortunately, the game’s “save feature” leaves much to be desired.  The game only saves your dollars and not your park.  It can take a lot of time to build a really special park so the inability to save and resume that park is a major let down.  To add insult to injury, a supposedly enhanced save is even advertised on the back of the box which boasts that "Battery backup lets you save all your developments."  For me, the lack of a meaningful save feature keeps this otherwise "Solid"  game firmly in “Meh” territory.

Edited by atarilbc
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After a lengthy build time, the gates to the Atari Jaguar Game by Game Podcast episode on Theme Park are open!  Inside, you'll find, surprisingly, the longest episode to date.  And despite the Park Advisor's objections, admission is free!

Coming up in the next episode we'll be covering fan favorite racing game Super Burnout.  Please post any opinions, reviews, or feedback here, in a PM, or sent (as text or audio file) to jaguar@gamebygamepodcast.com.

Thanks!

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Hi Shinto, 

I reviewed Super Burnout in a Member Blog post here at Atari.io some time ago. Here are my thoughts from that post.

"Super Burnout is a solid if somewhat shallow racer. The game looks good, sounds good and controls well but it is otherwise very straightforward. Arcade-style time challenges, checkpoints and bike customization/upgrades may have done more to flesh out the game.

As a technical achievement and an example of how the Jaguar handles 2D, Super Burnout is a showpiece. It's arguably the best racer on the system and is enjoyable in both single-player or versus mode. I hesitate to call it a "must-have" but if you like sport bikes and racing games, it's well worth your time."

Thanks for reading!

 

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Best time! Final lap!
 
If you just read those words in an echoing "real male voice," then you may be a fan of the Jaguar-exclusive Super Burnout, perhaps the best racing game on the platform.  Learn all about it the latest episode of the Atari Jaguar Game by Game Podcast.
 
The next episode will feature Syndicate by Bullfrog.  I've never actually plugged this cart into my Jaguar, so I'm hoping YOU (yes, you) have some memories you can share.  If so, please post here, or e-mail your feedback to jaguar@gamebygamepodcast.com.  Thanks!
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Shinto -- did I hear you say you've been doing the podcast for five years??? That can't be right...I only really started listening to video game podcasts a little over five years ago, and for a LONG time I'd hear your audio contributions to Ferg and NSG and wonder, "Why in the world does this guy not have a podcast?"

I think I might have mentioned this somewhere before, but I don't have a Jag. Never played a game on one. But I do love me this podcast.

Supernatural, perhaps...baloney, perhaps not.

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I just checked in my podcast app and the first episode was released July 25, 2015.  So, it really has been 5 years!  Mind you that I did a marathon to get caught up!  LOL  I started to listen to podcasts the summer of 2017.  The first feedback I wrote was to Ferg in June 2017!  My first email feedback to Shinto was February 2018!  If you're wondering how I know...I first write the feedback in WordPerfect and then copy and paste it into email.  🙂

 

Edited by TrekMD

🖖 Going to the final frontier, gaming...

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Dang, looks like I never posted here about the availability of the Syndicate episode, all those many months ago.

But let us not dwell on dark PC ports when we've got the super-colorful Rayman coming up in the next episode.  What are your thoughts or memories about Jaguar Rayman, or really, any version of the original game?  I'm finally making some good progress on this episode, so I'm eying a feedback cutoff of December 10th.  Thank you so much for your patience.

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32 minutes ago, Shinto said:

Dang, looks like I never posted here about the availability of the Syndicate episode, all those many months ago.

But let us not dwell on dark PC ports when we've got the super-colorful Rayman coming up in the next episode.  What are your thoughts or memories about Jaguar Rayman, or really, any version of the original game?  I'm finally making some good progress on this episode, so I'm eying a feedback cutoff of December 10th.  Thank you so much for your patience.

Good to see you @Shinto! Looking forward to the Rayman episode. When the Jaguar came out we were still in the midst of the "bit wars" and although we were about to move past mascots generally speaking, I felt like the Jaguar needed a Mario or a Sonic or a Bonk of its own. Atari didn't seem to have that, and I thought although Rayman wouldn't be the Jaguar's mascot of course, it would bring that sort of feel to the system and show us what a platformer could look like on a 64-Bit system

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Rayman was a breath of fresh air on the Jaguar. I remember picking it up in Fall of '95 at Electronics Boutique, popping it in my Jaguar and being blown away by the production quality. My cousin and I spent a lot of time on this one that Fall and Winter. As a game, I personally think the difficulty level is a bit high. But I love the stunning 2D art-style, characters and the almost living world of Rayman. It's a title I come back to year after year.

Edited by Sabertooth
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At long last, the Rayman episode is complete!  It's been over a year in the making, and is over four hours in the listening, but I hope you find it informative and entertaining and reasonably accurate.

Next up will be an out-of-sequence episode covering RetroHQ's Jaguar GameDrive, so if you have any thoughts you'd like to share in the episode, please post here, DM me, or e-mail jaguar@gamebygamepodcast.com.  Thank you as always for listening!

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The latest episode of the Atari Jaguar Game by Game Podcast is out, covering: RetroHQ's Jaguar GameDrive.  Since it freely offers a whole bunch of homebrew games (and a demo), this episode covers all of them, too.

 

Next up will be another special episode, this time covering Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration.  And then back to vintage Jag stuff, I promise.

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The latest special episode covering Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is out, and though the focus is of course on the Jaguar content and BigPEmu, I cover all the "Reimagined" games in detail, and talk at least a little bit about every single game in this collection.  It's a long episode.

Up next will be an episode about the Jaguar CD peripheral, the Virtual Light Machine, and the Memory Track cartridge.

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9 hours ago, Shinto said:

The latest special episode covering Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is out, and though the focus is of course on the Jaguar content and BigPEmu, I cover all the "Reimagined" games in detail, and talk at least a little bit about every single game in this collection.  It's a long episode.

Up next will be an episode about the Jaguar CD peripheral, the Virtual Light Machine, and the Memory Track cartridge.

 

@Shinto I was just thinking about you and the Atari Jaguar Game by Game Podcast the other day when I was launching the Mutiny page and contemplating how best to showcase new podcast episodes in the sidebar. Your contribution to the Jaguar experience is appreciated greatly, and I know that you've been a highlight on our podcasts app for years. Thank you for continuing to put out the podcast year after year! You are welcome to syndicate your AJGBG Blog-flavored companion show notes here anytime.   :atari_jaguar:

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23 hours ago, Shinto said:

The latest special episode covering Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is out, and though the focus is of course on the Jaguar content and BigPEmu, I cover all the "Reimagined" games in detail, and talk at least a little bit about every single game in this collection.  It's a long episode.

Up next will be an episode about the Jaguar CD peripheral, the Virtual Light Machine, and the Memory Track cartridge.

Great episode @Shinto. I know that your impressions are based on the Switch version, but I just want to note that paddle control on the Atari VCS with the Classic Controller is excellent. It really elevates the experience for all paddle games and makes Neo-Breakout my favorite of the Reimagined titles. This is also where the analog input for T2K comes into play; its for the spinner on the Classic Controller.

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