Arkanoid | ZX Spectrum | 1987 | Let’s Play

Arkanoid was a 1986 arcade game from Taito which was a updated version of the old classic bat and ball breakout style game. The arcade machine had a spinner to control the bat (or a ship in this case), and the home conversions changed this to keyboard or joystick.

The home conversions came a year after the arcade release in 1987, and were done by Imagine Software. Also in 1987, a follow up came to the arcades – Revenge of Doh – which was also released for the home computers.

Arkanoid: Doh It Again | 1997 | SNES | Let’s Play

Arkanoid: Doh It Again (アルカノイド ドー・イット・アゲン) is a 1997 Super Nintendo Entertainment System game released by Taito Corporation. It was released in both NTSC and PAL formats, and received release in Australia, the United States, the UK, and Japan. It was developed as a sequel to the original 1986 arcade release of Arkanoid.

I’d recently played Arkanoid on the Spectrum, and also on the Arcade, so I was interested to see what Arkanoid: Doh It Again was like on the Super Nintendo – I was pleasantly surprised as it is a great little game, which is easier than the original, and has a lot more interesting power ups to spice the game up a bit.

Arkanoid | Arcade | 10 credit challenge! | Let’s Play

Arkanoid was a 1986 arcade game from Taito which was a updated version of the old classic bat and ball breakout style game. The arcade machine had a spinner to control the bat, but as I’m using this on my MAME cabinet (I don’t have a spinner), I’ve setup the mouse to control it.

I put in 10 credits and see how far I can get!

Super Mario Kart ZX

Super Mario Kart ZX – HD, Widescreen, 4 player remake – Let’s Play

This is a remake of Super Mario Kart for Windows (I think there may also be a Mac version). It features support for up to 4 players simultaneously, HD and widescreen graphics, and brand new cup with F-Zero and Outrun tracks!

I wasn’t able to unlock the new cup, as I don’t know how to, and more importantly, I think you probably have to beat the game on 100cc or even 150cc, and I just can’t be arsed to do that!

UPDATE I’ve since been told that:
“It is Outrun track plus music. Apparently you have to win gold star-cup 100cc to unlock 150cc, then win gold star-cup 150cc to unlock special-cup, then win gold on special-cup 150cc to unlock super-cup, and then enjoy Outrun music + track”

I may actually have to pull my finger out and unlock them!

Link to download the game is here (not sure how long it will stay up for though):
https://gamejolt.com/games/mariokartzx/437665

Equipment:
Played on Windows 10 machine using an 8BitDo NES30Pro controller.

Football Manager Spectrum

Football Manager (1982) – ZX Spectrum – Kevin Toms

I dug out the amazing Football Manager on the Spectrum that I used to play as a kid in the mid 1980s hiding behind my bed every time either my team or the opposition attacked in the match highlights!

I took on the challenge of Manchester City in the 4th division to see if I could get Sheikh Mansour’s team back up to the top division. Sadly I didn’t have the time to do a full season, let alone the multiple seasons necessary to bring back glory to what was then Maine Road. I did have a nice little cup run though, which ended up with a crazy amount of replays and, ultimately, failure.

Great memories though, and still very playable even though it’s nearly 40 years old!

As mentioned in the video, Kevin has written a more modern version of this game (Kevin Toms Football * Manager) and is available to buy on iOS and Android:
https://blog.kevintoms.com/games/

Follow Kevin on Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/KevinToms

Also mentioned in the video is ChinnyVision’s excellent comparison video of the many ports of this game:

Equipment:
Played on Windows 10 machine using the Spectaculator emulator as I can’t find the SCART lead for my toast rack 128k Speccy!

Super Smash TV (1990) – SNES – Let’s Play

Tough, twin stick shooter in the same style as Robotron: 2084 from 1982. This was converted to the Super Nintendo, and plays really well, but it is very hard!

Equipment:

  • SD2SNES cartridge played on an Analogue Super NT
  • 8BitDo SN30 gamepad

Super Buster Bros (1992) – SNES – Let’s Play

Super Buster Bros, or known as Super Pang outside of North America, is a great game for the Super Nintendo. Fire your arrow thing at the bubbles and they split into two – before too long the whole screen is full of bubbles, and touch one and you die! Great fun, lots of power ups (machine gun is my favourite!), and very addictive!

Equipment:

  • SD2SNES cartridge played on an Analogue Super NT
  • 8BitDo SN30 gamepad
Zelda- 3 minute glitch

Beating Zelda: A Link to the Past in 3 minutes! SNES Glitch – easy!

This is a dead easy glitch I found on another YouTube video on how to beat The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in around 3 minutes. I’ve never really tried this sort of thing before, but have seen it done loads of times before by speedrunners on Twitch and Games Done Quick, etc, and was pleasantly surprised at just how easy this glitch it to achieve. I did it on my first go in practice, and then again on my second try when I decided to record it. So, a 100% record, and I am no pro gamer! However, technically I am now officially a speedrunner, so I expect you’ll be seeing me at GDQ very soon (kidding)!

It works on a SNES, emulators, and the Virtual Console apparently. I was using my Super NT with my SD2SNES cart, and it worked flawlessly on that.

Here’s the link to the video that I first saw the glitch on, and they give a great walkthrough of how to do it step by step, but it really is as easy as it looks:

Equipment:

  • SD2SNES cartridge played on an Analogue Super NT
  • 8BitDo SN30 gamepad
Cannon Fodder - SNES

Cannon Fodder – SNES – Let’s Play

A quick play through of Cannon Fodder on the SNES. I’ve only ever played the Amiga version of this, so I didn’t really know what to expect of the Super Nintendo port. As I suspected, it is much harder using a joypad rather than the mouse, and as the difficulty level ramps up (fairly quickly!), it soon becomes really hard not having the quick, precise mouse movements. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking with it!

Would be a much better/easier game if you had the SNES Mouse! Still an excellent port from what I could see though (music much better on the Amiga though!).

Equipment:

  • SD2SNES cartridge played on an Analogue Super NT
  • 8BitDo SN30 gamepad
Ayrton Senna F1 Racing (hack) - SNES - Let's Play

Ayrton Senna F1 Racing (hack) – SNES – Let’s Play

This is Ayrton Senna F1 Racing on the Super Nintendo which is a rom hack, and I think it’s basically Nigel Mansell’s World Championship Racing with all of Nigel’s stuff swapped out with the more glamorous Ayrton Senna.

Here I struggle with what I think is Portuguese (please correct me if I’m wrong!), and give the game a whirl by taking on the British race course – Silverstone. It’s a nice little game from what little I played, pretty fast, but really hard to see the corners coming up – you need to practice each circuit well I suspect before you get up to the podium finishes.

Equipment:

  • SD2SNES cartridge played on an Analogue Super NT
  • 8BitDo SN30 gamepad