Tiny Cartridge

If the above video doesn’t look like anything new to you, that’s because it’s supposed to be an accurate homebrew demo of Sonic the Hedgehog 1 for the GBA.

Compare the clip to Sega’s own attempt in 2006 to port the game, and you’ll see why someone felt the need to try their own hand at it. Beyond the audio problems, Sega’s official game suffered from physics issues, screen stuttering, and an assortment of other snags.

The fan-made remake, created by programmer Stealth, seeks to amend all that and even features “the acceleration system from Sonic 2, the spindash technique, and two additional characters — Tails and Knuckles.”

The project’s current build so far only includes Green Hill Zone with all three of the characters, along with at a working special stage. No word yet on whether or not Stealth intends to add more to this proof of concept.

[Note: Download link seems to be down.]

[Via Sonic Retro]

Oh no, Cho Aniki is coming to Virtual Console! How can that be?

Even though the first game is the least homoerotic in Masaya’s infamous shmup series, the announcement still comes as a total surprise. If Nintendo paid any attention to the Virtual Console, they’d probably fight it! As an avowed fan of weird games, this is what I’ve been campaigning for, much like normal people advocate for Super Mario RPG or something.

Not sure how I feel about this shirt. It’s cute and clever, but sometimes I feel pretty weird wearing “cute” and “clever” shirts. Also it’s a Space Invaders thing, and, as much as I love the iconography (and Space Invaders Extreme, on the real), I feel disinclined to wear Invaders stuff for the same reason I don’t wear stuff with 1UP mushrooms — I don’t want to be trite!

I should probably worry less about stuff. Anyway, I had never seen Glennz.com, which is actually quite loaded with adorable stuff!

[Via Wonderland]

I knew that Metal Slug 7 included a “Combat School” mode in which you replay stages under certain conditions, but I didn’t know that the mode incentivizes you with opportunities to flirt with your drill instructor! Really, it isn’t that farfetched when you remember that SNK is also behind the Days of Memories and Doki Doki Majo Shinpan series.

Using a patch to access the English translation in the Japanese release of Metal Slug 7, SB forumer Dark Age Iron Savior collected the first set of conversations you can have with instructor Cynthia, the conversations being dependent on your rank. It’s intriguing, to say the least.

As you’ll see in the above screenshots, like any crush, Cynthia is quick to play with your hopes, inviting your affection before turning away your poorly veiled advances. She knows you’ll lie awake in bed tonight, agonizing over words that should’ve been said. But, like a sucker for love, you’ll keep coming back for more.

I am all for any game starring a duck-billed platypus, even if it’s a homebrew remake of a Sega Saturn title I’ve never heard of — Motteke Tamago with Ganbare! Kamonohashi by Naxat Soft (Kaga Create Co.).

As with the original, the DS game has a simple premise: collect eggs, let them hatch, and bring your brood back home. It almost sounds too primitive to be fun, but then I found this ridiculous video for the Sega Saturn release (gameplay starts at 00:40).

Crazy! The homebrew game is in its alpha stages, so it only includes an in-game tutorial and a three-stage demo. The DS Scene group working on the project plans to eventually add a complete story mode, a stage select menu, six more characters, a level editor, and online/local multiplayer support.

Here’s a download link for the DS ROM: Take the eggs! Ornithorhynchus Anatinus GO GO GO! v0.1a

In Japan, I mean. But it’ll probably be elsewhere soon!

I haven’t heard anything about who developed this for Konami, which probably means Tose and not Treasure. But I will definitely be able to extract ten dollars’ worth of enjoyment from this when it becomes available.

One of two things is happening here:

1. This eBay seller is using a crop of Jeremy Parish’s picture of a Mega Man 9 t-shirt from E3 as the preview image for an official poster he or she acquired and is now selling, or
   
   
2. He or she has printed up a large version of that picture for the purpose of eBay sales, which would mean that some buyer will soon display a poster of (probably) Hironobu Takeshita’s chest.

Either way, I’m on board.

Edit: it appears that posters were handed out at the i am 8-bit exhibit, so there’s a chance the poster is legit (and thus cause for my money to come FLYING OUT OF MY DAMN WALLET)! Still not the best picture.

[Via GameSniped]

Hatsune Miku, the imaginary character invented as the “singer” behind the synthesized voice in Yamaha’s super-popular “Vocaloid” tool, is now going to have her own PSP rhythm game, Hatsune Miku -Project Diva-. This is Miku’s first starring role in a game, her first appearance being in the DS training/minigame thing 13-sai no Hello Work, in which she mentors young would-be musicians.

She’s the mascot for an application, and she now has her own video game. And it’s not even an unofficial homebrew game like Rinlen.

Aug 27 - Girl At Keisei Takasago Station - m4w - 37 - (Katsushika) pic

Though my “DS Life” posts have been colorless and tedious lately, I’m quite proud of this one! It’s a bit predictable and cheap, but the same could be said about your mother.