Uploaded November 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
0:22. Stage 1
3:33. Stage 2-A
6:58. Stage 3-B
13:29. Stage 4-A
20:17. Stage 5-B
Mecha Ritz Steel Rondo got a big update when it came out on the Nintendo Switch on November 3rd, and Steam got the newest version of the game as well that day. It changes some of the routes, re-balances ships and adds new ones, and some other gameplay tweaks like the Sweet Bonuses you can obtain now, which stack as long as you do not get hit. Scoring is much higher overall in this version than the previous one.
For those who do not know, this is a doujin bullet-hell shmup created entirely by Japanese developer HEY that has been on PC for a while and is known for its dynamic difficulty through a rank system that gets higher if you play well and comes down once you get hit a lot. This makes it easier for newer players to not get overwhelmed while skilled players will be challenged as they push the rank higher. It also has a unique aesthetic and great FM synthesizer based soundtrack. Also, there's a time limit that affects whether you get to the TLB or not, and finishing stages quickly is better for your score overall as well. If you get to the last stage with time to spare, you get the TLB. However, there is a different version of the TLB if you choose 5-C. If you don't get to it on time, you get the teddy bear for the last boss battle.
For this particular run, I used the second Blue ship (B2). This ship does not have the fastest movement speed or a lot of shot spread, but the damage output is superb and killing bosses fast is good for score. This game has branching paths and I mostly stuck with Route A outside of going to 3-B instead of 3-A. 3-B is a lot of fun with plenty of Sweet Bonus opportunities and a ton of bullets once you push the rank pretty high.
Speaking of rank, I managed to push the rank all the way up to 482 in 5-B before it started tumbling toward the end of the last boss when I started dying more. Once this game gets to above 300, it gets pretty crazy and going into the 400s makes it downright ludicrous for trying to dodge dense bullet patterns. I got a nice bonus at the end for finishing quickly and without burning through that many shields and bombs since I still had three lives to spare at the end.
I may go for a full Route B clear at some point, as Route B does give you higher scoring potential.
0:22. Stage 1
3:33. Stage 2-A
6:58. Stage 3-B
13:29. Stage 4-A
20:17. Stage 5-B
Mecha Ritz Steel Rondo got a big update when it came out on the Nintendo Switch on November 3rd, and Steam got the newest version of the game as well that day. It changes some of the routes, re-balances ships and adds new ones, and some other gameplay tweaks like the Sweet Bonuses you can obtain now, which stack as long as you do not get hit. Scoring is much higher overall in this version than the previous one.
For those who do not know, this is a doujin bullet-hell shmup created entirely by Japanese developer HEY that has been on PC for a while and is known for its dynamic difficulty through a rank system that gets higher if you play well and comes down once you get hit a lot. This makes it easier for newer players to not get overwhelmed while skilled players will be challenged as they push the rank higher. It also has a unique aesthetic and great FM synthesizer based soundtrack. Also, there's a time limit that affects whether you get to the TLB or not, and finishing stages quickly is better for your score overall as well. If you get to the last stage with time to spare, you get the TLB. However, there is a different version of the TLB if you choose 5-C. If you don't get to it on time, you get the teddy bear for the last boss battle.
For this particular run, I used the second Blue ship (B2). This ship does not have the fastest movement speed or a lot of shot spread, but the damage output is superb and killing bosses fast is good for score. This game has branching paths and I mostly stuck with Route A outside of going to 3-B instead of 3-A. 3-B is a lot of fun with plenty of Sweet Bonus opportunities and a ton of bullets once you push the rank pretty high.
Speaking of rank, I managed to push the rank all the way up to 482 in 5-B before it started tumbling toward the end of the last boss when I started dying more. Once this game gets to above 300, it gets pretty crazy and going into the 400s makes it downright ludicrous for trying to dodge dense bullet patterns. I got a nice bonus at the end for finishing quickly and without burning through that many shields and bombs since I still had three lives to spare at the end.
I may go for a full Route B clear at some point, as Route B does give you higher scoring potential.





![Pole Position [Gamecube/Arcade] - ALL Clear 59850 pts (Namco Museum)
Played on Namco Museum with default difficulty/time settings using the Dolphin emulator.
Pole Position is among the most influential racing games of all time. Without this, there would probably be no Outrun, no Super Hang On, no Ridge Racer, no Daytona USA, or any other famous arcade racing games that would come after it. I used to play it all the time as a kid as a kid on different Namco Museum collections, but I was horrible at it back then.
This port is overall pretty faithful to the original arcade version considering its part of a console compilation versus a sitdown cabinet. The developer did make an interesting design choice for this port by adding some tiny amounts of auto-steering on the slightest of corners, probably to compensate for the lack of a proper wheel. That still doesnt help you to get through the harder turns or dodge the other cars, but it works out quite well because it does not have analog turning even if you use an analog stick. Maybe this was based on the PS1 Namco Museum port, which I have not played?
This was my first time making pole position on a complete run, and Im pretty happy with this run considering that I played on D-pad. I only had one crash. There is some RNG in terms of where the other cars will be, which is not unusual for arcade racers as Super Hang On would do this later on as well for example. Of course, the handling is primitive and slippery compared to later arcade racers. Pole Position [Gamecube/Arcade] - ALL Clear 59850 pts (Namco Museum)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kRvcyg2SEEc/mqdefault.jpg)
![Castle Of Illusion [Sega Master System] - 1CC Full Game 128,480 pts
Castle Of Illusion wasnt just a Genesis game. It was also on the Sega Master System and a different game to boot. I beat this one on one credit and got just about all of the secrets, including plenty of 1-UPs and hidden treasure chests. This is definitely one of the better platformers on the console and would get an excellent sequel in Land Of Illusion, exclusive to the Master System and Game Gear.
Also, this and Land Of Illusion are the first two Sega Master System playthroughs Ive done on my QMTech MiSTER FPGA, which I got earlier this year. It feels extremely responsive playing on it and looks great with a little bit of scanlines applied in post-processing. The Land Of Illusion playthrough is coming soon, and there may also be a separate discussion video reviewing both games. I may also make another video just on my thoughts on the MiSTER FPGA so far.
00:00 Intro
00:30 Stage 1
04:22 Stage 2
07:35 Stage 3
12:26 Stage 4
18:51 Stage 5
24:49 Final Stage Castle Of Illusion [Sega Master System] - 1CC Full Game 128,480 pts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kbuDPqxz1IY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Top Gear Rally [GBA] - Great Heights Plus All 1st Place Playthrough
Top Gear Rally on Game Boy Advance shares the same name as the N64 racer, but it is an entirely different game developed by Tantalus Interactive and released in 2003 for the GBA. This game is known for being the last game in the Top Gear Rally series as well as utilizing a 3D graphics engine. It is also one of the few traditional rally games on the handheld along with Colin McRae Rally 2.0.
The first thing that stands out when people play this game is the 3D graphics. While the graphics arent even PS1 quality, it was pretty impressive before the DS/PSP era to be able to play a racer on a handheld with 3D graphics, though it does use a lot of sprites and was quite pixelated even on real hardware. The game engine does have some limitations though like its field of view being a bit fisheye at times and the fact that you cannot turn around and drive backwards. The fisheye like view in particular occasionally leads to some issues running into objects along the road, which will slow you down. However, its not too hard to adjust to this and on some courses, you wont notice the effect much.
As far as the gamplay goes, Top Gear Rally on GBA plays pretty well overall. While I did mention the issue regarding the field of view just now, the cars do control surprisingly well and you have some basic tuning options appropriate for a rally game, like gearbox, brake sensitivity, and of course tire choices to name a few. Unlike in the original N64 game of the same name, this game features actual rally stages instead of rally-cross style tracks, so youll actually be going for checkpoint to checkpoint like in actual rallying. The cars have some weight to them though many of them feel pretty similar outside of top speed and acceleration, but thats understandable considering the limitations of the handheld it was made for. However, the handling is definitely better than the second Top Gear Rally game on N64, which suffered from an identity crisis overall.
The meat of the game is the Championship mode. The first two Championship leagues, Amateur and Professional, are not very hard. However, the difficulty does ramp up during the Top Gear World Series, particularly once you get to the mirrored tracks. Great Heights Plus is the last of the mirrored rallies and like the regular version, is set along a mountain road where one false move could lead to you falling off of a cliff. Its a great idea, though it may be partially inspired by the famous Pikes Peak International hillclimb course. I managed to get first place on all three parts of Great Heights Plus, which is what this video shows. Its not the hardest of the rallies in the Top Gear World Series despite being the finale, but it is one of my favorites. I especially enjoy the final part which features gravel instead of tarmac, as the gravel gives you less grip on the track. You also get a nice sense of speed on these courses.
Overall, this game is more than worthy of the Top Gear Rally name and may even be better than the two games on the N64.
Played in RetroArch using the VBA-M core and the NTSC-SVideo shader.
00:00 Intro
00:50 Stage 1
02:54 Stage 2
04:56 Stage 3
07:25 Ending Top Gear Rally [GBA] - Great Heights Plus All 1st Place Playthrough](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ksmBrptbwCk/mqdefault.jpg)

![Ridge Racer 64 [N64] - Extreme Extra 1st Place (Z Class)
Ridge Racer 64 is a game Ive been working toward beating on and off for a while now. This is the final track on the Grand Prix mode, played in Z Class.
These later cars are quite hard to control and you have to abandon the classic drifting for the most part when youre using them because theyre so fast and have tons of handling and grip.
Ill also be uploading the Screaming Eagle Car Attack race soon, which is arguably the hardest race in the game along with Lizard Nightmare.
00:00 Intro
00:26 Race
03:44 Galaga 88 Mini-Game And Results
Played in Simple64 using my Qanba Crystal Mixbox setup. Ridge Racer 64 [N64] - Extreme Extra 1st Place (Z Class)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lGkZ1Zkc2C8/mqdefault.jpg)
