Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
0:00. Intro
0:53. Qualifying
1:49. Race
As I stated in the 1 Year Anniversary video, I have a goal of finishing every single Pole Position II course. I've done Suzuka, Test, and now Fuji aka Namco Circuit if you're playing Namco Museum. For this run, I decided to piece together some commentary for qualifying and the full race. I may do the same thing if I clear Seaside in the future.
Also, special thanks to everyone who watched my previous video and especially those of you who subscribed recently. I have been blown away by the influx of views and new subscribers. I appreciate the feedback as well. In fact, I made sure the audio levels were good for the background music and sound effects and not drowning out the commentary.
Music: GROOVE-FM - これ大好きCITY
#poleposition #namco #namcomuseum #retrogaming #arcadegames #arcade #arcadegame
0:00. Intro
0:53. Qualifying
1:49. Race
As I stated in the 1 Year Anniversary video, I have a goal of finishing every single Pole Position II course. I've done Suzuka, Test, and now Fuji aka Namco Circuit if you're playing Namco Museum. For this run, I decided to piece together some commentary for qualifying and the full race. I may do the same thing if I clear Seaside in the future.
Also, special thanks to everyone who watched my previous video and especially those of you who subscribed recently. I have been blown away by the influx of views and new subscribers. I appreciate the feedback as well. In fact, I made sure the audio levels were good for the background music and sound effects and not drowning out the commentary.
Music: GROOVE-FM - これ大好きCITY
#poleposition #namco #namcomuseum #retrogaming #arcadegames #arcade #arcadegame
![Marble Madness [Gamecube/Arcade] - First 1CC 78,170 pts (Midway Arcade Treasures)
Played on Dolphin via Midway Arcade Treasures using a Hori Fighting Commander (Switch version).
This is an important milestone for me because this is my first 1CC of a Western arcade game. This means a lot to me because Ive been playing this game on and off for over 18 years since I first got Midway Arcade Treasures for my Gamecube, and I used to be done by the end of the third stage or halfway through the fourth one.
It may be a short 1CC, but it is an intense one as you have to be fast and precise while navigating some ridiculous mazes, with the hardest being the last stage. I played this on a Hori Fighting Commander, which has an excellent D-pad but still does not perfectly replicate the original trackball controls that this game had in the arcades.
I died a lot, which hurt my score at the end, but Im proud of how clutch I was during the last stretch of the final stage. Also, I got the harder left route in the beginning of that stage thanks to RNG, but I still got through it!
Last, Marble Madness is a good example of why Atari Games were brilliant. They made plenty of influential and original games like this, Paperboy, Roadblasters, the Rush series, and Rampart just to name a few that I would recommend to anyone. Marble Madness [Gamecube/Arcade] - First 1CC 78,170 pts (Midway Arcade Treasures)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PFa013kgGjI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Cherry Bomb [PICO-8] - ALL Clear 69100 pts (Basic Shmup Showcase)
Link to game: https://krystman.itch.io/cherrybomb
Cherry Bomb is a fixed screen wave shmup for the PICO-8 created by Krystman as a submission for his own Basic Shmup Showcase thats he hosting on itch.io, which you can learn more about here: https://itch.io/jam/basic-shmup
This is a wave shooter reminiscent of Galaxian and Galaga with some modern touches like bombs, which are really more like a limited use spread shot, increased bullet count getting it close to bullet hell at times, and some extra scoring bonuses for killing enemies that are moving. Its a fun but simple wave shooter thats pretty well-polished without any major issues. Cherry Bomb [PICO-8] - ALL Clear 69100 pts (Basic Shmup Showcase)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P_J3B2UEW9g/mqdefault.jpg)
![Fantasy Zone [Sega Master System] - First Loop 1CC 2,548,900 pts.
Fantasy Zone is an arcade shmup created by Sega originally for arcades in 1986. It is known for having infinitely side scrolling levels like Defender and also for being one of the first ever cute-em-ups. The game was ported to the Master System soon after by Sega. It would also be ported over to the Famicom and NES, by Sunsoft and Tengen respectively.
Every level in Fantasy Zone, with the exception of the final stage being a boss rush, involves destroying bases that spawn enemies and avoiding other waves of enemies and their bullets. After you take out the bases, you have a boss fight. During the stage, youll also have the opportunity to go to a shop where you can buy weapons and engines with the coins you earned from killing enemies and bases. The more you buy items, the more the prices go up and theres limited stock for items.
The Master System version is a very solid port of the original arcade game. It controls well, runs well, and the graphics are quite nice for the 8-bit era. This version does have different bosses for Stages 4 and 6 and does not have a radar. However, it is pretty faithful to the original otherwise.
One important note about this run is that I did use the infinite weapons trick during this run. In order to do this, you need to buy all of the engines and then buy a weapon. If you buy the 7-way shot, youll get to use it for as long as you want without the usual time limits that would apply otherwise. The 7-way shot is especially powerful with this trick when paired with external autofire, which I did use. This makes the game even easier than it already is, but you usually cant take advantage of this trick until around Stage 4 or Stage 5 when you have enough money to do it.
After you beat the final boss at the end of the boss rush on Stage 8, you get an ending and then, the game loops infinitely. The difficulty does not appear to get harder with subsequent loops. My run ended only because of dumb mistakes, not because it got harder on Loop 2. Also, this game can be counter-stopped as the score counter does not go higher than seven digits.
Played in RetroArch via the PicoDrive core. 20HZ autofire was used from my Brook PCB.
00:00 Intro
00:10 Stage 1
01:24 Stage 2
02:35 Stage 3
04:30 Stage 4
06:13 Stage 5
07:51 Stage 6
09:06 Stage 7
10:15 Shop Before Stage 8
10:36 Stage 8 (Boss Rush)
13:43 Loop 2
#sega #mastersystem #fantasyzone #opaopa #retrogaming #shmups #shootergames #shmup #segaclassics #1986 #80sgames #1980s #classicgames #classicgaming Fantasy Zone [Sega Master System] - First Loop 1CC 2,548,900 pts.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pm-YhjzahOQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Sonic Wings Special [Playstation 1] - Normal Mode 1CC 590,500 pts (Kowful The Viking)
Recorded with SimpleScreenRecorder. Sonic Wings Special [Playstation 1] - Normal Mode 1CC 590,500 pts (Kowful The Viking)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q9du93IETL8/mqdefault.jpg)
![California Games [Atari Lynx] - A True Hidden Gem
California Games for the Atari Lynx was one of the few launch titles for the Lynx when it launched in 1989. While the system was not successful, there were quite a few real gems on it, like this version of the famous home computer game. So in this video, I break down the game and why it is still worth playing today.
Steam re-release: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1399480/California_Games_C64DOSAtariLynxNESSMSGenesis/
Nintendo Switch re-release: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-epyx-collection-handheld-switch/
GameSpot Hall Of Fame article via the Wayback Machine: http://web.archive.org/web/20070112130021/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/greatestgames/p-36.html
00:00 Intro
01:00 BMX
02:34 Surfing
04:04 Halfpipe
05:48 Foot Bag (Hacky Sack)
07:09 Final Thoughts California Games [Atari Lynx] - A True Hidden Gem](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QBQJ5FqtNOI/mqdefault.jpg)

![Raiden Trad [Sega Genesis] Normal 1CC - 1.8 Million (without Special Stage)
I no-missed the main eight stages and did not start dying until the Special Stage after the ending, which is widely considered to be one of the hardest shmup stages ever. Once I started dying, that was it.
As for the game itself, its a pretty faithful port of the original. The only serious issue is the harsh checkpoint system in a game where its already hard to recover from death. Otherwise, its easier than the arcade version, mainly because there are less enemies on screen despite the bullet speeds being fast and the bosses are more exploitable, but its still among the toughest shmups Ive ever beaten. The only shmup that Ive 1CC so far thats tougher than this is Dragon Blaze, and that was just for a 1-ALL. Raiden Trad [Sega Genesis] Normal 1CC - 1.8 Million (without Special Stage)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QalLbKrqvXc/mqdefault.jpg)



![Pole Position II [Gamecube/Arcade] - Seaside Full Run 54,220 pts
I finally beat Seaside in Pole Position II! Prior to this, I had beaten every other course in the game and uploaded runs of each. After beating this one, I can say its definitely harder than Test and Fuji but not as difficult as Suzuka. To be honest, the biggest turn in this one is a bit less risky than the big left on Suzuka and its not too hard otherwise. Fun fact: Seaside is based on the Long Beach Grand Prix street circuit used by both F1 and IndyCar/CART in the past.
I am considering creating a discussion video talking about both Pole Position game. Let me know if youd like to see that.
00:00 Intro
00:12 Qualifying
01:04 Race Pole Position II [Gamecube/Arcade] - Seaside Full Run 54,220 pts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SLl9dS6J1kg/mqdefault.jpg)