Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
Salamander aka Life Force is an arcade shmup known for combining horizontal and vertical scrolling stages in the same game, but did you know that it had a secret "bad ending" that the game does not explain? Well, in this video, I discuss the "bad ending" and how I discovered it, as well as the problem with it. I'm sure it's not the only game from back in the day with something like this, but it is certainly an interesting find and is actually kind of cruel on Konami's part.
00:00 Intro
00:39 What Is The "Bad Ending"?
01:57 The Problem With It
Salamander aka Life Force is an arcade shmup known for combining horizontal and vertical scrolling stages in the same game, but did you know that it had a secret "bad ending" that the game does not explain? Well, in this video, I discuss the "bad ending" and how I discovered it, as well as the problem with it. I'm sure it's not the only game from back in the day with something like this, but it is certainly an interesting find and is actually kind of cruel on Konami's part.
00:00 Intro
00:39 What Is The "Bad Ending"?
01:57 The Problem With It
![Twinkle Star Sprites [Neo Geo] - Story Mode 1CC Playthrough](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NLVpiRO9SD4/mqdefault.jpg "Twinkle Star Sprites [Neo Geo] - Story Mode 1CC Playthrough
Twinkle Star Sprites is a vertical shmup released in arcades via the Neo Geo MVS in 1996 and on home consoles via the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD the next year. It also received a Sega Saturn port around this time that is practically arcade perfect. Published by SNK and developed by ADK, the makers of the World Heroes series, this game combines the basic gameplay of a shmup with fighting gamed and competitive puzzle games like Puyo Puyo. It is notable for being one of the first and only shmups where two players compete directly against each other on the same screen, albeit divided into two halves like multiplayer Tetris or Puyo Puyo.
The basic gameplay works like this. Enemies appear on your side of the screen in waves. Whenever you kill the first enemy in that wave, you start a chain and other enemies get taken as part of the chain if they are close enough whenever you start it. Whenever you do this, you throw fireballs back onto the opponents side and the better the chain, the more fireballs will be thrown. If your opponent take enough hits from these projectiles thrown on screen, they lose all of their hit points and you win. Your opponent can also do this. Fireballs can also be reflected back to an opponent.
There are other elements like the fact that charged shots can fire projectiles to the other screen and if you charge up a charge shot enough, you can fire a boss attack onto an opponent. Also, the enemies on screen that come in waves cannot kill you, but can take off some hit points and reduce your firepower briefly. You get two bombs that clear the screen like they would in a shmup, and these are important for defensive purposes as you cannot dodge or reflect every projectile.
The game itself has two modes: Character Mode and Story Mode. Character Mode allows you to choose one of several different characters and fight through seven rounds including the last boss and is structured like a fighting game. The Story Mode, which is what I cleared, has you play as Ran, a young witch looking to find the Twinkle Star which was stolen by the evil Mevious.
Story Mode for the most part is pretty easy until you get to the last two or three stages. By Stage 5, the RNG starts to play a heavy role in how the matches play out. Sometimes, the AI is really bad and cant dodge but often times, they dodge incredibly well near the end. Even early on, the AI is sometimes a bit rigged against the player. The erratic nature of the AI also plays a role in your scoring potential as quicker runs might work out in your favor survival wise but result in less scoring. To be fair, this game was probably balanced more for two player matches than single player.
On this run, it was my third time clearing it and while my scoring wasnt as good as previous clears as youll see at the very end after the credits, it was my best survival run as I even managed to get through the final stage without dying.
I did use 25HZ autofire off my Brook board, which I initially thought was extremely helpful but I got stomped later on in Character Mode after this so Im not 100% sure how much of a difference this made compared to 15HZ outside of pointblanking being a little easier.
Played in FBNeo via RetroArch in AES mode instead of MVS mode. Difficulty is set to the standard MVS/Level 4.
00:00 Intro
00:27 Stage 1
02:34 Stage 2
04:03 Stage 3
06:16 Stage 4
07:44 Stage 5
10:07 Stage 6
11:44 Stage 7
13:42 Ending
#neogeo #arcade #neogeomvs #neogeoaes #neogeocd #shmups #snk #snkplaymore #arcadegames #twinklestarsprites
#shootemups")
![NFL Blitz [PC] - Insane Shutout Win vs Rigged AI](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N_hYa8fym-w/mqdefault.jpg "NFL Blitz [PC] - Insane Shutout Win vs Rigged AI
NFL Blitz is one of the greatest arcade sports games of all time, if not the greatest. While later games in the series would add new gameplay elements, the original game has aged like fine wine outside of the small playbook and not being able to get on fire.
The PC version in particular was just about arcade perfect from a graphics standpoint, with the only issue being the slightly wonky diagonal movement because this version was made with keyboards in mind. It works fine nowadays on modern Windows and even Linux via WINE as long as you use the latest version of NGlide. NGlide can even upscale the game while maintaining the 4:3 aspect ratio.
But anyways, this is the first shutout in this version of the game that Ive done in a long time, if Ive even done one. Ive scored a lot more points before, but shutouts are not common in this game against the AI. However, there were quite a few close calls and things that went comically wrong. The rubber band AI was not happy that I was shutting down its offense throughout the game. It tried to rig the game but did not succeed. The ending in particular is must-see stuff as even I didnt expect it.
Notes: For some reason, the audio here is a bit louder than my usual gameplay footage. My apologies ahead of time. I have no way to control the audio levels in game, and this is straight gameplay footage with no edits. Also, this was played on default settings.
00:00 Intro
00:19 First Half
04:12 Second Half
08:23 Final Stats")
![Paperboy [Atari Lynx] - Middle Road 1CC Playthrough 208,600 pts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NxHetDRz6hQ/mqdefault.jpg "Paperboy [Atari Lynx] - Middle Road 1CC Playthrough 208,600 pts
The Atari Lynx was home to plenty of ports of 80s arcade games, especially those from Atari Games, and Paperboy got a port to the handheld in 1990. For those who are not familiar with the original game, you play as a paperboy delivering newspapers on your bicycle, while trying to avoid tons of hazards ranging from people and objects rolling around to even the absurd like the Grim Reaper. The arcade cabinet is known for its unique handlebar controls, which home ports did not even try to replicate for good reason.
The Lynx version of this game is pretty solid. Its not the best arcade port on the Lynx but it could have been a lot worse at the same time. The graphics, albeit heavily pixeled, capture the look of the original pretty well in terms of the neighborhoods and the color scheme. It does run as a lower frame rate than its arcade counterpart, but thats not too unexpected for the Lynx and doesnt hurt this port much.
The developers did a great job here with the controls. Using up and down on the D-pad to speed up and slow down respectively works surprisingly well here because you dont have to keep holding down said direction once you happy with a particular speed. Steering is digital instead of analog but feels responsive. Throwing newspaper is done with either B or A, and its pretty easy to hit the mailboxes, easier than in the original.
Just like the arcade version, it has three different difficulty levels divided into roads: Easy Street, Middle Road, and Hard Way. Overall, the difficulty here is toned down compared to the arcade original. One, the bees dont really chase you here unless youre going as slow as possible for a little while. Two, you start off with one more life than the original. Three, the slower speed makes it a bit easier to time your newspaper throws, which are already a bit easier to time though it does feel a bit different here. Between that and the hitboxes for either the paper or the mailbox being pretty generous, it should be easy to get the papers into the mailbox instead of the front door for bonus points.
I did run into a glitch where the hitbox on the last fire hydrant in the second half of the route seems to have a much bigger hitbox than the other one, but that one is easy to avoid as my run illustrates. You just need to go onto the road. It is possible to go to the left of that one if youre extremely precise, but the maneuvering is much tougher than it should be.
The biggest weakness of this port is surprisingly the music. The sound effects arent bad, but the music is not a great rendition of the original tracks. The Lynx is capable of better than this.
My run itself went quite well. I managed to finish with a couple of lives to spare, but I could have finished with more had I not gotten a bit sloppy on Sunday, the last day.
00:00 Intro
00:23 Monday
03:04 Tuesday
05:36 Wednesday
08:27 Thursday
11:09 Friday
13:41 Saturday
16:04 Sunday
#paperboy #atarilynx #atari #gameplay #playthrough #1cc #retrogaming #classicgaming #newspaper #delivery")
![Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast [PC] - Heart Attack Mode Full Run (Goal B)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OSeE-tamLbI/mqdefault.jpg "Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast [PC] - Heart Attack Mode Full Run (Goal B)
Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast is an amazing racer that Ive been coming back to on and off this year thanks to the Outrun 2006 Tweaks mod. I decided to go back and play the Heart Attack mode of this game on the original Outrun 2 tracks. The purpose of this mode is to complete specific objectives, which reward you with hearts depending on how well you execute them.
I had a very good run for the most part. There were some smaller mistakes that kept me from getting the AAA rank overall, but there were no wrecks or serious mistakes on my part either.
Also, I am working on a larger discussion video at the moment, which I hope to have finished soon.
00:00 Intro
00:41 Race
05:27 Final Results and Credits")
![Sonic Wings [SFC/SNES] - First Loop 1CC 626,500 pts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OWxW0ZKDSEw/mqdefault.jpg "Sonic Wings [SFC/SNES] - First Loop 1CC 626,500 pts
Sonic Wings, known as Aero Fighters in the West, is a shoot em up released by Video Systems for the Super Famicom in 1993. It is a port of the arcade shooter Sonic Wings, originally released in arcades in Japan in 1992. The SNES version is known for being one of the rarest games on the system as it was released in extremely limited quantities. The Japanese version is much more common.
This game is notable for being developed by many of the programmers that went on to found Psikyo, famous for the Gunbird and Strikers 1945 games. In fact, the gameplay here is very similar to the earliest Psikyo shmups, particularly Samurai Aces and the original Gunbird. The stages are short but intense and the trademark Psikyo fast bullets and patterns are here in their infancy. You also have a decent amount of ships, as you get a total of 8 between both P1 and P2 sides. Each side gets a different selection, which is a bit strange for console gamers but not too unusual by arcade standards.
Another similarity between this and later Psikyo games is how your runs are structured. The first three stages here are randomized in terms of order, though a particular character will always get those particular stages to start. After that, the order of the stages is set in stone. Also, you have two loops in the arcade original as well as the Super Famicom version, another Psikyo tradition. However, the SNES version lacks the second loop because that release used a smaller cartridge as a cost-cutting measure.
As far as difficulty goes, it is believed by some that this version is actually harder than the arcade original. Ive seen multiple shmup players more skilled than me point this out elsewhere. While I still havent played the arcade original yet, the one thing that definitely has an impact on difficulty is the rank system. The longer you live, the nastier it gets in terms of bullet speeds, and it gets nasty by Stage 5 unless you die prior to that. I decided to suicide before the Stage 4 boss because of that. Also, while the first four stages arent very hard, you do need to route more by the time you get to Stage 5.
The final stage of each loop is by far the hardest. Not only are the bullets fast by this point, the mini-boss is harder than any of the stage bosses prior and you have a possibility of two last bosses. You either get a skull named Pandora after fighting multiple phases of the space shuttle/golden capsule or you get the more difficult Osaru, a giant ape who also appears in later Sonic Wings games. Osaru is by far the harder fight and that is the one I got. After hours of practice, Im pretty sure that the last boss is determined at random, but I could be wrong.
I did not last long into the second loop, but the second loop seems much more fair than a Psikyo second loop from the limited time Ive spent playing it.
Overall, this is definitely worth playing if you want a great vertical shmup for the Super Famicom/SNES. Its also pretty faithful to the arcade original despite the 4:3 aspect ratio.
#sonicwings #superfamicom #shmups #retrogaming #1cc
00:00 Intro
00:32 Stage 1
02:20 Stage 2
03:49 Stage 3
06:18 Stage 4
08:21 Stage 5
10:03 Stage 6
12:18 Stage 7
14:42 Loop 2")
![Flicky [Sega Genesis] - First Loop 1CC Playthrough 966,460 pts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P44GirVGaY0/mqdefault.jpg "Flicky [Sega Genesis] - First Loop 1CC Playthrough 966,460 pts
Before Flicky became known for appearances in many different Sonic games, most notably Sonic 3D Blast, Flicky had her own arcade platformer back in 1983. That game eventually got a port to the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive in 1991, the same year that Sonic The Hedgehog made the Sega Genesis a serious threat to Nintendo. This port is probably more common than the arcade version at this point.
The purpose of Flicky is to control Flicky, a blue bird, through a small area in order to collect several chicks known as Chirps and bring them to the exit. Your big threats are the cats that roam the stage as well as the tiny green bugs that move quickly up the ceilings and on the floor. This is a simple concept that is similar to Namcos Mappy, which this game was supposed to be Segas response to, except that youre collecting these Chirps instead of valuable items. Also, while Mappy is probably inspired by Tom & Jerry, this game is more like the Looney Tunes shorts with Sylvester and Tweety in terms of cartoon inspirations.
Whenever you grab a Chirp, it starts a chain of Chirps that follow you until you go to the exit. This chaining is what a large portion of your scoring each stage is based upon because the more you bring back to the exit at a time, the more each Chirp is worth in the chain. If you bring back all of them at once, you get a large amount of points. However, this can be difficult to do in later stages as the enemy cats can break up your chain by making contact with it, forcing you to go back and reclaim your Chirps. If you get touched, you die in one hit.
Speaking of scoring, your score comes down to bringing back chains of Chirps as long as possible, as quickly as possible, and the bonus rounds. The bonus rounds require you to grab as many of the Chirps falling from the sky as you can. Perfect bonus rounds fetch a nice bonus.
Part of the challenge has to do with Flicky herself. Her movement is a bit touchy with a little bit of slidey inertia. She also has a tendency to bounce off a wall if you jump against them, making her easy prey for the cats that roam the stages. Also, you have no control over how high she jumps.
However, Flicky goes have two things going for her. One, her movement speed is pretty good so youre not as a dramatic speed disadvantage. Two, her jump, though it only has one mode, is higher than the cats, so you can jump up to safety in certain situations. This along with the generous collision detection on ledges also allows to make some longer jumps than youd expect at first.
The two main keys to beating this game comes down to learning the movement and having routes for the harder stages. Some stages dont need much routing while others require strict routing like in a shmup. Plus, the enemies spawn in the same places so you need to learn these spawn points for certain stages. If your timing is slightly off, that can cause you to hit a green bug and die unexpectedly instead of being safe. Another thing you can leverage is the fact that the stages scroll infinitely from side to side despite being tiny, so you can get back to the other side of the stage very quickly.
Even though the stages are small and short, there are 48 of them to beat in order to get to the ending screen, which the arcade original lacked. After that, the second loop begins. It is a lot of stages to learn, but the first loop is still less than 30 minutes. From my experiences, the hardest stages of the first loop are rounds 16, 25, 28, 32, 36, and 42. Another thing is that later on in the loop, I played more for survival, taking less chances by making more than one run to the exit in order to collect the Chirps safely, and I had issues pulling that off at times. I got all the way to Round 58 in the second loop before I hit Game Over, and you dont get continues to begin with so a 1CC is the only way to beat this game.
00:00 Intro
00:26 Rounds 1-3
01:31 Rounds 4-7
02:59 Rounds 8-11
04:43 Rounds 12-15
06:28 Rounds 16-19
08:19 Rounds 20-23
10:36 Rounds 24-27
12:48 Rounds 28-31
15:52 Rounds 32-35
18:07 Rounds 36-39
20:49 Rounds 40-43
23:57 Rounds 44-47
26:24 Round 48 + Ending
27:44 Loop 2
#flicky #segagenesis #segamegadrive #retrogaming #classicgaming #sega #segaclassics")
