Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 36 minutes ago
I got my MiSTER FPGA setup earlier this year and I enjoy it. I have it hooked up to my TV and it's great. However, there are unfortunately some stupid debates that are still taking place in the FPGA Gaming Community that need to end. So in this end, I break down why we shouldn't be arguing over things such as whether FPGA is emulation and whether input latency is really that bad for software emulators.
Whether you own a MiSTER or an Analogue console like the Analogue Pocket or Super NT, there's no need to be an FPGA fanboy when you have a lot of great things going on like the new Sipeed FPGA console, new MiSTER FPGA cores, and no shortage of great games to enjoy.
00:00 Intro
00:50 Addressing Why FPGA IS Emulation
06:17 The Truth About Software Emulation And Input Lag
09:14 The Good Things Happening In FPGA Gaming
Game Bub blog about FPGA vs software emulation and more:
eli.lipsitz.net/posts/introducing-gamebub
Time Extension panel about FPGA and software emulation:
timeextension.com/features/fpga-vs-software-emulation-which-is-best-we-asked-four-experts-to-find-out
$69 Sipeed FPGA Gaming Console:
giznewsdaily.com/sipeed-tang-console-play-snes-sega-mega-drive-for-69
RetroArch Run-Ahead:
docs.libretro.com/guides/runahead
Newer MiSTER FPGA Cores:
forums.atariage.com/topic/375340-jaguar-fpga-core-gets-huge-update-almost-all-games-playable
youtube.com/watch?v=XA-zXWLPSlo
I got my MiSTER FPGA setup earlier this year and I enjoy it. I have it hooked up to my TV and it's great. However, there are unfortunately some stupid debates that are still taking place in the FPGA Gaming Community that need to end. So in this end, I break down why we shouldn't be arguing over things such as whether FPGA is emulation and whether input latency is really that bad for software emulators.
Whether you own a MiSTER or an Analogue console like the Analogue Pocket or Super NT, there's no need to be an FPGA fanboy when you have a lot of great things going on like the new Sipeed FPGA console, new MiSTER FPGA cores, and no shortage of great games to enjoy.
00:00 Intro
00:50 Addressing Why FPGA IS Emulation
06:17 The Truth About Software Emulation And Input Lag
09:14 The Good Things Happening In FPGA Gaming
Game Bub blog about FPGA vs software emulation and more:
eli.lipsitz.net/posts/introducing-gamebub
Time Extension panel about FPGA and software emulation:
timeextension.com/features/fpga-vs-software-emulation-which-is-best-we-asked-four-experts-to-find-out
$69 Sipeed FPGA Gaming Console:
giznewsdaily.com/sipeed-tang-console-play-snes-sega-mega-drive-for-69
RetroArch Run-Ahead:
docs.libretro.com/guides/runahead
Newer MiSTER FPGA Cores:
forums.atariage.com/topic/375340-jaguar-fpga-core-gets-huge-update-almost-all-games-playable
youtube.com/watch?v=XA-zXWLPSlo
![3D Super Hang On [3DS/Arcade] - Senior Course 1CC Playthrough (Citra)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2cdoF07MinI/mqdefault.jpg "3D Super Hang On [3DS/Arcade] - Senior Course 1CC Playthrough (Citra)
0:11. Stage 1
0:44. Stage 2
1:12. Stage 3
1:42. Stage 4
2:10. Stage 5
2:41. Stage 6
3:14. Stage 7
3:47. Stage 8
4:19. Stage 9
4:50. Stage 10
5:24. Stage 11
5:58. Stage 12
6:30. Stage 13
7:09. Stage 14
7:47. Ending
Super Hang On will always be one of Segas finest arcade racers. It greatly improved upon the original Hang On and pushed their super scaler technology to its limits with blazing fast racing action with the turbo boost mechanic adding an excellent risk vs reward dynamic. With 4 different courses, it provided arcade racing fans plenty of reason to keep playing and different levels of difficulty as well. While the Beginner course is short and easy, the difficulty jumps dramatically just going up to the Junior course, and the Senior and Expert courses are even harder.
While this game has received plenty of ports over the years, the best one may be the 3DS version developed by M2. M2 has become known in recent years for the recent Sega Genesis and PC Engine mini-consoles as well as high quality ports of classic shmups such as Battle Garegga, Ketsui, and the Aleste games. They also worked on a lot of excellent arcade ports to the 3DS for Sega, with this being one of the only ones that can be emulated properly in Citra currently. In addition to an arcade perfect port, you get plenty of the bells and whistles youd expect from M2 such as replays and even a makeshift practice mode where you can start on odd numbered courses.
As far as this run goes, the hardest parts of the Senior course were clearly Stage 7 and Stage 13. These sections have some pretty sharp corners along with the traffic getting pretty congested at times. Proper use of the turbo boost was key to finishing this run. The Senior course is no slouch overall, as it took a while to learn the later sections of it.
Played in Citra in single screen view using the xBRZ Freescale shader.
#citra #3ds #sega #arcaderacing #racinggames #1cc #retrogaming #classicgameplay")
![Fire Arrow [PC] - 5 Minute Mode ALL Clear + Bonus Round TLB 14,292,279 pts. (Fire Arrow Plus)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3N5eBAeznMA/mqdefault.jpg "Fire Arrow [PC] - 5 Minute Mode ALL Clear + Bonus Round TLB 14,292,279 pts. (Fire Arrow Plus)
00:16. Stage 1
02:49. First Boss (Ogre Head)
03:06. Stage 2
04:15. Second Boss (Evil Wing)
04:24. Bonus Round
06:22. TLB
My second video on this channel was a video where I cleared the 5 Minute Mode of Fire Arrow but fell short in the Bonus Round. Since then, Ive played the game on and off and on this run, I even beat the TLB at the end of the Bonus Round and got the best ending as a result.
This run did not start out well, but early deaths turned out to be a blessing because it dropped the rank significantly for the second stage and ended up getting an earlier bomb pickup than usual right after the first boss.
The bonus round is extremely easy with the exception of that mini boss with the claws and the laser. I have not gotten enough practice to figure out the best strategy yet.
The TLB at the end is not that bad if you have a bomb or two left. I bombed right when I saw that first barrage of bullets but once you start taking out the eyes, it starts getting easier. Honestly, Evil Wing is probably the harder boss.
#shmups #steam #steamgame")
![Wave Race 64 [N64] - Expert Championship 1st Place Overall (Simple64)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3zfNnZ_gf2w/mqdefault.jpg "Wave Race 64 [N64] - Expert Championship 1st Place Overall (Simple64)
00:43. Sunny Beach
02:26. Sunset Bay
04:20. Drake Lake
06:20. Marine Fortress
08:29. Port Blue
10:46. Twilight City
13:08. Glacier Coast
15:25. Southern Island
17:58. Ending and Credits
When I think back to the first few months of the Nintendo 64s launch, one of the first games I got to play back then as a small child was Wave Race 64. Its still one of the most acclaimed N64 games to this day and for good reason. It was a strong showcase of what the N64 could do early on from a graphical standpoint while the gameplay was both accessible enough for newcomers to pick up and play while still providing enough challenge for serious players. The water physics are also really impressive for this time period, which helps to bring the 8 different courses to life.
In the past, I could only get past the Normal Championship. However, I recently finally decided to focus a bit more on this game and get the clear on the harder difficulties. Expert and Reverse are the two highest difficulties, with the latter having reversed courses as the name suggests but with the same AI as the former. Besides good old fashion practice, there was one thing that helped me with this run: the custom watercraft settings. I found it was important to have a decent amount of max speed to keep up with the AI and a nimble jet ski to make maneuvering around some of the trickier buoys easier. In order to achieve my optimal setup, I made Ryota Hayamis settings lighter on handling and tighter on grip to make him more responsive. Hayami thankfully has good max speed to begin with, so I didnt need to tweak that. Also, since hes second in heaviness only to Dave Mariner, he can push around Ayumi Stewart and Miles Jeter a bit with no issues.
Another smaller thing I learned through practice is that sometimes, its okay to skip certain buoys to improve your times. This is especially notable in the Glacier Coast race where I did so near the end of the laps to avoid the ice. This strategy is even more effective in its sequel, Wave Race Blue Storm, due to the inclusion of the turbo mechanic.
This run went extremely well outside of the final stage where I had a huge mistake early on and couldnt catch back up. However, by that point, I had already clinched the championship by a long shot. The AI here is not as punishing as F-Zero X and will make big mistakes from time to time. I kind of like the latter because its a bit refreshing to see AI act a bit human at times.
#nintendo64 #n64 #waverace64 #waverace #retrogaming #nintendo #racinggames #racing")
![Rainbow Islands [Sega Master System] - Full Game 1CC (Best Ending)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4EXQMxrP3s0/mqdefault.jpg "Rainbow Islands [Sega Master System] - Full Game 1CC (Best Ending)
Rainbow Islands was originally an arcade game created by Taito and released in 1987 as the sequel to Bubble Bobble. It got a lot of ports, including this port on the Sega Master System that came out in 1993.
Ill be talking more about this port in an upcoming video because I have quite a bit to say about this port, but heres my playthrough done on my MiSTER FPGA first. I went through the first half of the game without a single death but had at least 6 deaths in the second half of the run. In fact, I had an untimely death right before the final boss but managed to overcome that to finish the run.
I used the European ROM with the Good Ending bug fix via ROMhacking.net:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4112/
00:00 Intro
00:14 Stage 1-1
01:52 Stage 1-2
03:47 Stage 1-3
05:02 Stage 1-4
06:22 Stage 2-1
07:28 Stage 2-2
08:29 Stage 2-3
10:20 Stage 2-4
11:41 Stage 3-1
13:22 Stage 3-2
15:15 Stage 3-3
16:55 Stage 3-4
19:09 Stage 4-1
21:51 Stage 4-2
24:13 Stage 4-3
27:43 Stage 4-4
30:04 Stage 5-1
33:07 Stage 5-2
35:29 Stage 5-3
37:37 Stage 5-4
40:31 Stage 6-1
44:05 Stage 6-2
46:54 Stage 6-3
48:28 Stage 6-4
50:55 Stage 7-1
54:23 Stage 7-2
56:25 Stage 7-3
58:57 Stage 7-4
01:02:24 Stage 8-1
01:04:41 Stage 8-2
01:07:30 Stage 8-3
01:11:05 Final Stage
01:15:38 Ending")
![Raiden [Playstation 1] - Stage 5 Boss Speed Kill (The Raiden Project)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4O_7x_yWdIQ/mqdefault.jpg "Raiden [Playstation 1] - Stage 5 Boss Speed Kill (The Raiden Project)
I finally figured out how to do this speed kill. Its much easier to do in Raiden Trad, but its possible to do it in the Arcade/PS1 version as well although it requires much more precise timing. This was recorded while practicing with save states.
Played on General mode, the highest difficulty for the version featured in The Raiden Project.
Im still working on the 1-ALL for this game, and Ill be practicing until Im consistent enough to clear that first loop on one credit.")
![Gradius [PSP/Arcade] - Stage 3 Moai Heads + Boss Battle (Gradius Collection)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4fGb8gHxPZA/mqdefault.jpg "Gradius [PSP/Arcade] - Stage 3 Moai Heads + Boss Battle (Gradius Collection)
This video shows my routing for the infamous Moai Heads section that makes up much of Stage 3. I also included the boss battle in this as well, not that its very hard.
I am practicing for a 1CC of the first loop of this game.
#gradius #shmups #moai")
![Gradius II [PSP/Arcade] - First Loop No Miss 430,300 pts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5QGfxBmRXqw/mqdefault.jpg "Gradius II [PSP/Arcade] - First Loop No Miss 430,300 pts
Gradius II is the sequel to the original Gradius and a horizontal shoot em up developed by Konami and released in 1988 in arcades. Outside of Japan, the game was released under the name Vulcan Venture. The game would get ported over to the Famicom and then the PC Engine CD, with the PC Engine CD version getting some extra content. It would later be included in various collections such as the Gradius Deluxe Pack for PS1 and Saturn as well as Gradius Collection aka Gradius Portable on PSP, which is how I did this run.
Gradius II is extremely important to the series because it established many traditions of the series going forward. One, it introduced multiple ship layouts, which different types of weapons and missiles. The ripple laser is introduced here for example. You even get a new type of shield with the force field. Two, it introduced the option hunter, which appears to steal your options once you have four of them but cannot harm the players ship. I stick to three options in order to avoid spawning it.
The level design also established some tropes that would carry over to later Gradius games. It introduced the Speed Stage, which in this game is Stage 6. This stage scrolls really fast and you have to pass through gates before they close on you, and the stage itself is a bit of a maze on top of that. It also introduced the Boss Rush, which is Stage 7. In this game, the boss rush is mostly Gradius I and Salamander bosses, while the last boss of that stage is a new boss that would later be featured again in Gradius III.
Speaking of level design, this game is a major improvement over its predecessors. Every stage has its own boss fight, which alone is an improvement. Plus, every stage has some unique set-pieces like the fire theme of the first stage and ice themed third stage with the icy crystals that break up as you shoot them. Some stages even have mini-bosses, like Stage 5 and Stage 8. There is a lot more variety here than before. The game does not just depend on Duckers to mess with you.
However, some things do stay the same as before. The Moai heads make a comeback in Stage 5. Quite a few of the same air and ground enemies from the original are still around, like the Duckers. You still get a chance at the beginning of stages to power up a bit. The last boss is still a non-threat just like before. The biggest thing that remains has to be the Gradius syndrome. In fact, in some ways, it is even worse than in the original. There are some checkpoints, like in the second half of Stage 3, that are almost impossible for recovery.
Despite the Gradius syndrome and unfair checkpoints at times, this game is still an excellent improvement over the original game.
Played in standalone PPSSPP.
0:00 Intro
0:21 Stage 1-1
2:58 Stage 1-2
5:49 Stage 1-3
9:00 Stage 1-4
11:48 Stage 1-5
16:31 Stage 1-6
18:12 Stage 1-7
23:51 Stage 1-8
29:59 Ending
30:53 Stage 2-1")
![Heavy Bullets [PC] - Full Run (No Bank Withdrawals)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/63EILyURQvw/mqdefault.jpg "Heavy Bullets [PC] - Full Run (No Bank Withdrawals)
Heavy Bullets is a roguelike FPS created by Terri Vellmann and published by Devolver Digital in 2014. This is one of the earliest roguelike shooters to come out, predating Gunfire Reborn, Post Void, and even STRAFE. Honestly, it has aged like fine wine.
This is my third successful run of the game (all of them without using bank withdrawals) and my fastest so far. I am working on a separate mini discussion video covering certain aspects of this game.
00:00 Intro
00:10 Level 1
02:31 Level 2
04:55 Level 3
08:38 Level 4
11:49 Level 5
16:01 Level 6
20:27 Level 7
24:08 Level 8
27:31 Final Boss")
