#justbeatit Battle Garegga (arcade) This is a cool shoot em up. I liked the ship selection and the soundtrack is bangin. Certain spots can get crazy with enemies. My only complaint is some projectiles are really small, they blend in with the background at times. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Fever SOS (arcade) Another Cave shoot em up. A disco style presentation, which was ...a choice. Controls felt really good and the funky soundtrack was a cool change of pace. A bit too much going on for me, it was hard to see projectiles at times. Fun times. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Au Revoir (PC) Stylish point and click that takes place in the future where people can have their consciousness uploaded into synthetic brains. PS1 style graphics, futuristic cyberpunk aesthetic, solid story with 5 possible endings. Cool game. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

Good news everyone. @jimmymook.bsky.social and I started a podcast about #bourbon and video games and we'll go alphabetically through the shelfs. www.buzzsprout.com/2648681/epis...

Ep 1: 1792, 60, 64th - Proof & Pixels

Welcome to the first episode of a new podcast where two friends are talking about a couple of things they love, bourbon and video games. We'll select some of each to talk about but with a caveat, we'l...

buzzsprout.com

#justbeatit Deathsmiles (Xbox 360) Haven't played since Magfest '24. Such a fun shooter with a banger soundtrack. Beat the regular arcade mode and regular 360 mode. Will definitely play the black label and arrange modes. Shout out to @captaindrachma.bsky.social @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Knights of Valour (arcade) Decent beat em up based of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Sprite work was great and the enemy variety was nice but it doesn't do much else to be great. Some bosses just spam their special attacks which was really frustrating. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit ESP Ra.De. (arcade) I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one more than Espgaluda but what a blast. I loved the theme of this one and shield/special attack felt great to use. Movement was smooth and the music was bangin. The bullet waves were ridiculous though. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Espgaluda (arcade) Another cool Cave bullet hell shooter. I really liked the kakusei mode mechanic since bullet slowdown was very helpful for me. The art is fantastic and I loved the backgrounds. Boss fights were very tough but manageable. Good times! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Metal Slug 4 (arcade) A decent entry in the series. They cut down the total game time in this one a bit which was appreciated. Usual villains with some zombies and robots mixed in. It seemed to ramp up the difficulty a bit more than the last few. Not bad. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Progear (arcade) I guess it's a beat. Did 3 runs. For not normally liking bullet hell style shoot em ups, I was really digging this. Something about the rhythm of it worked for me. The art style was great and controls were smooth. Maybe I just like Cave. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa (arcade) Very fun run and gun that captures the look and feel of the show pretty well. Quick playthrough with some nice variety like aerial levels. Boss fights were good too. A lot of charm to this one. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit King of the Monster 2 (arcade) One of the most disappointing sequels ever. Bosses are cheap, feels like luck anytime you get a hit on them. Why do I have to fast tap the button anytime I get knocked down? Boss rush at the end was tedious. Shit game! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja (arcade) Take on a ninja gang as 2 tough guys with fingerless gloves to rescue president Ronnie. Solid beat em up for its time, getting the special kick to work is a bit janky but I liked this one. Music was decent. Passable game. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time (arcade) Another replay. Much more fast paced than the first arcade game which for me was an upgrade. I also enjoyed the soundtrack more in this and the time travel themed levels are a big standout. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game (arcade) Needed a replay to see where this fits in the ranking of beat em ups. Still a fun time, great nostalgia for fans of the original cartoon. Can be a little cheap with hit detection but fun nonetheless. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Macross Plus (arcade) Solid vertical shooter in the Macross universe. Looks great and plays great. This is the 3rd or 4th shooter where I've completed the loop a few times but can't get credits because of the final boss. I'm taking credit for at least one. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Neo Drift Out: New Technology (arcade) This game almost drove me completely insane but I had a great time with it. Isometric rally racing at its best. 3 iconic cars to choose from, 6 levels to beat and tough as nails in the later levels. Good times! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Metal Slug 3 (arcade) More of the same formula. A little more polished and with aliens as the final protagonist. They really settled into what works at this point in the series and it's still a lot of fun but it drags on way too long this time. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit King of the Monsters (arcade) One of those games I always saw at the arcade but never bothered to play. Solid fighter/wrestling game featuring familiar looking giant monsters. 12 levels is a bit too long as it starts to feel repetitive. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit 1945k III (arcade) Not related to the 194X series but I tried it anyway and wow this game kicked my ass. Super fast-paced vertical shooter with enemies and bullets everywhere. Just when I thought it was going well, I died. Not for the faint of heart. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit 64th Street: A Detective Story (arcade) Very cool beat em up! Two detectives fight their way through bad guys looking for a rich guy's kidnapped daughter. The music and sound effects were big highlights. Has a ton of charm and I'm here for it. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit 1941: Counter Attack (arcade) I really liked the way this plays. The movement feels great and power ups were good. It's a bit easier than the other games in the series. I really liked the level design in this as it adds corridors to navigate. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit 1944: The Loop Master (arcade) The follow-up to 19XX, the visuals were nice in this. Seemed like it cranked up the amount of craziness going on with a lot of bullets on screen but controls were smooth. Boss battles stood out for me. Pretty good. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit 19XX: The War Against Destiny (arcade) Had to check this one out. Taking place during a made up world war you play through 7 levels with a boss in each. Controls felt great, 3 planes to choose from, specials were great, chill soundtrack. Good times! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit 1943: The Battle of Midway (arcade) Solid vertical shooter that's a nice upgrade from 1942. Even being an early shooter, the final levels can get very chaotic. I liked the combo of sky levels mixed with lower ground levels. I liked it. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Crossed Swords (arcade) This was an interesting idea. You're a knight going on quests to kill monsters terrorizing the kingdom. Behind the back wireframe style combat with rpg elements such as weapon upgrades. Solid game but extremely long for an arcade. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Ken-Go/Lightning Swords (arcade) Not much I can say for this hack slash except it really sucks. Repetitive enemies, bosses take forever to kill and just not much variety. Jumping is with the stick and not a button. Final boss is boring. Avoid at all costs! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Giga Wing (arcade) I've seen a few people in the Polymedia discord talk about this one. It's very tough. Some of the waves of bullets are just insane, especially towards the end. I like the way it controls and the shield mechanic was really neat. Cool game. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Metal Slug 2 (arcade) Solid sequel with more vehicles, more enemies, bigger bosses. The addition of monsters and aliens was weird but cool I guess. I'm not sure if it's my rom or just the game but the slowdown is unreal bad, stull a good time though. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Metal Slug (arcade) I'm not sure which of these I've played, they all blend together. This one is solid, classic run and gun action. The vehicles are fun, gameplay is great. Some good ideas that I'm sure they expanded on in this series. Good times! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social