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RF Generation Message Board | Gaming | Community Playthroughs (Moderators: techwizard, singlebanana, wildbil52, GrayGhost81, Disposed Hero, MetalFRO) | December 2021 Shmup Club - Jackal/Top Gunner 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. « previous next »
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Author Topic: December 2021 Shmup Club - Jackal/Top Gunner  (Read 11082 times)
MetalFRO
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« on: November 18, 2021, 10:36:02 AM »


In the mid to late 1980's, Konami was on a hot streak, having found much success with arcade games such as Gradius, Contra, and other games. And their Famicom/NES conversions were equally lauded, often taking the original games and changing up the formula a bit to better suit the home market, often resulting in what some consider definitive versions of the games. One of the games they didn't take too many liberties with, however, was the arcade shooter Top Gunner. For those who are more familiar with the NES library, than lesser known Konami arcade games, you may know this game as Jackal. Released in the arcade in 1986, and followed up on the Famicom Disk System (as Akai Yousai: Final Commando) and NES in 1988 as Jackal, this is a Konami classic that might not be quite as well known as some of their other 80's output, but it's no less relevant.

You take command of a unit of elite soldiers, on a mission to rescue POWs behind enemy lines. You take the fight to hostile territory, with only your wits, and your heavily equipped military Jeep. As you rescue some POWs, they can help outfit you with better weaponry, to give you a better tactical advantage. But the fight won't be easy, as you'll encounter soldiers on foot, turrets and cannon emplacements, tanks, and other enemy forces, all vying for your destruction. Join the RF Generation Shmup Club as we play something a bit more shmup-adjacent for December. Whether you play the arcade original Top Gunner, the Famicom release Akai Yousai: Final Commando, or the NES release of Jackal, you're sure to have a good time!

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« Last Edit: November 22, 2021, 12:48:35 PM by MetalFRO » Logged

EZ Racer
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« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2021, 07:30:00 PM »

Looking forward to it
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Golem
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« Reply #2 on: December 05, 2021, 11:12:52 PM »

Got the 1 credit clear in coop (2 credit clear?) with my buddy!


Regarding the final level:

Spoiler (hover to show)

Also, I had to look up what a jackal was: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackal_(vehicle)
« Last Edit: December 06, 2021, 02:43:13 PM by Golem » Logged

MetalFRO
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« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2021, 04:44:32 PM »

That's awesome! Great to see some coop play in the club, and very cool that you were able to clear it. I'm wondering how to deal with that chopper on the treadmill in stage 6 with just a single player. I haven't found the trick yet, but then I've been struggling a bit earlier in the game just finding a good rhythm.
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MetalFRO
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« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2021, 09:32:13 AM »

I made it to the final boss in Jackal last night, but it gets so hectic at that point, I got quickly overwhelmed. I think I'm going to try and watch a couple play-throughs to try and get an idea of a good approach. The final stage is brutal, and there are a couple spots where, if you don't have upgraded weapons, it's even harder, because it's more dangerous to jum pinto the fray and lob a grenade, then duck back out of the line of fire again. So I need to get a good idea about some strategies. The fact that there are no flashing POW's to upgrade weapons in the last stage just makes it even harder. So either the upgraded weapons are the way to go, or the grenades, because of their versatility. There seems to be no middle ground.
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Golem
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« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2021, 05:56:40 PM »

I made it to the final boss in Jackal last night, but it gets so hectic at that point, I got quickly overwhelmed. I think I'm going to try and watch a couple play-throughs to try and get an idea of a good approach. The final stage is brutal, and there are a couple spots where, if you don't have upgraded weapons, it's even harder, because it's more dangerous to jum pinto the fray and lob a grenade, then duck back out of the line of fire again. So I need to get a good idea about some strategies. The fact that there are no flashing POW's to upgrade weapons in the last stage just makes it even harder. So either the upgraded weapons are the way to go, or the grenades, because of their versatility. There seems to be no middle ground.
This is my experience, too. The game is pretty laid back, and then WHAM, stage 6 is a wall. The final boss especially ramps up the viciousness.
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« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2021, 10:03:11 AM »

It may be weird to say, but I feel like the more I play this the worse I'm getting. Early on, I was purely in reaction mode. Now that I'm starting to get the mechanics, I keep trying to play more aggressive, which isn't working out too well.
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Golem
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« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2021, 04:26:34 PM »

It may be weird to say, but I feel like the more I play this the worse I'm getting. Early on, I was purely in reaction mode. Now that I'm starting to get the mechanics, I keep trying to play more aggressive, which isn't working out too well.

Jackal definitely rewards a timid playstyle. Since you can control the screen scroll, you're free to inch it upward, back off, and pick off enemy combatants at your leisure.

This bugged my buddy when we played in coop. :b I'm reserved in gameplay, whereas he prefers aggression.
« Last Edit: December 18, 2021, 04:30:51 PM by Golem » Logged

MetalFRO
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« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2021, 01:54:23 PM »

It may be weird to say, but I feel like the more I play this the worse I'm getting. Early on, I was purely in reaction mode. Now that I'm starting to get the mechanics, I keep trying to play more aggressive, which isn't working out too well.

Be glad you're playing the NES version, where you can sometimes despawn stuff, or use spawn position to your advantage. The arcade version (Top Gunner) is BRUTAL, and doesn't let you sit in one place too long, or you'll start to get swarmed with enemy tanks and/or soldiers. And even worse, there are no continues, so it's 1 credit or nothing.
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MetalFRO
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« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2021, 04:18:38 PM »

Last night I played Tokushu Butai Jackal, the Japanese arcade version of the game. The original version differs from what we got in the West, both in arcade AND console form. In Top Gunner arcade, and in Jackal on NES, your main gun always fired upward. In the JP arcade version, it fires based on the direction you're facing, just like your secondary weapon. It changes the gameplay dynamic quite a bit, as you can imagine, and makes some strategies that are clear winners in the other versions no longer viable, while opening up some other possibilities. First impression is that the change to a fixed cannon is a welcome one, because it gives you more coverage, but I can see how someone might prefer greater agency over their direction of fire. I haven't played the Famicom Disk System version of the game yet, but I'm going to check that out next, and see if it follows the JP arcade release, or if it has the fixed cannon of the other games.
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MetalFRO
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« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2021, 04:20:01 PM »

It may be weird to say, but I feel like the more I play this the worse I'm getting. Early on, I was purely in reaction mode. Now that I'm starting to get the mechanics, I keep trying to play more aggressive, which isn't working out too well.

Jackal definitely rewards a timid playstyle. Since you can control the screen scroll, you're free to inch it upward, back off, and pick off enemy combatants at your leisure.

This bugged my buddy when we played in coop. :b I'm reserved in gameplay, whereas he prefers aggression.

Regarding the timid play style, you're spot-on here. Use the NES hardware's ability to despawn stuff to your advantage, as well as on-screen sprite limits, because they will be your friend in helping things not get too hairy.
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MetalFRO
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« Reply #11 on: December 22, 2021, 12:08:08 PM »

I streamed the Famicom Disk System version of the game last night for a bit, and it's an interesting thing. It follows the arcade game a bit more closely, in that it has more straightforward stages, no horizontal scrolling, so everything is much tighter. Also, the stage order is different, so what we know as stage 1 is not in the game, and our stage 2 is stage 1 in the FDS version. The color choices in the "attract" sequence are also different, for some reason. I'm not sure why Konami changed that for the Western release, so it's curious. It seems like it might be a touch easier than the Western version as well, so aside from the nasty gauntlet of turrets along the conveyor belt (which is still a thing in the FDS release), I was able to get pretty far into the game in just a couple tries. An argument could be made that we got the "definitive" version in North America, since it's more game with larger areas to explore, but Golem pointed out on stream last night that you could also say that just makes the NA version a bit "fatty" in terms of the game play, and the more streamlined approach of the FDS version could be an advantage. I'd be curious to get thoughts from others, if they think the US version could benefit from some trimming, or if everyone likes it how it is.
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Golem
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« Reply #12 on: December 24, 2021, 10:27:06 AM »

Happy holidays!
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MetalFRO
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« Reply #13 on: December 24, 2021, 11:06:27 AM »

Haha, that's great! Did you do that yourself?
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Golem
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« Reply #14 on: December 24, 2021, 07:22:55 PM »

Thanks! I Googled the reindeer artwork and slapped them together in Paint.net. :b
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