Is this idiot for real?!? [youtube review of Galactic Attack - Saturn]

[c0ldb33r]

I've ordered Galactic Attack for my Saturn and I'm pretty excited to get it by mail. In my anticipation, I've been looking at Galactic Attack on youtube and I stumbled across this idiot.:

SEGA World: Galactic Attack (SEGA Saturn) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1fFjN6YjQg) by Sykorax.

His review kind of sucks, but what drives me nuts is when he discusses Saturn mode vs. Arcade mode. (Starting at 3:56)

Anyone with a brain would understand that Arcade mode allows you to turn a 4:3 television on its side to avoid letter boxing and give you the correct arcade aspect ratio. Saturn mode letter boxes the screen.

The asshole doesn't get it. HOWEVER, I'm not sure if this guy is just a very successful troll. What do you think?

[Kitsune Sniper]

Thirty seconds in?

He's an idiot.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

The guy is absolutely right, and for Chrissakes, what the fuck is a troll?



I own Ikaruga for the GC, and I think it has this mode- but I have a few questions. Does anyone do this? And is it bad for your TV to be positioned in this way?

[Tupin]

Once again, this video has proved to me that the next best thing to actually playing the game when you want to do research on it is watching run throughs of the game rather than ill-informed "reviews".

I can tell by looking at it it's the kind of game I would enjoy. Any more info on it?

[c0ldb33r]

I can tell by looking at it it's the kind of game I would enjoy. Any more info on it?
I used to play Galactic Attack like mad when I first had my Saturn years ago. I just reacquired it recently on ebay. I don't think it's rare, but it's not a title you see all the time.

It was also called Ray Force and Layer Section in Japan. It has two sequels - Ray Force and Ray Crisis (I think one of them is a prequel, as if that matters in a shooter).

[Porksta]

Why turn your television in its side when you can own one of these bad boys?

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3/Porksta/n1565100073_30146283_1948.jpg

Saw it while I was in Korea.

[evil_genius]

Galactic Attack is good. And he said "One of those fly and shoot games like Galaga." They're called shmups and if you don't know that then, well, why are you reviewing one.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I own Ikaruga for the GC, and I think it has this mode- but I have a few questions. Does anyone do this? And is it bad for your TV to be positioned in this way?

I rock the with the Tate Mode. All Shmup fanatics will, given time and opportunity. :) I have a VGA box that my consoles and PC run through. Hooked up to the VGA box is a VGA switcher. The switcher is connected to a 21" CRT hori and a 19" CRT vert (set on it's side). It's only harmful, AFAIK, if your moving the same set from hori to vert. You could loose your grip and crash... broken tube, cathode what-have-you. I consider it a must for console shmups and MAME. What pisses me off is when a company leaves the mode out.

They make landscape/portrait orientation LCDs now. I been toying with the notion of switching to this set up. But, CRTs give a great picture.

Layer Section/Galactic Attack and Ray Crisis are great shmups. Ray Storm is good but it's my least favored in the series.

[Joe West]

a troll is a very short person

[otoko]

They make landscape/portrait orientation LCDs now. I been toying with the notion of switching to this set up. But, CRTs give a great picture.

Little known is the CRT that also does this... They're almost impossible to find though.. I've seen at least one of them go on eBay brand new a few years ago.

[shopkins]

That guy has a weird way of enunciating his words. Who the fuck says reeh-view? Maybe it's some accent I'm not familiar with.

Also, that sucked. I should have saw it coming when he admitted he didn't know what the heck he was doing and had done no planning about what he was going to say at the start. Why do so many people think we care so much about what they have to say about video games that need to post poorly done copycat Youtube reviews now? It's like a plague.

Unless he's a really good actor I think he was genuinely frustrated and confused by the arcade mode. You could hear it in his voice.

That said, that game looks great. I'm not even that big into "those fly and shoot games like Galaga," but I think I would play this one.

[c0ldb33r]

Wow, I'm surprised so many people aren't familiar with Galactic Attack.

If you want to play it without tracking down the Saturn original, it's contained on the PC and xbox versions of Taito Legends 2. The PS2 version has Raystorm or Ray Crisis, I can't remember which.

[Kid Ice]

I played the PSX version of Raiden with my TV on its side for months with no lasting effects.

Galactic Attack is very playable in MAME (I think it's called Rayforce). A few graphics glitches here and there.

How cool is that sound when the 3rd level boss appears? I can still hear that sound and I haven't played the game in years.

[roushimsx]

I own Ikaruga for the GC, and I think it has this mode- but I have a few questions. Does anyone do this? And is it bad for your TV to be positioned in this way?

You kiddin'? I replaced my 19" CRT with a 20.1in 4:3 LCD w/ 90degree rotate capability just for shmups (and other emulation related stuff). 16:10 / 16:9 / 5:4 is cool for like, other things, but when it comes to shmupin' and retrogaming, it's all about the 4:3 (or 3:4).

It's a damn shame they don't make these monitors anymore. I've never understood why 5:4 caught on as the established non-widescreen LCD aspect ratio standard and I sure as heck wouldn't want to try to distort the stuff to 10:16 or 9:16.


Galactic Attack is very playable in MAME (I think it's called Rayforce). A few graphics glitches here and there.

I thought that all of the glitches in it were fixed years ago. Once upon a time, Taito F3 emulation was a driving force behind a system upgrade I did. Looks like the only current documented glitches are in Hat Trick Hero 95 and Arabian Magic.

Depending on how you have your parent/clone setup, the game will probably be easier to find under "Gunlock (http://www.mameworld.net/maws/romset/gunlock)". As far as similar games go, it's nice to see that Soukyugurentai (http://www.mameworld.net/maws/romset/sokyugrt) is decently emulated and you can NEVER go wrong with Kamui (http://www.siterskain.com/products/data/kamui/index.html)

[walrusmonger]

just listen to the guy, yes he is for real- he is a total moron.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

You kiddin'? I replaced my 19" CRT with a 20.1in 4:3 LCD w/ 90degree rotate capability just for shmups (and other emulation related stuff). 16:10 / 16:9 / 5:4 is cool for like, other things, but when it comes to shmupin' and retrogaming, it's all about the 4:3 (or 3:4).

It's a damn shame they don't make these monitors anymore. I've never understood why 5:4 caught on as the established non-widescreen LCD aspect ratio standard and I sure as heck wouldn't want to try to distort the stuff to 10:16 or 9:16.


I'm a little retarded. In my mind I'm imagining someone setting a CRT set on it's side. For some reason I wasn't thinking about an LCD... so now it makes a lot more sense. I just happen to play all my classic systems on 2 CRT sets- 1 HD and the other SD. Anyway, I think I'm ready for bed.

Just out of curiosity, and for future posts- which somewhat modern shoot-em-ups have the option of being able to rotate the screen? Are there any online lists that can be linked?

[Gabriel]

Galactic Attack is good. And he said "One of those fly and shoot games like Galaga." They're called shmups and if you don't know that then, well, why are you reviewing one.

There's something to be said about people who aren't immersed in a genre playing and reviewing a game of that genre. At times it can be a very good thing. In this case, I'd definitely say it's one of those good things.

The guy reviews one of the best examples of the genre and gives it a very good recommendation. His complaint? He doesn't understand the purpose of "tate mode." Considering there are people out there against widescreen TVs because "the black bars at the sides cut off the picture" I'd say his complaint is pretty mild. In a world where most people don't care about or understand the viewing area difference between widescreen and 4:3, and many swear they don't see a difference between SD and HD, the number of people who give a rat's ass about or understand "tate modes" is absolutely infinitesimal. In other words, his mild confusion is something anyone not already in the know about the genre would have. And remember, it's a very minor part of the review.

He summarizes the salient elements of the game. His video provides a good example of the stuff he's talking about. If you didn't know anything about this game, his review would give you a decent idea. He's genuinely enthusiastic. Never at any point is he unrealistically optimistic or out to bash the game for no reason.

One of the better amateur youtube reviews I've seen. We need more like him.

[Gabriel]

Wow, I'm surprised so many people aren't familiar with Galactic Attack.

If you want to play it without tracking down the Saturn original, it's contained on the PC and xbox versions of Taito Legends 2. The PS2 version has Raystorm or Ray Crisis, I can't remember which.


The PS2 version has Raystorm. Which is an awesome game.

[Astrocade]

The reviewer is a typical dumbass that doesn't understand "modern" things like letterboxing. I remember when DVD's started becoming cheap enough to where the average yokel could buy one, everybody used to ZOOM the picture two or three times in order to cut off the black bars at the top. "I don't know why they do that- my TV must be bigger than the picture!"

[j_factor]

I used to play Galactic Attack like mad when I first had my Saturn years ago. I just reacquired it recently on ebay. I don't think it's rare, but it's not a title you see all the time.

It was also called Ray Force and Layer Section in Japan. It has two sequels - Ray Force and Ray Crisis (I think one of them is a prequel, as if that matters in a shooter).

This game actually has four names: Ray Force (original arcade), Layer Section (JP Saturn), Galactic Attack (US/EU Saturn), Gunlock (European arcade). The sequel is called both Ray Storm (arcade/psx) and Layer Section II (JP Saturn). The final release, which is the prequel, is only called Ray Crisis as far as I know.

All three are great shooters, but my favorite is the first.

[Kevincal]

You know you're hardcore as hell when you turn your tv on its side just to play a shoot em up LOL... Do you really play/enjoy the game THAT much more by doing so!? ;) I seem to enjoy Raiden just fine on my Jag with the squeezed screen and all (tv right side up.. ;)).

[roushimsx]

Just out of curiosity, and for future posts- which somewhat modern shoot-em-ups have the option of being able to rotate the screen? Are there any online lists that can be linked?

Pretty much any modern vertical shmup supports the option for tate, with the exception of ones designed for 4:3 (Mars Matrix, Giga Wing, 1944: Loop Master, etc) and various US localizations that discard the tate mode in favor of a shitty wobble mode (where the screen scrolls up and down based on your position). IIRC Gigawing Generations didn't support tate for whatever reason...I'd love to see an XBLA port of that sucker that wasn't as cut down as the PS2 version. It's not up to snuff with the first two games, but it's still fun, darn it.

Ikaruga and Trigger Heart Exelica on XBLA support the tate option for those that want to make use of it, though I'd imagine most people playing XBLA games do so on bulky widescreen tvs. I used to play everything on my 19" CRT but flipping it whenever I wanted to play a shmup was a bit tedious...you know, being like 75lbs and all.


You know you're hardcore as hell when you turn your tv on its side just to play a shoot em up LOL... Do you really play/enjoy the game THAT much more by doing so!? ;) I seem to enjoy Raiden just fine on my Jag with the squeezed screen and all (tv right side up.. ;)).

Oh hell yea, tate is the way to go for games that support it. You fill the entire screen and the graphics aren't all squeezed and compressed. Makes seeing the enemies and the bullets a hell of a lot easier, too. Try playing Raiden in MAME with the screen rotated 90degrees anti-clockwise sometime. :)

[Hardcore]

Taito Legends 2 has Ray Crisis.

[c0ldb33r]

You know you're hardcore as hell when you turn your tv on its side just to play a shoot em up LOL... Do you really play/enjoy the game THAT much more by doing so!?
IIRC Galatic Attack actually looks better in tate mode. It isn't just the lack of a letter box, but details emerge that you couldn't see in saturn mode. I can't recall exactly what the extra details are, but I seem to remember something different about the ships in the background on level 2.

[thom_m]

I still don't have any games who would require me to flip my tv, but I'm reading this thread and thinking...My 21" CRT TV wouldn't even stand right if flipped. The sides are all round, and made of a seemingly fragile plastic. My parent's squared, big ass, wood plated set from when I was a kid would make it just fine, though...

[k8track]

The one time I tried rotating a monitor was not successful. Namco Museum Vol. 3 for the Playstation had a couple of games (Dig Dug and Ms. Pac Man) with a tate mode. When I rotated my Commodore 1701 monitor, the colors slowly "bled" or "migrated" (not sure how else to describe it) toward the bottom (well, the side that was rotated toward the bottom). Kind of like sand in an hourglass. I'm sure there's a common explanation for such a phenomenon but I'm not quite tech savvy enough to have it in my lingo just yet.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

That guy made a lot of stupid comments, but a couple really jumped out at me.
1. Your weapons are like anarchy, (or something like that)
2. The screen is rotated about 90 degrees.

So if you rotate your screen, make sure that you only rotate it "about" 90 degrees, or it will be lopsided.:wink 2:

I have this game, I guess this means that I need to play it now. I also have both RayCrisis and RayStorm on the PS1, they are both great.


JY

[chrisbid]

There's something to be said about people who aren't immersed in a genre playing and reviewing a game of that genre. At times it can be a very good thing. In this case, I'd definitely say it's one of those good things.

The guy reviews one of the best examples of the genre and gives it a very good recommendation. His complaint? He doesn't understand the purpose of "tate mode." Considering there are people out there against widescreen TVs because "the black bars at the sides cut off the picture" I'd say his complaint is pretty mild. In a world where most people don't care about or understand the viewing area difference between widescreen and 4:3, and many swear they don't see a difference between SD and HD, the number of people who give a rat's ass about or understand "tate modes" is absolutely infinitesimal. In other words, his mild confusion is something anyone not already in the know about the genre would have. And remember, it's a very minor part of the review.

He summarizes the salient elements of the game. His video provides a good example of the stuff he's talking about. If you didn't know anything about this game, his review would give you a decent idea. He's genuinely enthusiastic. Never at any point is he unrealistically optimistic or out to bash the game for no reason.

One of the better amateur youtube reviews I've seen. We need more like him.

i agree for the most part. i would rather listen to somebody unfamiliar with the genre to play and appriciate it, than listen to some hardcore fanboy talk endlessly about micro features that mean nothing to me.

[TurboGenesis]

I play all games that have TATE in that mode. Once you go TATE, you won't go back.

Matter of fact, it was Galactic Attack in which I went to pursue TATE mode.
In the manual, it states that there were compromises when playing in Saturn mode and that Acclaim apologized for any inconvenience…

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa231/Sonic__R/100_4054-1.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa231/Sonic__R/100_4074.jpg
My daughter playing Raiden Fighters on Xbox 360

[thom_m]

TurboGenesis, do you have to do any tricks to make your TV stay put, or you just tilt it and that's it?

[otoko]

Thom.. he has a CRT.. they're easy to tilt due to the large back of the suckers.. if you where going to ask about a trick of tilting.. you should ask about how to tilt an LCD.. I think that just falls under getting a wall mount or a tv mount cabinet or something..

Edit: Maybe he put some blocks to tilt it up a bit but you could do that with stuff laying around the house...

[c0ldb33r]

You can tell by looking at the CRT above that the corners aren't flat. To keep it at a 90 degree angle it's resting on some red and black book.

[thom_m]

Yeah, that's what I meant. As I said on another post, My CRT TV doesn't have flat corners/side panels to keep it balanced if I tilt it, and the plastic it's made of doesn't look very strog either.

Now that you pointed it, I can see the books under it. Thanks for the feedback, otoko and c0ldb33r! I think that's the way to go.

[MonoTekETeA]

Oh no, lol, oh no oh no! There is more to this guys. Lol, ahahah, I am tearing up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc4WU5qWMuE&feature=channel_page

Dude, coldb33r, you unleashed the demon of youtube posters. Watch, laugh at him, cry for him, this is just sad. He has SIX of these things, plus more if you just search his name. Lol.

-Jeremy

[thom_m]

Maybe I'm just being a huge asshole...but I've watched the first seven seconds of this, with NO sound, and all I can say is that I'm glad I (also) have a life out of the internet.

[robotriot]

The one time I tried rotating a monitor was not successful. Namco Museum Vol. 3 for the Playstation had a couple of games (Dig Dug and Ms. Pac Man) with a tate mode. When I rotated my Commodore 1701 monitor, the colors slowly "bled" or "migrated" (not sure how else to describe it) toward the bottom (well, the side that was rotated toward the bottom). Kind of like sand in an hourglass. I'm sure there's a common explanation for such a phenomenon but I'm not quite tech savvy enough to have it in my lingo just yet.

That has to do with the magnets in the monitor. What you have to do is turn it off, rotate by 90°, wait some time (maybe a minute or so) and then turn it on. If you don't wait long enough, the magnets haven't realigned with the magnetic field properly yet and you're getting the weird colour bleed. It's perfectly safe for the monitor to be rotated, you only have to see that none of the vents are blocked.

[TurboGenesis]

TurboGenesis, do you have to do any tricks to make your TV stay put, or you just tilt it and that's it?

I have the television resting on a few books to keep it steady… I keep it tilted at about 85° give or take…

I bought that tv specifically for games playing back in the fall of 2005 and I wanted somethin that I could rotate pretty easy. Playing games in TATE really make them more enjoyable and most games make compromises in YOKO mode. I remember going to a friends house, and he couldn't rotate his TV so I had to do the ghetto TATE and lay down and play (was playing Game Tengoku on Saturn) LOL

[Kid Ice]

Taito Legends 2 has Ray Crisis.

Which version? I don't see it on the PS2 version unless it's hidden.

I was disappointed that the PS2 version didn't have Rayforce and the Xbox did.

[WhatsMyUsername]

whats funny is i've never even heard of this game or played it and i still disagree with the review lol.

[StakeRaiser]

That's why I like projects like this

http://www.youtube.com/user/nesguide

No one slamming the game, making crude comments, if you are curious about how a game plays, here it is, nice and simple.

Now I like laughing at AVGN as much as the next guy, but sometimes its nice just to check something out without all the snarkiness.

[Gameguy]

There are worse reviewers on youtube, I'll list three videos from someone else.

Top 10 worst NES games (Bubble Bobble is on this list)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71po5XUzlUE

Top 10 Worst video game characters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzx9qZkDBSc

Top 10 most underrated movies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2f5-ITJwdk

[cyberfluxor]

Galactic Attack = The hotness

It was one of my first SHMUPs for the Saturn and is one of the more interesting shooters released in North America for the 32-bit era. I played it a lot when I first bought it a few years ago just to always die around the same stage, several in when you’re underground and past the spider-like boss that clinches the cave walls. The powerups are great with diverse enemies that keep comming in decent waves. The graphics and sound proves the Saturn can put out quality titles.

As for the reviewer, clearly has some issues which is reinforced with those talking doll videos. This is just another putz that needs to analyze other game reviews before posting his own. Commentary can be stellar, but this guy is not.

[stargate]

I thought his review was pretty good. I mean, you guys are acting like 90% of the reviews on Youtube don't suck. Compared to others I have seen, this was a fair and balanced review. The guy may not be a great, but he actually gave the game decent marks and it was an easy review to follow. Seriously, have you guys seen the crap reviews out there??

[cyberfluxor]

I thought his review was pretty good. I mean, you guys are acting like 90% of the reviews on Youtube don't suck. Compared to others I have seen, this was a fair and balanced review. The guy may not be a great, but he actually gave the game decent marks and it was an easy review to follow. Seriously, have you guys seen the crap reviews out there??

Yes, and if I were this guy I wouldn't have posted that review. A proper thorough review requires thought, research, editing, and writing skills in which he appears to either not possess or really doesn’t care to apply. This makes it completely unprofessional and therefore his video will receive fewer views and will not pick up much of a following audience.

As for the bad reviews on Youtube and around the Net, it comes with the territory when anyone can stand on the stage front and center. Certainly some will shine, but most won't.

[Astrocade]

There are worse reviewers on youtube, I'll list three videos from someone else.

Top 10 worst NES games (Bubble Bobble is on this list)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71po5XUzlUE

Top 10 Worst video game characters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzx9qZkDBSc

Top 10 most underrated movies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2f5-ITJwdk



This guy must be about 13 years old. Rampage, Bubble Bobble and Ghouls and Ghosts are three of the ten worst games on the NES? I can think of fifty worse games off the top of my head. I think the kid equates "hard" with "bad". But Rampage and Bubble Bobble aren't stupidly hard by any means.

[alec]

haha, funny review, thanks for posting.

[stargate]

Yes, and if I were this guy I wouldn't have posted that review. A proper thorough review requires thought, research, editing, and writing skills in which he appears to either not possess or really doesn’t care to apply. This makes it completely unprofessional and therefore his video will receive fewer views and will not pick up much of a following audience.

As for the bad reviews on Youtube and around the Net, it comes with the territory when anyone can stand on the stage front and center. Certainly some will shine, but most won't.

Granted, but you are acting like is is reviewing for GameSpot or something. He's just some dude on Youtube.

[mnbren05]

If he says "more harder" one more time, I'ma Saturn mode him.