MAME Tournament Discussion Thread

[Cirrus]

I figured I'd add my sob story, too. I practiced a bit this week in my basement on my mame machine, but didn't use INP files. I work 12 hours shifts saturday and sunday nights (7p-7a) so I got up today and recorded my first game and sent it, and I did terribly. I have to get to work soon! I did this on my real computer using a keyboard. Blech. It was either that or submit nothing at all. Oh well, I take a loss in the opener. :)

edit: Basically, I got to (and lost to) the 2nd boss in this attempt, which is around average. My best score had me somewhere in the middle of level 3. Anyway, a pretty hard game.

[SoulBlazer]

Cirrus, my final score also had me reaching about the same point -- middle of Stage 3.

Did anyone actually BEAT the boss on Stage 3 on one credit? :)

[Cirrus]

To the folks running this: this has really been a good contest so far. Thanks for putting it together. Even though I probably did relatively poorly this week, playing this way has opened up Mame games a bit for me.

Usually, when I play an arcade game, there is no challenge. Back at Chuck E Cheese, as a kid, you were playing with limited quarters, and you actually had to push for a high score, so you could get your initials in. Now, I barely care about my score, and I have unlimited quarters. Mame is fun, but nearly ALL of the challenge and drive is gone.

With this competition, I actually have to try and practice, something that rarely comes up in video games now. It happened a bit more with games like Ninja Gaiden (xbox) because you actually HAD to get good at it. Save points didn't save you in that game, and they don't help us in these games. It's fun to actually grind into the challenge again. I wish we ran these contests year round. I know we have the "Arcade" here on the forums, but flash games are generally not really as good, and frankly, some of the top scores on there are unbeatable. Not nearly as fun as this.

Can't wait to see the results, and to find out the next game!

[Jibbajaba]

Thanks for the comments, Cirrus. I'm glad that people are having fun with the league, because that's what it's all about. I'm going to try to start a regular league after the championships are over. Hope to see you there.

Back to business. I posted the results in the official league thread. This week's winner is Quitracker!!! Assuming that he chooses to accept it, he has one a FABULOUS loose, "NOT FOR RESALE" Streets of Rage 2 cart for the Sega Genesis. This week's "Heartbreak of the Week" goes to InsaneDavid, who chalked up a score of 88,100 but was not able to pull a win out of it.

The first, third, and fifth people to submit scores this week were InsaneDavid, DDCecil, and Dr. Morbis. As promised, they each get 50 meseta!

Two individuals did not submit scores. If they do not submit scores again this week, they will be removed fro the league. Sothy is already in the overflow pool, so it won't cause any changes. Slip81 is in the Carmack division. If he is removed from the league, his spot will be filled by Queen of the Felines.

This week's games will be posted sometime today in the stickied league thread. I will post my selection, and Gapporin will post his.

Chris

[hydr0x]

the mikie.zip Gapporin posted is not working with my up-to-date MAME, i checked how big the mikie.zip rom should be and it should be ~80k, not 190k like the download is

so i guess you have to exchange the dl

[NE146]

Man.. I got totally creamed this round LOL

[fergojisan]

If anyone's having trouble with Gapporin's Mikie link as I did, take out the mikie.zip, and it'll take you Gapporin's index page. The link in the other thread was sending me to 100webspace.com for some reason (I'm using Opera if that matters).

I am intrigued by Mikie, if it has something to do with the Beatles. And Yay Q*Bert!!

YAY!!! :dance:

Not that I'm great at it, I just like it.

EDIT:The Mikie rom works fine for me, but I'm having some joystick problems (I had to take the joystick out to put in a jump drive). :angry:

[robotriot]

Same here, latest Mame32 doesn't recognize the ROM.

Damn, I didn't lose by much at Knights :P

[slip81]

I also got the shaft this round, but it's entirely my own fault. When I played the game for the first time I got a score of just over 30,000 but didn't record it because I figured I could do better. Then finals and work got in the way and I ended up forgetting and not submitting any score at all.

Oh well at least I get to stay in the game :)

[SoulBlazer]

Woohoo! I won, and I also ended up with the forth highest score again. I'm happy. :D

Tough game, and congrats to everyone who submitted good scores.

I see Quintracker posted the highest score -- did you beat the boss of Stage 3, much less get to him? I never could get that far on one credit.

Also, I tried the download for Mikie and it's not there.

Good luck to everyone this week!

[Gapporin]

Grr. Sorry about the download troubles, guys. My once usually-reliable webservice went down and I had to scramble to find another one that would host my files.

Even though the .zip archive that I posted was working for me, I re-downloaded it from PlayAgain. Let me know if works better.

Also, when downloading the file, don't click on the link directly. Instead, right-click and select "Save Target To...". That seems to work instead.

[Lady Jaye]

Yeah, my score would have been more impressive had I not accidently deleted my 60,000 point game. Instead, I had to settle for a puny 35,000 point score. :angry:

Oh well, live and learn as they say.

[AB Positive]

Can someone explain how the two-game thing is going to work out for me? I'm kind of confused by this. Also, no one has opponents, at least not yet.

I may have missed it, but if someone could clear this up for me, I'd be very appreciative.

-AG

[Gapporin]

Basically, we will be playing two games at a time per week. You have the entire week to play both games and submit your scores. The deadline is Sunday night.

As for opponents, Jibbajaba is the one who sets the match-ups together.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Wow, the only person who got a higher score then me in my bracket happened to be my opponent. Figures =P
8th overall isnt bad though.

[robotriot]

Winzip says the Mikie ROM is corrupted (it's about 74kb here) ...

[Mr.FoodMonster]

I already have a working Mikie rom, if someone wants to host it I could email it to them.

I also played it, and have NO IDEA what I'm supposed to do...

[Gapporin]

Winzip says the Mikie ROM is corrupted (it's about 74kb here) ...

Yeah, it ended up being much smaller, like hydr0x said. The actual size of the file is 75.2k.

But that's strange that it says it's corrupted. I just tried downloading it now, and it works fine. Try putting in your roms folder without decompressing it and see if it works.

[Lady Jaye]

For some info on how to play: http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=M&game_id=8696

[robotriot]

Yeah, it ended up being much smaller, like hydr0x said. The actual size of the file is 75.2k.

But that's strange that it says it's corrupted. I just tried downloading it now, and it works fine. Try putting in your roms folder without decompressing it and see if it works.

Well, Firefox can't determine the total filesize from the server, that's probably what the problem is - and if Winzip finds the file is corrupted, Mame won't be able to work with it either ;)

Oh yea, and are INP files mandatory now or not? I'm confused :P

[NE146]

Just download the rom again!

Here. I'll post it. Try this one.

http://www.users.uswest.net/~userid946/mikie.zip

(hopefully it's good.. I didn't check) :P

[robotriot]

I downloaded it 5 times, with erasing cache in the meantime, didn't work :P Your file works though, thanks ^^

[DragonMaster Sam]

Ok, I'm a bit confused here. Which game are we playing? Jibbajaba sent people the Q*Bert ROM, and Gapporin is supplying another ROM. So which game do we play?

[Lady Jaye]

Both. Jibbajaba and Gapporin, as co-referrees and co-organizers of the tournament, each provide one game per week, so that we get to play quite a few games in the tournament without it lasting forever.

Anyway, we have till Sunday evening to send the high score info for BOTH Q*Bert and Mikie.

And no, no need to send an .inp file, I believe a screenshot is enough.

[Queen Of The Felines]

We're playing BOTH games this week.

Are we supposed to use those INP file thingies again or just screenshots this time?

Kristine

[Jibbajaba]

OK people I guess things still arent clear.

1: Gapporin and I will EACH pick a game each week, and you have 6 and a half days to play both games. You will need to send in a high score for each game by Sunday night. Your e-mail should have the scores for both games.

2: INP files were only required for Knights of the Round because of the ease of cheating. Unless we specifically say otherwise for a certain game, only a screenshot is required from now on.

3: ALWAYS INCLUDE YOUR DP USERNAME IN YOUR E-MAILS!!!

4: Please refrain from postin in the stickied league thread. That thread is meant for Gapporin and I to post the games, and for me to post the results.

5: I will post the matchups when I get a chance.

Hopefully things are clearer now. I will send out a mass e-mail for Gapporin's game when he gets his file-hosting woes straightened out.

Chris

[DragonMaster Sam]

Ok, I got it now. Makes things easier to understand for me.

[Gapporin]

I switched out the Mikie download in the main stickied thread to NE146's link. Hopefully in the meantime, I can figure out what's wrong on my end. Thanks, NE146!

That also means you can send out the e-mail now, Jibbajaba.

[InsaneDavid]

This week's "Heartbreak of the Week" goes to InsaneDavid, who chalked up a score of 88,100 but was not able to pull a win out of it.

Damnit, that's what I get for submitting my score like four days early. LOL

[InsaneDavid]

Q*bert sounds like C*rap without the proper audio sample...

http://www.mameworld.net/samples/wav/qbert.zip

Download that and put it in the /Samples folder inside Mame32, then load Mame32 and audit all games again.

Jibbajaba, you may want to post that link on the "17th Annual Digital Press MAME League World Championships" thread.

[Lady Jaye]

Am I the only one having control problems with Mikie? The ROM loads fine and all, but for some reason, button mapping doesn't work for the second button, regardless of what I map there, nothing happens when I press the assigned button (which is the kick button -- the headbutt button is fine).

Anyone else has that problem, or maybe is it an issue with MacMAME 0.96u1?

[Quintracker]

Back to business. I posted the results in the official league thread. This week's winner is Quitracker!!! Assuming that he chooses to accept it, he has one a FABULOUS loose, "NOT FOR RESALE" Streets of Rage 2 cart for the Sega Genesis.
Chris

Yay, i won the first round!

Bah, can't even spell my name right. :P You can keep the game and give it to the grand prize winner or something, I don't need anymore sega crap messing up my nintendo collection. ;)

[Gapporin]

Am I the only one having control problems with Mikie? The ROM loads fine and all, but for some reason, button mapping doesn't work for the second button, regardless of what I map there, nothing happens when I press the assigned button (which is the kick button -- the headbutt button is fine).

Anyone else has that problem, or maybe is it an issue with MacMAME 0.96u1?

Hey, you're right. It doesn't work. The driver must be broken. :/

Here's a quick-n'-dirty workaround fix:

1. Set the button you would like to use for the headbutt in the Input General controls, otherwise known as the default controls (The headbutt button is Button 2).

2. Exit MAME, and then go to the cfg folder and delete "mikie.cfg".

3. Re-enter MAME, and start up Mikie. Button 2 should then work to whatever you've set it to.

Annoying, I know, but that's the only way I know how to do a temporary fix.

[Jibbajaba]

Back to business. I posted the results in the official league thread. This week's winner is Quitracker!!! Assuming that he chooses to accept it, he has one a FABULOUS loose, "NOT FOR RESALE" Streets of Rage 2 cart for the Sega Genesis.
Chris

Yay, i won the first round!

Bah, can't even spell my name right. :P You can keep the game and give it to the grand prize winner or something, I don't need anymore sega crap messing up my nintendo collection. ;)

Calm down fella, it was just a typo. I know how to spell your name just fine.

Congrats

Chris

[Cirrus]

Q*bert sounds like C*rap without the proper audio sample...

http://www.mameworld.net/samples/wav/qbert.zip

Download that and put it in the /Samples folder inside Mame32, then load Mame32 and audit all games again.

Jibbajaba, you may want to post that link on the "17th Annual Digital Press MAME League World Championships" thread.

That sample zip isn't passing the audit:
qbert : fx_17a.wav NOT FOUND
qbert : fx_17b.wav NOT FOUND
etc
etc

Pretty sure I'm doing it right...

[Quintracker]

Back to business. I posted the results in the official league thread. This week's winner is Quitracker!!! Assuming that he chooses to accept it, he has one a FABULOUS loose, "NOT FOR RESALE" Streets of Rage 2 cart for the Sega Genesis.
Chris

Yay, i won the first round!

Bah, can't even spell my name right. :P You can keep the game and give it to the grand prize winner or something, I don't need anymore sega crap messing up my nintendo collection. ;)

Calm down fella, it was just a typo. I know how to spell your name just fine.

Congrats

Chris

LOL It's all good. Now time to start on my next two 1st places ;)

[Lady Jaye]

Am I the only one having control problems with Mikie? The ROM loads fine and all, but for some reason, button mapping doesn't work for the second button, regardless of what I map there, nothing happens when I press the assigned button (which is the kick button -- the headbutt button is fine).

Anyone else has that problem, or maybe is it an issue with MacMAME 0.96u1?

Hey, you're right. It doesn't work. The driver must be broken. :/

Here's a quick-n'-dirty workaround fix:

1. Set the button you would like to use for the headbutt in the Input General controls, otherwise known as the default controls (The headbutt button is Button 2).

2. Exit MAME, and then go to the cfg folder and delete "mikie.cfg".

3. Re-enter MAME, and start up Mikie. Button 2 should then work to whatever you've set it to.

Annoying, I know, but that's the only way I know how to do a temporary fix.

Makes sense, as the default mapping worked during my first game (unaware of what to do exactly, I tried mapping for that game precisely after my first game and that's when hell broke loose).

[NE146]

That sample zip isn't passing the audit:
qbert : fx_17a.wav NOT FOUND
qbert : fx_17b.wav NOT FOUND
etc
etc

Pretty sure I'm doing it right...

Hrmm.. well that's easy to check. When you open up the zip yourself, do you see all those files? :)

First time I tried to download it I got errors.. but now it seems fine.

Anyway, if all else fails, here's my copy:

http://www.users.uswest.net/~userid946/qbert.zip

[Quintracker]

Woohoo! I won, and I also ended up with the forth highest score again. I'm happy. :D

Tough game, and congrats to everyone who submitted good scores.

I see Quintracker posted the highest score -- did you beat the boss of Stage 3, much less get to him? I never could get that far on one credit.

Also, I tried the download for Mikie and it's not there.

Good luck to everyone this week!

I got to the boss of stage three, but only got his energy halfway down before dying. I'm actually surprised I did win, because I heard the next stage is basically a 'gimme' where another 10-20k is easy to get. Figured someone would make it that far.

[InsaneDavid]

Am I the only one having control problems with Mikie? The ROM loads fine and all, but for some reason, button mapping doesn't work for the second button, regardless of what I map there, nothing happens when I press the assigned button (which is the kick button -- the headbutt button is fine).

Anyone else has that problem, or maybe is it an issue with MacMAME 0.96u1?

Hey, you're right. It doesn't work. The driver must be broken. :/

Here's a quick-n'-dirty workaround fix:

1. Set the button you would like to use for the headbutt in the Input General controls, otherwise known as the default controls (The headbutt button is Button 2).

2. Exit MAME, and then go to the cfg folder and delete "mikie.cfg".

3. Re-enter MAME, and start up Mikie. Button 2 should then work to whatever you've set it to.

Annoying, I know, but that's the only way I know how to do a temporary fix.

LOL I already broke 150k with the one button error setup, thanks for the fix info though!

[InsaneDavid]

Q*bert sounds like C*rap without the proper audio sample...

http://www.mameworld.net/samples/wav/qbert.zip

Download that and put it in the /Samples folder inside Mame32, then load Mame32 and audit all games again.

Jibbajaba, you may want to post that link on the "17th Annual Digital Press MAME League World Championships" thread.

That sample zip isn't passing the audit:
qbert : fx_17a.wav NOT FOUND
qbert : fx_17b.wav NOT FOUND
etc
etc

Pretty sure I'm doing it right...

Make sure the samples are zipped and named qbert.zip. My original link from Mameworld is complete but from time to time their servers do take a beating. If EVERY file is failing the audit then it's probably a name mismatch, make sure the sample (in the samples folder) and the name of the rom (in the roms folder) are the same. For some reason when I audit the games the sample doesn't show up as Correct OR Incorrect - however when I run Q*bert all the audio is there. (I've played around with removing / including the samples and they are still needed for true audio) There are only a handfull of games that require audio samples under MAME.

[Cirrus]

Okay, I read the link about how to play Mikie, but I've yet to figure out how to get any points aside from headbutting the teacher.

I've also not figured out how to get the kick button, but I'll get around to it.

Basically, I am supposed to collect the flashing hearts, but I run right through them. I have run around the room for 10 minutes running through flashing hearts trying to collect them, and I don't pick them up. Is this some kind of error?

[InsaneDavid]

Okay, I read the link about how to play Mikie, but I've yet to figure out how to get any points aside from headbutting the teacher.

I've also not figured out how to get the kick button, but I'll get around to it.

Basically, I am supposed to collect the flashing hearts, but I run right through them. I have run around the room for 10 minutes running through flashing hearts trying to collect them, and I don't pick them up. Is this some kind of error?

No no no no no, the flashing hearts are not collectible. The normal hearts are. You want to go up to a desk where someone is sitting that has a heart behind them. Press the joystick (everyone okay with using that for controller direction in this thread?) repeatedly in the direction of the person at the desk and you'll begin to shove them aside until the fall off of their chair. Once they've moved you can get to where they were sitting and collect the heart behind them. The flashing hearts (that encircle the normal hearts) award you bonus points if you can pick up the normal heart when it has the flashing heart around it. Once you collect all the hearts you can exit the stage into the hallway and move to the next.

I don't understand the kick button problem, the second button doesn't make Mikie kick (I did the walkaround like was posted) but it DOES work to make Mikie open the doors once levels are cleared - always has from the start, so the button IS registering. It also works when throwing basketballs. I haven't seen this game in a LONG time, is that what Lady Jaye was taking about when she meant button 2 is supposed to kick - as in kick the door open?

[InsaneDavid]

KLOV confirms there's only one attack in this romset - headbutt...

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=8696

The second button is used to open doors after all the hearts in the current room are clear / enter new rooms from the hallway and to pick up and throw basketballs. There's nothing wrong with the rom.

[DragonMaster Sam]

Is there any reason why this Mikie game doesn't record your score?

[Flack]

Is anybody playing Q*Bert yet? I'm wondering how far people can get and what their average scores are.

[InsaneDavid]

Is there any reason why this Mikie game doesn't record your score?

..can you please be more specific? You have to hit F12 to take a screenshot if you want record of your score. The images will dump out into the /snap folder. If you mean preserve your high score tables then that's a totally different thing and requires the hiscore.dat file to be installed (THIS IS NOT REQUIRED BY THE CONTEST AND HAS NO BEARING ON GAME PERFORMANCE AND SCORING).

[DragonMaster Sam]

What I mean is that my score won't show at all. For example, say if I headbutt the teacher, it's 800 points. But it won't show up anywhere on the screen. And after I get a game over, my score doesn't show up at all.

[InsaneDavid]

Is anybody playing Q*Bert yet? I'm wondering how far people can get and what their average scores are.

I suck at Q*bert, :/ still a fun game, I just suck at it. I've only given it one real play (after checking to make sure the audio samples were working) and I got a bit over 12k.

[Lady Jaye]

@DragonMaster Sam: That's weird. Mikie works perfectly on that part on my puter. Which version of Mame are you running, on which platform?

[InsaneDavid]

What I mean is that my score won't show at all. For example, say if I headbutt the teacher, it's 800 points. But it won't show up anywhere on the screen. And after I get a game over, my score doesn't show up at all.

Possibly your video card is projecting the screen too high up or too long to fit in the viewable area? The scores are at the VERY top of the screen. Do you see a high score at the top in the middle? Should look like this...

http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/M/wMikie.png
(from klov.com - now if they'd finally post my damn SCUD Race marquee picture)

If you don't see "1P [YOUR SCORE] HI [75800 IS DEFAULT]" at the top then you need to change the screen size, most easily by using the manual controls on the front of your monitor. Scale the vertical size down a bit and the missing score line should come into view.

If you are just getting started with MAME this can sometimes be a problem with vertical games until you get some of their resolutions centered to where your display shows them properly.

[DragonMaster Sam]

Ok, I upgraded to Mame32 version 0.96 (or whatever the new one is). Same situation occured, BUT, when I took a screenshot, the score showed up at the top of the picture. Problem solved.

[InsaneDavid]

Ok, I upgraded to Mame32 version 0.96 (or whatever the new one is). Same situation occured, BUT, when I took a screenshot, the score showed up at the top of the picture. Problem solved.

Yeah, it has nothing to do with your MAME version. Try scaling down the vertical size of your display AFTER Mikie loads (and the resolution changes) and the score should come into view. It will not effect your windows desktop, other screens, etc. You might want to play around with the screen position as well (let the attract screens run so you'll know where the top, bottom, and sides end) to get it so it's flush with the top and bottom and the black space is equal on both sides of the game. Another good check to see if this is set right is that when the rom is loading it will display a grid of white lines for a moment, the border around the grid should be viewable, I bet the top line of the border isn't - adjust it.

Mikie uses a resolution of 256 x 224, basically once you let it load and adjust the screen size to fit into your display, any other MAME rom that uses 256 x 224 will snap into the same viewable area - make snese? When you do a screen snap MAME takes a snap of the entire GAME screen, hanging over your viewable area or not - that's why your high scores show up in your screen snaps.

[DragonMaster Sam]

I tried a little something different. In the options, I had the game run in a window, and everything, including the score, appeared on the same screen.. So everything seems to be going right.. Thanks for all the help.

[Queen Of The Felines]

It's a good thing Q*Bert's included because so far I completely suck at Mikie. :/

Kristine

[SoulBlazer]

Anyone have suggestions on what to use for controls for Q*Bert?

I've tried rotating my gamepad to a diagnonal angle so that I can push the right buttons, but I still get confused and hit the wrong one in the heat of the moment. :angry:

This game sucks without a proper joystick.....

I'm thinking of just mapping it to my keyboard and playing it that way.

[Jibbajaba]

Anyone have suggestions on what to use for controls for Q*Bert?

I've tried rotating my gamepad to a diagnonal angle so that I can push the right buttons, but I still get confused and hit the wrong one in the heat of the moment. :angry:

This game sucks without a proper joystick.....

I'm thinking of just mapping it to my keyboard and playing it that way.

You just have to get used to it. It's the sameas the VCS version of the game. Once you get used to it, it will come naturally.

Chris

[Flack]

Anyone have suggestions on what to use for controls for Q*Bert?

I've tried rotating my gamepad to a diagnonal angle so that I can push the right buttons, but I still get confused and hit the wrong one in the heat of the moment. :angry:

This game sucks without a proper joystick.....

I'm thinking of just mapping it to my keyboard and playing it that way.

I've just been using the arrow keys. It does take a little getting used to, especially when you have a Q*Bert cabinet that you play on a lot ... :evil:

My Q*bert scores are in the upper 30's but I'd like to break 40k before sending one in ...

[Queen Of The Felines]

I have my Q*Bert controls mapped to the number pad on the keyboard. 7, 9, 1, and 3 work beautifully. :)

Kristine

[Lady Jaye]

For Q*bert, I might use my secret weapon: my Belkin Nostromo Speedpad N52 keypad controller... :D

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=2071&pcount=&Product_Id=157024#

http://images.belkin.com/F8GFPC100/STD1_F8GFPC100.jpg

[Needle]

Wow, Mikie has to be one of the most unenjoyable games I've ever played. It took me numerous tries just to get to the second room, and from there it was just a massacre. I may be submitting a low score just so I don't have to play it anymore. yuck!

Q*Bert, on the other hand, I love to death :D

[AB Positive]

I'm oddly enjoying mikie, personally.... once i figured out what the hell I was doing :D

-AG

[ddockery]

For QBert, you ca remap controls to diagonals. For example - Up = J1-Up + J1-Right. This seems to work rather well for me.

[Needle]

Alright, I'm willing to take back my original harsh comments about Mikie. Granted, it's still a bit weird, and the hit detection horizontally is unforgiving (I almost always attack vertically, it's the only way I can maintain any accuracy).

That said, the second room is probably the hardest of them all. The first time I got out of the second room, I managed to get all the way out of the school! :D

Need more practice...

[Jibbajaba]

I played Mikie this morning, and I have to defend Gapporin's choice. Once I understood what the deal was, I thought it was fun. Good, quirky choice, and a game that I probably never would have played otherwise.

Chris

[Queen Of The Felines]

I agree with his choice as well, because I never, ever would've even thought about playing it otherwise. Ditto with Knights of the Round, now that I think about it.

I know I'm probably not going to win this thing, but I'm having fun. :)

Kristine

[Lady Jaye]

Yeah, that's part of the whole appeal of the tournament: to discover new games that we never played before or even heard of before... :D

[Flack]

That's the appeal of the MAME Club as well. Wait, why aren't all you people in the MAME Club? :)

[Gapporin]

Wait, why aren't all you people in the MAME Club? :)

I'm a card-carrying member, m'self. :P

Just for kicks, I've decided to play along each week with the games chosen (but not participating, of course, for obvious reasons).

I'm a sucker for quirky Japanese games, and Mikie seems to fit the bill. I mentioned the Beatles reference because if you listen closely, you can hear "A Hard Day's Night" in the classroom, and then once you get to the gym, "Twist And Shout" plays. Because of the music and the apparel of the students, it really gives the game a good 1960's feel.

I've haven't been able to get past the second room now, but when I first played it, I remember getting out of the school. Even on the easiest difficulty, it's still pretty hard stuff.

There are also two variations of this game: Shinnyuushain Tooru-Kun and Mikie: High School Graffiti. Shinnyuushain, the original Japanese version, has a few cosmetic changes; such as hair color and uniforms. However, if you are looking for a challenge, High School Graffiti is MUCH harder. More hearts to collect, weaker attacks, and faster enemies. Not for the faint of heart.

It's a good thing I'm not participating though, because I suck at Q*Bert. LOL Granted, it was never my favorite arcade game to begin with, but I used to have the Game Boy port and I remember getting pretty far in that. However, I've only been able to get to Round 3 so far.

Fans of this game should also try out Faster, Harder, More Challenging Q*Bert (which is...well, faster, harder and more challenging), and Q*Bert's Qubes.

[DragonMaster Sam]

Both of this week's games are pretty fun. Never played Q*Bert before, but I seem to be doing a fine job, as I can get up to level 3. Mikie is fun too. Almost finished the second room (where you're chased by a janitor, teacher, and cook), until the teacher caught up to me as I was heading for the door.

[Dr. Morbis]

Well, I'm glad Q*bert was picked because I used to hate it but now that I've been forced to actually learn how the game works, I'm really starting to like it. Has anyone gotten through level 5? Sweet fancy Moses those rounds are hard. I got to 5-2 with 4 men and lost them all without passing the level. *Sigh*.

I haven't tried Mikie yet but man, that would be the most unpopular game ever at a real arcade. "Hey guys, lets recreate the feeling of being in school!"

BTW, have the matchups been posted, and which of the two threads will they be posted in? Furthermore, do we play a different person for each game, or the same person for both games?

[Jibbajaba]

BTW, have the matchups been posted, and which of the two threads will they be posted in? Furthermore, do we play a different person for each game, or the same person for both games?

I havent posted the matchups yet, I know. I'm a mad league administrator. You will be playing the same person for both games, yes. But the person that you play will change every week.

Chris

[SoulBlazer]

Besides what has been said, can anyone explaine Mikie some more? KLOV does'nt really help, and I'm lost on what to do in the first room and how to earn points and advance.

[DDCecil]

Besides what has been said, can anyone explaine Mikie some more? KLOV does'nt really help, and I'm lost on what to do in the first room and how to earn points and advance.

It took me awhile to figure it out. You need to tap the direction of the students, and knock them out of their seat. You can then sit at their desk and grab the heart. Once you have all 5 hearts, make your way to the top left door, press button 2 to open it, and walk out. See if that helps any.

[SoulBlazer]

Okay, that does help some...and if we happen to time it right so that we sit at a desk when the heart is flashing, we earn bonus points? The entry on the game at the KLOV site mentioned something about that......

And has it been confirmed that button one does a headbut (your only attack) and button two opens the door when you can leave?

I've found it possible to headbut the teacher to stun him, but it's VERY hard to do from a up-down angle. Side to side seems MUCH easier.

Defentily a weird game. Konami had so many hits from their arcade games during this time period, but I can see why I never heard of this one. :)

Having better success with Q*Bert. I actually had allready made up my mind to ditch the gamepad for this game nad play with the 7-9-1-3 keys on the keypad on the right, like QOF plays, but it's nice to see how well it works. Allready got to the forth board. Now I need to focus on earning points.