| | | | M2 port of Sega AM2 weapon fighting game. |
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| | | Was Sega AM3, not AM2! In fact they weren't even allowed to show it at the AOU show of that year because Sega bigwigs didn't want it distracting from the two games AM2 was showing. Ouch!
MobyGames gives AM2 partial credit (amd AM3 none) for the PS2 port; maybe M2 used the engine AM2 had made for their 2500 Series VF2 and FV ports? |
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Messing about with secrets and modes and secret modes in Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.24: Last Bronx - Tokyo Bangaichi for PS2, in the emulator PCSX2 in Windows!
Last Bronx was a Sega Model 2 arcade fighting game by Sega AM3; this PS2 port is by M2.
0:00 - start
2:46 - Options
11:32 - EXTRA SETTING secret menu (highlight CREDITS in OPTIONS, hold R)
13:07 - ARCADE MODE secret mode (toggle w/ all 4 shoulder buttons at title)
22:54 - ARCHIVES - GALLERIES
48:07 - KAODEKA/BUKIDEKA/HOMERUN - EXTRA SETTING modes
57:50 - "Another Weapon Usage" arcade version code (STARTx13)
1:11:15 - GOURAUD USE gray (L/R x4)
1:13:22 - GOURAUD USE metal (L/R x8)
1:18:11 - SURVIVAL MODE (and BRILLIANT ROOM)
1:25:32 - REPLAY MODE - LOAD REPLAY FILE
1:30:50 - REPLAY MODE - LOAD SAMPLE FILE
1:34:05 - ARCADE MODE - Lisa
Every site including Wikipedia ripped off a translation of Sega's own "secrets" page for the game http://ages.sega.jp/vol24/secret.html -- well, probably Wikipedia ripped it off and everyone else ripped off Wikipedia--but nobody bothered to translate the part about how you actually DO the "GRAY" and "METAL" character select once you've enabled GOURAUD USE in the EXTRA SETTING secret options menu (highlight CREDITS in OPTIONS and hold Right on the d-pad for 5 seconds or so to unlock EXTRA SETTING)! What it says about GOURAUD USE is (Google Translate) "To use it, turn it on, then on the player select screen, move the cursor to the character you want to turn gray, press the direction key 4 times outside the screen, and if you want to turn it metal, enter the same 8 times."
So basically, you enable GOURAUD USE, then in character select, highlight the character, and if they're in the left column, tap 4 or 8 times to the left; if they're in the right column, tap 4 or 8 times to the right--and you'll see them switch to their gray or "metal" version. The "metal" is kinda twitchy and doesn't actually look that good but hey. ; )
You can toggle a character's alternate color by holding START on the character select screen, but the color doesn't appear if you already have the character highlighted; you have to hold START, THEN move the selection to the character for the alt color to show on their select screen model.
I wonder if the real-life ads on buildings and billboards are why the game isn't in the JP PS3 store along with some of the other PS2 2500 Series games. The "www.abc-mart.com" URL on one still works! Or, redirects to a similar URL, with the same ABC MART logo.
The Type A and B screen types, and the 480p display mode (at least on PCSX2 default setting) are too wide--I mean, the characters look stretched horizontally. Type C on "480i" (it still shows non-interlaced in PCSX2) is 4:3 aspect.
There are pause-menu move lists--and a fair number of moves with motion (like qcf, also charge) inputs. These don't feel particularly intuitive to me here.
As with AM2's 2500 series port of Fighting Vipers, the color is slightly yellowed / washed out. In PCSX2 I'm gonna set Settings - Game Properties - Graphics - Post-Processing - Shade Boost: Brightness 56, Contrast 53, Saturation 52 to correct that.
Oh! PCSX2 has a widescreen "patch" for this game that works pretty well. : ) I'll have that enabled next time (and maybe get some actual halfway-decent playing er attempts in!).
The Saturn version has a nifty anime intro: https://youtu.be/RJw77_oFhvM?t=84 |
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| | | | http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/last-bronx/ says the arcade subtitle, "Tokyo Bangaichi," means something like "Tokyo Wasteland." Google rather unhelpfully translates that part ("東京番外地," from https://segaretro.org/Sega_Ages_2500_Series_Vol._24:_Last_Bronx_-Tokyo_Bangaichi-) as just "Tokyo Bangaichi." : P Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Bronx#cite_note-5 says the literal translation is "Tokyo Extra Earth." |
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Game reduced me to inaudible mutterings by the end. : P
Got some decent music, and the graphics are all right.
But all three characters I played felt way too similar. Their main weapon attacks become useless by about Stage 4 vs the CPU (Normal difficulty) because they go into long combos that are easily blocked and counter-attacked--they don't even combo properly and can be blocked after a hit or two. Most characters seem to have the same basic kicks, uppercut.
Down attacks have a huge input window and huge damage so maneuver for a df K knockdown, then do a down attack. Best damage. : P
Counter-attacking a down-attack whiff by the enemy is weirdly iffy, maybe throw seems most reliable. Movement in general is weird and uncomfortably springy; characters will sorta rubber-band back and forth unpredictably.
The throw animations are pretty cool.
I think I'll stick with Fighting Vipers for my wacky Virtua Fighter 2.5 alternative. ^ _^
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/last-bronx/ says the arcade subtitle, "Tokyo Bangaichi," means something like "Tokyo Wasteland." Google rather unhelpfully translates that part ("東京番外地," from https://segaretro.org/Sega_Ages_2500_Series_Vol._24:_Last_Bronx_-Tokyo_Bangaichi-) as just "Tokyo Bangaichi." : P Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Bronx#cite_note-5 says the literal translation is "Tokyo Extra Earth."
Gamest magazine--named in a poster in the subway stage--was NOT related to Sega. Speaking of signs in the subway, that HCG101 article mentions that "An advertising poster for Act Against Aids, a non-profit annual charity concert in Japan, was introduced into the PC version's 'Lust Subway' stage." |
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