"Twin Cobra" is another one of those arcade games that look shockingly good for a mid-80s title. Maybe not to the level of "Space Harrier" or "Outrun", but still, when I saw the gameplay in the first half, I thought to myself that the Genesis programmers would have to really work hard and hit all the right notes to replicate it perfectly. I think it was possible for the Genesis to do it, but it would be a tall order. Unfortunately, I don't think they quite managed. The music on the Genesis was great and on-point, and the gameplay and action were there for the most part, but the far too zoomed-in perspective and the weird color palette ("The enemy uses golden tanks?! They're too well-funded for us to defeat!") both keep it quite a bit short of arcade-perfect. The screen crunch, in particular, seems like it could be a big frustration and would make the Genesis version hard for the wrong reasons. I probably shouldn't be too hard on the Genesis port, though, because we've definitely seen plenty worse and lazier and arcade conversions, and this one truly seems like it's still fun despite some minor failings. On titles like this, where it was going to be difficult for Genesis to perfectly replicate the arcade, I always wish that they would improve the home version in other ways. Add a few new types of bombs that did different things (or at least look different), maybe some extra power-ups and enemies, a new stage or two, a password system... things that say, "Sorry we couldn't 100% copy the arcade graphics, but we did care enough to make the experience a little better and cooler than the arcade in X, Y, and Z ways." Anyway, I'm rambling. Great vid as always, man! Happy end of 2023!
This is definitely one of those middle of the road conversions. It's very playable on the Genesis but isn't top tier, yet like you said we've seen much worse. I love your ideas to improve this. That would make for a great rom hack. They've got to keep those golden tanks though to show off their superior army. That's the industrial military complex cranked up to 11.
I think I've said before, but Toaplan's helicopter and bi-plane shooters were some of my favorite games back in the day, especially when it came to non-fixed vertical shooters. First, I played a ton of Tiger-Heli on the NES at my uncle's house, but I never did get to play an actual arcade cabinet of it though he had. However, I did get to play Twin Cobra (and Chase HQ a handful of times at a Mexican+Italian fusion restaurant called Paco's. I did end up renting the NES port of this a few times, but didn't own it; however, my friend Tike did get the NES port. This was one of the games that we used as a benchmark to see if you had 'true skill'...when forced to play games with the Hot Stik: a pretty terrible motion-controled joystick that my grandma bought me. I'm not sure how playing with it proved you were good at games: it mostly proved we had dumb kid logic (I *was* a challenge...but not at all because of the games: it was because motion controls generally suck and early 90s motion controls REALLY sucked). Anyway, I never picked up the NES version (I really should go back and get the NES cart and the PC-Engine port sometime, especially since discovering the PC-Engine version and playing it on magic engine is why I became more interested in that system at the end of the 90s and early 00s). I did get the Genesis port used in the mid-90s, and it's quite a good port. It sounds great, much better than the NES or PC-Engine ports, though I don't think it looks quite as accurate as the PC-Engine port. It's a huge step up from the NES port though I did like that version too back in the day. I feel like the Genesis version plays a bit more accurately than the PC-Engine port too. It actually has options too. But is the Genesis port better than the arcade? Well, I'd accept the opinion that the music is better: I'd say the Genesis tracks are richer than the 2-operator OPL2 tracks of the arcade. However, the arcade version looks better and doesn't suffer from the conversion to a horizontal aspect ratio (I generally feel trying to keep a similar aspect ratio and using a border à la Fire Shark on the Genesis is the better way of doing things). However, where the Genesis (and NES and PC-Engine) lose terribly to the arcade Twin Cobra is the complete lack of 2-player mode. Dude, playing this along with my uncle was what made it even cooler than Tiger-Heli, yet the 2-player option is stripped out of all of the console ports of this. So, so sad, and even though the Genesis version is good and has great music, it just fall short without that awesome multiplayer!
Haha, I loved your personal story about this game and the "true skill" challenge. I don't think me and my brothers or friends were quite organized enough to do something like that, but it reminds me of something we might have come up with.
Your kid-logic isn't so far off. I used to play Tatsujin on Megadrive as a test of skill but the arcade version is much better for that. It's so good that I use it as a warm up for co-ordination and reflexes before I do a weight-training workout. The effect is a bit like taking 60 mg of caffeine. If I can clear the first stage without using more than one bomb on the boss, I have my reflexes where I want them to be.
@@baronhausenpheffer Yeah, of the ones I remember us trying to compete using that dumb controller, I know we used my buddy's copy of Twin Cobra and TMNT2 as well as my own T&E Surf Designs, Track and Field 2, X-Men, and Robocop. I know I tried playing all of my games with it, but those and I think maybe Mario 2 are all I convinced my friends to play.
Lmao! You were one step away from using the Power Glove to test who's the best. I tried out the NES version a few nights ago for an upcoming video and it was pretty good but obviously not quite as good as the Genesis and especially the arcade. I've spent way more time playing shmups solo but much like beat em ups I much prefer the 2 player experience so not having that as an option is a total bummer.
@@RetroComparisons Haha. I only got to try a Power Glove a few times: none of my grade-school friends had it, but I had a friend in high school who did though we never played many older games, mostly N64 or PS1, so I only got to use it a few times at his house. But...I'm pretty sure the Power Glove was at least cooler than the Hot Stik and annoying but more playable. Even the Turbo Touch 360 was at least usable in most game: trying to play Tetris and Dr. Mario and most platformers with the Hot Stik might be some of the most aggravating experiences. I guess I was ahead of the curve with phone-like terrible touch-screeen (kind-of what the Turbo Touch 360 was though more akin to a laptop touch-pad) and motion controls (the Hot Stik)...lol
Well played! Toaplan never did the home port which is unfortunate as I think it would have been better. It's quite a good port and quite adequate but doesn't reach the level of Tatsujin or Same! Same! Same! The best port I know of is in the Toaplan Shooting Archives on PlayStation.
That PS1 port is really close to the arcade and is easily the best home conversion I've tried. I'd love to see how this would have looked had Toaplan did the port and if it was released a couple of years later.
Vertical shmups were presented on a sideways monitor in the arcade, so getting an arcade accurate presentation at home, outside of the rare handful of games that offered "tate mode", was never a possibility back then.
It is a really fun shmup that's worth checking out. The arcade is a bit easier to see everything without the crunched view but I think is a little more of a bullethell than the Genesis port.
@@RetroComparisons Oh I see. Interesting. Yeah the arcade ports of these games back in the 80s and 90s always feels harder than thr home ports though there probably are a few exceptions or NES games harder than arcade games like TMNT and Battletoads lol 😆 Those games ruffle my Jimmie! 😖😠 lol
@@RetroComparisons Oh really? haha that's funny. I bet I can picture RetroComparisons getting mad! haha. Yeah that game is considered top 3 hardest NES game(if not game like ever lol) to beat. Could be debatable I suppose but almost everyone I've encountered who's a Gen X or Millennial gamer agrees that it's top 3 or top 5 hardest game lol
Screw it, I love the golden tanks. James Bond and his little golden gun never felt so impotent before. Here, at least, is an enemy army that takes their job seriously; just ask every critic complaining about the home port's difficulty. Plus, you have to admit you get way more high contrast pixels peppered all over the screen. As anyone with a passion for design will tell you, negative space is the enemy of positive thinking! I missed seeing all that manly Genesis stubble in these comparisons...
Those tanks really do have the golden gun with their one hit kills BS. I'd hate to see what their country's military spending looks like with tanks like that.
Flying Shark is one of my fav shooters of all time. Strangely enough I never played Twin Cobra although they are totally sister games. The Arcade version def brings back memories playing Flying Shark! The Genesis looks like a butchered version.. Holy hell.. lol Winner: Arcade A shame I have never played this one, I will need to fire up the Arcade version fo sho! I would assume it plays similar to many Toaplan shmups, when you die it takes you back in hell with no power ups lol. Good stuff man and nice job as always!
Thanks buddy! Lol oh yes, this is another one of those shooters that punishes you harshly for having the nerve to die. Still though considering how much you like and how good you are at these types of games I think you'll like the arcade port a lot. The Genesis version is a little easier so I'll give it points for that since it was a little less frustrating getting the footage lol
@@RetroComparisons Another mystery where nobody agrees which version is hardest? I really wish it was possible to record people playing these two and the Toki games, just to understand how playstyle affects the challenge?
@@juststatedtheobvious9633Interesting view. I am not familiar with either version but will give both a good run this weekend. It does look like the speedier copter in the Genesis version will make it easier. The copter in the arcade is slower but not as bad as the plane in Flying Shark, and dying is not brutal as the game keeps going rather than skips back to last checkpoint like many Toaplan shmups! More to come this weekend! I am having a lot of fun with Twin Cobra for the arcade and on level 2 with some frustration of running into planes lol....
@@juststatedtheobvious9633 That's a great point. I have no skill but it would be interesting to see how people play that are actually good at these games.
@@mikec3260 Lol! Oh there's going to be a lot of running into planes in this. Fortunately you're not punished as hard as something like Truxton but I felt like once I died I was screwed. Of course that could have been a mental thing as I had played Truxton, this and Twin Hawk back to back to back. Keep me posted on what you think if you keep playing it.
![Sunset Riders [1991] Arcade vs SNES vs Sega Genesis (Version Comparison)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jpYsQUOOp6g/mqdefault.jpg)
![Sunset Riders [1991] Arcade vs SNES vs Sega Genesis (Version Comparison)](/img/tr.png)
"Twin Cobra" is another one of those arcade games that look shockingly good for a mid-80s title. Maybe not to the level of "Space Harrier" or "Outrun", but still, when I saw the gameplay in the first half, I thought to myself that the Genesis programmers would have to really work hard and hit all the right notes to replicate it perfectly. I think it was possible for the Genesis to do it, but it would be a tall order. Unfortunately, I don't think they quite managed. The music on the Genesis was great and on-point, and the gameplay and action were there for the most part, but the far too zoomed-in perspective and the weird color palette ("The enemy uses golden tanks?! They're too well-funded for us to defeat!") both keep it quite a bit short of arcade-perfect. The screen crunch, in particular, seems like it could be a big frustration and would make the Genesis version hard for the wrong reasons.
I probably shouldn't be too hard on the Genesis port, though, because we've definitely seen plenty worse and lazier and arcade conversions, and this one truly seems like it's still fun despite some minor failings. On titles like this, where it was going to be difficult for Genesis to perfectly replicate the arcade, I always wish that they would improve the home version in other ways. Add a few new types of bombs that did different things (or at least look different), maybe some extra power-ups and enemies, a new stage or two, a password system... things that say, "Sorry we couldn't 100% copy the arcade graphics, but we did care enough to make the experience a little better and cooler than the arcade in X, Y, and Z ways." Anyway, I'm rambling. Great vid as always, man! Happy end of 2023!
This is definitely one of those middle of the road conversions. It's very playable on the Genesis but isn't top tier, yet like you said we've seen much worse. I love your ideas to improve this. That would make for a great rom hack. They've got to keep those golden tanks though to show off their superior army. That's the industrial military complex cranked up to 11.
I think I've said before, but Toaplan's helicopter and bi-plane shooters were some of my favorite games back in the day, especially when it came to non-fixed vertical shooters. First, I played a ton of Tiger-Heli on the NES at my uncle's house, but I never did get to play an actual arcade cabinet of it though he had. However, I did get to play Twin Cobra (and Chase HQ a handful of times at a Mexican+Italian fusion restaurant called Paco's. I did end up renting the NES port of this a few times, but didn't own it; however, my friend Tike did get the NES port. This was one of the games that we used as a benchmark to see if you had 'true skill'...when forced to play games with the Hot Stik: a pretty terrible motion-controled joystick that my grandma bought me. I'm not sure how playing with it proved you were good at games: it mostly proved we had dumb kid logic (I *was* a challenge...but not at all because of the games: it was because motion controls generally suck and early 90s motion controls REALLY sucked). Anyway, I never picked up the NES version (I really should go back and get the NES cart and the PC-Engine port sometime, especially since discovering the PC-Engine version and playing it on magic engine is why I became more interested in that system at the end of the 90s and early 00s). I did get the Genesis port used in the mid-90s, and it's quite a good port. It sounds great, much better than the NES or PC-Engine ports, though I don't think it looks quite as accurate as the PC-Engine port. It's a huge step up from the NES port though I did like that version too back in the day. I feel like the Genesis version plays a bit more accurately than the PC-Engine port too. It actually has options too. But is the Genesis port better than the arcade? Well, I'd accept the opinion that the music is better: I'd say the Genesis tracks are richer than the 2-operator OPL2 tracks of the arcade. However, the arcade version looks better and doesn't suffer from the conversion to a horizontal aspect ratio (I generally feel trying to keep a similar aspect ratio and using a border à la Fire Shark on the Genesis is the better way of doing things). However, where the Genesis (and NES and PC-Engine) lose terribly to the arcade Twin Cobra is the complete lack of 2-player mode. Dude, playing this along with my uncle was what made it even cooler than Tiger-Heli, yet the 2-player option is stripped out of all of the console ports of this. So, so sad, and even though the Genesis version is good and has great music, it just fall short without that awesome multiplayer!
Haha, I loved your personal story about this game and the "true skill" challenge. I don't think me and my brothers or friends were quite organized enough to do something like that, but it reminds me of something we might have come up with.
Your kid-logic isn't so far off. I used to play Tatsujin on Megadrive as a test of skill but the arcade version is much better for that. It's so good that I use it as a warm up for co-ordination and reflexes before I do a weight-training workout. The effect is a bit like taking 60 mg of caffeine. If I can clear the first stage without using more than one bomb on the boss, I have my reflexes where I want them to be.
@@baronhausenpheffer Yeah, of the ones I remember us trying to compete using that dumb controller, I know we used my buddy's copy of Twin Cobra and TMNT2 as well as my own T&E Surf Designs, Track and Field 2, X-Men, and Robocop. I know I tried playing all of my games with it, but those and I think maybe Mario 2 are all I convinced my friends to play.
Lmao! You were one step away from using the Power Glove to test who's the best. I tried out the NES version a few nights ago for an upcoming video and it was pretty good but obviously not quite as good as the Genesis and especially the arcade. I've spent way more time playing shmups solo but much like beat em ups I much prefer the 2 player experience so not having that as an option is a total bummer.
@@RetroComparisons Haha. I only got to try a Power Glove a few times: none of my grade-school friends had it, but I had a friend in high school who did though we never played many older games, mostly N64 or PS1, so I only got to use it a few times at his house. But...I'm pretty sure the Power Glove was at least cooler than the Hot Stik and annoying but more playable. Even the Turbo Touch 360 was at least usable in most game: trying to play Tetris and Dr. Mario and most platformers with the Hot Stik might be some of the most aggravating experiences. I guess I was ahead of the curve with phone-like terrible touch-screeen (kind-of what the Turbo Touch 360 was though more akin to a laptop touch-pad) and motion controls (the Hot Stik)...lol
Well played! Toaplan never did the home port which is unfortunate as I think it would have been better. It's quite a good port and quite adequate but doesn't reach the level of Tatsujin or Same! Same! Same! The best port I know of is in the Toaplan Shooting Archives on PlayStation.
That PS1 port is really close to the arcade and is easily the best home conversion I've tried. I'd love to see how this would have looked had Toaplan did the port and if it was released a couple of years later.
Vertical shmups were presented on a sideways monitor in the arcade, so getting an arcade accurate presentation at home, outside of the rare handful of games that offered "tate mode", was never a possibility back then.
That's a great point!
Game looks pretty sweet, I like the music! Music sounds awesome! Looks like not a bad port. I never played this game.
It is a really fun shmup that's worth checking out. The arcade is a bit easier to see everything without the crunched view but I think is a little more of a bullethell than the Genesis port.
@@RetroComparisons Oh I see. Interesting. Yeah the arcade ports of these games back in the 80s and 90s always feels harder than thr home ports though there probably are a few exceptions or NES games harder than arcade games like TMNT and Battletoads lol 😆 Those games ruffle my Jimmie! 😖😠 lol
@@MKF30 Hahaha! Oh man I just played Battletoads the other day for the first time in forever and good lord was I getting frustrated lol!
@@RetroComparisons Oh really? haha that's funny. I bet I can picture RetroComparisons getting mad! haha. Yeah that game is considered top 3 hardest NES game(if not game like ever lol) to beat. Could be debatable I suppose but almost everyone I've encountered who's a Gen X or Millennial gamer agrees that it's top 3 or top 5 hardest game lol
@@MKF30 Haha oh yeah totally. Everyone I've ever met who's played it has had that same frustrating experience.
I'm giving them a tie.
I'm torn. The arcade is better in most ways but is hard as hell. I'd go through like $10 in quarters in 5 minutes.
Me gusta ambos
Me too. I think I prefer the arcade overall but I found it to be harder.
@@RetroComparisons feliz año nuevo a seguir jugando más de segaaaaa
Screw it, I love the golden tanks. James Bond and his little golden gun never felt so impotent before.
Here, at least, is an enemy army that takes their job seriously; just ask every critic complaining about the home port's difficulty.
Plus, you have to admit you get way more high contrast pixels peppered all over the screen. As anyone with a passion for design will tell you, negative space is the enemy of positive thinking!
I missed seeing all that manly Genesis stubble in these comparisons...
Those tanks really do have the golden gun with their one hit kills BS. I'd hate to see what their country's military spending looks like with tanks like that.
Flying Shark is one of my fav shooters of all time. Strangely enough I never played Twin Cobra although they are totally sister games.
The Arcade version def brings back memories playing Flying Shark!
The Genesis looks like a butchered version.. Holy hell.. lol
Winner:
Arcade
A shame I have never played this one, I will need to fire up the Arcade version fo sho! I would assume it plays similar to many Toaplan shmups, when you die it takes you back in hell with no power ups lol.
Good stuff man and nice job as always!
Thanks buddy! Lol oh yes, this is another one of those shooters that punishes you harshly for having the nerve to die. Still though considering how much you like and how good you are at these types of games I think you'll like the arcade port a lot. The Genesis version is a little easier so I'll give it points for that since it was a little less frustrating getting the footage lol
@@RetroComparisons Another mystery where nobody agrees which version is hardest? I really wish it was possible to record people playing these two and the Toki games, just to understand how playstyle affects the challenge?
@@juststatedtheobvious9633Interesting view. I am not familiar with either version but will give both a good run this weekend. It does look like the speedier copter in the Genesis version will make it easier.
The copter in the arcade is slower but not as bad as the plane in Flying Shark, and dying is not brutal as the game keeps going rather than skips back to last checkpoint like many Toaplan shmups! More to come this weekend! I am having a lot of fun with Twin Cobra for the arcade and on level 2 with some frustration of running into planes lol....
@@juststatedtheobvious9633 That's a great point. I have no skill but it would be interesting to see how people play that are actually good at these games.
@@mikec3260 Lol! Oh there's going to be a lot of running into planes in this. Fortunately you're not punished as hard as something like Truxton but I felt like once I died I was screwed. Of course that could have been a mental thing as I had played Truxton, this and Twin Hawk back to back to back. Keep me posted on what you think if you keep playing it.