Solder the Hedgehog

After ten thousand years, I'm free! It's time to... uh, update this blog.

Emboldened by my successes with previous electronics projects (repairing a JoyCon last week, and unlocking a stubborn smartphone the week before), I finally worked up the courage to order a replacement battery for my Dreamcast. I just finished the installation, and I'm pleased to say that the operation went smoothly, with no major crap ups. Removing the fan cable from the controller PCB was the hardest part... pulling out the connector proved stressful, as the port on the board wriggled with every tug. I was worried that I'd tear the damned thing off the board completely, but careful use of a pair of tweezers and pliers kept things where they needed to be. Desoldering the old coin battery proved far easier... it was as if the worn out cell was ready for retirement, and slipped off the board with little resistance.

This little mofo is gonna give you trouble.
(image from iFixit)

Now my Dreamcast has a fresh battery, and a holder that will make future swaps a snap. Preliminary testing has been encouraging... the system retains the time even after being unplugged from the power strip and reconnected, so I should never again be reminded of its (and my) advanced age.

It's a good thing, too, as I suspect I'll be spending more time with the Dreamcast thanks to the releases of Force Five and KenJu. I'm rather fond of the first game, a slightly wonky Virtua Fighter clone that nevertheless impresses by running at a brisk clip and offering features other fighting games don't. Case in point: projectiles often have unpredictable trajectories, with one character's fireball bouncing along the floor and another being pulled behind the fighter like it was loaded into a slingshot, before launching at the opponent. The game eventually reached Japanese arcades as Jingi Storm with an unwelcome hentai makeover, but I like it just the way it is here.

Tough games... demand tough talk, demand
tough hearts, demand tough souls, demand!
(image from Sega Sky)

I wish I were more enthused about KenJu. It's closer in design to Street Fighter II, but it's even more like Rival Schools, with the same off-puttingly stiff feel. Beyond that, some of the play mechanics are hard to grasp, like the the namesake KenJu Kakusei. See, there's a meter below the health bars that works like the tug of war bar in World Heroes' Death Match mode... land hits on an opponent and it fills with your color. Get it completely full by dominating the match and you can perform a rapid-fire flurry of punches and kicks for about five seconds. It's similar to the Variable Attack in Street Fighter Alpha 3 or the Exceed mode in Street Fighter EX 2, but you've got less control over when it happens. The air launcher likewise feels awkward and impractical, with you mashing buttons to score hits after the opponent is sent skyward. It's free so there's no harm in playing it... just know that in a sea of great Dreamcast fighters, KenJu is unlikely to be one of your favorites.

Hm, what else should I mention? Oh yes, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt recently died. I didn't spend a lot of time reading that magazine, but I did enjoy his other publication, Video Games and Computer Entertainment, along with its spin-off Tips and Tricks. (And yes, I definitely was reading them for the articles.) Also, someone released a Vectrex version of Warblade, a hectic shooter previously known as Deluxe Galaga. Frankly, I'm amazed this old machine can handle it, but somehow it manages, filling the screen with bugs, bombs, and bonus prizes.

Vectorblade, designed by Vide Malban.
The Germans seem to have a weird
fascination with the Vectrex. No, I don't
get it. No, I don't understand the
Hasselhoff thing, either.
(image from Retro Gaming Magazine)

You can run this either on a standard issue Vectrex or a Pitrex, which is evidently a Raspberry Pi connected to the Vectrex through the cartridge port, which runs Vectrex games using a Vectrex emulator. On the Vectrex. I need to sit down for a moment; that last sentence gave me a headache.