Livin' on Channel Z

How many of these ports, switches,
dials, and gizmos on the front are
there just for show? I presume the
floppy drives are phony, at least.
(image from the Zuiki Twitty-
er, Twitter)

In case there was any doubt at all, Zuiki recently confirmed that the X68000 Mini, or should I say, the X68000Z, is a real thing that's really happening, and really soon. They've been coy about the specifics beyond the images that have already leaked online, but Zuiki will be offering more information about their shrunken down super computer on October 8th.

With this in mind, it's the perfect time to speculate about what will be on this thing! The suspicion is that Zuiki will stick to titles that are easy to start (and not every X68K title is) and whose licenses they can procure fairly easy. What that means are a bunch of arcade titles from "cheap date" game publishers; most likely the wealth of games by Jaleco (now City Connection) but also possibly Taito and Namco. Konami and Capcom are the biggest names associated with the original X68000, but due to their recent involvement with other mini-consoles, they may not be willing to get their hands dirty with this one. However, since those two companies published the bulk of the killer apps for the system, Zuiki will likely work extra hard to get them onboard the X68000Z train.

What I'd like to see on the system could be quite different from what we actually get due to the aforementioned licensing issues and the Japanese appetite for role-playing games. Nevertheless, here's a handful of X68K titles I think would be welcome additions to the Z.

CHO REN SHA X68K

YouTube replayers like Shuhalmo
make Cho Ren Sha look easy, but it's
about as easy as the nuclear war
it so closely resembles.

This indie shooter is an absolute must, and Zuiki needs to move heaven and earth to guarantee its inclusion on the Z. It's kind of plain on the surface, looking like the caravan shmups that were popular in Japan through the 1990s, but there's nuance hidden beneath the minimalist gameplay... fly into a ring of power ups and you'll collect them all, if you've got the nerves of steel to stay inside it as the screen fills with fleets of ships and their bullets. Some boss fights even let you trick your enemies into blasting themselves with the massive plasma balls meant for you! Past the clever twists and some pumpin' synth tunes, Cho Ren Sha is the explode-iest shooter on the X68K, with bombs bursting in air and scrap metal flying past at any given moment. Set off a smart bomb and things really get hectic! (Go ahead. You know you want to.)

AKUMAJOU DRACULA/CASTLEVANIA CHRONICLES

A Castlevania game most Americans haven't played, at least until the release of the Playstation port Castlevania Chronicles many years later? Don't mind if I do! Presented as a retelling of the original game in the series, Akumajou Dracula steps the graphics up to top shelf 16-bit quality and swaps out some of the stages for new ones. The new levels aren't as good as the ones from the first Castlevania, with a raft-bound battle against a dragon skeleton being particularly aggravating, but props to Konami for serving up something fresh rather than giving X68K owners a predictable rehash. The game has the distinct feel of a long-lost sequel to Super Castlevania IV, something fans who didn't like Bloodlines on the Genesis will appreciate.

NEMESIS KAI '90

No Moai heads in Stage 1, but you get these
ugly customers instead.
(image from STG-SLK)

A Gradius game most Americans haven't played? Like, anywhere? Oh Konami, you spoil me! Like Akumajou Dracula, Nemesis Kai '90 isn't entirely original, borrowing its stages from the MSX version of Gradius II, but the graphics are considerably improved, and there's a novel play mechanic that rewards you with more devastating weapons if you're able to squeeze your ship past the defenses of the stage boss and into its vulnerable core. It's early 1990s Konami, so don't expect an easy go of it.

BOSCONIAN

This is one of those arcade titles on the X68000 that was blessed with an enhanced mode, offering new stages and the rich, vibrant graphics you'd normally expect to see on the Super NES. The option to play the game in its original 8-bit form is available, but if you're going to hunt down space stations while swatting away pesky swarms of enemy ships, you might as well do it in style. An enhanced X68K-exclusive mode is also available in Namco's other shooter Super Xevious, and you can pretty much count on its inclusion with the system, given Japan's enduring fondness for that series.

GRANADA

Sure, you've played it on the Genesis, and will get a chance to play it again on the Sega Genesis Mini 2 once that arrives next month. However, you've never played Granada with this soundtrack, an intense collection of synth tunes that instantly bring the television show Airwolf to mind. It adds a lot of ambience to this exciting search and destroy mission, set in (and occasionally above) the war-torn wastelands of Africa. One stage sets your tank on top of a flying fortress many times its size, and tasks you with taking out each of the massive aircraft's jet engines. You'd better hope you have an escape plan for when all those engines are destroyed, because it's a long way down... 

ARKANOID: REVENGE OF DOH
also, CAMELTRY

The X68000 has no hardware scaling
and rotation, but somebody forgot to
tell Taito that.
(image from PipiTan/YouTube)

Hey, they've got to have at least a couple games to justify that crazy mouse/trackball hybrid, and these two Taito arcade classics should fit the bill. Revenge of DOH is the sequel to the familiar, futuristic brick breaker, and while its new features (including a Twin power-up that doubles the effective size of the Vaus, while leaving a precarious gap in the middle) make the game more aggravating than the original Arkanoid, it will nevertheless give that mouse a proper workout. Same goes for Cameltry, a fast-paced trip through a surreal labyrinth, with the player rotating the maze to speed a marble along to the goal, dodging time penalty squares and other hazards along with way.

BUBBLE BOBBLE

Home versions of Bubble Bobble are typically at least competent, and this eclipses the already fondly regarded Commodore 64, NES, and Amiga versions. If you liked the cuddly characters and surprisingly nuanced action of the arcade game- and who doesn't, really?- you won't find much to complain about here. One odd hidden bonus is Sybubblen, a crossover that merges the bubble blowing dragons of Bubble Bobble with the metallic, flame-spitting space dragon from Syvalion. Nuts 'n gum, together at last!

DAIMAKAIMURA
aka GHOULS 'N GHOSTS

Those vultures are already thinking
about which sauce tastes best on knight.
(image from ISB/YouTube)

Look, you've played this spooky, if just slightly silly, platformer on a million different formats, but another one won't hurt, and it is a good sight more faithful to the arcade game than the Genesis version was. Ghouls 'n Ghosts makes a good showpiece for any console capable of handling it, and with its cutting-edge hardware, the X68000 is more than up to the challenge. 

(You might not be, though. Just sayin', this game is hard, even with the new magic attacks and multi-directional firing. At least this time, you can keep your quarters. Well, the ones you haven't already used to buy this system.)

GALAGA '88
aka GALAGA '90

Namco and the men from Dempa (not to be confused with The Denpa Men) team up to deliver yet another sterling arcade port on the X68000. It's pretty much exactly what it says on the tin; a flashier, more colorful sequel to Galaga where the insectoid enemies burst like fireworks and warp capsules can be collected that tear holes in the fabric of time and space, granting you access to alternate dimensions. And possibly resulting in the eventual collapse of the universe, I'm not sure. This game is notoriously difficult to run on emulators, typically leaving the player stranded on a loading screen, but I have little doubt Zuiki can find a way to circumvent this bug. It'll be up to you to squash all the other ones.

BUTASAN

There's the referee now, making sure this
death sport with explosives is conducted
fairly. I guess you get a red flag for using
a nuke or something.
(image from Vyze the Determined, who's
a cool guy despite my not liking his RPG.)

If you thought it was painful getting hit with dodgeballs in gym class, try playing the game with explosives! That's the core concept of Butasan, a chaotic battle with brightly colored swine hurling bombs at each other. You've got remarkable control over the length and trajectory of your throws... with practice, you can even ricochet bombs off the edges of the screen, taking your opponents by surprise. Alternately, you can just grab a gas mask and put all the other pigs to sleep, leaving them helpless to defend themselves. Hey, the ref says it's not cheating! After you've played a few rounds of this simple yet exhilarating action title, you'll learn to love the smell of napalm and bacon in the morning. 

TERRA CRESTA
with MOON CRESTA

Activate interlocks and connect dynatherms! It's time to tackle the Mandora army with your fleet of ships, which can either be merged for a concentrated blast, or spread out into a formation that fills the screen with sonic waves and other weapons of mass destruction. Collect them all and you can merge them into a flaming phoenix, burning all who dare come near to a crisp. As expected of the X68000, Terra Cresta is a damn near perfect port, but wait, there's more! You also get the considerably less impressive Moon Cresta, one of many early arcade titles that uses Namco's Galaxian hardware as the foundation for a shooter that's inferior to Galaxian. Don't complain... it's not like anyone is making you play it.

GAROU DENSETSU SPECIAL
aka FATAL FURY SPECIAL

Seriously, you can dip a dessert spoon
into Big Bear's shoulder.
(image from PipiTan/YouTube)

There are plenty of cost-conscious ways to play Fatal Fury Special, albeit with compromises to the graphics and sound. However, the X68000 offers the dubious distinction of giving you a less than perfect port of the Neo-Geo game on a system that's more expensive than a Neo-Geo. It's still a competent conversion with the same towering characters and overload of sherbet oranges and reds, even if the sound effects and especially the MIDI-based music seem like they're pulling a few punches. There are better versus fighting games on the X68000, but they're all some flavor of Street Fighter II, and really, haven't you played that to death already?

MAD STALKER: FULL METAL FORTH

This futuristic beat 'em up is a big surprise from Fill-In Cafe, which is better known for its long-running Asuka 120% series. Instead of a teenage girl with Popeye arms battling for schoolyard supremacy, you're a gleaming blue mech, stomping through the streets of Tokyo while sinking your hydraulic powered fists into rival robots and those annoying aerial drones that always seem just out of reach. Don't expect the complex combat scenarios and infinite customization of Armored Core... performing Street Fighter joystick motions for special attacks and playing footsie with the bosses is about as complicated as this joyously mindless action game gets. Imagine Final Fight if it had been directed by Masamune Shirow.