RetroGameClub #5 - Twinkle Tale (Mega Drive)

Sayo

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The concept behind this thread is quite simple, one (or more) game(s) are chosen and you are all invited to play till completion (or at least as far as you can) and we use this thread to discuss the game and anything relating to it.
The deadline for this current thread is that of 14 day given that the holiday season is right around the corner and people might have less time to play.
  • A game is chosen (suggestions are encouraged)
  • It can be a game for any retro console or computer, if it's something like a modern port or decompilation that's okay too
  • Preferably lesser known titles instead of something everyone has already played
  • Play the game till completion or at least as far as you can get in the game
  • Use any means to play the game, be it emulation or real hardware
  • Links will be provided, preferably from RetroGameTalk, if the game is not available here, I can 'curate' it for the site.
  • If you are using save states or similar, please be honest and disclose it. It's fine to use any means to clear the game but try giving yourself a challenge first.
For this fifth entry we will be playing an awfully underrated Mega Drive shooting game known as Twinkle Tale, as suggested by our fellow RGT poster @ATenderLad
This is a game that flew under everyone's radar back when it came out and has struggled to gain any notoriety even in the years since, it's a cute 'em up not unlike the Cotton series but with a top-down view, similar to titles like Ikari Warriors, certain stages of the Contra series or Square's King's Knight. An immediate standout point for the game is its fantastic soundtrack that does some great use of the Mega Drive's FM capabilities, another thing you'll notice is its brisk pace and challenge, although nothing particularly out of the ordinary for its time, you are also welcome to choose any difficulty setting to play with if challenge is a point of contention.
Some links of interest
  • Hardcore Gaming 101 article about Twinkle Tale
  • Twinkle Tale's soundtrack on Youtube
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Delightful! Sorry in advance to anyone who doesn't like it. (I think it's pretty good though, just finished it this morning.)

One thing to note, the shadows in the game were designed to be blended together on CRT's, so on a monitor it'll look like this:
1734839329749.png

If it bothers you, and you're using Retroarch, an NTSC shader can straighten that out.
1734839375212.png

The one I went with was Patchy-GenplusGX, I like the rainbow-ish RGB bands it adds, one of my TV's as a kid looked like that.
 
Delightful! Sorry in advance to anyone who doesn't like it. (I think it's pretty good though, just finished it this morning.)

One thing to note, the shadows in the game were designed to be blended together on CRT's, so on a monitor it'll look like this:
View attachment 5799
If it bothers you, and you're using Retroarch, an NTSC shader can straighten that out.
View attachment 5800
The one I went with was Patchy-GenplusGX, I like the rainbow-ish RGB bands it adds, one of my TV's as a kid looked like that.
Thanks for the heads up, although I think you having already completed the game will be of great help to other posters if you are willing to help ::biggrin
I'll have to look into Mednaffe's shader settings, I certainly do like me some NTSC blending. I'll try to start playing either later today or tomorrow, given that I am pretty busy, which is one of the main purposes behind this thread, giving me and others a certain motivation and 'force' to clear games.

Also what's up with shmups with cute anime girls and them being sort of hidden gems in their respective platforms, Cotton, Magical Chase and now this...LOL
 
Thanks for the heads up, although I think you having already completed the game will be of great help to other posters if you are willing to help ::biggrin
Absolutely, I'll see if I can't write up what I thought of it here with some screens I grabbed of stages and bosses. The biggest tip? Use the third type of shot, the homing missiles. It'll make life easier for the first half of the game at least.
I'll try to start playing either later today or tomorrow, given that I am pretty busy, which is one of the main purposes behind this thread, giving me and others a certain motivation and 'force' to clear games.
Couldn't agree more, I've cleared more retro games in the last week for threads like this than I have in a month.

As to that last point, you're not wrong, if I had to pick a hidden gem on the Neo Geo, I would go with Twinkle Star Sprites!
 
Absolutely, I'll see if I can't write up what I thought of it here with some screens I grabbed of stages and bosses. The biggest tip? Use the third type of shot, the homing missiles. It'll make life easier for the first half of the game at least.
Thanks for the tip, I'll make sure to keep it in mind as soon as I begin to play.
Couldn't agree more, I've cleared more retro games in the last week for threads like this than I have in a month.
I'm glad to hear that, for me personally these threads have brought back the excitement to play and finish games I once had when I was younger, that certain drive, the gratification of clearing a difficult boss and seeing the ending. It takes me back to my first time clearing Mega Man.
As to that last point, you're not wrong, if I had to pick a hidden gem on the Neo Geo, I would go with Twinkle Star Sprites!
I absolutely love that game and what a coincidence that you bring it up, since I bought the Steam release of it recently because I felt like owning a piece of SNK history. Have you seen the PS2 sequel known as Twinkle Star Sprites: La Petite Princesse? The Touhou game Phantasmagoria of Flower View is also quite similar.
 
Played the game, got to the 2nd boss so far. Really cool shmup with interesting game mechanics and good sega genesis style music
 

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