Ah, the cartridge, truly a thing of beauty. I keep a bookcase full of NES carts in my living room, right by the TV, just because. I honestly haven’t played them in ages but anytime I’m at a used game shop I will almost always pick up a few. I think I have like eight copies of Castlevania (greatest cover art of all time by the way (darkest rainbow ever)). For me, I find comfort just knowing that they are near; not to mention that I am banking on carts being used for currency in the post apocalypse. I will be eating that “good” rat meat sandwich.
When it comes to carts, the bigger the better and if you are locked in enough to be reading this site, chances are you know and love the king of the giant carts: the NEO-GEO. If you haven’t spent hours jamming on Metal Slug 3, Blazing Star, Mark of the Wolves or the worlds most user friendly fighter, Breakers Revenge, then you my friend, are not a man.
I will always love the Neo.
However, maybe because I always root for the little guy, my heart belongs to another proprietor of the giant cartridge, one with exceptional heart and spirit. The Taiwanese masters, International game system or IGS.
Back in 1997, long after the 330 mega shock of the Neo Geo had rocked the world, western arcades were slowly starting to fade away and 3D was running the game with a giant, squared-off fist. Despite it all, the obviously “I don’t give a fuck” dudes over at IGS launched one ultra-tight piece of hardware: the PGM (PolyGame Master for those in the know). The PGM is basically a souped up Neo-Geo with a lot of horse power dedicated to 2D graphics. The carts are pretty much exactly the size the NEO’s but are transparent red, which makes them look super clean hanging out in your collection.
The PGM’s launch was a little weak, with a Mahjong game named “Dragon World” and some decent but slightly uninspired beat em’ ups: “Knights of Valor” and “Oriental Legend.” The first few years of the PGM were a bit slow as well, a few sequels to “Knights of Valor” and photo booth game that ran on the PGM hardware called “Photo Y2K.” I highly doubt any of the first year titles made it to western arcades.
However, in 2000 the boys over at IGS first showed us how they really do it in Taiwan with their first masterpiece: Demon Front. There is no denying that Demon Front is a Metal Slug clone, but in many ways I actually would say it’s better and certainly superior to all those god-awful Playmore sequels.
The first thing you will notice about Demon Front is the graphics. (I don’t say “visuals,” cuz it don’t pop, so get over it.) The opening demo sequence flashes with bright and imaginative character art filling the entire screen and begging you to start popping in the credits. The design is whimsical and charming, sort of a blend of SNK and Capcom’s styles but at the same time unique. All the sprites are solid. Well animated characters, beautifully rendered backgrounds, huge bosses, and awesome explosions are all done with grace and excellent craftsmanship. It’s clear the IGS team knows what they are doing when it comes to dot art; it also speaks to what a great piece of 2d hardware the PGM is.
Demon Front’s game play is tight and focused, loud, and full of punch. Each of the three hero characters can fly, or glide rather, off of any jump; so you spend a good portion of the game floating while blasting out on the fire button. There is a lack of grenades but in their place you get a “familiar” (little animal buddy) that floats along side your character and gives them a special attack and shield option, which is an interesting and unique element. The maps are filled with tons of hidden areas and items which affect the form that the final boss takes depending on how many you have found. I mean, a totally new sprite set and attack pattern, tell me that’s not hot.
If you love your Slug you will love Demon Front. Quote me on that brah.
Just a year later, in 2001, IGS released what is honestly one of my top five fighting games: Martial Masters. The game was developed by Andamiro, a Korean company that has only developed DDR rip-offs since. However, it is the quintessential PGM title, dripping with style and maxed out in heart.
It’s interesting; Martial Masters is one of the only fighting games I can think of with such a heavy Chinese Kung-Fu vibe. It feels distinctly un-Japanese. All the characters seemed to have stepped right out of a Shaw Brothers film. I am really surprised, with the wealth of inspiration available from those classic movies, that more fighting games have not latched to that style.
The graphics are on point as hell, a very pleasing blend of Street Fighter Alpha and Third Strike. Slightly muted colors in the backgrounds with rich vibrant color on the characters, a technique used by other fighters but never quite this effectively. What really sets the game off is the animation. It is out of control good, really smooth and precise, right up there with the best shit Capcom has ever done. Seriously, I would not front on that.
Game play is silky smooth as well: big combos with good damage buffering, tons of throw and counter options, supers, overheads, fast but not too fast, everything you would and expect from a triple “A” Capcom or SNK joint and then some. All the characters are fun to play with too, which is rare. You can really tell the team put just as much thought and hard work into the play mechanics as they did into the exceptional design and animation.
I can think of two situations over at Andamiro that could produce a game as awesome as Martial Masters with what must have been the crushingly small budget they had. First: dudes got beat, beat and yelled at. I can imagine a guy in a Korean military uniform just going down the line of cubicles smacking the shit out of the animators (maybe two, three dudes) with a bamboo cane “NOT PERFECT ANIMATION, YOU MAKE PERFECT OR YOU NO GO HOME TONIGHT!” The second and probably more accurate theory is that IGS has crazy heart. They wanted to run with the big dogs. They saw Street Fighter and said, “I can do that, I can do that better!” and they damn near did. Either way, the guys put in overtime.
On top of those two classics, either of the two meriting the purchase of the hardware, the PGM has some other killer games. Dodondonpachi II: Bee Storm, is a solid shmup, Gladiator is a complex and well designed beat ‘em up, Killing Blade is a great weapons based fighter and the Knights of Valor games really are fun, just not as jaw droppingly cool as some of the other games.
If you are anything like me and love great arcade games, and respect the wonder of the cart, you really need to jump on Ebay and pick up a PGM. Once the first shiny red cart finds its way to your doorstep you will be hooked.
* In 2006 IGS released a press packet for their new hardware the PGM 2; I got the news early and nearly pissed myself. There has only been one game released so far for the PGM 2 and it’s an oriental legends sequel. Let’s hope Martial Masters 2 is on the way!!!
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