What blows my mind, though, is learning that my current favorite delivery pizza chain in Japan, Napoli no Kama ("Neapolitan Oven") -- from which yesterday's lunch was delivered, pictured below -- is just an alternate rebranding of Strawberry Cones. THEY STILL EXIST, AND ARE ACTUALLY SUPER GOOD NOW.
(paraphrased/translated) "Strawberries are delicate, easily damaged fruits shaped like hearts, representing the delicate hearts of our customers. And 'cone' sounds like 幸運 (ko-un), meaning 'good fortune.' Put them together, and you get Strawberry Cones."
A++. No notes. Perfect pizzeria name.
When I lived in rural Miyagi, Japan 25 years ago, there was only one pizza delivery place that actually serviced my location, and it was a rather mid-tier spot called... Strawberry Cones. And yes, they were specifically founded as a pizza place, with that name! Per their website:
(Actually, I guess it's referring to something XSEED ultimately chose NOT to publish, in which case I wouldn't technically be able to tell you what it is even if I could think of it... but I guess fortunately for me, I can't think of what game it could possibly be anyway! Heheh.)
I'm actually kind of stumped. Racking my brain trying to think of what game he might be referring to, and I'd probably be like, "Ohhh yeeeeah!" if somebody told me, but nothing's coming to mind at the moment. May have been something from before my time, potentially, given when this article is from.
Why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel? Heheh.
(I actually LOLed reading this. That was a superb rant!)
![Rob Hubbard - "Jet Set Willy" [Atari 8-bit] (Oscilloscope View)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gq2ibfp7dablp7smi3hfja3o/bafkreiee7xciqimoqgc5cmd6rp6ledi6mgxokfmfp2sa2r6kutaembam34)
Even outside the demoscene, though, the music on the Pokey chip is just ridiculous. This track may be a bit much for some people, but it's a Rob Hubbard classic, and I can't get it out of my head this week! Soooo good! www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZAD...
I honestly think it may be among my favorite sound chips. There's just something about its square wave crunchiness that really allows for some of the thumpiest, bassiest 8-bit tracks ever. The above-linked is probably my favorite, but this one also rules: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybje...
![[1440p test] Nils Feske (505) - "Gamma" [Atari 8-bit] (Oscilloscope View]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gq2ibfp7dablp7smi3hfja3o/bafkreiewvh6tved6jsphmvzbzatv3jul6rboohsstrski4hdzt3ahj6i7u)
Sometimes at work, when I'm doing more repetitive clerical tasks, I like to put on high-energy chiptune music in the background to help keep me awake and focused, and I've recently rediscovered my love of the Atari 8-bit line's Pokey chip for that purpose. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgBh...
The surprising part for me was that the chicken shown here was boneless -- just a huuuuge hunk of chicken, swimming in yummy fat and breaded to perfection! The waffle was fluffy too, and even the fries were absolutely perfect. Only real complaint is that they didn't provide quite enough syrup.
NGL, I was inordinately excited to try this place, more or less stalking their social media to find out exactly when they'd finally open so I could make a point of checking them out. And they did not disappoint! Every part of this meal was excellent... albeit VERY bad for me. ;)
Stomach's feeling a little heavy today. Maybe it was something I ate... such as my lunch at chicken and waffle specialty restaurant THE CHICKENS, which had its grand opening just down the road from me here in Kichijoji TODAY! ;)
Like, being able to warp to other levels right from the get-go. Why? There's literally never any reason to do that, and it only serves to make everything a lot more confusing until you realize that's what's happening and just... avoid doing it. ;)
Yeah, I've got those both as well, cart-only, and they're decent enough games. Youkai Yashiki just feels a bit more substantial to me, and I kind of like that it was doing the "photograph yokai to kill them" thing long before Fatal Frame. Though some of the gameplay elements are admittedly strange.
Really? This one too?! I mean, it's no problem, it's just really surprising to me that this wouldn't already have been scanned by now -- or that anyone would even care. ;)
Game is a clunker to be sure, but still worth playing if you can adjust to that, as it does do some pretty interesting things.
Bonus, if you're not an MSX collector, there's also a version of it for Famicom Disk System -- an updated version, at that! Quite significantly!
Casio games are no-frills, so I wouldn't have bought this if it weren't dirt cheap. But I'm glad to own it, as this is PROBABLY their best MSX game? Arguably? But without the extremely direct hints in the manual, you wouldn't have known how to beat some of the bosses -- or even get to one of them!
Finally, I also got a new CIB MSX game this week! Though I've actually owned this game for like 10 years -- just, cart-only. Which always felt particularly incomplete due to how essential the manual is for this game... or was back in its day, anyway.
It's Casio's Youkai Yashiki, a.k.a. Ghost House!
The former Warren Robinett easter egg room now serves as the entrance to a Pac Man-inspired minigame that tasks you with collecting all the dots in the black castle garden maze while dodging a dragon, which I found to be a rather nice touch!
The MSX remake very faithfully recreates all 3 game modes from the original 2600 game, but adds additional modes that allow you to play a whole new, absolutely wild level featuring some really fun, tricky terrain that feels like the best sort of organized chaos. Additionally...
(Continued from previous post) Ultimately, when it comes to updating Adventure, my favorite iterations thus far have been an old MS-DOS remake of it called "Indenture" that added hundreds of new screens and several new castles, as well as this (very limited-edition) Brazilian MSX remake from 2023.
On top of that, the bridge is now REQUIRED to access certain areas, which is fine for game mode 1 and fine-ish for game mode 2, but a potential RNG nightmare for game mode 3.
All told, the changes to Adventure rob it a bit of its fun IMHO, replacing it with mostly just... frustration.
That new dragon behavior! That's the Achilles' heel here. Dragons are faster and more aggressive, and now swallow you pretty much the moment they touch you -- there's NO pushing past them. They also ALL immediately run if the sword is on-screen, making the sword more deterrent than weapon.
So, yeah. Second game I got was Adventure Plus -- a rom hack of what I consider to be the best Atari 2600 game of all time (and it's not even close!). This one includes entirely new levels, updated graphics, and new dragon behavior. Which all sounds good on paper... but...
The second game I got... was a rom hack, rather than a completely original game. I'll be discussing that one in a separate thread, as I expected it to be something kind of great, but I'm a bit disappointed with it in the end. Stay tuned!
It's basically the closest thing to Legend of Zelda dungeons that I've yet seen on the Atari 2600, with procedurally generated levels that include trap rooms, enemies of varying difficulty, switches, power-ups, and even bosses! By 2600 standards, it's quite sophisticated.
Took almost 3 months, but my AtariAge order finally arrived yesterday, containing two new 2600 homebrew games for my Atari 7800+. The first of them, which I bought with the optional (made-to-order) instruction manual, is Deepstone Catacomb, which may be the best 2600 game I own!
I'm curious if this one will actually last, or if it'll be another test-market or seasonal flash-in-the-pan beverage offering that disappears from shelves in a couple months. This one seems to have a bigger marketing push, so maybe they intend to make it a new staple! Place your bets, I suppose. ;)
Flavor-wise, it's... intimidating. It tastes most heavily of... black cherry and grape soda, maybe? With a little cough syrup for good measure? ;) I wasn't sure about it on the first sip, but after downing a bottle, I actually think I'm a fan! Bought a couple more bottles since.
Beverage giant Suntory has released a new soda in Japan called NOPE, labeled a "guilty tonic" and boasting "99 enchanting fruits and spices"... and sticking out like a sore thumb in the drink aisle here, since nothing else looks quite like it!