Share your VO experience or history

Discuss the Virtual-On series.
jamtero
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by jamtero »

My first experience was with moongate back in '98 I think at a buddies house. It was on a demo disk or something but we both knew there was nothing like it. We played the hell out of that demo. Later on I remember hearing about VOOT and catching an article here and there on it online.

It wasnt until college when i decided to pick up a dreamcast to kill some time and play shmups that I got my VOOT on. Still only had the same friend who would play it and occasionally my roommates would indulge me with a match but they just didnt get it. Hence I never got all that good at it and the mystery and magic of those damn twin sticks made me feel like I was always missing out.

So years would go buy and I'd play a match here and there and track prices on sticks occasionally and just recently did it come to my attention that people are still playing it on xbla. The idea that I can play some actual people instead the cpu was enough for me to take the plunge on some sticks and an xbox. Kind of an impulse thing really, but whatever, I dig the game and hope it stays strong and attracts more people. There really isnt anything like it. In over a decade of games, nothing.
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Razgriz450
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by Razgriz450 »

My first experience with VOOT is playing the arcade OMG in this place in Houston called Mountasia. I was very small, eight or nine i think, so i didn't really know what i was doing, all i knew was i liked the pretty robots, especially Cypher. Then we moved and I didn't have a way to play it... Until the DC and VOOT came out, me and my brother both grabbed it and i started playing more and more. Still not playing competitively and only knowing about RW, LW, and CW. Eventually my brother sold the DC for a PS1... I got so pissed... but i moved on. Lost contact with virtual on for all this time. Then we got another DC and VOOT as well so i started playing, and got a little competitive. Then came VOOT on XBLA which i got just a few days ago. Thanks to a certain someones beginner videos have started to finally play the game for real.

I want to give out special thanks to Schooly D for your amazing beginner videos!

I'm almost always up for a match if i'm on XBOX. You can find my GT in the GT section of the forum.
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MasterFygar
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by MasterFygar »

I just realized I never posted my history!

Sometime from 1998-2001, a little skating rink in West Virginia got a VOOM machine. My cousin worked there and was considered the king of said game, so I wanted to try it too as I was obsessed with robots. At the time the graphics were breathtaking, and though they wanted 1.00 a play I constantly saved my quarters to play the game and get pwned at it. I could get up to Dorkas and I beat him ONCE, as I sucked then and my cousin wouldn't teach me how to play (no, seriously, I tried to figure it all out from scratch) but I loved playing it. The cockpit design cabinet was one I had never seen before, and the cabinet was cranked up to full volume to contrast with the heavy rock blaring in the background. When a VR exploded, you felt the explosion tremor through your body from the sound. It was a true experience. I never could beat my cousin, though, unfortunately.

Later my cousin got a Dreamcast I played all the time, but we never knew Virtual On came out on it. We couldn't remember the name of the game from the marquee, as we though the Japanese writing was the name of the game and "Virtual On" was a subtitle or something. We never thought to Google "Virtual On", just "giant robot japanese arcade game". And we never got any results.

Aaaanyway, the rink closed, and bye bye went the VOOM machine. No clue what happened to it, I wasn't in town when the place closed so I was helpless. It reopened a few years back sans the VOOM machine, but that was the end of the legacy.

Fast forward to 2006ish. I have moved but my cousin is in town briefly so we have dinner. At this point I remembered the game as being so amazing I honestly thought I had dreamed it up and it had never existed, but he remembers it too. All I can remember is that the controls are complicated, between screens a diagram is shown with flashing lights, there's a scary voice announcing everything and the robots exit a hangar into the sun, and one of the levels (airport) has a sunset background. And that they shoot lots of missiles. I also vividly remembered a cutscene where a black Viper II descends from the sunset and dramatically touches down in the middle of the arena, but I think I fabricated that from seeing Viper jump on airport, haha. Anyway, we end up looking up various bits of what we remember on the web and run across a YouTube video of VOOM and we both go "THAT'S IT!" in unison. So then I start a mission: I'm going to find a VOOM machine. By this time my gaming has escalated from a hobby to a lifestyle (my house is covered in video game posters, nintendo standees, and a Ms. Pac Man arcade machine), so the idea of a VOOM machine in my house doesn't seem too farfetched.

I search frantically for a VOOM machine, and along the way pick up a Dig Dug, Pole Position, Super Mario Bros. Pinball, Pokemon Snap Station, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong Jr... the arcade grows but something falls through with every VOOM deal that comes up. I find one for cheap in Michigan and get my friend to take me in his truck... but his truck is inspected the next day and is found to be in horrible shape, and the inspector tells him under no circumstances can he haul more than 900 or so pounds. VO weighs 1200. Bummer.

Along the way early 2009 I pick up Marz and play it. It sucks horribly, but I enjoy learning the gameplay again. I actually become decent at gameplay.

Circa August I find an OMG cab at a Laser Tag in Richmond. Bad graphical glitches on left side, but good condition overall. I offer the owners 1000 for it, my full Virtual On fund. They want 1100. No deal, I don't have 1100. Sorry, they say, we can't afford to let it go for any less because it makes so much money blablabla. Hilariously enough, I returned to that location a couple of days back and the owners took the machine back into storage because "it makes no money". Bet they wish they had taken my 1000 for a machine with a bad board now ;)

I'm disappointed, but soon December comes. I get a PM from my friend Auric on his own website, Aurcade.com. He tells me to call him right away. I do so, he's at an arcade auction and they have a VOOM cab there. It's go time.

A little haggling with the owner (not really, my first offer was accepted =P) and I get the cab for 800 shipped to my door. It's in decent shape cosmetically, runs perfectly, but... it isn't linked. They cut the cord when they took it to auction to transport it. Just resplice it, they say. One problem. You can't splice optical cable.

So after they sent me a replacement and I got a bunch of the guys to help me rip the seats off to get into the wiring, it is connected and works great. The quest is over!

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(I've since fixed the left marquee light, by the way.)

And then, six days ago, I bought a 360 and VOOT to try it out. Now I'm addicted to VOOT even if I'm not good yet. I've pretty much mastered VOOM (I can beat it on max difficulty without continuing and beat all who challenge me) and now I'm attempting to get as good as VOOT. It's been fun so far, aside from Phong Wang and his cronies consistently harassing me on XBL because they hate Oratan and I have "frieds" here, but so far it's way worth it because of the great Oratan people. Seriously, you guys are awesome at the game and willing to help me become awesome, and I really appreciate it.

I'm looking forward to Force coming out and possibly VO5! Keep your fingers crossed, Sega's making a new arcade board and Watari has already expressed interest but was turned down when Marz flunked. Well, VOOT is the best selling XBLA game of all time in Japan (and doing well in America) and if Force has good performance too... we can only hope. I've already planned out a space in the garage :) Also my cousin is coming down soon... time for revenge :lol:
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chunkypuff31
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by chunkypuff31 »

MasterFygar wrote:By this time my gaming has escalated from a hobby to a lifestyle (my house is covered in video game posters, nintendo standees, and a Ms. Pac Man arcade machine), so the idea of a VOOM machine in my house doesn't seem too farfetched.
MasterFygar wrote:I search frantically for a VOOM machine, and along the way pick up a Dig Dug, Pole Position, Super Mario Bros. Pinball, Pokemon Snap Station, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong Jr...
:shock:

...

Remind me to come over your house sometime. :)
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Dinkleseed
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by Dinkleseed »

My good friend MasterFygar got me into VO. I started with the arcade original, (I think) and have wanted to get into the series a bit more ever sense. I play the the first arcade version a good hour, hour and a half strait or more when ever I go over to Fygar's house (yes, he has one at his house).
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T1BillionX
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by T1BillionX »

Well hello everyone, I'm T1. I got into VO back in 96. I walked into my usual arcade place and saw the VO machine I played it once and I was hooked. I blew $30 or $40 on the game at $1 a pop until I beat it. Then shortly after that it came out on the Saturn and I immedeately got the game. It was fun but without the twin sticks it put a little damper on the game. A few years later in '99 I saw a set of Twin Sticks in an import shop for a decent price. I knew the guy who owned shop so I ended up getting them for cheap because he said he couldn't get anyone to buy them. So I played on the Saturn with Twin Sticks for the first time and I got that same feeling when I played in the arcade three years earlier.

Not soon after that the Dreamcast came out. In December of that year I managed to snag an import copy of OT for the DC but I couldn't get the Twin Sticks. It took almost 6 years to get a set of sticks for the Dreamcast and I go them off Ebay. I only got to play VOOT in the arcade on one occasion and I spent $35 that time. I believe it was the Naomi version too it had the three extra VRs.

Fast forward to last year VOOT comes out on XBL and I have no 360. Then I leaned Hori was goin to do Twin Sticks last year I was happy then I was able to get a set. I was pretty upset I didn't get to play VOOT again and online too. And now VO4 is on it's way to XBL and I still have no 360 or sticks. I know it's sad, but I will be getting a 360 soon and I'm still sorting out the stick situation. I'll see if still have any friends in Japan so I can get preorder in on the new sticks.

That's my VO history.

Nice to meet everyone so to speak.
MarianoRyu
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by MarianoRyu »

My story begins in September '99, where my brother got as a gift the PC version of Daytona U.S.A. Deluxe. Upon unpacking the game, I got hold of a SEGA catalog that came with it, and I was stunned at the amount of games that I actually wanted (Virtua Fighter 2 for example, Last Bronx, Sega Rally). Then I saw this huge blue robot (my good old friend Temjin) with something akin to a laser sword and I was like "WHAT THE HELL?", then read "Cyber Troopers: Virtual-On". A few months later I was desperately looking for it, and I got it from my parents as a gift for my 11th birthday in 2000. January 20th, midnight (the beginning of my birthday), I got the package and frantically opened it, holding the jewel box and reading the manual before playing it while waiting for my dad to come install the game (I didn't know how to install/uninstall back then LOL). January 20th, 9:00 AM, first thing I did in the morning was turn on the computer and play the game. Got my butt kicked by Belgdor (I was Temjin), but I thought "THIS IS AWESOME!". Have been playing it since. And I made it a point to fill my SEGA collection (Daytona Deluxe, Operation Moongate, Last Bronx, Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2) afterwards.

Then, living in Argentina, I got no further news from VO until I got hooked up to the 'net. I downloaded a OT .iso in 2007, and only found out about MARZ last year. I got it in Japanese and got until the Rose Sisters, then I gave up because I couldn't understand the plot, then got it again in English this year and played non-stop for two months until uploading my savegame to GameFAQs.
Temjin747K
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by Temjin747K »

I remember a couple or so years ago when I first played VOOM at the Silver Coin video arcade the mall. I played as Belgdor (because I thought he could fire a bazillion missiles) and I got my rear kicked by Dorkas. And I slowly got better and played as Temjin to be wise. I also remember that same year when I got a copy of VO MARZ.
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The World - 2.0
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by The World - 2.0 »

Hi everyone! I thought I'd share my unique Virtual On history with everyone here. I was introduced to the world of Virtual On, not through a Virtual On arcade machine, but through a Wikipedia article on another of my favorite Arcade Games: The House of the Dead. How did it happen? I'll tell you.

It was in the year 2007(or '08, I cant remember which). I was looking at the Wikipedia article for House of the Dead 4, when I noticed, under the "Trivia" heading, the following statement: "The dragon attacks of The World(*) are identical to those employed by an LLN Series Virtuaroid, "TA-17B Angelan WM," in the Sega action game, Virtual On." It was interesting, but not enough to make me research it further. However, I DID remember the name "Angelan."

(*) = The World is the name of the Final Boss of House of the Dead 4. It's second form uses Ice Dragons to attack the player. Just go to Youtube and search "House of the Dead 4 Final Boss." Trust me, you'll be very surprised by how similar The World's and Angelan's Ice Dragon attacks are.

Fast-Forward to the second quarter of last year. Curiosity finally gets the better of me. I looked at the Wikipedia article for House of the Dead 4. The "Trivia" heading is long gone, but as I said I remembered the name "Angelan." I looked up Angelan's name as well as Virtual On on Wikipedia, and learned that Angelan appears in 3 Virtual On games: VOOT, VO4, and VO: Marz. I decided to download a Dreamcast Rom Image of VOOT v5.45 (for nullDC). I booted up the image onto nullDC, started the game, and chose the "Watch" mode to see what the gameplay was going to be like. And sure enough when the VR selection screen appeared, there was a VR called "SGV-417-I Angelan"(I noticed later on that the model type was wrong, but I didn't care at the time). I chose Angelan as P1 and I chose Cypher as her opponent(I don't know why, I just did). I chose "6th Plant Satchel Mouth Blank Frank" as the stage. The match started, and when Angelan started using her Ice Dragon attacks, I was instantly hooked. The statement that had been on Wikipedia's HOTD4 article was definitely accurate. A couple dozen matches of Angelan Vs. Cypher later, I tried out the Single player story mode, but didn't have much luck, mainly because I was using a keyboard. I soon decided to expand on this amazing discovery.

Fast-Forward to June or July of last year. I got a copy of Virtual On Marz from Ebay, so that I could try it out. The gameplay was INSANELY tough, even on the lowest difficulty setting. In fact I STILL haven't been able to complete the game, even now, over a year later.

Fast-Forward to October of last year. I bought an Xbox 360 along with VOOT v5.66 on XBLA, in the hopes that I would have a better time with the controls. Now, in addition to watching computer vs. computer matches in "Observer" mode, I sometimes do the training mode to keep my piloting skills at a reasonable level. I also created 3 custom VRs using the "Customize" mode in the main menu. I also intend to get Virtual On Force when it comes out. That is, of course, if it doesn't have regional lockout.

So to sum it all up, the VR that I owe it all to for getting me hooked on Virtual On is SGV-417-I Angelan and her Ice Dragon attacks.

And that's my Virtual On history. Thanks for listening, everyone.
Last edited by The World - 2.0 on 07 Nov 2017, 13:20, edited 2 times in total.
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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MentholMoose
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by MentholMoose »

Very cool, you have an amazing memory! I have no clue about what VR or stage I used when I first played VOOT, or even when. :shock: I do know it was probably around the end of 1999, though, since I preordered the Japanese VOOT and Twin Sticks from NCS.
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chunkypuff31
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by chunkypuff31 »

The World - 2.0 wrote:"The dragon attacks of The World(*) are identical to those employed by an LLN Series Virtuaroid, "TA-17B Angelan WM," in the Sega action game, Virtual On."
The World - 2.0 wrote:And sure enough when the VR selection screen appeared, there was a VR called "SGV-417-I Angelan"(I noticed later on that the model type was wrong, but I didn't care at the time).
Actually, TA-17B is the model number of the Angelan from Virtual-On Marz.

And welcome to the forum! Nice to see some new faces. Hope to find you on VOOT!
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The World - 2.0
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by The World - 2.0 »

chunkypuff31 wrote:Actually, TA-17B is the model number of the Angelan from Virtual-On Marz.
I know. I didn't find that out until after I started playing Virtual-On Marz.
chunkypuff31 wrote:And welcome to the forum! Nice to see some new faces. Hope to find you on VOOT!
Thanks! :) But sadly, I've only got a silver membership with Xbox Live, meaning I don't have access to all the online multiplayer stuff on VOOT. And besides I'd probably just get my rear handed to me every time. So I think I'll just stick to fighting AI-controlled Virtuaroids instead. Hope that's ok with everyone.
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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guarayakha
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by guarayakha »

Looks like it's time for me to give this a shot...

Part1- The Introduction
It was late 1997, when I'm still 13 and just got my first PC (with MMX!), so being a kid I was back then I went out looking for games specifically requiring MMX. Pirated PC softwares were the hot stuffs where I live at that time, so as I was browsing through hundreds of games to choose from, this particular game cover caught my eye:

Pardon the small image, this looks like one of the rare covers that comes with Sega PC...
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I was a big fan of Gundam, so naturally I bought it without a doubt.

And so, getting back home with my first (pirated)PC game purchased, I fired it up. The avi played, and I was so excited. Though that died rather quickly, since Dorkas was being such a huge prick(playing on Easy, 5 rounds DM). Frustration got the better of me and I left VO for a few months (while I finish up Megaman X3). That's when I consider giving VO another shot, this time single round with 30secs. And I won Dorkas easily, as well as the rest of the game. The excitement is back! :D

So off I go telling about my best pal about it (he was a CnC, Diablo fan), and while he probably not know wth I'm talking about, it sure leave quite an impression that he also mention about VO to another 2 friends from another class (whom I wasn't so familiar with, but we did get to talk about Gundams in our previous primary school). It turns out that they knew about VO on their rare trip to the arcades. Being quite the mech fans that we are, that kinda marked the birth of our friendship of 13 years. :oops:

Part2- The Sequel
So these 2 pals got me into setting a goal to visit the arcades after our final school exams of the year (Arcades were kinda off-limits to kids under 18, so it was quite a big deal for me). And so we did; apart from VO they also got me hooked on Time Crisis. This(after exams arcade trips) last for a couple of years till 1999, when we were done with an important exam for us secondary schoolers. After rounds of OMG and Time Crisis, we were quite out of cash for more games, so it time to go home. So we walked past this large crowd of spectators circling around MvsC2, and a poster caught my eye...it was OT Temjin (Learned about OT during its beta testing in Singapore thru the interwebs), but the machine is no where to be found...WHAT? Man, I as excited and disappointed at the same time, till my friend spotted the familiar setup in a different section. Yes! VOOT is in the house! Being broke, we just got to look as other people play...sigh. And so we made it so we will have arcade trips every weekend, lol. This phase kinda lasts till our college days, but I do remember my first victory against Tangram was with Grys-Vok doing RTCW missile spams :D

Part3- Death of VOOT
The VOOT machine were under regular abuse from kids and hooligans, so the break easily. One point in time the management kinda decides to give up repairing the RNA side sticks, so naturally less people gets to play= less money collected= Machine gets removed. Man, what a bummer. Our arcade trip kinda lost its meaning there, but by then we were already otaku-level, so anything goes, and we move on to Soul Calibur 2. I did get myself a DC before that for my VOOT fix, so no worries there.

Part4- Lingering hobby
With constant touch with VO websites, news of a new VO game is certainly unmissable. VOForce landed in Japan, but knowing the local arcade scene where Initial D is king, it's kinda hard to imagine them getting a 2-vs-2 mecha game that not many would play. So the only exposure to Force we had was internet pictures, and random video clips.

Part5- VO zombie
Marz comes. Excited, did some FAQs. Long loading times. Got bored after a few months. Itchy. Tasty. :mrgreen:
*Though the PS2 Sega Ages VOOMG does ease my VO cravings)*


Part6- Life moves on
Year 2009++ So I got a job, VOOT is nothing but a memory and a dusty DC in my closet. While there are VOOT in arcades elsewhere, they were too far to warrant a constant weekend visits (Though I know I'm not rusty when I got to it, and promptly infects the highscores with my initials, haha!). And so, yeah, our time with VO was done...Then it happened. VOOT360, and you guys know the rest. Quite amazing to know that unlike other games, I can still remember how to execute all the attacks for all VRs after stopping for years.

So there you go, 13 years of my VO-related life.
supergoldzero
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by supergoldzero »

I played Operation Moongate for the first time on my uncle's Sega Saturn during the late 90's when I was a kid. It was thanks to Virtual On and a lot of other great exclusives on the Sega Saturn that I would finally realize that Nintendo were not the only great console manufacturers at that time. I got Ontario Tangram in either 2000 or 2001 and I absolutely loved it. It was also at this time when I heard about the Virtual On twin sticks and I wanted a pair badly. I never took the plunge to get them due to their high price and my lack of money as a teenager. I attempted to get a old high school buddy of mine into playing VOOT with me during a snow day since we had plenty of awesome multiplayer matches in Armored Core 2 and 3 [which is another popular cult mecha video game series for those who never heard of it]. Sadly he never became attached to it so I was left to leave VOOT behind as I pursued other games. It is interesting to note, that around this time I discovered a local arcade in Menlo Park Mall in New Jersey had a Operation Moongate cabinet. Despite how awesome this was, I rarely played on it due to my heavy addiction to Dance Dance Revolution.

I was excited to hear that Sega was going to release Virtual On Marz for the PS2, but I did not pick it up until last year or so because I could sense at that time and I can confirm now after playing Virtual On Force on the Xbox 360, that a 4 player Virtual On game, while interesting in concept, is not nearly as good or fun as the super fast 1 vs 1 battles in VOOT. Sega excited me again when they announced the XBLA port of VOOT and I became estatic when Hori announced their 360 twin sticks. I sadly missed out on getting the first batch of sticks because I stupidly waited for Play-Asia to put up a listing so I could preorder them, but that never happened. Now with Virtual On Force's release on the 360 I managed to nab me a pair of twin sticks alongside the game and I thought it would be perfect time to stop lurking these forums and make an account. I hope I have a ton of great matches with everyone on here!
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Knoxximus
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by Knoxximus »

I absolutely LOVE reading these stories...thanks for sharing, everyone! :D
Sergeant Knoxximus, Pilot #24 reporting for duty SIR!!
yktan
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by yktan »

Hi, I'm new here and am from Singapore.

I started playing VOOM like 12 years ago in the arcade. I introduced a good friend of mine back then to VOOM, and until today, he is as huge of a fan as I am. Eventually the arcades removed all the VOOM machines and I thought the series was gone until that same good friend informed me about the existence of VOOT.

VOOT was initially depressing (due to my reliance on the overrated Temjin and his uber range powers in VOOM) and the introduction of V-armour kept me at bay from the game (coupled with the fact that the only arcade that I know at that time that had VOOT was far from my place and I was lazy to go there to play VOOT). Curiosity got the better of me when my friend was owning the AI on the VOOT machines and I started playing VOOT. The same craze that had captivated me when I was VOOMing returned and I VOOTed with a new intensity.

Following which, I sought very hard for the much-elusive copy of VOOM for the comp, which I eventually obtained.

By the time I searched for other fellow VOOM/VOOT players online (you see, I came to the VOOT scene very late), the only Singaporean Virtual On Club has disbanded by that time.

At that point of time, I managed to write a few Virtuaroids guide on Gamefaqs for VOOM (under the alias "Arroy") and continued my solo VO career until that same friend of mine introduced me to VOGZ (Virtual On Gamers Zone), which also eventually collapsed. There, I managed to befriend some other Virtual On Players (two of which which frequents this forum), and got utterly thrashed by some in battle. (which is good since I wanted human practice all along besides that only friend of mine who plays VOOM/VOOT).

Got a Dreamcast just for VOOT (which I sought very hard for as well). Played till my DC was almost on the brink of death then I stopped it.

Marz came out (I just bought my DC.....) and hearing that it sucked, I skipped it altogether.

Years passed until a fellow VO player that I know on facebook posted on his wall "VO Force coming out on Xbox 360" and the rest is history. (Got a 360 just for that too, lol)

Hope to meet with fellow Singapore VO players and to trade shots with everyone else :D
Some_Nob
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by Some_Nob »

Well firstly, a quick hello to everyone...

My Experince with Virtual On is competely related to VOOM. Yes the old school cabinet in the arcades which me and several members played many many hours on. Was one of the 4 founding members of BrisVOC - (Brisbane Australia). Now I notice most of you are not from the land down under - though am wondering if any one in Australia still active?.

I am Fei-Yen master.. (at least I was). Though I did take it upon myself also to be well versed with the infamous Bal-Bas-Bow. Recently noticed the offer of a VOOM machine on ebay, though am trying to locate one here in Australia. This has resparked my love of VOOM. (i did play on PC however was just not the same with the keyboard).

I am now looking at setting up an Xbox 360 and hope to get friendly with all those still active in the VOOT world.

A special hello to those who were in SydVOC.

My all time fav memory was the time me and 3 others went to Sydney to meet up with SydVOC (I believe there was a couple from MelVOC who also joined us) and we had a couple of days to bash it out we did go to an arcade in Sydney and also a day at SEGA world so we could access the two machines side by side.

Im still over the shock of that Jap fello (forget his name) who could mirage thru the a bomb without taking damage.

Anyone still active who remembers this? Would love to catch up with any of those members. And also make friends with any who hold a warm spot in their hearts for Virtual On.

Also Steven (from brisbane) if you read this we need to catch up - especally if I can track down a working VOOM machine.

Nob.
~~~~~~~~~~
Don't argue with an idiot! They will lower your intelligence to their level, then beat you with experience.

GT:Some_Nob 360
VR:Fei Yen Kn
VO4: TBA

Australia, Brisbane - a founding member of BrisVOC - for VOOM(OMG).
~~~~~~~~~~
L-e-W
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by L-e-W »

For me, getting into Virtual-On has been a bit of an unusual road dating maybe 9 years back. I've always been a huge fan of mecha series, growing up on Transformers, Power Rangers, and just about anything on Toonami. I remember getting Electronic Gaming Monthly and GameNOW magazines in the mail each month, and one of the two (I think GameNOW) would feature various game-related merchandise that they found to be cool each issue. One of those issues mentioned the Kaiyodo VOOT figures, showcasing one of the Apharmd designs. I was really interested in the mechs, but had never heard of the game and figured there wasn't much else to it and quickly forgot about it afterwards. Cut to about 2005, in High School: My class had taken a field trip to Washington D.C. for Spanish class, and we had some time to kill at the end over at the Mall of America. There was a small arcade in there and, knowing how I could never pass up seeing what was in them compared to the more feeble offerings down where I lived, I stopped inside. They had very little stuff there, a few of my friends went and messed with the Air Hockey table and Mario Kart Arcade, but something caught my eye: A large, sit-down cabinet with a Temjin on it (of course, it was an OMG cabinet). I then looked up at the title and saw the huge "VIRTUAL-ON" over the controls, immediately remembering the magazine. Sitting down and popping in a few quarters, I randomly picked a mech and proceeded to lose instantly due to my confusion with the controls. At the same time, however, I loved the feel of the cabinet and being able to control what amounted to a Mobile Suit. I left hoping I could find another cabinet locally, but to no avail.

Fast forward a few years later: I had finally found out more about the "Super Robot Wars" series of games (the same way I learned of quite a few anime that I love now), and learned of how the mechs from MARZ being in Alpha 3, AND that Hajime Katoki was the designer for the mechs, another point of interest for me due to my being fond of his Gundam designs. Of course I also learned that MARZ was said to be absolutely horrendous but that's besides the point. Again I felt the urge to play, but had no way of doing so. It wasn't until after I had gotten myself an Xbox 360 that I learned of Oratorio Tangram being released for the Arcade. Giddy after hearing this, I made sure to buy the game the moment I could get back from College and able to use LIVE. For the next evening I got trashed by the AI and in Online matches, but I loved the speed and action in the game, soon becoming hooked. Since then, It's still one of those games that only I seem to even know about amongst my friends (granted, I do play a variety of vidya, but my being excited for Force got a few jokes of "Stop playing games nobody else plays!" from some friends,) but having found fellow players has made it blast. I'm still horrible and I admit that I am bad at remember to practice or remember strategies in ANY game, but I'm getting there with this and it's always bound to be fun.
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djmcbell
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by djmcbell »

There was a demo of Virtual On for the Saturn that came free with Sega Saturn Magazine here in the UK one month. A friend and I were impressed and I soon got the full game (this was in '96 or '97). We'd have Raiden vs Viper matches (with me just about always being the Viper and losing - though sometimes not by much!). I did come across a VO arcade machine once in Florida, gave me my first chance to try the twinsticks.

When I got my Dreamcast I bought the Japanese version of VOOT, which I still have. Unfortunately I dropped it and scratched the disk to hell after taking it to play at a friend's house years ago, and as the DC version of VOOT was never released here (UK) I got a US copy.

Later on, a town near me had the arcade cabinet of VOOM. I put in about 10p and somehow the thing just kept going. I have no idea how - it just kept throwing me into random fights (which I won). That 10p lasted me a good 40 minutes until my friends decided they'd had enough of the other machines and we had to go. Best 10p ever.

Bit of a short history compared to others. I occasionally think about trying to import Marz but that'd require a modded PS2 for me. Been tempted by VOOT on XBLA but not at that price or without splitscreen. Currently thinking of importing Force.

Oh and I'd love an Apharmd figure. Should've got one when Forbidden Planet near me had them in cheap (they had LOADS - why oh why didn't I get them?!?).
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schnuth
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Re: Share your VO experience or history

Post by schnuth »

I first played Virtual On when I encountered a VOOM machine at a local movie theater. After that I acquired the Saturn version, and later imported VOOT along with a pair of twinsticks for the Dreamcast. I used to lurk on the SYDVOC forums back in the day since it was the only dedicated VO message board I could find, even though the club was half a world away in Sydney Australia. :)

I hadn't given Virtual On much of a thought until Marz came along, and then the Sega Ages PS2 version of VOOM that came out a few years ago. I got VOOT again when it was released for the 360, and just recently picked up Force when I heard the news it was region free. Not much of a story I know, but now with XBL I can finally play against other people and find out I'm not anywhere as good as I thought I was. :) I secretly lust for an adapter to use Saturn or Dreamcast twinsticks with my Xbox 360.