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Established 1997
Viewpoint has a special place in my heart, for
no other reason than a small screenshot of it
appeared in UK Edge Magazine. It just looks
amazing to me. The Neo-Geo game was ported
to a variety of machines, PlayStation, Mega
Drive, X68000 and FM Towns.
The version of ChaseHQ on the Marty is
actually pretty good, ruined, slightly by the
graphic glitch in the sky. This is apparently due
to an incompatibility.
I would play Turbo Outrun in the pub while
studying a college. I actually prefer it to
regular Outrun. Sadly, the Marty version is
pretty choppy.
The Marty has a solid handful of good
SHMUP’s to play. There is this game,
Rayxanber, Raiden (below) and Tetsujin Oh.
I’d never heard of this game before owning a
Marty, but it has a cult following, and while not
arcade perfect, this version is very good.
I’m a big fan of the Raiden series, and this port
onto the Marty is really, really good. I love the
music, too.
This is a hidden gem on the ol’ FM Towns: Mad
Stalker. It’s a out-and-out arcade game, that
has you walking along beating up bad people.
It’s pretty basic, but it is good fun.
Did you know (and I didn’t) Microcosm by Psygnosis, was set in the same Universe as Novastorm (Scavenger
IV on Towns) and that there was a third game in the series Mega Morph, that I believe was a FM Towns
exclusive. I love these games, not necessarily because they great games, because they basically aren’t, but
they transport me back to that era in the early ‘90s when the CD format was new and the whole game
industry was revolutionising.
Microcosm
Novastorm
(Scavenger 4 on FM Towns)
MegaMorph
FM Towns Exclusive(?)
Great Scott,
Marty!
Things are going to get confusing…
Venturing into the realm of the FM Towns
Marty is a bewildering endeavour. This
Japanese-exclusive console is compatible
with other Towns systems, yet determining
which games are available—and which
actually work—is notoriously challenging.
Although many games seem to function in
some capacity, others frustratingly do not.
Compounding the issue, the English
compatibility lists available are often
erroneous, incomplete, or contradictory.
One particular disappointment is the
availability of Street Fighter II. While the
game itself is accessible for the system, it
necessitates a RAM upgrade—an accessory
that is nearly as hard to come by as winning
the lottery. Despite these hurdles, the FM
Towns Marty is built around the robust Intel
386 processor, which suggests that navigating
its complexities shouldn't be as daunting as it
seems.
Knowing or reading Japanese language is not a requisite for owning an FM Towns
Marty, quite the opposite. It seems Japanese owners had to have at least a basic grasp
of English to make any head way with the system. Even games like Loom or Simon the
Sorcerer, that were available for the system, came with English language options.
I believe it’s because every so often, the Japanese Government has a push to help the
population of Japan learn more English, and this is a by-product of that. If you know,
tell me…
Get in touch via Twitter: @ste-mega
The FM Towns Marty controller is best
described as ‘minimalist’. (Small, too)
The Psygnosis Microcosm
Universe Trilogy.
Only available on FM Towns
You don’t Speak Japanese? No problem.
Viewpoint
Chase HQ
Turbo Outrun
Rayxanber
Raiden
Mad Stalker