All kinda-good things: Monster Block & Elevator Panic | NES Works Gaiden: Epoch-05

Another system complete! With this episode, our look at Epoch's Cassette Vision comes to an end. Ah, but don't worry—this system's retirement doesn't even begin to signal the company's intention to depart from the console race. As Monster Block and Elevator Panic perform the Cassette Vision's funeral rites, not one but two new systems would emerge from Epoch's mad think tank.... As for the games themselves, Monster Block offers a pretty obvious riff on Sega's Pengo that uses an added score mechanic to really test the ol' noggin. And Elevator Panic combines a whole lot of different influences while building on Monster Mansion's framework. I realize now that I forgot to cite the most obvious influence here—Universal's Space Panic—but honestly there are only so many "homage" citations I can fit into one of these episodes. Anyway, thank you for following me on this brief jaunt into an esoteric corner of Japanese console history. And thanks once again to Christa Lee for performing the mod work to make it possible! Luckily, Super Cassette Vision shipped with RGB capabilities built in right out of the box, so that run of episodes needs no extra work and is gonna look gooooood. Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Cassette Vision footage recorded from original hardware, modded for S-Video output by Christa Lee of Sound Retro Co. Super Cassette Vision footage recorded from original hardware via legacy RGB cable. NES/Famicom footage captured from @analogueinc Nt Mini; SG-1000 footage recorded from Analogue Mega Sg Video upscaled to 720 with Micomsoft's xRGB Mini Framemeister; arcade footage captured from MiSTer when possible, with thanks to @MiSTerAddons.