#ed murphy

Ginga Ninkyouden

Jaleco’s 1987 arcade action game Ginga Ninkyouden (“Tale of the Galactic Yakuza”) tells the story of Yatchan, a young gangster who won a heart of his boss, Clis. Their peaceful days come to a sudden end when King Cobra, being a jerk he is, whisks away his beloved to the other side of the galaxy. So begins Yatchan’s adventure to rescue her, as he fights his way through Cobra’s army assembled across time and space. However, a closer inspection on the game will reveal a twist: the whole thing is one big movie production, both Yatchan and his girlfriend being actors in it. That tongue-in-cheek premise alone is enough to tell you this is a decidedly silly game poking fun at itself, although in doing so it ends up prioritizing the gag over everything else. It’s also rather infamous for a rampant use of copyrighted materials, so much so that Jaleco should be thankful nobody sued them over it. 

Hightown - 1.06

OK yeah lets go. Ed Murphy info coming up

4: How tall are they? He's about 5'7. Nothing special really which is quite perfect!

13: Have they ever nearly died? Repeatedly! But not really because of him doing quests or anything, the wasteland is just dangerous! Especially with all these damn vault dwellers.

23: What do they fear the most? Being swept up in a grand adventure. Those never end well. And maybe like deathclaws and radscorpions those things are fucked.

25: Do they have any unique skills? He's exceptional at both lock picking and agriculture. He's read a lot of old world books and even has managed do de-mutate a lot of plants into their original forms, or at least something close to them.

30: Are they an only child? He is! No siblings at all, and no parents anymore either. It's been just him for a long time now.

Huge Celebration For Pride ’89 Dykes on bikes, radical faeries and the ruby slipper

NEW YORK [July 10, 1989] — There's been a marvelous party! A highly emotional party. A love-in on the grandest and gayest scale. Nearly 200,000 women, men and children, strong of pride and loud of lung, stormed Fifth Avenue on Sunday, June 25th [1989] to celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall in the Heritage of Pride 20th Annual Lesbian and Gay Pride March. In evidence at this largest-ever party, were the largest-ever contingents of people with AIDS and people of color in the parade's history, smaller groups including Armenian lesbians, farm dykes, pagans, radical faeries, grandmas for gays and The Rob Lowe Defense Fund, and one admittedly-heterosexual mayoral candidate, kicked off from Columbus Circle promptly at 12:30, led with a cacophonous roar by those dykes on bikes, the New York Sirens. One Canadian rider, Nora, wearing a black leather hat, vest and little else save a maple leaf, a Marlboro and a smile, confided, "Man, this is the largest group of women motorcyclists I've ever seen. We're gonna make some noise down Fifth Avenue." And yes, they did.

[...]

Ovations greeted the Gay and Lesbian Youth of New York, who chanted raucously "2-4-6-8, how do you know your kids are straight?"

The first ever lesbian-sponsored float glided across Central Park South, carrying a resplendent band of singing lesbians. One of the largest groups in the march was the People With AIDS Coalition and the AIDS-related health care agencies, including the Gay Men's Health Crisis. Members of the Healing Circle frequently stopped to join hands, form a circle, and awe the crowd with their New Age, holistic techniques.

[...]

At 39th Street, Mayor Koch, in the briefest of parade appearances, met the press and felt the heat from marchers who gathered around him to chant, "Dump Koch. Dump Koch." As several drag queens approached, the Mayor's security men became tense, the veins popping in their necks. "Please," they hissed at a large young man in a small black dress, "please. Stay back. Give us a break." Give us all a break.

[...]

Then, the parade halted and the salsa music stopped. Everyone stood still, raising their fists and clasped hands into the air. Nearly two hundred thousand breathed as one, in remembrance of those who have died from AIDS; there was no sound. The air was as empty as the Honorary Grand Marshal's conventible, left vacant by the death of Edward Francis Murphy, known as the "Original Stonewaller," who passed away on February 28, 1989. Slowly one balloon drifted skyward. Then the crowd cheered as thousands more balloons were released.

[...]

The day ended with a stunning display of fireworks over the Hudson. And if you've never seen fireworks with a mob of gay people — who all oohed and aahed in unison — you've never seen fireworks.

Walking home on a vacant sidestreet, my lover and I passed below a terrace from which floated big band music. We gleefully ballroom-danced, feeling the full spirit of Gay Pride and freedom breathing in us. [...] Then a voice from above shouted "Dip!" Then again, "Dip!" "Are you ready?" Basil asked me, mischief twinkling in his eyes. I was. "Dip him!" they yelled. And yes, he did.

Tank Battalion (Other Games)

In the mid-2000s, Namco partnered with Japanese online game developer VerX to resurrect its older IPs, which led to the creation of an oddball title like Dig Dug Island, an MMO action game based on Dig Dug II. Their next work was Tancle, a multiplayer third-person shooter that takes after Tank Battalion, though the connection is loose at best. 

Tank Battalion / Battle City

From the late ‘70s to the early ‘80s, commonly dubbed the golden age of arcade gaming, Namco found its footing by publishing Space Invaders-inspired shooters, Galaxian (1979) and its sequel Galaga (1981), to critical acclaim. Between these two titles, it also released Tank Battalion that mixes up the formula; instead of being stuck at the bottom of screen, you’re free to move around and dish out your bullets multi-directionally on the battlefield, essentially taking nascent form of arena run-and-gun (though it still uses one joystick and a button, as opposed to the twin-stick setup found in games like Robotron: 2084). The name might not ring a bell, but many of the NES owners will be familiar with its revised port on that system, Battle City, which is much better known than its arcade forebear – and for good reason.