Attract Mode by Scott Jacobi

I've thought for a while about how to start off this issue.  I'm not always the best when it comes to conjuring up pearls of wisdom.  But lately I've been thinking about how my experience with RTM has changed so much in so little time.  I started out very much like all of you: simply a reader and a fan of what the various authors produced each month.  Sometimes I would whip through an issue in a matter of minutes, gazing at the pictures and moving on.  And sometimes an article would really grab me and suck me in.  I enjoyed the experience either way.  It's always fun to reminisce

Then a couple of years ago, I decided to become a contributing author to RTM.  At the time, I was really into collecting vintage game magazines, and I saw a topic that didn't get much coverage so I decided to volunteer a little bit of what I knew each month about different magazine series.  Shortly after that, my interest in magazines faded, and I switched over to chronogaming on the NES and sharing those experiences instead.  When Adam King decided to step down as chief editor, I decided that I enjoyed working on RTM so much, that I would step up and assume his role.

By now, you're probably thinking that all I chose to write all about was me.  But the truth is, that's not really my intention.  My intention was to point out that any of you, whether you're a casual reader, or an avid fan, can become a part of this great experience, and it's so easy to do.  Not everyone is confident about their writing skills, and I'm very aware that mine still needs a lot of polish every now and then.  But once you get into it, it gets a lot easier as you go along.

I've done a lot of asking for new talent and articles, but I haven't really done a great job spotlighting those who have answered that call.  Donald Lee has been with us for a number of months now, and he's been doing a wonderful job shedding light on retrogaming from an Apple II fan's point of view.  And this month, we welcome brand new author Jonathan H. Davidson who will be providing us with retrogaming coverage with a twist: reviews of all those compilation disks that you see on sale for modern day systems.  Also, we have an extra special last minute surprise entry by the one and only Tom Zjaba, founder of the original Retrogaming Times.  And David Lunden Jr. spotlights an absolute classic game in this month's NEScade. So there's a lot to dig into, and I hope you enjoy it.  Please let us know if you do.

The Many Faces of David's Midnight Magic by Alan Hewston

"DMM" is based upon the table  from "Black Night" (from www/ipdb.org)

Darn! No metallic Broderbund cartridges this time

Home Version Similarities - except those in < > all home versions have: a pause <2600>; multiple players (one simultaneous); you start with 5 balls in each game; variable strength plunger; the plunger remains fixed <2600> until changed again; upper and lower flippers; bumpers and kickers that send the ball flying off them; scoring or other bonuses for hitting or reaching specific locations or targets, or striking an entire set of targets; there are rollover targets; there is a ball collection location <2600> so that up to 3 balls <2600> can be involved in multi-ball action; fill the collector or hit the ball release target to activate the multi-ball frenzy; magic save magnets <2600 (side kickers)> can be earned on each lower side; the magic save magnets must be activated (via keyboard) at just the right time to save your ball; end of game ball release toggle sets any collected balls free; there are three <2600> paths (ways) to get the ball back to the upper section; multiple target sets <2600 only 1>; upper & lower <2600> target sets; targets do not reset when ball is lost <2600>; sets of targets are reset and bonuses are earned when all targets in that set have been hit; your score and bonuses can be multiplied ("multiplier" increases to 2, 3, 4 and then 5 times the score) when the ball enters the ball loop <2600 when all targets are hit>; after reaching 5X, the subsequent time will earn an extra ball or "Shoot Again"; any time the ball is lost (or final ball when playing multi-balls) the bonus points are then subtracted from the screen bonus display and directly added to your current score; if you have multipliers, then after the bonuses are tallied, then the multiplier reduces by one and then the bonuses are tallied again, etc. until the multiplier and bonuses both reach zero, at which point you are finished scoring points with that ball; the multiplier then remains at zero (none) to start the next ball; finally, the most interesting addition is the ability to "nudge" the table; but if you nudge three times in a row you will have the table "Tilt"; if you "Tilt" all actions stops and you lose the ball, plus any bonuses and multipliers are all lost (not tallied up).

Note that this "nudge" is not quite as simple as you could physically do on a standard table, but it is more like putting some "whammy" or "English" or spin to the ball.  Although this augmentation is random, it does tend to add some influence to the outcome - which sorta gives you more control - but also can be dangerous.  An experienced player will trade off the risk and learn to "nudge" early and often to get the ball to do what is harder to do on your own.

2600 screenshot from AtariAge.com

Have Nots:  Atari 2600 (39)
My first reaction was how cool to find out that this was ported from the 8 bit computer line.  The actual title is "Midnight Magic", but since it is based upon the computer game David's Midnight Magic - we have included it here in our review.  Atari sat on this one from 1984 when it was completed, finally releasing it in 1988.  The Gameplay is very good (7) with most of the elements of a decent pinball game, but still coming up short in variety, complexity, and especially in the quantity of targets.  Matching the detailed table layout of the computer versions was not possible here, instead some added variety and more randomness has been included.  A nice addition is 2 skill levels, where the "B" difficulty provides the center post (below the lower flippers) and kickers (one each along the lower wings) always.  The "A" difficulty makes you earn the center post and kickers - which are not present until you hit the target pointed at by the arrow.  This makes for quite a challenge, and usually a much shorter game.  Not found on the computer versions are 2 vertical kickers, found along the wings that are essentially mini plungers that prevent the ball from going out of play.  The great part is that they apply a random amount of power to kick the ball upwards, with every kick being a bit different, really livening up the action.  Another fine addition to give you more control or influence - are 2 upper magnets, one each along the side walls.  These magnets automatically grab the ball when it gets nearby and then release it straight down - right onto the upper flipper along that wall. The most notable element missing is no ball collection area, nor any multi-ball action.  There is also no chance to nudge the ball, taking away more of the strategy.  There are no loops or targets that earn you bonuses, just the upper set of targets.  Since all of the upper targets must be hit to increase the multiplier, all targets and the multiplier are reset every time you lose a ball.  The exception being when you earn a "shoot again" (done by hitting the top rollover when the multiplier is on) in which case the multiplier and any targets remain as they were when the original ball is lost.  This port has the most on-screen activity, but overall, the game tends to play by itself - since you have less influence (no nudge) and a lot less flipper control.  To compensate, there's a lot more randomness and variety to where the ball can go, and how much faster it can go to keep you alert and more focused to save the ball when necessary.  Addictiveness is enjoyable (8), with enough action, rewards and playability as the original, but lacking a pause and the tallying up of bonus points. Graphics are exciting (7) for the 2600, with a lot of flare with kickers, bumpers and targets flashing when you hit them.  The ball is lively and moves around smoothly.  The spinner is exceptionally well done and really grabs your attention.  There is wide variety of colors used, including the entire screen changing shades when the multiplier is earned.  There's a rainbow effect when a "Shoot Again" is earned. There is some added text outside of the table saying: "Midnight Magic" &  "Player One" & "Ball One" etc.  Midnight Magic flashes in the demo mode and the other text changes colors as well.  A LED-like score is uniquely placed in the lower center of the table, right there in your face.  Sure, the flippers are not that well animated and there is a square ball and lots of blocky graphics, fewer targets and items to hit, and hardly any details, but all of that is easy to ignore. The Sound is the best here, much more effective (7) and having things not heard on the other versions.  Added are an effect when you lose a ball, and nice musical jingles are played to start each game and when the game is over.  All the basic effects are there, plus the really cool, long lasting, dominating unique sound of the spinner.  The spinner effect works so well because it is in sync with the actual spinning rate of the spinner.  The kicker's sound is also very unique and varies in proportion to the power imparted by each hit - awesome!  Controls are perfect (10) as it is great to work the flippers and plunger via the stick.  Other versions were penalized for having too much to control, or at least for not having it all on the joystick.  See below, how, in my opinion, one could add all the control functions (even nudge, magnets and maybe pause too) found on the computer versions to one Atari joystick.  Perhaps the 2600 was capable of adding those elements to the gameplay as well.  This 2600 cart is not too hard to find.

Here's a C64 box scan courtesy of Lemon 64

Gold Medal: Apple ][, Atari 8 bit & Commodore 64 (41)
These 3 are so very similar, with exactly the same scores that I'll combine most of the details.  There is a lot to the outstanding Gameplay (9), with all the same elements for scoring & strategy, and although the game does not get harder, you'll gradually learn aspects of the game and improve your skills at various locations (or situations) on the table.  The playfield for all three is the same (other than proportion or scaling differences) so the graphical layout of the targets, plunger, kickers, bumper, flippers and anything else is comparable.  The game plays at a good, realistic, speed and does a good job of imitating gravity for a ball rolling on an inclined plane.  The laws of physics are done well, especially ball collisions and the interactions with the flippers bumpers & kickers.  Bad news is that there is no demo, no options for skill or difficulty, only a choice of 1 to 4 players.  The Graphics are of superb quality (9), with a great amount of detail, smooth ball motion and flipper action, hi-resolution backgrounds, cursive text, nice displays, flashing arrows and detailed bumpers, targets and sets of targets.  There is a lot of color variety and some multi-color.  Portions are a bit simpler, like the plunger, rollover targets, ball release and magnets.  The action is limited to one (to three) small ball(s) and 4 flippers.  There is an attract mode with the lights and displays & multipliers all lighting in sequence.  The Sound is good (6), but is clearly the area that could easily have been enhanced - see the 2600.  The "bells and whistles" (i.e. audio effects) are not heard as frequently, or in chorus, or anywhere near as entertaining as is found on a real pinball machine, but there's enough to make you happy.  It does get a bit quiet at times and several of the effects are repeats.  The basic effects are:  the plunger, kickers, bumpers, targets and the rollovers.  The more interesting effects occur when you cause a "Tilt", activate the magnets, complete a set of targets, or the ball enters the ball collector, the multiplier loop or the multi-ball release.  There are no background effects or music, and no sounds when the flippers swing, or even when the ball is hit by them.  Finally, there's no effect when the ball is lost or even when the game is over.  Add in a few of these and the score quickly goes up a point.  Addictiveness in fantastic (9) as this pinball game can be played for hours.  They are loaded with lots of gameplay elements and well conceived to provide you the ability to influence or control the ball (or at least to prevent from losing it).  All versions have an unlimited break in the action between balls, but the computer versions also have a pause button <Esc>, <Run/Stop> & <Select> whenever you need a break.   Controls all scored a (9).  The complexity of having gameplay features such as 2 flippers, a nudge, a pause and two magnets is great, but too bad they did not group most or all of them into a single joystick.  Having only the pause on the keyboard would have been my preference.

For all three computer versions, the use of the magnets is as follows:
Left Magnet - <Z> or <X> or <C> or <V>
Right Magnet - <M> or <,> or <.> or </>
These are the best possible choices (especially to give us multiple keys to smack at) as they are the keys just above those used for the left and right flippers respectfully.  This keeps the added challenge of the magnets there, without the burden of finding the keys.
Gamers who prefer keyboards over joysticks may score the Apple ][ or C64 controls a "10", but I could not come to do it.  Another good reason is that this would penalize the Atari version (see below) as I am not sure if the Broderbund version had an "all keyboard" option or not.

Apple ][ screenshot from Wikipedia

C64 screenshot from Gamebase64.com

The Broderbund 1982 original screenshot from MobyGames.com

Atari XE 1987 remake screenshot from MobyGames.com

There's Something About Mary by Tom Zjaba

NEScade -- Ghosts 'n Goblins by David Lundin, Jr.

The beautiful Princess Prin-Prin has been kidnapped by the demon king Astaroth and it's up to Sir Arthur to rescue her.  Six treacherous levels stand between their reunion, with a powerful guardian at the end of each.  Donning his armor and armed with his trusty lance, Sir Arthur sets off on his long journey through the kingdom to Astaroth's castle.  Arthur's lance can be traded out for one of four other weapons that appear when an enemy carrying one is destroyed.  Only one weapon can be carried at any time and some are better suited for specific areas than others.  Two hits from an enemy attack will kill Arthur, the first stripping him of his armor and the second leading to his demise.  The series would come to be known by this damage mechanic and Arthur running around in his underpants after losing his armor.

For its time Ghosts 'n Goblins was beautifully detailed game, it still looks very nice to this day.  Of course this is the first compromise on the NES hardware.  I will say that a valiant attempt was made to keep the visual style and level design as close as possible to the original.  Visually the entire game is recreated pretty much verbatim, far less detailed, but nearly everything is there or at least close to how it was.  There is a nominal amount of flicker which makes the graphic presentation not as solid as I would have liked it to be, yet the game was released early in the life of the NES so it's excusable.  Control is spot on to the arcade, a little drifty but accurate.  All the music and the majority of the sound effects have been brought over but they fight each other for supremacy.  While this is common with many early NES games it's very disappointing here as Ghosts 'n Goblins had a memorable arcade soundtrack.

The real question here is if the NES version will make someone a better player at the arcade version and vice versa.  Honestly, no - while the games are very similar they are still very different.  The NES version is almost like a miniature rework of the arcade original however it is just as full featured.  Timing is different, distances are different, but most of the enemy locations are the same.  It's the same game just modified to work on the NES hardware.  This raises the question if the NES was ready to handle a game like this at the time it was ported onto the system.  At the end of the day I don't feel it was, which is why we end up with a game of compromises.  It's the same game but in its limited form on the NES it simply doesn't have the charm and drawing power the original had.  Still, anyone that liked the original should try the NES version, it is worth a look at.  Those who grew up with the NES version owe it to themselves to play the arcade original to experience this great game as was intended.  Ghosts 'n Goblins stands as one of the most brutally difficult NES games to ever be released as the challenge from the arcade remains completely intact.  

"InsaneDavid" also runs a slowly growing gaming site at http://www.classicplastic.net/dvgi

Apple II Incider: The Atari 5200 vs. The Apple II by Donald Lee

Welcome to the March 2007 edition of the Apple II Incider. It's been a tough past few weeks due to work and other things so this article may be a little shorter than usual.In any case, after writing my last few articles for RTM, I started to wonder why most of my best memories were of the Apple II but not of the Atari 5200. I had the Atari close to the same time as the Apple II. I recall having a fun time playing the Atari 5200 games during the 80's. I had to stop myself to think about the subject and come up with an answer. The Atari 5200 library of games were as fun as any other games I have played over the years. Between Break Out, Defender, Pac man and others, I spent many hours playing them. However, the majority (if not all) of the games were arcade translations. The 5200 games were fun at the time because they were the closest thing we could get to the actual arcade games without actually going to the arcade. However, these days, the best arcade games of the 80's are available via emulator, online or the various compilations for the newer generation of game systems. The motivation to play the 5200 versions is much less because the originals are so readily available. The other half of the answer belongs to the Apple II itself. The Apple II had inferior hardware to the 5200 but like most computers, had a more diverse game library than the 5200. As I've been writing in RTM, I have very good memories of my days playing various Apple II games. The software library is only part of the answer though. I think the real answer of why my best memories were of the Apple II was due to the Apple II's inferior hardware (especially the 8 bit Apple II's). The Apple II graphics and sound were weaker compared to it's contemporaries such as the Atari 800 and the Commodore 64. These limitations were highlighted on a daily basis in many magazines when they compared games between systems. However, despite this, I remained proud of the Apple II. In fact, I found myself enjoying Apple II versions of arcade games like Robotron or Pac Man on the Apple II more than anything else. Yes, they might have been a little inferior to most versions of games on other systems. However, I have to gave credit to the programmers over the years. Despite the many limitations with the Apple II, some were able to work miracles and create many good looking and sounding games. Not to slight the Atari 5200, I have been playing with some games via some 5200 emulators. It was good to relive some old memories. In the future, I may do a comparison of Apple II and Atari 5200 games that exist on both systems. I think that would be fun. See you next month!

Nintendo Realm - Early April 1986 by Scott Jacobi

We're moving on to April of 86 now.  Six is a comfortable number for me to continue with since I'm a little more busy than usual, so we'll keep going with it.  This month's collection of games are more interesting for the tidbits of trivia that I could find about the games, than the actual games themselves.  So read on to find out what arcane knowledge I was able to dig up for you. Tag Team Pro Wrestling released by Namco on April 2nd, 1986.  Released in the US by Data East on September 1986 as Tag Team Wrestling As far as wrestling games go, this one is pretty basic.  It's based on a 1983 arcade game made by Technos Japan, the minds behind Double Dragon.  There are only two teams of two wrestlers, and you can't even really choose which team you want to be.  Player 1 is always "The Ricky Fighters" and Player 2 is always "The Strong Bads."  If that last name sounds a little familiar to you, it is indeed the inspiration for the name of the popular Strong Bad at homestarrunner.com.  The controls for the game is quite odd as well.  Attacks are initiated with the A button.  Once the move connects with the opponent, you have about three seconds to press the B button to cycle through a collection of moves that your fighter has, and press A to initiate the attack.  Wrestlers can toss each other against the ropes or even out of the ring.  Once out of the ring, the perspective changes a little bit, and objects around the ring can be used to bash your opponent (or get bashed by).  If you are in trouble, you can call your tag partner to rescue you, but you will still incur damage by getting dropped.  Overall, not highly recommended. Igo: Kyuu Roban Taikyoku released by Bullet Proof Software on April 14th, 1986. This is a Famicom Disk System version of the Japanese board game Go.  Ordinarily, that would be the end of my description, since I hardly consider myself an expert of the game of Go, but this game has slightly special significance.  This game was the first Famicom game produced by Bullet Proof Software and developed by Henk Rogers (who is considered the father of early RPGs in Japan), a player of such Go expertise that he occasionally played against Hiroshi Yamauchi, the legendary president of Nintendo himself.  It was over one such game that the inspiration to write a Famicom version of Go came from.  But Henk Roger's importance to Nintendo doesn't end there.  He is also the man responsible for fostering a relationship between Nintendo and Alexy Pajitnov, the man who created Tetris.  Thanks to Henk, Nintendo was able to secure the real rights to develop Tetris away from Atari who had not acquired them properly, and Tetris would go on to spur the sales of Nintendo's Game Boy all around the world. I'd also like to point out that Igo has Ninjas Tag Team Pro Wrestling Igo Kyuu Roban Taikyoku Nazo no Murasame Shiro released by Nintendo on April 14th, 1986. This was a game that Nintendo developed for the Famicom Disk System about a warrior in feudal Japan.  At first glance, you can make many comparisons between this game and the Legend of Zelda, as both game were first released on disk, both games employ an overhead view of the action, both games cause the screen to scroll when an edge is reached, both games have an outside world and an inside world, and both games have bosses at the end of the inside stages.  But Nazo is much more linear in that you go through the outside world in one stage until you reach the inside stage.  Then you must complete the inside in order to progress to the next outside world, which you can not return from.  There are no items to collect, as in Zelda, but there are powerups that are dropped by enemies from time to time.  As for the enemies, unlike Zelda where you can see every enemy that you will have to fight on that screen, Ninjas pour on to the screen and continue for quite some time before they stop appearing.  They will frequently retreat and avoid defeat as well.  There is a timer in the game, and you must complete a stage before time runs out, so you are not really free to wander and explore without concern.  This game is definitely worth a try, especially if you are an old school Zelda fan. Argus released by Jaleco on April 17th, 1986. I just can't get in to Argus, no matter how hard I try.  It is based on a 1986 arcade game by Jaleco that was clearly inspired by Xevious.  It also features horizontal scrolling so if you continue to move to the left or to the right, you will eventually wrap back around to where you started.  Power ups can be bombed out of icons located on the ground or uncovered from blocks that can be destroyed by your main guns.  And enemies swarm in in the usual predictable patterns and fire rounds of slow moving shots at you.  All together, it's a standard vertical shooter, but the biggest problem is that it's so sluggish.  You feel like your straining to move, or as though your ship is actually moving through water.  It's worth a shot if you're a casual shooter fan, but otherwise, I'd recommend staying away. Nazo no Murasame Shiro Argus Atlantis no Nazo released by Sunsoft on April 17th, 1986. Here is another interesting Famicom game, not due to the content of the game, but due to the interesting details that surround it.  The game itself is rather standard side scrolling fair.  The screen will contain at least one enemy a majority of the time, and that number can grow quickly.  Your only means of defense are bombs that you toss out in an arc, which is influenced by your momentum.  Actually using these things to actually an enemy is incredibly difficult, and more often than not, you'll find yourself resorting to jumping or dodging instead of firing.  And sure enough, it takes only one hit to kill our explorer hero.  There are 100 different zones, and treasure chests in many of them.  Not every zone needs to be traversed in order to beat the game, but many of the zones that do need to be visited can become difficult to find.  Simply put, this game is considered rather challenging, and not for casual gamers.  Here's the interesting bit: Activision was eyeing this game as a possible sequel to the unfortunate Super Pitfall game.  Presumably all they needed to do was change the child-like archeologist into Pitfall Harry, but we'll never truly know. Gegege no Kitaro: Youkai Daimakyou released by Bandai on April 17th, 1986.  Released in the U.S. as Ninja Kid on October, 1986. You may be more familar with it's US equivalent Ninja Kid.  This is an interesting game that takes a little more patience to play than the usual side scroller.  You character can really get moving fast.  And you can throw your weapons even faster.  But the problem is that most of the enemies that you need to hit are half your size, and your weapon will fly right over them.  You need to squat in order to hit those guys.  So if you get moving really fast and a low enemy appears, it's not an uncommon way to die when you're first learning to play the game.  The objective is to get to the castle and defeat the demon inside.  But to enter the castle, you must clear three random stages first.  The stages have different scenes and objectives such as picking up a certain number of spirit clouds, or lighting all of the candles in the stage.  Power ups appear from time to time, and key items such as the flute drop from the sky when objectives are met.  Boss fights consist of shooting at small vulnerable points on large demons that occupy much of the screen.  You'll have to jump and maneuver around the shots that they fire at you.  The more that you play the game, the easier it will become.  And surprisingly, it's quite addictive.  There's something about the feel of the motion that makes you feel as though if you keep trying, you'll get it eventually.  Definitely give this game a try.  (You might notice through the picture that the Japanese graphics were a little different than those found in Ninja Kid.) Atlantis no Nazo Gegege no Kitaro: Youkai Daimakyou

Old Wine in New Bottles: Retrogaming on Modern Hardware by Jonathan H. Davidson