I was talking to an old online
buddy of mine the other day. This is a gamer who has stuck with the MMORPG
Final Fantasy XI for years, and constantly tries to entice me to fall off the
wagon and get addicted to it again. I've manage to stay away since my
difficult break from the game. However, on this particular day, we started
to reminisce about the good old days... the retrogaming days. And he
happened to type one line that got me thinking. He said, "Wouldn't it have
been great if things hadn't changed so much so soon?" I didn't ask him
what he meant by that. I didn't have to.
What he was referring to
with that one question, was the tremendous technological leap that took place
over the course of the 90s that changed the landscape of video games forever.
When companies were competing to out-bit one another and replace the
16-bit generation with 32 and 64-bit machines. When 2D became passe almost
over night, and everything had to be in 3D whether the game would have benefited
or not. RPGs became less about tedious grinding battles and more about how
many full motion videos could be crammed into an optical disc between
events.
As a retrogamer, it's easy to look at all of these evolutions and
wonder what it might have been like if the 16-bit generation of video games
(SNES, Genesis, etc.) had lasted just a little bit longer, and if the market
wasn't so hot to be propelled into the future by every ounce of technology that
Nintendo, Sega, and newcomer Sony could produce. But I realized that it's
easy to look at that time with rose colored glasses.
In '95 and '96, the
market was beginning to stagnate. Nintendo and Sega were actually
attempting rather unfortunate experiments. Need I remind anyone of the
Virtual Boy and the 32X? The gaming industry wasn't nearly as mature as it
is today, and development cycles greater than one year were still unusual.
Development teams were still relatively small. But I think the
designs that developers were constructing were begging to escape the technical
constraints that the current generation of 16-bit systems were imposing on them.
That's why things like Virtual Boy and 32X were being created. They
weren't made for consumers. They were made for developers. It just
so happens that the consumers flat out rejected these stop-gap approaches to
overcoming technical limitations. Consumers didn't want temporary
solutions, they wanted new full fledged consoles.
Thinking about all of
these things made me realize that the answer to my friend's question is no, it
wouldn't have been great if things hadn't changed so much so soon. It
would have lead to more Virtual Boys, more 32Xs, and perhaps another crash in
the market the likes of which have not been seen since 1984. Video games
are part of a natural progression, an evolution that occurs whether the
technology is there to support it or not. The same can be said of many
creative industries, the most obvious of which is the motion picture industry.
If the technology isn't there to support that evolution, the entire
industry suffers and predictable software begins to bore the market.
Like
I said, as a retrogamer, it's easy to look at all of these evolutions and wonder
what it might have been like if our favorite period of video game would have
lasted a little longer. But after thinking about this for a while, I
realized that it's easy to see how bored we would have become if things
continued down the same technological track for too long. We wouldn't be
left with a warm fuzzy memory of how great that period was from start to finish.
Instead, we would be wondering why a period that started so great ended so
badly with bland and repetitive games that lacked creativity. Still...
maybe just a little longer wouldn't be too bad ;)
The Many Faces of . . .
Keystone Kapers
by Alan
Hewston
Activision's badge-shaped
"Billy Club" patch courtesy of Atari
Age.
We Kontinue our string of 25th
anniversary tributes, moving on with 1983 - and the many faces of "Keystone
Kapers. Another Activision Klassic, with bright kolors, fun koncept,
simple to learn, easy to kontrol, not too difficult at the beginning, but keeps
getting gradually harder every level. You are officer Keystone Kelly, a member
of the Southwick's Emporium department store security force. You're
former Keystone Kop (Cop - police were nicknamed "coppers" and then "cops" ever
since they had copper badges). Your nemesis is the Krook, Harry Hooligan,
who in full prison garb, has escaped from jail and has looted Southwick's.
You have a fixed amount of time to avoid obstacles and catch Harry before he
escapes. I guess they could have called him the "Mad Bomber" from Kaboom!
- making him a repeat villain. 'Tis a unique combination of a
platformer and chase game. It can also be considered a side-scroller,
where the screen does not actually scroll, i.e. it works like Pitfall (Garry
Kitchen was influenced by David Crane) thus you leave one edge of the screen and
begin at the other edge of the screen while the screen changes room. This
was the first Atari 2600 game to display multiple colors on a single scan
line! And of course, one was able to earn an Activision Patch - and join
the "Billy Club" for sending in a photo of your scores of 30,000, 35,000 or
45,000 points on the Colecovision, Atari 2600, or Atari 5200
respectfully. Many more classic era
screenshots can be found at: www.mobygames.com/game/keystone-kapers/screenshots Original version: Atari
2600 cart by Garry Kitchen 1983 for Activision, Rarity 1 Atari 8 bit computer cart by
Alex DeMeo 1984 for Activision, Rarity 3 Atari 5200 cart by Alex DeMeo
1984 for Activision, Rarity 3 Colecovision cart by Sydney
Software Adapters 1984 for Activision, Rarity 3 Rumor Mill: TI-99
prototype by Activision exisits but not the ROM Classic Era Sequels:
Atariprotos.com indicates that a complete but unreleased 2600 sequel took place
on a train. Come on Garry release that to us! Not covered here - as I do not
have this system: MSX 1984 Pony/Cannon/Activision
uses the same map and all gameplay elements. Graphics look slightly
inferior to the Atari.
1920's style newspaper
manual for 800, 5200 & CV courtesy of Atari
Age
Keystone Kapers Home Version
Similarities - except those in < > all home versions are very similar and
have: no difficulty or starting options other than the levels; begin the action
on levels 1 through 16 <2600 & CV (only begin at level 1)>; subsequent
levels have a gradual progression (very well done) in difficulty whereby the
hazards become more challenging, more numerous and faster moving; levels 17 and
up are assumed to be the same as level 16; if you wait for a bit you'll see a
thorough demo that can last for several levels of action; every game has the
same layout for the store with 4 floors and 8 rooms stretching across; each of
the 8 total screens (side view) contains all 4 floors of the store; the elevator
is always located in the same (almost) middle room and connects floors 1 to 3,
but not the roof; the 3 escalators are always at the end rooms and connect all
floors; some rooms always have the bonus items on them and others always have
hazards; early on the hazards are always the same, but later levels have some
randomness to them, and on some versions the contents can change each time you
enter the room; a mini radar screen (like Defender) displays the entire store,
and within it the locations of Harry, the Elevator and officer Kelly; begin each
game with 4 lives, 3 in reserve; start each level or new life with 50 ticks
(approx 2 seconds each) on the countdown timer; if Harry escapes from you (makes
it to the far side of the roof), or if the timer reaches 0, then you will lose
that life; run out of lives and the game ends; your score and number of
remaining lives is displayed on-screen; before each new level, the level number
is displayed briefly <2600 & CV>; you begin each life or level on the
far right side of the ground floor, whereas Harry starts one floor up at the
elevator; you can run faster than Harry walks, but he will always move away from
you, moving across each floor and then up to the next floor at the edge of each
escalator room; Harry does not actually use the escalator (all of which only go
up) he simply appears at the next floor up and moves away in the opposite
direction; Harry cannot use the elevator either, but you can use both devices
(elevator to go up or down, or the escalators to go up only); if you get ahead
of Harry via the elevator, he will avoid you by reversing directions, and don't
forget that you cannot go back down the escalators; in your pursuit you must
run, duck and jump to avoid all hazards or else lose 9 ticks off the timer if
you make contact with any hazard; fortunately, when you hit a hazard, that
hazard and sometimes the entire set (2 or 3) hazards on that floor/room will
disappear; if you exit and re-enter a room the hazards will re-appear (if they
went away) and be reset to their previous positions; re-entering a room may
(rarely) result in facing a different <2600 & CV?>, but usually just
as hazardous an obstacle; the hazards come alone, or in twos or threes, but
always the same item; these items include stationary radios, bouncing balls,
shopping carts, and the deadly (lose a life upon contact) bi-plane; while inside
the elevator you are safe from all hazards; to use the elevator, step up into
it, and then step down to get out. The combined CV/5200 manual (in
photo) incorrectly notes that you'll score 1,000 points for catching Harry, plus
the timer multiplier. Keystone Kapers Home Version
Similarities Continued: Once you catch Harry, you'll
earn 100 points for every tick remaining on the timer; this 100 point multiplier
increases at level 9 (to 200) and then again at level 17 (to 300); when
recovering items along the way, Kelly earns bonus points which are worth more on
higher floors and more still on higher levels; you can earn a bonus life at
every 10,000 points provided you have fewer than 3 lives remaining; there are
good sound effects for almost everything that you do, when you run, jump,
collect a prize, touch a hazard, lose a life, catch Harry <800, 5200 &
2600> and tally up those timer points; there is a chime (which can be toggled
off/on) every time the elevator door prepares to open <2600 &
CV>. Bronze Medal: Colecovision (39) & Atari 2600 (39) Despite these versions having
the most differences, my scoring resulted in a tie. Depending upon which
differences/features you favor, your scoring at home is likely to break this
tie. But I'm fairly certain that most of you would agree neither of these
is the gold medal winner. Atari 2600 (39)
Atari 2600 screenshot
courtesy of
AtariProtos.coms
My first reaction was the
original sets the tone, and so it is fair game for subsequent ports to try to
make some improvements upon it. Given a chance today, I'm sure than most
of the Atari 800 improved features could be added to the 2600 as well.
Even without any enhancements, this version has the highest score relative to
the average 2600 score for all of the Many Faces games reviewed to date.
So - maybe this is the best one to play. Gameplay is impressive (8) with
several good game elements including - a plot, a decent sized setting or play
area with multiple rooms/floors and a scanner, several types of obstacles and
variations in how they are used, a countdown/bonus timer, a gradual increase in
difficulty with every level and much more. All home versions were pretty
faithful to the original gameplay and earned the same score. Addictiveness
is pretty good (7), with the gradual and creative increase in the difficulty of
each level, up to 16 levels. Then there's always the challenge to score
the amount required to have earned an Activision Patch back in the day.
Too bad there was no break in the action or way to pause the 2600
original. Even so, the difficulty at level 16 will be sufficient to
prevent all but a handful of gamers to play more than 30 minutes in one
game. The Graphics are very good (7) with several types of hazards, good
backgrounds, some amount of detail, good use of multi-color for items and
backgrounds, with decent animation and fine displays. The animation
for all ports is good for Kelly, Harry, the radios, escalators and
bi-plane. I'm disappointed that no version actually says "Game Over", but
I think the 2600 is the only one where the timer "00" flashes when the game is
over. Sound is effective (7) with all of the previously listed sound
effects in place. Other ports added a spot of music to either start and/or
end each level and/or added music throughout. Controls are perfect
(10).
Colecovision (39)
Colecovision screenshot
courtesy of Mobygames
My first reaction was they added
in background graphics but at what cost? Atari 2600 fans may argue that
these are distracting. The Graphics are very good (7) but were close to
dropping a point lower. Too many key elements in the game such as the
hazards, the escalator and prizes are mono-colored, and (typical for the CV)
many of those are black. This detracts from the game, probably more than
the added details help. There is good animation and displays, more details
than the original, and better backgrounds. The color variety is good, but
the color mixtures are questionable and there's almost no multi-color.
Gameplay (8) is all there, with nothing missing, but with a unique addition that
helps both the graphics and the addictiveness is that the elevator is displayed
in the radar even when it is partway between floors on the scanner. This
is an improvement over not knowing where the elevator is. But, more
skilled players could argue that you should always keep an eye on where it was
going in the first place. The tempo of the game, including the elevator is
noticeably faster than other versions, so you have to control the action at a
faster speed. The relative speed of Harry and Kelly are maintained.
Addictiveness is enjoyable (8) with no setbacks, plus the <0> button
toggles the pause. Sound is very good (7) with all the effects. This
is the only version to add a jingle when you catch Harry, which is then still
followed by the tallying of the timer bonus. The Controls (9) just missed
being perfect. The standard controller, the Amiga, the Super Action all
were pretty fair, but still failed me too many times so I deducted.
Granted I can play flawlessly with a 2600 stick, but then one loses the ability
to pause. Colecovision fans will likely score it a 10.
Silver Medal: Atari 5200 (42)
Atari 5200 screenshot
courtesy of AtariAge
My first reaction was this
version pretty much uses the same game code as the Atari home computer.
Alex DeMeo is credited for programming both ports so it is unlikely that he made
any other changes than for the different controls. Gameplay (8) matches
the 2600, but does have 2 slight enhancements. First, some hazards
(infrequently) come from behind you, which IMHO is refreshing and a creative
surprise - or it could be a glitch in the programming - a feature of the
software. Second, when you contact one of a set of (multiple) hazards in
the same room, the entire set may or may not go away. All of them always
go away on the 2600. Again this could be a glitch, but once again is a
great idea. Keeps you honest and rewards you for being proactive - trying
to get past that first hazard in the unbeatable set, instead of a quick
sacrifice to the closest hazard. Another thing worth noting, but I
did not study this in detail - is the timing of the elevator. If you stay
in the elevator room, the elevator seems to be delayed, taunting you - reminding
you not to watch that pot trying to boil. If you exit and wait next door
it seems fine - or maybe it is only my imagination - I need more time to play
test this. The Addictiveness is fantastic (9), with a choice of all
16 start levels so you can always practice the harder levels. Prior to
each level, you even see the level number on screen. You also catch a
short break prior to the start of each new level. Finally, the pause
<Pause> can be used any time - even during the demo mode. Graphics
are beautiful (8) with a fair amount of detail, backgrounds, color variety,
graphics variety, use of multi-color everywhere and good displays and
animation. Sound is enjoyable (8) with a full musical score, nicely
modified to play louder at both the beginning and the end of each level.
The <*> button will toggle off the music. I scored the Controls a
(9). The Masterplay Interface or Wico sticks work pretty well . . . until
the other controller plugged in (standard and even the trackball) decides to
take over and influence the controls. Once this happens your game is all
but over. Once underway, one could unplug (not sure if that would hurt any
hardware) the 5200 controller before it takes over, but then you would not be
able to pause. Maybe I was too generous and Controls should be dropped to
an 8 - regardless it'd still hold onto the Silver medal. Gold Medal: Atari 8-Bit
(43)
Atari 8 bit screenshot
courtesy of Atarimania.com
My first reaction was since this
is essentially the same port as the 5200, the same scores and comments apply
here, except as noted below. Controls are (10) perfect here which
essentially locks in another gold medal. There is no loss of control
ever. The Addictiveness is helped by the pause <Esc> and choice of
all 16 starting levels <Select>. <Option> will toggle off
the music. <Select> will increment the starting level
choices. Acknowledgements, Updates and
Errata since last month. As usual, I am still undecided
which titles will come in subsequent months. There are not a lot of titles
left with "many" faces, which means the task for most titles is easier for me
than it used to be, but then most of the remaining title are also games which I
am not as familiar with, so each month I may play it by ear if I run into
trouble. Come back next month for another
1983 review, the Many Faces of "Robin Hood", our first XONOX title for the
Atari 2600 Commodore 64, Vic 20 and Colecovision. Contact Alan at:
Hewston95@NOSPAMstratos.net or visit the Many Faces of site:
http://my.stratos.net/~hewston95/RT/ManyFacesHome.htm
When one thinks of the classic arcade
shooter a few games come to mind. Asteroids, Space Duel, and Galaxian all
may invoke fond memories of the past of gaming but without a doubt there are few
classic shooters that are as well remembered as the 1981 release of
Galaga. The sequel to the revolutionary Galaxian released two years
earlier, Galaga took arcades by storm with its colorful graphics, memorable
soundtrack, and addictive and challenging gameplay. In the same way that
one would be hard pressed to find an arcade without a Pac-Man machine, nearly
every arcade had at least one Galaga machine. In fact many arcades, pizza
parlors, and the like have them to this day as the game was released in a couple
special anniversary cabinets in recent years. The continued popularity
allows the game to continue to make solid money on location, nearly everyone
plays Galaga, it's one of those magical games that has a minimum rule set which
can be learned and exploited through refined skill. Of course the game
simply being a lot of fun has much to do with that as well. With Galaga
being so popular it has been ported to nearly every video game system capable of
running it, including the NES.
The player takes command of a spaceship in
a battle against swarms of alien insects which zoom onto the screen and
eventually move into formation for attack. After the first few stages a
couple enemies will break off each incoming squadron and dive at the player
kamikaze style while the rest of the group settles into formation.
Additionally the squadrons begin to take a few shots at the player as they form
up after the first couple stages. After all squadrons report and group
into formation at the top of the screen they will begin to dive at the player,
shooting during their descent. Standard enemies simply make a single dive
while bee enemies dive and make a single loop at the bottom of the screen before
continuing downward. All basic enemies wrap around to the top of the
screen if they are not destroyed by the player's fire or a collision with the
player's fighter. Without a doubt what Galaga is most well known for is
the Boss Galaga enemy. In addition to taking two hits to destroy, the Boss
Galaga can also capture the player's fighter and carry it back up into the
formation. If the captured fighter is the last of the player's ships, the
game is over. However if the player has at least one ship in reserve the
next available ship is put into play. When the Boss Galaga that captured
the previous fighter dives down it can be shot and the captured fighter freed,
joining with the current fighter in play for double firepower. However if
the Boss Galaga is shot while still in the formation the captured fighter will
become an enemy, eventually diving down. If the now enemy captured fighter
is allowed to pass by it will return in the next stage and take formation with
another Boss Galaga. A few stages in, a single bee enemy will begin
mutating on each stage and split into three. Shooting all of them will
give the player bonus points. If the split enemies get passed the player's
fighter two of them will disappear while the original enemy they split from
returns to the top of the screen and the formation. Every few stages the
player is presented with a "Challenging Stage" which is a test of skill as
enemies fly in fancy formations, shooting them all will yield a special
bonus.
Bandai handled the development of the
Famicom version under license from Namco, the NES version is exactly the same
with the exception of NES specific copyrights. Once the game is powered up
you'll notice one of the few differences between the NES version and the arcade
original: a graphical title screen representative of the text logo that
appeared on the arcade marquee, albeit far less detailed. Aside from that
the NES port of Galaga is one of the most direct conversions on the
platform. The left / right joystick of the original maps perfectly to the
NES directional pad and both the B and A buttons are used to replicate the
single fire button of the arcade version. While the attract screen isn't
an exact duplicate of the original, there is one present that plays a nice loop
showcasing the basic gameplay. Play control is perfect with the most
accurate response this side of a joystick, the same goes for the fire
buttons. The close calls and strategic moves that made the difference
between higher scores and game over are captured perfectly.
Audio is near perfect with all the sound
effects and musical cues that we've become familiar with. The introduction
theme at the start of the game is a perfect recreation of the original as are
the tunes that play before the challenging stages, when a player's fighter is
captured, when extra lives are earned, and everything in between. Since
there is no high score name registration, the theme that played during this
screen in the arcade plays during the end of game statistics screen on the
NES. In this way the entire arcade audio package makes its way onto the
NES. Sound effects are also recreated wonderfully although the explosion
sound when the player's fighter is destroyed isn't quite as detailed but it's
close enough and fits in fine. Core gameplay is pretty much exactly the
same with the same enemies, most of the same patterns, and all the same gameplay
characteristics. All the mechanics work exactly as they did in the arcade
including enemy captured fighters returning on the next stage if allowed to pass
by the player's fighter.
There is slightly less detail in each
sprite than was present in the arcade but Bandai did a great job at recreating
the over all appearance of everything from the enemies down to the stage
symbols. As with many arcade games of this era the original used a
vertical display which needed to be converted to a horizontal display for the
NES. Bandai decided to move the scores, current stage symbol, and
remaining fighters to the right side of the screen. In this way the
remaining part of the screen used for the playfield is closer in dimension to a
vertical display. However to keep the sprites large and detailed even
though the playfield is scaled down, the empty vertical space in the playfield
of the original is compromised. Although the enemies behave as they did in
the arcade, there is much less distance between the player's fighter and the
level in which the aliens get into formation. Granted it doesn't change a
whole lot about the game but it allows the player to mow through the formation
faster as the aliens start closer to the fighter than they did in the
arcade. This also makes the challenging stages somewhat different since
the enemies are on screen for a shorter amount of time due to the relative loss
of space in the middle.
Officially Galaga on the NES was titled
"Galaga: Demons of Death" but don't be fooled, it's the classic arcade Galaga we
all grew up playing. Galaga is a perfect example of a great game in the
arcade that was translated into a great game on the NES. The NES version
does the arcade original justice by changing very little to allow the game to
perform well on the hardware. It plays exactly like a slightly less
detailed version of the arcade game but there's just as much fun to be had as it
is a superb conversion. The game is also somewhat common so it's an easy
title to find for a few dollars. Chalk this one up as another prime
example of how classic arcade games can be properly recreated on the NES if a
little attention is given.
Welcome back to another installment of
Apple II Incider. I was going to write about some more text
based games this month. However, I got a little time pressed and decided
to write something a little easier. I'll get my focus back next month on
some other text based games.
Simulations were a very popular genre
in the 1980's. From fighter planes, to helicopters, and finally to
submarines, gamers had many choices from which to choose. For submarine
simulations, you had a few choices. The two most popular choices were
probably Gate by Spectrim Holobyte and Silent Service by Microprose.
Silent Service received many good reviews as I recalled and I was
excited to give the game a spin. Considering I was a young teenage in the
1980's, I am surprised I actually had the patience to learn the mechanics of the
game. Silent Service was definitely not one of those arcade type games you
jump right in and play.
Graphically, Silent
Service on the Apple II was good at the time. THe game did a good job of
representing the stations most vital to the submarine including the maps, the
periscope and being on the lookout on the deck of the submarine. For most
gamers money, the best part of the game was probably peering through the
periscope and firing torpedoes at passing ships.
As with most Apple II
games, there wasn't a lot of sound effects. What sound there was pretty
limited. However, the game did support the Mockinboard, an external sound
card for the Apple II. I did not have a sound card at the time I purchased
Silent Service. However, I did pick up a Mockingboard compatible card some
years later, but I do not recall how the sound effects and/or music were
improved.
All in all, I spent a great deal of time playing Silent
Service. I got past the easier levels fairly quickly but struggled in the
higher levels. Interestingly enough, I never did play Gato. I always
thought of picking it up to compare against Silent Service, but it never
happened. However, with the advent of emulators, I may get my wish.
This
month I was able to get through five particular games: Babel no Tou, Ganbare
Goemon 1, Solomon's Key, Valkyrie no Bouken, and Metroid. All five games
are rather complex, and surprisingly, all five games have stood the test of time
in one way or another so as to be presented once again in the future with some
kind of enhanced remake. It occurred to me that last month, I didn't linked to
any of the respective guides that I wrote about, so I fixed that this
month. Let's take a look.
Babel no Tou, or The Tower
of Babel, is a stage based puzzle game created by Namco. Unsurprisingly,
it has nothing to do with the biblical tower that it took it's name from.
In each stage, you have to find some way to arrange an assortment of L
shaped blocks in order to reach the open door and escape. If the door
isn't open, you have to find crystals that will unlock the door. Gravity
is always in effect, so the blocks fall down to the platforms below when you
drop them. However, if you drop them so that they land corner to corner,
they stack and create staircases. Most non-Japanese players will have
little recollection of this title. It was re-released three times, one of
which was unofficial. It found it's way on to the Namco Galleries, a
compilation series made for the original Game Boy (with Super Game Boy
support). And it was contained in the second Namco Anthology, a
PlayStation based compilation of Famicom titles that also included enhanced
remakes of the originals. The enhanced Tower of Babel game kept track of
which of the multiple exits you successfully made it through, in addition to
tracking whether you collected a new item added to each stage. But perhaps
the most impressive remake is not the Namco ones, but a fan remake of the game
for the Sharp X68000 computer. It recreated all 128 puzzles (64 regular,
and 64 pro) exactly, and it enhanced the graphics up to a 16-bit
look.
The original Famicom version
The visually enhanced
x68000 version
Next is "Ganbare
Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu." Many people are only familiar with
the Ganbare Goemon series due to the few localized version that were released
outside of Japan under the title "The Legend of the Mystical Ninja."
Before the series ever made it to the Super Nintendo, there were at least four
releases on the original Famicom. The series is known for its wide variety
of game plays, mini-games, and wacky humor. The first game is more like a
glimpse at the series' humble beginnings. With slightly less gameplay
variety, slightly more monotonous stage arrangements, and a near-absense of the
humor it became so famous for, the first Ganbare Goemon plays a bit more like an
experiment in mixing game presentations. In fact, it's quite long and was
one of the biggest releases on the Famicom in terms of memory when it was
released. While the game doesn't particular stand out, despite the obvious
amount of time and effort that went into it's production, it does set the stage
for later games that helped the series grow in popularity. The first game
in the series was rereleased in Japan on the Game Boy Advance as part of the
Famicom Mini series. Naturally, it wasn't included state-side in the
Classic NES series.
The original Ganbare
Goemon
The more familiar Legend
of the Mystical
Ninja
Solomon's Key is another
stage based puzzle game. I learned something about my guide writing style
when it came to Solomon's Key (and Tower of Babel for that matter): I'm not very
fond of writing stage solutions for puzzle games. Not that I don't enjoy
playing them, because I do. But if anyone reading this is a Solomon Key
expert, please consider contributing stage walkthroughs for either version of
the game. It's hard to say whether most players would be more familiar
with it's arcade presentation or it's NES presentation. The interesting
fact is that both were developed more or less side by side as opposed to the NES
version following on the heels of the arcade version. They were considered
"sister projects" by Tecmo, and they share a majority of stages in common.
However, their stage arrangement and emphasis differ quite a bit from
another. While each version has the same exact micro-goal (Collect the
stage key and exit through the door), the over-arching goals are
different. The Arcade version has more of an emphasis on score and
locating secret stages that can extend playtime and hence score as well.
The NES version is arranged in 12 stages of four that correspond to the 12
zodiac symbols, and the emphasis is more on collecting as many hidden objects as
possible in order to unlock key stages near the end that will help you obtain
the best ending in the game.
The graphically
sophisticated Arcade version
The zodiac stage driven
NES version
Valkyrie
no Bouken holds a special place in my heart. I can't exactly
explain why. It's not an exceptional game, although it's as fondly
remembered by many Japanese players as Zelda or Dragon Warrior is, and it came
out right around the same time. In fact, it's sort of a mash-up of the two
games, featuring the over-world map presentation style of Dragon Warrior, and
the real-time combat style of Zelda. It's an insanely obscure game,
featuring no text or clues of any kind while you're playing through it, which
can lead to people getting stuck or scratching their head in utter confusion due
to the lack of any indication given about where to go or what to do next.
And there are some very non-intuitive steps in the game (like the how to access
the rainbow to reach the third continent.) Nevertheless, there is
something oddly appealing about the game that I can't quite put my finger
on. Maybe it has something to do with the Valkyrie's place in video
history as a minor Namco mascot, never quite reaching the level of fame and
popularity that Pac-Man obviously did, but being thought of quite fondly by all
those who were aware of her. Two other game have appeared in the Valkyrie
series, one of which was in the arcade ad ported to the PC-Engine
(TurboGrafx-16), and the other, which was more of a prequel, appeared on the
SNES. The original game was also featured on the second Namco Anthology
disc, and featured a far more linear remake that was remeniscent of the arcade
version. However, the truest recreation of the game can only be found on
Japanese cell phones, where the entire game was given a graphical facelift, but
otherwise left entirely untouched, featuring the same obscure puzzles and hidden
items as the Famicom version (and of course, blond hair for the Valkyrie).
While researching this particular title, I found an excellent website
concerning the history of the Valkyrie series, and it's sibling series The Tower
of Druaga. Take a look at their Valkyrie reveiw over at http://www.devimension.com/dvp_doc_database/dev_docu002.html.
The start of the original
Famicom version
The graphically
charged cell phone
version
Ah, Metroid. What can be said
about Metroid that most people don't already know. Metroid is probably one
of the top ten most fondly remembered NES games, and with good reason. The
series has blossomed from it's 2D origins into one that has simultaneously
continued in 2D thanks to Game Boy Advance offerings such as Metroid Fusion and
Metroid: Zero Mission, and in 3D thanks to the entire Metroid Prime series, the
latest of which has benefited from the original control designs of the
Wii. All of this while still keeping the Samus Aran character close to our
hearts... and ever present through the Smash Bros. series. Probably the
least known aspect of the game (although still fairly well known these days) is
the fact that the game started out on the Famicom Disk System, and featured a
save system nearly identical to The Legend of Zelda, before it was shipped
outside of Japan in a cartridge and featured a password system. Many
people are under the impression that the name "JUSTIN BAILEY" which can be
entered as a password with all spaces or dashes beneath, holds some special
significance, but it does not. The first Metroid is full of mysteries that
continue to intrigue players even to this day, like the existance of the fake
Mini-Boss Kraid, and the hidden worlds that can be accessed by wall jumping
through ceilings and finding odd results on the other side. By the way, if
you are a fan of the first Metroid, and haven't played through the Game Boy
Advance version of Metroid: Zero Mission, do yourself a big favor and play
through it as soon as possible.
The original NES version
of Metroid
The enhanced remake on the
GBA
Growing up with Games: Part II
by Brian H.
Last
we heard, the family was enjoying America's favorite pastime...the Atari
2600.Allowances, birthday money, spare change, everything I
had went towards purchasing that "must have" new game that looked so good on the
back of the box!Then, reality sets in...after playing this
'wonder' for about 20 minutes, you start to realize that a lot of these games
are pretty much the same concept, only with different shapes and
colors.
I can remember
looking forward to visiting K-Mart and other similar large department
stores.While Dad was looking at tools and hardware, Mom was
shopping for clothes and household items, and me....I was running to the back
towards electronics to get my share of gaming on the Uber-Kiosk!
This
was a marvel to behold.All the newest games at your
disposal, for free!Pity the younger kid that thought he was
going to keep playing Yar's Revenge when I arrived!
1981 -
Arriving at a friend of a friend's house, I was looking forward to playing some
games with other kids...only to find that they did not possess the most common of
items, the 2600.No, on the screen I heard a voice emerge
from the little TV speaker.What the $#$!!Major League Baseball....with realistic players, and voice!This was amazing.I had seen the Intellivision at
stores, but the price was far too high to consider, especially since we had
accumulated a rather large library of 2600 games.
The controller
was rather unique in that it had no joystick.A circular disc
with a keypad?Colorful overlays that slid in, revealing what
keys performed when pressed.I was hooked.
Astrosmash, Space Hawk, MLB, NFL, Auto Race, Utopia, Frog
Bog, the list went on......
A
couple of years went by and we still played our Sears Telegames VCS.New games from Activision had us coming back for more.Improved graphics and sound kept us feeling jealous of our INTV-owning
friends.
I bought the
magazines such as Electronic Games and Video Computer Entertainment.The reviews and ads were always fun to look at and wish for the newest
game "Coming Soon"!
The arcades
were booming and we all wished we could play these games at home.Hi-res graphics, quality sound effects, and a more involved
play.Well, it was right around the corner.....
The Colecovision and the Atari 5200
Supersystem
Anyone who
is old enough to remember these first coming onto store shelves can relate to me
here.
Colecovision - Zaxxon, Donkey Kong, Mouse
Trap, Cosmic Avenger, and the list went on.....
Atari 5200 - Vanguard, Missile Command, Pac-Man, Centipede,
Defender, and the list went on....
What a
great time to be a kid who likes video games!The competition
was on.Prices were reduced on 2600 games (yeah!), and the
weekly ads were filled with pictures, TV commercials on every station
advertising their newest technology...to take the arcade experience
home.And for the most part....they succeeded.
What
happens when you have too many games on the market?Great
quality and selection?Nooooo.....
Every company
on earth thought that they could make a 'decent' game and profit from
it.Customers were confused, disappointed, irritated, and
downright pissed.What does this do to the gaming
market?
Crash!!!!
You
know who loved the crash?A young kid from Ohio who loved going
through all the dump bins at every department and toy store...picking up games
that used to cost 22.99, and now could be had for 3.99, that's who!
My
collection grew and grew.So what if they weren't the
greatest games, fun for awhile, and at that price!If you
didn't like it....sell it to your little cousin for six bucks and make a little
profit on the side.See, some people did alright during the
great videogame crash of the 80's!
Game Over
Once again, I would like to thank all of
our readers for their continued support. We do it for you. See you
next month.
Welcome back to another installment of
Apple II Incider. I was going to write about some more text
based games this month. However, I got a little time pressed and decided
to write something a little easier. I'll get my focus back next month on
some other text based games. 
Graphically, Silent
Service on the Apple II was good at the time. THe game did a good job of
representing the stations most vital to the submarine including the maps, the
periscope and being on the lookout on the deck of the submarine. For most
gamers money, the best part of the game was probably peering through the
periscope and firing torpedoes at passing ships. 
