The Retrogaming Times
- The Bimonthly Retrogaming Hobbyist
Newsletter -
| The
Retrogaming Times |
Thirty-Sixth Issue
- January 2022
|
Greetings
everyone and Happy New Year! This is planned to be a banner year
for The Retrogaming Times for a number of reasons. Make sure you
don't skip over the first article below, as it contains some very
important information about the year ahead and the newsletter as a
whole. If you have previously written for a Retrogaming Times
newsletter please contact me as soon as possible. Additionally if
you have always thought about writing for The Retrogaming Times, right
now is the time to do it. Things are going to change this year
but it is all intended to culminate in a grand celebration.
2022 begins
with a bang as we present a very large issue packed with retrogaming of
every category. More C64! starts off the new year with a
high-quality RPG in the Japanese style, bringing a very impressive game
to the platform with Merman's review of The Briley Witch
Chronicles. Donald Lee presents a retrospective on his history
with Apple II publications and shares where you can read some new ones
in the Apple II Incider. This issue's cover story features what
was long considered to be a forgotten game created by industry pioneer
Shigeru Miyamoto, as we get to the bottom of Mole Mania. After
much time away, Mateus Fedozzi returns with some modern Sega Master
System Memories as he presents new SMS games from French publisher
2Minds. Another familiar face that we are glad to see back again,
Rob Luther, shares stories and analysis of the Genesis classic Shining
Force in The Retro Junkie. If you're still feeling the Christmas
spirit, be sure to check out Dan Pettis' detailed review of a recent
film that attempts to capture the frantic magic of an 8-Bit
Christmas. If you hunger for a portable arcade romp on the go
with a little something extra on the side, bite into our review of
BurgerTime Deluxe but hold the pickles, please. Additionally a
personal story is shared, framed around a mystifying first encounter
with the Nintendo Entertainment System. All that and more are
ahead in this issue of The Retrogaming Times!
I want
to
again remind our readers if
they
have comments or questions about anything covered in the newsletter, or
there is something they would like featured in a future issue of The
Retrogaming
Times, to contact me directly at trt@classicplastic.net!
Of course article submissions are also always open. If you have
something
ready to go, the address is the same, trt@classicplastic.net. "If
there is something you want to write about, send it in!"
If
you're stir crazy at home and are a retrogamer, there has to be
something on your mind - let us know by submitting an article!
Hi everyone,
I'm going to break a bit of an unwritten policy I have and address you,
our readers, directly. If you're new to the newsletter, my name's
David and I serve as Chief Editor of The Retrogaming Times. I was
also a Contributing Writer for the previous incarnation of the
newsletter, Retrogaming Times Monthly, from 2004 to 2013.
Back in 2016
when I began to get serious about restarting the
newsletter, I set a few long-term goals for us to attempt to
reach. These were never talked about publicly back then, as they
were milestones I set for myself as editor and publisher. They
would come up from time to time within our staff issue debriefs as we
would complete them, and there were always four key events I was aiming
for:
1. Complete one year of issues.
- This was way
easier to do than I first thought it would be. The
fear was that no one would come back when I sent out the initial
request to spin the newsletter up again. While I did have some
responses that ultimately never resulted in article submissions, the
response was solid enough that we were able to get things going again
and the newsletter was reborn. We accomplished this
in January 2017.
2. Publish ten issues, up to September
2017, which would be the original newsletter's 20th anniversary.
- It wasn't
much farther to the second goal and the response was pretty
amazing, with previous Retrogaming Times and Retrogaming Times Monthly
staff returning for that special anniversary issue, still our largest
to date. I figured if we could get to that 20th anniversary then
I would be satisfied no matter what came next and that has held
true. We accomplished this
in September 2017.
3. Establish a .PDF archive of the
entire history of all "Retrogaming Times" newsletters.
- The
Newsletter Legacy Archive as it came to be known was by far the
largest undertaking I've embarked on in relation to The Retrogaming
Times. Of course this is ongoing as we continue to release
issues, and I have 30 RTM issues that still need to be converted into
standard format, but as it stands the entire back catalog of releases
is easily accessible by all. This
went live in January 2018.
4. Complete five years of issues.
- I honestly
always considered this to be the total pie in the sky
objective. Meeting the 20th anniversary and completing the .PDF
archive were the big ones in my mind and I had a fear that I would
become disinterested after that. If anything I thought five years
was a nice solid "best case" number in the distance and if we hit it
then I would be totally content with however things would go
after. Well that was a year ago, believe it or not, and the
newsletter has only grown since then with new contributors and larger
issues. We accomplished this
in January 2021.
With those
four objectives met, the question became "what comes
next?" Last January when we were wrapping up that fifth year of
issues, I announced to staff that while I had no intention of walking
away from the newsletter or calling it a day in 2021, I knew it
couldn't go on forever and I really didn't want to try to. The
plan was always to continue with things as they were for the
foreseeable future, which is what we did through 2021 to great
success. Just the same, it was during that staff debrief that I
set a final goal for The Retrogaming Times - to make it to September
2022. This September will be the 25th anniversary of the original
Retrogaming Times and I figure a quarter of a century milestone would
be a
fitting time to say goodbye.
So
it is with this issue that I publicly announce the final issue of The
Retrogaming Times will be September 2022.
That will be
our fortieth issue and serve as a celebration of
twenty-five years of Retrogaming Times. Retrogaming Times Monthly
never got to go out with the celebration it deserved nor with the
banner held high that it helped create. That always bothered me,
which was one of the biggest catalysts in my drive to relaunch the
newsletter. As with the 20th anniversary issue, my goal is to get
as many alumni to come back as possible for a final column or two.
If you or
ANYONE you know has written for ANY "Retrogaming Times"
family newsletter over the past 25 years, PLEASE
e-mail me! I'm going to attempt to get as many alumni as
possible back to write for that final issue, to write a very special
article in addition to anything else they would like to
contribute. I want us to go out with a grand celebration.
Over the next month I will begin to reach out to as many people as I
can from our history but as the digital world has changed so much since
1997, finding contacts that are still active can be difficult.
PLEASE put the word out for Retrogaming Times, Bit Age Times,
Retrogaming Times Monthly and The Retrogaming Times past staff to get
in touch with me and take part in celebrating a quarter century of our incredible
newsletter!
With that, we
have five wonderful issues left including this one.
That means there are four chances remaining for any of you, our
readers, to contribute to the newsletter and join a great retrogaming
tradition. Please enjoy the issue ahead and the year to come.
NOTICE: Due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, many shows and events have canceled, postponed, or
modified their dates. For the latest on the events listed below,
please visit their individual websites or contact their relevant
customer support channels as the current situation continues to
unfold. Thank you.
KansasFest, July 19th - 24th 2022,
Kansas City, Missouri, USA
KansasFest is
the world’s only annual convention dedicated to the Apple II computer
that revolutionized the personal computing industry. KansasFest
invites hobbyists, retrocomputing enthusiasts, and diehard aficionados
to gather from all corners of the world.
KansasFest is
about a computer and a camaraderie unlike anything
else. The Apple II attracts people of a certain mindset and
spirit who exhibit a rare creativity, resilience, dedication, history,
and nonconformity. The Apple II has lasted for more than 40
years, and the friendships and memories made at KansasFest will last
even longer.
For more
information, visit http://www.kansasfest.org/
~
~ ~
Classic Game Fest, July 23rd - 24th
2022, Austin, Texas, USA
The biggest
retro gaming event in Texas is back for its 15th anniversary! Enjoy 70,000 square feet of retro video
games and fun at the Palmer Events Center. The annual summer event will feature all
the expected attractions
including special guests, live music, free play games, a massive vendor
hall and more. Ticket information will be available
soon.
For more
information, visit https://classicgamefest.com/
~
~ ~
If there is a
show or event you would
like listed here, free of charge, please contact David directly at trt@classicplastic.net.
Please include a short official blurb about your event along with any
relevant
links or contact information and it will be published in the next issue
of The Retrogaming Times. The event listing will remain posted
until
the issue following the event date. Big or small, we want to
promote
your show in our newsletter.
Check out
these great events, shows,
and conventions and let them know you read about them in The
Retrogaming
Times!
 |
| More
C64! - The Briley Witch Chronicles |
| by Merman |
|
There have been very few
Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs) on the Commodore 64, which made The
Briley Witch Chronicles one of the most anticipated releases of 2021.
What makes a JRPG different, and why should you play the latest title
from Sarah Jane Avory?
Banner for The
Briley Witch Chronicles
FROM THE EAST
The JRPG evolved in a
unique way. Inspiration came from the West, with Japanese designers
playing the early Ultima and Wizardry titles. But the games they would
go on to make - for Japanese computers and the emerging consoles,
especially the Famicom / NES - would have distinct differences. Where
Western RPGs embraced a 3D view for exploration in the likes of SSI's
Dungeons & Dragons games or the dungeon crawl of Dungeon Master,
Japanese games tended to stick with an overworld viewed from overhead.
Both involved talking to NPCs (Non-Player Characters) and earning XP
(experience) to improve your characters. But Japanese games often
introduced Classes or Jobs, with the player earning additional Skills
as they progressed.
The major difference was
the turn-based battle. A random encounter in the overworld would see
the player's view shifted to a side-on view, with their party on one
side and the monsters encountered on the other. Menus give access to
physical combat, magic powers, and items. This also led to the spin-off
genre of tactical RPGs, often with an isometric battleground (as seen
in Final Fantasy Tactics or the Battle Ogre series).
Of course, we can't talk
about JRPGs without mentioning two of the biggest series - Final
Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Although the early games in both had limited
releases in the West, from the PlayStation era and Final Fantasy VII
onwards the West has paid more attention to the genre - and the epic,
sweeping stories that the games tell. With many hours of gameplay and
intriguing plots, it is easy to get lost and deeply involved in a JRPG.
A SHORT PRELUDE
One of the few C64 JRPGs
to date was an entry into the RGCD 16K Cartridge Coding Competition.
Georg Rottensteiner's PENULTIMATE
FANTASY was of course inspired by the early Final Fantasy games,
down to the blue and white colours of the in-game menu. Roaming the
overworld, the player's character can enter dungeons and buildings to
search for items. Party members can be recruited as you search for four
crystals to place on the pillars found near the start. When monsters
are encountered, the action switches to the classic side-on view and
the tactical menus come into play. Graphics are small and cutely drawn,
with distinctive monsters. It's a fun take on the idea, but of course
the limited memory means there is not much in the way of a storyline
and little explanatory text.
For further adventuring,
Georg also created WONDERLAND.
This is more closely inspired by the original Legend of Zelda game on
the NES, being an action RPG. And if you are someone who enjoyed the
second Zelda game, it is worth checking out the less well-known CHESTER FIELD from Vic Tokai. This
side-scrolling action RPG draws on influences from Zelda II and the
later Wonder Boy games, with the player upgrading their equipment in
shops and seeking out quests. In terms of story-based games, the
closest to a JRPG on the C64 is THE
FAERY TALE ADVENTURE. But that has its flaws, being a cut-down
conversion of a bigger 16-bit game.
Fighting
an
enemy in Penultimate Fantasy - and starting out on your quest in
Wonderland.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Sarah Jane Avory has
become one of the top C64 game designers over the last few years. She
has been in the games industry for years, starting at software house
Orpheus back in the 1980s. Working for the likes of Core Design, Sarah
took a break to become an author. She wrote a series of books called
The Briley Witch Chronicles, following a woman drawn from Earth into
another world where she gains the power of a witch - and is accompanied
by her cat Smokey (who can talk to her in this magical place).
Sarah announced herself
on the C64 with the vertically scrolling shoot 'em up NEUTRON, based on the classic arcade
game Star Force. This was followed by a Christmas-skinned version known
as SANTRON. Another vertically
scrolling shoot 'em up came next, as ZETA
WING - which Sarah based on her earlier work converting Gemini
Wing to the Amiga. The large bosses and parallax scrolling are
particularly impressive. The action switched to horizontal scrolling
with the incredible SOUL FORCE
released at the end of 2020. Over 20 huge levels, multiple bosses, and
a clever dynamic soundtrack, this cartridge-based release deservedly
sold in large numbers. (And at the time of writing, Sarah is working on
Snow Force, a Christmas adaptation of Soul Force, which looks like a
lot of fun. Her next big project is Zeta Wing 2).
The
Christmas-themed Santron, and an impressive boss from Soul Force.
A KIND OF MAGIC
Briley returns home from
an exhausting day at work and feeds her cat Smokey. When the phone
rings, Briley talks to her mother who suggests lighting a candle to
help her relax and meditate. This is where the player takes control,
searching the house for the candle and lighting it. And when she
meditates, a strange spirit draws Briley and Smokey into another world.
The game starts with an
intro sequence showing a spirit being imprisoned and then released. On
the title screen the player can start a NEW GAME or CONTINUE an old
game. As the game is on an EasyFlash cartridge image, there are four
save slots on the cartridge - or the player can save to four slots on a
formatted disk in drive 8 or 9 instead. There is a choice of
difficulty. EASY makes the battles easier and allows you to follow the
story, while NORMAL has tougher enemies.
Arriving in this strange
world, Briley finds herself under the protection of a family - but she
must perform tasks for them, such as delivering bread. And somehow
Smokey can talk. Briley can then move around the village of Maepole,
where the residents are under an evil curse. Can Briley find a cure,
involving the herbs growing around the village? Can she develop and
grow her magic powers? And will everyone welcome her to the village?
Briley moves around the
village, which is split into large sections. She can enter buildings,
talk to people, and pick herbs. Signposts point to important locations.
Control is from the joystick, pressing Fire to perform an action or
holding Fire to go into the menu system. Here the player can look at
the stats of the character, use items they have found and save the game
(although this is not possible in certain situations). The extremely
useful REMIND option will give a hint on where to go or what to do next.
The title
screen, and here in the menus you can see the REMIND option.
Talking to characters
brings up a portrait of the character talking. And Sarah herself
appears, giving you instructions on how to play or access certain
functions. In certain situations, there will be a choice of dialogue -
selecting an option will prompt the character you are talking with to
give you more information on that subject. As the plot advances, other
characters will join Briley in her quest, following her in the
overworld.
When Briley explores the
forest around the village, she will run into random encounters with
enemies. Here the view switches to the turn-based battle, with the
party on the left and the monsters on the right. One side will
sometimes have the element of surprise, giving them the first attack.
It is possible to try and flee a battle, but it is not always
successful. Each character can then choose to carry out a physical
attack (boosted by carrying a weapon), defend (to reduce the damage
taken from an attack), use an item (often to heal), cast magic (if they
have that ability) or use a Skill (which are earned as the game
progresses). An example Skill is Smokey's Slash x2, giving two hits on
the same enemy - but Skills are limited by Skill Points, and Magic by
Magic Points. Targeting an enemy is as simple as moving the cursor to
them and pressing Fire. Once the player has chosen actions for all the
party, they are carried out (and if a targeted enemy has been killed,
any attacks will be shifted to another enemy). Once all the enemies are
wiped out, the characters earn XP (experience), Hit Points and other
points (regaining spent Skill or Magic Points slowly).
Getting
ready
to attack the buzzards with help from Sebastian - and choosing the
right dialogue option can reveal more choices.
It is the story that
makes Briley Witch so compelling. With more than fifteen hours of
gameplay, and more if you complete the side-quests or take your time
exploring, there is a lot of depth. Hidden around the locations are
more than fifty foxes to rescue, and you can keep track of how many you
have found in the menu. The way you meet new characters and gradually
develop Briley's powers is managed well. The dialogue is fantastic,
from the sarcastic cat Smokey to the believable worries and fears of
the villagers. And once you have helped the village, the world map
gives access to more locations.
Graphically the game is
particularly good. The village and forest look great, and a change of
palette gives day and night versions. The sprites themselves are well
animated and move around with style. Best of all are the small
character portraits, filled with detail and really adding to the
feeling of the game. The soundtrack, composed by Sarah herself, is an
interesting one. There are themes and motifs that recur, and as your
time in the village grows the music changes with the mood of the game.
The dynamic and fast battle theme also adds to the urgency. Since
release there have been a series of patches to fix bugs with the save
routines and improve the game, so it is worth making sure you have the
latest release downloaded.
The
dialogue
between Briley and Smokey is enjoyable, and sometimes you must explore
the village at night.
At the time of writing,
the game has sold over 750 digital copies in its first month. Sarah is
still deciding whether there will be a physical version to purchase.
The great news is that she is already planning two sequels, covering
the rest of the Briley Witch novels - and an Amiga conversion of the
first game is underway. For those who want to enjoy a long and
involving story in the JRPG style, there is simply no missing one of
the best C64 games of 2021 - and a landmark RPG for 8-bit computers.
The
screen
shakes as Briley mixes a spell in the cauldron, and Sarah tells you
essential information about spells...
WEB LINKS
Purchase the C64 game at:
https://sarahjaneavory.itch.io/briley-witch-chronicles
Minimum pricing $9.99
plus sales tax - PAL and NTSC compatible, works with the C64 Mini and
THEC64, supports the 2-button C64GS joystick.
https://sarahjaneavory.itch.io/
Sarah's main itch.io
page for her other titles
https://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Jane-Avory/e/B00CYHDT8M
Sarah's Amazon author
page, for the Briley Witch novels
 |
| Apple
II Incider - Juiced GS - Apple II Retrospective |
| by Donald
Lee |
|
It's early December as I write this
but it will be into 2022 when you read this, so hope everyone had a
happy and safe holiday season. My December will be a busy one
with basketball officiating and other activities possibly with
friends. Not everything is planned yet but that's ok. With
the weird past few years we've had, any time spent with friends is
good. As we begin a new year in 2022, I will take a look back
into Apple II history, namely the mid to late 1990's via the long
running Juiced.GS magazine (https://juiced.gs).
Some context here. As a long
time Apple II user, I had always supported Apple II magazines. My
dad had started with Incider, A+, and Apple Orchard. I continued
reading those magazines until they folded. I then supported II
Alive (via Quality Computers) and Shareware Solutions (via former
Insider / A+ writer Joe Kohn). But since the late 1990's, when my
subscriptions ended for Shareware Solutions and II Alive, I have not
subscribed to any Apple II magazine. However as noted in this
column many times, Juiced.GS has been publishing for over 25 years.
I strongly debated subscribing to the
magazine, as I don't really want more stuff occupying space in my
house. Yet I wanted to support the publisher. Fortunately
the publisher sold back issues of Juiced.GS in PDF format. I
decided to purchase the first 10 years worth of issues (40 in total)
recently. The first issue is dated Winter 1996. Reading the
first two years of the magazine (8 issues) was like taking a time
machine back to the mid 1990's. Most of the information that was
presented had been published by other magazines at that time but it was
good see the same information from a different perspective.
Looking back at the mid
1990's, while
Apple Computer Inc. had discontinued the Apple II series of computers,
there was still great enthusiasm in the community. A web browser
for the Apple IIGS was developed. The beginnings of a long
conversion of the hit Wolfenstein 3D to the Apple IIGS was started and
completed in the late 1990's. Trying to read all the issues
before I wrote this article would be tough so I jumped to the 1st issue
of 2005 (dated February 2005) which would make it the first issue of
the 10th volume (or year) of Juiced.GS. Appropriately, the cover
story was talking about "A decade of Juiced.GS" and how things had
changed in the decade since the magazine started. Also in this
issue was a discussion of the venerable spreadsheet program
VisiCalc! I'm a historian by nature and reading some of these
older issues of Juiced.GS was a nice look back. I'll go through
all the issues I purchased at some point and likely purchase the next
ten years worth of magazines to complete my reading. Juiced.GS is
set to publish in 2022 and hopefully for years to come. It's
worth a read whether you are looking at historical or current Apple II
news.
Regardless
of how you feel about Nintendo today or in the past, you have to admit
that Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the most influential people in the
history of video games. His ability to design quality games from
the early arcade era to the modern day is something few others have
even
remotely come close to doing. While I'm one of the last people
that will go on record saying every game he's ever worked on was an
amazing title, and argue that many game mechanics he is sometimes
credited with were in fact taken from earlier games, his creations have
really stood the test of time. Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda and
others are industry defining series that have helped shape the face of
gaming as many of us know it.
At this point
it's a little hard to find a title that Miyamoto worked on that most
people don't know about or treasure, with the Famicom exclusive Devil
World being the odd game out that generally comes to mind.
However there's one gem of a Game Boy game that many seem to overlook
and unlike Devil World it was actually released outside of Japan.
With a combination of action reflexes and intense
puzzles, Mole Mania should have been one of the most fondly remembered
titles of
the platform - but it wasn't. Would you believe that it all had
to do with poor timing? In Japan the game was released shortly
after the original incarnations of the Pokemon games and never stood a
chance to even make a dent in sales. Once Mole Mania had its
North
American release, the Game Boy market had just about dried up.
Although the localized releases of Pokemon as Red and Blue would
relight the Game Boy's fire on our shores, that was still awhile away
and there wasn't much attention being paid to the aging hardware at the
time. It's a shame, as Mole Mania is an awesome title and
quite possibly one of the most perfect puzzle games for a handheld.
Muddy Mole
returns home one day to find that the farmer Jinbe has
kidnapped his wife and seven children. Each of his children have
been taken to one of the seven levels of Jinbe Land, with his wife
being held at Jinbe's
castle. Access to the castle is only opened once all seven levels
are conquered, however after completing the first level the remaining
ones can be tackled in any order. Each level gets progressively
more difficult, usually utilizing tricks and gameplay elements
introduced
in the previous areas. Due to this progressive challenge and
learning curve, it's suggested to play the levels in order.
The basic
premise of each level is simple. The levels are made up
of a series of interconnected screens that act as a linear maze, the
later the level, the more screens that it contains. This means
that the levels get longer the further you play. The main
objective of each screen is to open the exit by pushing or throwing a
bomb into a stone square that blocks the exit. Once this is
complete, any steel blockers or enemies on the screen disappear and
Muddy is allowed to continue on his journey. The catch is that
there is only one bomb per stone square (some screens have multiple
exits that lead to bonus areas or the like) and the trick to the game
is to find a way to get the bomb over to the block and blow the exit
open. Of course the screens aren't that straightforward.
Areas will be littered with obstacles that can help, hinder or do both
to your progress. Steel blockers can be pushed but not pulled and
allow a thrown object to stop against them. Barrels can fill open
holes, allowing objects to be moved across them. Pipes change the
direction of barrels or bombs thrown through them and are used to bank
objects around tight corners. Cabbages could be considered the
main bonus item of Mole Mania. There are twenty cabbages per
level and while they can be used as blockers, every five that are
thrown in an open hole allow Muddy to recover one quarter of his life
meter. There are also arrows that redirect objects that come into
contact with them, spiked areas that cannot be crossed (however objects
can be moved over them) and moving enemies - lots of enemies.
Being a mole,
Muddy has a unique ability that lends itself to what
makes the game stand out from similar titles such as Adventures of
Lolo. Anywhere there is soft soil, Muddy can dig a hole and the
underground world becomes visible. Here, Muddy can navigate below
the above ground hazards and surface anywhere there is soft
soil. This dual level design is critical to planning strategies
for clearing each screen. If the bomb is dropped into a hole
anywhere on the screen, it will reappear back at its starting
point. That's where the barrels come in. A plugged up hole
will allow the bomb to be thrown or dragged across without
submerging. However a barrel filled hole also acts as an
irremovable blocker underground. Additionally the below ground
world can lend itself to just as many navigational challenges at the
world above. As long as soft ground permits, Muddy can take a
peek above ground from below the surface without making a hole.
It is critical to "look before you leap" to avoid enemy encounters or
an incorrectly placed hole. While most enemies stay above ground,
there is one type that submerges just like Muddy and follows the
tunnels beneath. All standard enemies can be dispatched by having
a thrown cabbage, barrel or bomb come into contact with them.
Muddy has a life meter that consists of four quadrants. Each hit
from an enemy or contact with a moving object will take one away, once
the meter is empty it's game over. If Muddy ends up making a
screen impossible to solve, exiting and entering the screen will reset
it. Every few screens Gramps Mole will offer a life meter refill
as well as some words of advice. There are also signboards
throughout the world of Jinbe Land with messages to help the player and
advance the story.
In addition to
the core game there are four special objects hidden
throughout each level. A map
will show a grid layout of the level
on the status screen. The little radar
will show where the boss,
bonus stage, and life meter recharge areas are. A potion will
refill your heart meter one time. Finally a hand will allow you
to skip a screen you were unable to complete, however it will not be
counted as cleared. The bonus stages consist of attempting to
clear the screen of cabbages by throwing them down holes while Jinbe
gives chase. The bonus stages can be lost and retried as many
times as the player would like, there's no penalty for losing
them. However the reward for completing the bonus stages doesn't
happen until the end of each level. Everything the
player did within the level counts toward a level ranking and
ultimately the level completion score. For 100 points, every area
on the map must have been cleared, all four bonus items must have been
collected, all twenty cabbages must have been dropped into a hole, and
the bonus stage must have been completed as well. Quite the
challenge, especially on the later levels.
Muddy preparing to
fling a cabbage behind him (left), pushing large tacks beneath the
first boss while he is in the air (right)
As it did with
the basic gameplay, Adventures of Lolo comes to mind when I
think Mole Mania's visual presentation. Every movable object on
the screen has on
average the same size, which plays perfectly with the idea of the
screens being broken down into grids. The amount of detail here
for the
old Game Boy is very good, easily on the same level of a game like
Link's Awakening, with fluid and clean movement. All objects and
enemies
are clearly illustrated and easy to identify. Cabbages blend in
just a bit with some of the backgrounds on the later levels but that's
part of the challenge of finding them all. Muddy and Jinbe are
both well drawn as are the cutscenes that play between levels and the
signboards that help with information. Each boss character is
completely different from one another and most take up three to four
times as much space as the standard enemies. The bosses in this
game really are super detailed and react to damage with different
animations. The Snowman boss in particular actually splits off
into smaller versions of himself as the battle goes on. There's
very little slowdown or flicker and everything remains sharp throughout
the entire game, especially when played on a Game Boy Pocket.
I've read some
complaints about the sound design, particularly the
music. Personally I find the music very enjoyable and just
thinking about the game will cause its music to get suck in my
head. However the sound effects really do lack any kind of
spice. There are the expected
sounds when objects collide, when enemies are defeated, and when damage
is
taken - all of them passable but lacking anything to really make them
memorable. In fact the music plays a bigger role here, with event
specific
jingles such as when a screen is
cleared or a boss appears in addition to a handful of catchy background
tunes.
Again, I really enjoy the music of this game
and think it fits perfectly with the type of gameplay. Never once
did I turn the volume off and never once did the music or sound effects
become even the least bit irritating. With a puzzle game that
demands precise movement one would hope that
control would be perfect and with Mole Mania it is. The basics
can be figured out within a couple minutes of play and advanced
techniques are explained throughout the game by the use of
signboards. Any lapse in control will be caused by a break in
concentration, usually resulting in fifteen minutes of planning being
smashed apart in a couple seconds.
There's a lot
of game to be had initially, especially if you're going
for 100% completion. Sadly there are no special bonuses or extra
features for completing the game 100%. In fact the game feels a
tiny bit unfinished after the credits roll and you are brought to the
final statistics area. The two player mode is basically the bonus
stage played with one player as Muddy and the other as Jinbe, so
there's really not a lot there either. Really working hard at it,
it took me a little over seven hours to complete the game the first
time, going by the
in game clock, and playing on a Game Boy Pocket. Some of the
screens take as long as fifteen
to twenty minutes to figure out and then put into motion - not counting
a last minute screwup. I wish the over all replay was higher but
really, after completing the game you probably won't want to come back
for awhile. That said, that first playthrough is a total blast
and well worth your time.
I really
consider Mole Mania to be an unsung classic. If you like overhead
puzzle games
such as Boxxle and Adventures of Lolo then you'll probably love Mole
Mania. It's a combination of both titles with a bunch of stuff in
motion the entire time. The difficulty curve can be rather
misleading, especially with how easy and approachable the first couple
levels are. Thankfully it never becomes quite as devious as the
Lolo / Eggerland games can be but a few rooms do present a complex
challenge, getting close to what some of the highest level Lolo screens
subject the player to. The only huge drawback are the bonus
stages, which are awful. They're simply much too difficult and
end
up feeling like a huge chore - quite the contradiction to what most
think of concerning a bonus stage. On top of that the reward for
completing them is nothing but the final twenty points to get 100 for a
perfect clear of the level, which itself doesn't change anything
other than knowing you got 100%. The boss stages each require
different strategies and are very interesting combinations of planning
and reaction. Fighting Jinbe at the end of the game will pose
quite a challenge to even the most experienced gamer - I know I wanted
to flip my Game Boy across the room a couple times. Mole Mania is
also Super Game Boy enhanced, sporting a nice palette and custom
boarder. Anyone looking for a great puzzle game to take on the go
couldn't do much better than Mole Mania. Admittedly I would have
passed Mole Mania by like everyone else if it weren't for two
of my sisters receiving Game Boy Pocket systems for Christmas in
1997. Along with the handheld, one of them received Donkey Kong
Land 2 (an amazing Game Boy game in its own right) and the other Mole
Mania. No idea what happened to Donkey Kong Land 2 but that copy
of Mole Mania eventually found its way into my hands, where it remains
to this day.
 |
SMS
Memories: Return of the Master -
Starring 2Minds the French Publisher |
| by Mateus
Fedozzi |
|
Last time I wrote for The Retrogaming
Times, I was after a copy of Sydney Hunter for the Master System. Well,
it turns out it's easier to find a bottle of water in the desert! But
don't you start thinking the Sega 8-bit wonder is out of other homebrew
options. Enter 2Minds (https://www.2minds.fr/en/),
a European publisher devoted exclusively to my precious little Z80
games machine.
2Minds started with a bang: it
released four GREAT games which are currently sold out but will be
available again from their website in late 2022. And when I say they're
great, I mean GREAT! They all play wonderfully and come in a beautiful
sealed package, and what's more, a beautiful circuit board too! You'll
be amazed if you open the shells to check what's inside them, believe
me. They're the work of the one and only ichigo from the SMS Power
forums.
All of the games' ROMs are freely
available from the Homebrew or Hacks sections of the aforementioned SMS
Power (https://www.smspower.org),
which has always been a great resource for wannabe Master System
developers. The games are: Heroes Against Demons, Bara Burū, Flight of
Pigarus and Voyage - A Soceress' Vacation.
Heroes
Against Demons is a match-3 puzzle made by ichigo himself, with
music composed by young talent Polaria Poyon. The art is - like in all
of 2Minds releases - exactly the kind of art you'd expect to see on a
Master System game. Which means cute, very cute. Or should I say chibi?
Anyway, this game is tense. Nerve-wracking as only the truly refined
puzzles can be.
Bara
Burū is a Bubble Bobble type of platformer by the brilliant
Kagesan. It starts easy enough but soon you will be cursing the vile
sea creatures that hunt down the protagonist ninjas across the mazes.
The enemies can easily group up on you if you fail to use the walls as
hiding spots against them. The music is cheery, but don't let it fool
you! Stay on you guard all the time!
Flight
of Pigarus is another one by Kagesan, but this is a very
peculiar release. It's the first caravan shooter for the system. You
may choose between a 2 minutes or a 5 minutes mode to rack up as high a
score as you can. Both enemies and bonus items improve this score. Your
fire power can also improve if you find the required power capsules.
Sweet swine gameplay for the initiated.
Voyage
- A Sorceress' Vacation is made in KiddEd by the SNAGS team.
However, this is no cheap hack. The team spent four years building what
feels like a completely original experience, with sweet music and
visuals that harken back to the system's classics like Astérix
and the Illusion series. It even has a waterfall stage, and no Master
System platformer should go without one.
Now let me finish this article saying
that it's with great joy that I witness the coming of 2Minds. While
Atari, Nintendo and the Sega Genesis have thriving homebrew scenes
since time immemorial, the Master System's is finally starting to heat
up. With four amazing options, you don't even need to choose your
poison. If you love physical media, buy them all when they're available
in the near future (ichigo is busy developing Mini Paprium for the Game
Gear right now and some components needed for making more carts will
only ship next year). You can play the games right away, and I assure
you won't regret trying them, 8-bit lover or not. Have fun!
I hope everyone has had a wonderful
holiday! I also want to thank The Retrogaming Times editor David
Lundin, Jr. for keeping this incredible online retrogaming magazine
going for several years now. Retrogaming Times has always held a
special place in my heart, and to know that it is still in good hands
means a lot. Thank you and cheers, my friend!
Have you ever paired a video game
with a holiday? To kickstart 2022, I wanted to talk about a game
that has always been special to me - Shining Force for the Sega Genesis
/ Mega Drive. Objectively, Shining Force was and still is a solid
turn-based, tactical role playing game for the Genesis. However,
I have paired Shining Force with Thanksgiving every single year since I
was a kid! Why? Well, it all started on Thanksgiving,
1994...
Here's some personal history and
context leading up to my first experience with Shining Force. In late
1993, my mom had remarried and my sister and I had moved into my
step-dad's home in Deptford, NJ. Shortly after, I met my
step-dad's neighbor, Dave, who always invited our family over on
Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons. Quick side note, Dave
was like a really cool big brother / uncle, as he took a special
interest in me growing up. I'm grateful to say that we are still
close to this day. I have him to thank for introducing me to a
bunch of life-changing things as a kid - hockey, 80s metal, Star Wars,
and - you guessed it - a TON of video games I otherwise never would
have seen nor played!
Anyway, when I first met Dave in 1993
and discovered his game collection, I was in complete awe! He had
dozens of games for the NES, Game Boy, Super Nintendo, the Sega
Genesis, and even the Sega CD - which, at the time, I didn't even know
was a thing! I had died and gone to gaming heaven, I
thought! So, slowly but surely, I mustered up the courage to ask
Dave if I could borrow a game from time to time. Once he knew I
could be trusted to actually take care of his games and bring them
back, I ended up borrowing at least two or three games every couple of
weeks that would eventually become synonymous with my childhood - games
like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy III (The US SNES cart),
Castlevania: Bloodlines, and of course Shining Force!
On Thanksgiving break in 1994, I
asked Dave if I could borrow Shining Force. I remember seeing the
cover of the game for the first time. It was absolute eye-candy
for an eight-year-old kid! In the foreground, on a mountain peak
above the clouds, stood our muscular, He-Manesce hero with a rad mullet
battling skeletons on either side of him. In the far distance
loomed a mysterious castle. Was our hero on his way to defend
it? Destroy it? Was he even going to make it that far with
these hordes of undead enemies relentlessly attacking him from every
side?! I had to play this gem! So, on that Wednesday morning to
kick off Thanksgiving break, I finally fired up the game... and my life
hasn't been the same since!
Specs
Before I talk about why I love
Shining Force so much, let's get some perspective on the Shining series
and mechanics. Shining Force was released in Japan in March of
1992 and North America in July of 1993 as a prequel to the first game
of the Shining series entitled Shining in the Darkness. While Shining
in the Darkness was a dungeon crawler RPG released in 1991, Shining
Force changed the dynamic of the gameplay into a turn-based, tactical
RPG in the style of the Fire Emblem series. At the time, I had
never played the Fire Emblem series, so this was my first foray into
playing an RPG like this and I loved it!
The battles in Shining Force take
place in square grids where each ally or enemy occupies a single
square. Much like chess, the player has to tactically move the
characters around the battlefield while also considering the unique
mobility of each character as well as the design limitations of the
battlefield itself. Once the player moves all the allies, then
it's time for the enemy to move its characters. Once an ally is
in position to attack, there is a cutscene that shows a neat animation
of the ally attacking the enemy or vice versa, which I always thought
was so cool! The character designs, animations, and battle music
really made each battle exciting and worth the monotony of moving
characters around one by one, battle after battle.
The Story
Okay, now to get into the meat and
potatoes (or should I say turkey and dressing?) of why I keep coming
back to Shining Force. First up is the story! It's your classic
underdog hero rising to the occasion to save the world kind of
story. While the story is pretty standard now, it was new and
fresh to me at the time, and it blew my mind. And, you know
what? I still appreciate the story today!
Shining Force opens in the Kingdom of
Guardiana in the land of Rune. Our hero, Max, is called to
adventure in order to defeat the evil villain, Darksol. Darksol
commands hordes of Runefaust demons and monsters with the sole
intention of opening the Shining Path to resurrect Dark Dragon.
Why does he want to resurrect Dark Dragon? Because he's evil - that's
why! Some villains just want to see the world burn. Max meets
plenty of allies who help him forge the legendary Chaos Breaker (what a
cool name for a sword!) as he makes his way to the Castle of the
Ancients. I bet that is the castle we see on the cover of the
game!
During the final confrontation
between Max and Darksol, Darksol sacrifices himself to resurrect the
Dark Dragon. This leads to an epic battle between Max and Dark
Dragon, with Max ultimately sealing Dark Dragon away with his Chaos
Breaker. In the process, the Castle of the Ancients begins to
crumble. In a heroic act of sacrifice, Max teleports his allies
to safety while he stays behind. The allies then watch,
horrified, as the castle sinks into the water, and Max is presumed
dead. "Presumed" being the key word. Always stick around
for the end of the credits, my friends!
Building an Army
If we're sticking with the
Thanksgiving analogies where the story is the turkey and dressing, then
the massive array of characters are like the wonderful, yet essential
variety of side dishes of a hearty thanksgiving meal - the mashed
potatoes and gravy, the cranberry sauce, the green bean casserole, the
creamed corn, the fried okra, the freshly baked and buttered biscuits!
Ok, ok, stomach. I hear you. I'll stop!
There is certainly both quantity and
quality in the supporting cast of characters in Shining Force.
Throughout the kingdoms, towns, fortresses, and even unmarked locations
of Rune, the player can encounter many different characters that will
join the hero along the way to fight Darksol. Along with the
hero, Max, the supporting casts of characters include 18 main allies
who will join the hero no matter what. However, there are also 11
unlockable allies in the game! Having these bonus characters
encourage the player to veer off the beaten path to explore different
locations and talk to every citizen in every town. The variety of
characters are great, too. Ranging from healers, monks, knights,
mages, archers, and warriors to birdmen, samurai, dragons, cyborgs, and
werewolves - yes, I said cyborgs and werewolves - this game scratches
every itch for those who love classic RPG archetypes and then some!
Oh, and what kid doesn't love making
a good fort? When the hero of Shining Force travels to any
kingdom, he establishes his own underground fortress / headquarters
where all of the allies hang out! As a kid, I absolutely loved
this fortress feature. Any time I would unlock a new character, I
would immediately head to the fortress and see where he or she
was. The underground fortress itself is laid out with several
rooms. First, when the hero descends the steps, he is greeted by
Nova, an NPC who gives you advice regarding each battle ahead.
Down the hall to the right is the main room where most of the hero's
army is located. I always found this a bit funny that they are
all side by side, marching in place in their own fortress! Then
there are the back rooms filled with tables and what even seems to be a
bar for the more raucous allies! The hero finds several of his
allies hanging out back here from time to time - perhaps taking a break
from all that marching in place! It's neat to see the hero's army
growing and to interact with the characters from time to time, as many
of their dialogue changes throughout the game.
The Promotion
System
The third, and quite possibly my
favorite feature of Shining Force and Thanksgiving, is our dessert -
the pumpkin, the sweet potato, the pecan, the apple pie ala mode - The
Promotion System! Shining Force does an incredible job
making the grind of leveling allies a ton of fun! When an ally
reaches a minimum level of 10, he or she may be eligible for a
promotion which is done by a priest in any town that has a
shrine. A character level promotion unlocks a brand new skill set
of attacks, perks, and spells as well as a fancy new character
designs/wardrobe upgrades!
For instance, Anri, princess of
Guardiana, is initially a mage in the game who can eventually be
promoted to a wizard. The promotion to wizard unlocks way more
devastating magic attacks like Fire / Ice Level 3. Plus, she
looks rad! Wizards with high-level magic attacks are a game
changer because they can take out four or five enemies at once if the
player organizes his or her character moves just right. Taking
down hordes of demons with the one-two combo of Anri and Tao always
proves to be super effective and super satisfying!
Ken is another great example of the
promotion system done right! A knight in the Kingdom of Guardiana at
the start of the game, Ken can be promoted to paladin. Paladins have
certain tiers of upgrades like increased armor, increased attack, or
increased health - any of which can help the player tremendously.
Paladins along with warriors serve as traditional tank characters who
can dish out damage just as much as they can take it. And once
again - Ken looks awesome decked out his upgraded suit of steel armor
and his warhorse bedecked in chainmail! While the baseline
character designs are great, the promotion upgrades definitely give the
player extra incentive to grind and is certainly rewarding.
The Music
How about a little Thanksgiving punch
with sherbet ice cream to wash down that heavy Thanksgiving meal?
That's the music for me. Quick aside - I'm not actually sure if
green punch with orange sherbet is a Thanksgiving tradition, southern
tradition, or just a Rob Luther family tradition thanks to my wonderful
grandmother, Willamae, but the analogy still works for me! I
would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the absolutely incredible
soundtrack of Shining Force composed by Masahiko Yoshimora. Every
song seems to fit the storyline perfectly and set the tone of each
location. For instance, the Gaurdiana town theme is so chippery and
upbeat when the hero first starts his adventure. However, after
the town is ravaged by a surprise attack from the armies of Runefaust,
the player gets an eerie and devastating track entitled "Solemn
Gaurdiana." The battle music is intense and every single town
seems to have its own theme, each town getting darker theme songs as
the hero gets closer to Darksol and the Castle of the Ancients.
My personal favorite is the underground fortress theme called
"Headquarters." Just give it a listen and tell me you're not
inspired to join the cause to fight Darksol!
A Final Word
While I wish I could tell you exactly
what was going through my mind when I first fired up Shining Force, I
simply can't recall. I can tell you that I spent the entire
Thanksgiving break that year playing and beating the game.
Honestly, I think Shining Force was the first RPG I ever actually beat
at the time, and it instantly became one of my favorite games to borrow
from Dave. It just so happened that each time I played the game,
it would be right around Thanksgiving time. Then, somewhere
around my late teenage years when I moved to NC and hadn't really made
a ton of friends yet, I made the conscious decision to fire up Shining
Force right around Thanksgiving again. It was like that old
friend that reminded me of good times, and I knew he wouldn't let me
down. And I've been doing it ever since!
One would think that over time
Shining Force would get old, but that's never been the case for me
because of the quality story and unlockable characters, the promotion
system, and the music. Shining Force for me is as timeless as
Tapper, Ms. Pac-Man, or Galaga. I can easily fire it up at any
time and have a big smile on my face. To bring everything full
circle, when the Sega Genesis Classics Collection came out on the
Switch, I instantly downloaded it and played Shining Force during these
past two years with my son, Grayson. I try to be careful not to
force my own interests on him, but watching him play the game for the
first time only confirmed to me that he felt the same magic I did as a
kid. When we beat it together last year during the pandemic,
Grayson asked, "Can we play the second one now, Dad?" I was
grinning for two reasons - one, because Shining Force II is another
great game in the series, and two, because we are building a new family
tradition. A great game and great quality time with my son. Happy
New Year!!
 |
Caught On
Film - 8-Bit Christmas
How I Met Your Mother of All Consoles |
| by Dan
Pettis |
|
Has
there ever been a present that you wanted for Christmas so badly, it
seemed like nothing else would compare? Has it ever felt like your
entire holiday happiness hinged on getting one specific present and
Christmas morning would be ruined without it? For many of us geeks of a
certain age, that ultimate present was the original Nintendo
Entertainment System. The obsession our generation had with owning the
greatest video game gift of our childhood is hilariously explored in
the new movie 8 Bit-Christmas, which recently premiered on the HBO Max
streaming service.
With the North American release of
the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo quickly grew to dominate
the industry, and it captured the imagination and attention of gamers
both young and old. 8-Bit Christmas lovingly re-creates this magical
time, with an inspired riff on the perennial holiday classic A
Christmas Story. Only this story is centered on a young boy's quest to
get his own NES for Christmas instead of a Red Ryder BB gun. This
heartfelt, bitingly funny film will win over gamers who grew up on
Nintendo, who will surely find plenty to relate to in this story of the
struggle to obtain the unobtainable.
The film begins with main character
Jake Doyle, initially fully grown and played by Neil Patrick Harris,
taking his young daughter to his parent's house in Chicago to celebrate
Christmas with their family. After beating the rest of his family to
the house, he decides to show his daughter Annie his prized Nintendo,
which he has left in his childhood bedroom. Unimpressed by the vintage
hardware, she hilariously says it looks like Tupperware. Like many of
the tech obsessed youth of today, all she wants for Christmas is her
own cell phone.
Adult Jake shows his
daughter
the way we used to think made games work better
After opening a shoebox full of
vintage games like Rampage, and Narc, Jake blows on the inside of the
cartridge for Paperboy and it luckily starts up on the first try. He
then begins to tell his story of how he got his own NES, which he
describes as "possibly the most amazing, dangerous, awesome, story of
all time." Then with a clever camera shot, we are transported into the
1980s through a shot of Paperboy playing on the TV as it transitions
into the young version of Jake, riding his own bike through the snow.
As he begins telling the story, Jake
cannot remember the exact year the story takes place and settles on it
being December in the late '80s. This immediate establishment of NPH as
an unreliable, over exaggerating narrator allows for a lot of the best
moments of comedy in the movie to come through. His heightened version
of the reality of the events of the tale adds some pretty hilarious
touches to what could have otherwise been a pretty mundane story.
Unnecessary explosions, over the top lighting effects, and stunts
straight out of vintage karate movies add a welcome dose of humor. The
casting of Neil Patrick Harris is also an enlightened one, as he brings
much of the swagger and bravado of his previous iconic role as
womanizer Barney Stinson on the classic sitcom How I Met Your Mother to
his narration of the story.
After seeing a Nintendo in action at
the home of the only person playing with power in the neighborhood, a
bratty rich kid's house, the young version of Jake decides he must have
one. He and his group of friends band together to try to score their
very own NES. But coming from a middle class family, and as a kid with
a lack of disposable funds, it's going to be tough. That's because one
of the new NES bundles back then cost around $150, or roughly $335
today when adjusted for inflation. Along the way he faces many
seemingly insurmountable obstacles, like trying to win a wreath sale
contest, his own parents indifference, and a group of irrationally
upset adults terrified of the effect of video games on their young
children's minds.
Jake and his friends
join the
crowd and line up for their chance to play Nintendo at the house of the
spoiled rich kid
Although the story’s focus on
acquiring a Nintendo system is a very specific item, I’m sure that just
about anyone can relate to that overwhelming, insatiable desire to own
a specific toy. It may not be an NES for everyone, but it's a universal
feeling that can nag you even into adulthood. 8-Bit Christmas does a
good job of showing how the quest to acquire an NES similarly relates
to modern kids who just want a smartphone, and how many girls of the
'80s similarly wanted the impossible to find at the time Cabbage Patch
Kid dolls just as desperately. This is a smart framing device for
viewers who perhaps won't quite relate to those of us who suffered from
a debilitating case of Nintendo fever.
The screenplay for 8-Bit Christmas
was written by Kevin Jakubowski, who also wrote the novel that the
movie is based on. You can really tell that this is a very personal
story for Jakubowski. In an interview with Up At Noon on gaming website
IGN, Jakubowski said the original book version of 8-Bit Christmas was
definitely an homage to A Christmas Story, which he also called his
favorite movie of all time. He did say that although the story was
ninety percent made up, it was based on his own childhood and the story
is set in his hometown. The way his own experience shaped the story
shows through into the movie version. Some of the regional touches are
highly specific and accurate, like the very real rivalry between
Chicagoans and Wisconsinites, and the inclusion of regional Chicago
grocery store chain Jewel. It is very obvious that Jakubowski lived
much of the story himself. It was also a wise decision to base the film
in the Windy City as its been the setting for many other classic
Christmas movies, like Home Alone and National Lampoon's Christmas
Vacation.
8-Bit Christmas is perhaps the
biggest feature length Nintendo commercial since the cult classic 1989
film The Wizard, which starred Fred Savage. Although that film famously
featured some of the first ever footage from Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario
is missing from this new movie. He is only briefly mentioned and none
of his games appear. To me this is a portly plumber sized problem,
because Mario was a huge system seller and one of the big reasons why
the NES was such a success. There is also only a vague link to the
Zelda titles as they are also only given a brief shout out. Not having
the rights to show Mario or Link is a pretty glaring omission, but the
filmmakers still do a commendable job with the games they do have the
rights for to help capture the gaming landscape of the late 1980s.
Adult Jake's shoebox
stash
full of retro games
Another gaming based problem happens
with the games that are played on screen. At multiple times in 8-Bit
Christmas, characters play fictitious games created specifically for
the movie. This is most glaringly obvious during a pivotal scene
featuring the notorious NES accessory the Power Glove. Now granted, the
Power Glove really only "works" with a few games, but for a movie that
otherwise feels so authentic to the time period, this usage of fake
games has the potential to take old school gamers out of the moment.
Especially since these fake games look quite a bit better than the NES
was capable of graphically, and wind up looking more 16-bit than truly
8-bit.
Time will only tell if 8-Bit
Christmas will level up to the status of other Christmas classic films
and be replayed for years to come. I don't know if it will reach the
heights of popularity of A Christmas Story and the round the clock
marathons of it on cable, but I do think it’s well worth watching.
Especially for those who grew up in the '80s and now have their own
children. It'll fill you with the requisite holiday movie warm fuzzies
and also lots of nostalgia, while hopefully illustrating for the
younger crowd just exactly why the Nintendo Entertainment System was so
special to us and industry saving. I think it'll make a perfect
addition to your geeky Christmas movie rotation, just as long as it
doesn't convince people to start blowing on game cartridges again.
A game
about making burgers may sound mundane but BurgerTime presents the task
as an intense dash across a maze of platforms, combining arcade action
with a bit of puzzle solving, the result feeling a bit ahead of its
1982 vintage. The premise of the original game was simple:
The player controls Peter Pepper, a short order chef with a knack for
stacking perfect burgers. Buns, hamburger patties, lettuce,
tomato, cheese - all Peter Pepper's specialty. However Mr. Hot
Dog, Mr. Egg, and Mr. Pickle are on the run to prevent Peter from
assembling his burgers. Armed with nothing but your wits and
a pinch of pepper, it's up to you to guide Peter on his burger
building escapades. The game became an undeniable classic of the
golden era of arcades and remained very popular in the years that
followed. The 1984 arcade sequel, Peter Pepper's Ice Cream
Factory, changed things up quite a bit and a modern reimagining, Super
BurgerTime, followed in 1990. A year later a another sequel would
show up on the Game Boy in the form of BurgerTime Deluxe. While
the "Deluxe" treatment was somewhat commonly shoved onto Game Boy and
Game Boy Color releases, with BurgerTime Deluxe it's less of an
enhancement to the original and more of a completely new sequel that
follows in the original's style.
After the
events of the first game things are going pretty well for our burger
flipping hero, Peter
Pepper. His burger restaurant is open and doing nicely.
However a rival food store, the donut shop "Ninten Doughnut" opens up
next door and its crazed proprietor sends Mr. Hot Dog after
Peter. Unsurprisingly Mr. Pickle and Mr. Egg aren't far behind
and Peter must fight back as only he can - with a drop of burger
fixings and a dash of pepper. While the enemies pose the only
threat to our quick footed chef, the objective remains
to assemble burgers by running across their layers. Dropping a
burger fixing with an enemy atop
it will cause it to fall an additional level, however the enemy will
simply be temporarily stunned after taking the ride. Dropping a
burger fixing onto an enemy below will crush it and remove it from the
board. Eventually it will rejoin from an entry door, which vary
in location on each stage. Throwing pepper at an
enemy will stun it temporarily. While throwing pepper makes it
easier to corral multiple enemies on or under a burger fixing, the
attack is usually used as a means of last resort. As one gets
further into the game the amount of enemies constantly ramps up and
pepper becomes more useful for escape rather than attack.
However pepper
isn't the only trick Peter has under his chef's
hat. BurgerTime Deluxe adds new powerup items in addition to what
was in the arcade. Carried over from the original, pepper shakers
will give Peter an additional
pinch of pepper to throw and grabbing a cup of coffee adds bonus points
to the player's score. A pack of fries will eliminate all
enemies on the stage but they will eventually return through the enemy
entry doors. Chocolate is the most valuable addition to the game
as it makes Peter invincible for a short time. During this time
touching enemies will stun them, allowing an experienced player to rack
up big time points from well placed burger drops. Another power
up, that appears to be a potato, will turn all the enemies into Mr. Hot
Dog, the easiest to evade of Peter's foes. Extra lives also pop
up from time to time and of course picking them up should be a top
priority.
BurgerTime
Deluxe is a great looking Game Boy game and makes up for the lack of
color with a lot of detail. Everything is well animated with
fitting backgrounds and
solid animation of all sprites. There's nothing incredible going
on but the game looks as it should and everything is clear and
well-drawn. When large amounts of enemies are on screen there's a
touch of slowdown but never bad sprite flicker or ghosting, which is
very important in a game that requires as much concentration as
this. All the graphics look as they did in the arcade but have
enhanced details to give a more cartoon-like appearance. It
should be noted that Mr. Egg has undergone a complete change from a
walking fried egg into a hard boiled egg in a shell. When
the new Mr. Egg is crushed by a burger fixing he appropriately smashes
and cracks like an eggshell would. After each bracket of stages
are
completed, a humorous little animation plays, which usually shows how
unlucky
Peter can be.
The classic
BurgerTime music is here, enhanced with several new tunes but every one
sounds like it belongs. The little jingle that plays before the
start of each stage is exactly as it was in the arcade original and
sound effects alert the player when a bonus item pops up somewhere on
the level. The sounds of burgers dropping and pepper being thrown
also sound as they did in the arcade. All in all the audio is
very upbeat and frantic, matching the gameplay perfectly.
Thankfully Data East didn't try to reinvent or add complexity to the
controls. The
directional pad moves Peter and both the B and A buttons are
used to throw pepper. This is how it has always been with
BurgerTime and how it always should be - simple. Input response
is exacting and responsive, and the game is simply a joy to play.
Peter sends a pair of
enemies on a ride (left), larger burgers pose a different challenge
(center), making a dash for an invincibility chocolate (right)
With classic
arcade games replay usually comes down to attempting
to achieve higher scores rather than reaching an ending.
BurgerTime Deluxe does in fact have an
ending but the route to it will take quite some time. Even the
most experienced BurgerTime players will find plenty of challenge here
with over twenty completely different stages. A simple password
function comprised of four icons allows players to resume their
progress, beginning at the first stage of each area bracket. The level
design is quite varied and borrows a bit from Super BurgerTime, with
some larger levels and extra long burgers that can take up half the
width of the screen. While the
larger fixings mean it's easier to smash enemies under them, it also
means it takes far longer to completely run across one. These add a new
challenge and an enhanced aspect of strategy to the game. Some stages
actually don't have all the ladders in place
at the start, instead they appear as the stage is traveled,
creating some very taxing situations. Many of
the stages are larger than the size of
the screen and scroll with Peter as he moves. This scrolling is
smooth and at no time does the game feel as if it is taking control
away from the player. In fact on these stages pausing the game
allows you to scroll around and view the entire level with the
directional pad. Even later stages actually loop horizontally,
again adding a new challenge. As soon as you feel that you have
mastered a new addition, the game again throws something new at you but
still in the context of the original game. In a way this is very
similar
to the Donkey Kong release on Game Boy, which did much of the same, and greatly expands
the amount of play on offer.
If you like
BurgerTime then this is a game you really must own.
It truly is the perfect complement and true sequel to one of the most
popular early arcade games ever created. What I love most is how
it
constantly mixes things up but retains the formula that
began in the arcade. This seems to have been a rather uncommon
one back when it was new but it's pretty easy to find these days.
Surprisingly BurgerTime Deluxe has remained affordable in the $20 range
for a loose cartridge. Perhaps it's still lost in the shuffle now
as it was then but without a doubt there's a lot of fun to be had with
this portable follow up to an arcade classic.
I spent
my younger days in a very nice working-class neighborhood on the west
edge of San Jose, California. I lived with my mother and my
grandparents, and my great grandparents lived down the street and
around the L-shaped corner at the end of the drive. Looking back,
I feel extremely fortunate to have had such a happy and caring
upbringing, in a big Italian family that all lived so close
together. One of my uncles introduced me to video games at the
age of two (another story on its own) and one Christmas a couple years
later I received an Atari 2600 Jr. and a little 13" Montgomery Ward
color TV. That was it, video games had me.
At the time
the Nintendo Entertainment System was something mentioned in
rumors but not a lot of my friends had one. It was that early
time for the NES, with a few classmates talking about things like "the
spinner for my robot" and a couple others bringing odd (and
comparatively large next to an Atari 2600 game) Nintendo-branded dust
covers to school for show and tell. Who had what and when is a
little cloudy but there are a few things I distinctly remember about
those early days. A friend using his ROB Gyro spinner to spin his
lunch box around before class one morning? Absolutely! A
few of my friends having Nintendo Game & Watch handhelds on the
bus? Vividly! Friends who had never played
the The Legend of Zelda making a comment how the raft in the game is
"hard to steer" while looking at the overworld map? Yup, right
along with my agreement, having yet to see the game myself! How
about the very first time I saw a Nintendo Entertainment System?
Of course! However that memory wasn't exactly the most
pleasant...
The story I am
about to tell is one I've never really shared, with
anyone, and I honestly doubt those who were there when it occurred
remember it - at least in as much detail. This isn't the happy
memory of playing video games on a kiosk at a toy store or seeing a
pictures of a game system in a mail order catalog. This is a
story about encountering things that young kids probably
shouldn't. The occurrence just happened to also give me my first
passing glance at the NES in person but ultimately would make
Nintendo's game system even more of a mystery for the immediate
future. The story is kind of a long one and it definitely won't
be for everybody.
I had the
normal assortment of friends at school and at home that a kid
of the mid 1980's would have. One day after the school year was
already in swing, a kid named Kevin moved to the area and was a new
student in my class. Working out the dates it must have been in
early 1988, just after the new year, which would make me six-years-old
at the time and in first grade. Kevin was a bit different though,
as we had the same last name. Of course as I grew older and
spread out into the world this would be a slightly more frequent
occurrence but at that age crossing paths with another Lundin was
odd. Especially considering he pronounced his name differently,
"London" rather than "Lundean" as I was always taught to. Now not
only did I have to correct seemingly everyone else on the planet
concerning how to pronounce my name, but now I had a kid with the same
name trying to spread the inaccuracy! Yet I wasn't one to hold a
grudge (that would be my high school years) and of all the places in
west San Jose that Kevin could have lived, it so happened that his
family had moved into a house on the exact opposite side of the
L-shaped block I lived on. Generally I wasn't supposed to go all
the way around on my bike but I could go to Kevin's house, as long as I
went the long way, which kept me to the interior streets and away from
the main drag. We weren't the
closest of friends but it was nice to have another kid
on my block, especially one who was in my class. I was also at
the age where I was first being given just a little bit of
responsibility and freedom to do something like ride my bike to a
friend's house. While I didn't do so very often, and can't
remember ever having a great time there or anything, I do recall doing
so at least a few times. Perhaps the notion that I could be out
on my wheels was the bigger draw, who knows.
Kevin lived
with his parents as well as a younger brother and
sister. His siblings must have been pretty close in age, not yet
old enough to go to school, and I barely ever saw either of them when I
was over at his house. His mother was always home, was well
dressed, always very welcoming and seemed happy that Kevin had a friend
over. Yet she too would often disappear into a back bedroom after
welcoming me, which meant Kevin and I were on our own almost the entire
time. His house was very clean, modern, and minimalistic.
All the homes on our block were built in the 1950's during the defense
and aerospace boom in the valley but theirs had definitely been
renovated recently. Even Kevin's bedroom was very plain and
clean, minimalist furniture, no color, no toys - honestly their whole
house looked like a model home or a property share. It's strange
how I can still visualize that place right down to the window coverings
and cabinetry but that's exactly how it was - impeccably sterile, with
the exception of the garage.
They called
their garage a "play room" and it appeared to be the one
area in the house that hadn't been renovated. The play room
amounted to a large square of carpet with a massive pile of toys atop
it. They weren't boxed or stacked or even strewn about as if they
had been recently played with. Rather they were simply in a big
mound, like they had been gathered up with a push broom. I only
went out there with Kevin a couple times, usually to get something from
their garage pantry, and he never ever wanted to play with anything out
there. Looking back that's kind of strange, as most kids want
friends to come over and play with or show or share their
toys. So with all that established, what did we even do when I
would go over to his house? Well a couple times we just went and
hung out in his backyard and I would leave after maybe twenty
minutes. However one day we sat in his living room and he showed
me a game system they had in the cabinet beneath their
television. It was unfamiliar to me what it was at the time but
it was in fact a Nintendo Entertainment System.
Kevin didn't
present the NES with any fanfare or celebration or big
introduction. In fact all he ever said about it was that his Aunt
sent it to them. I don't think he even ever said the world
"Nintendo" once. Along with the system he had three game
cartridges, three gigantic grey cartridges that were unlike anything I
had seen before. They were Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and
Rygar. He would hold the cartridges out and let me look at them
but I wasn't allowed to touch them for whatever reason. In fact
the only time I ever saw his bedroom was one day when he took the
cartridges in there and put them in a dresser drawer, then refused to
take them back out, so I went home. I was never permitted to play
any of the games either but I could watch him do so. The games
were so strange compared to what I had played on the Atari 2600 or seen
in arcades. I was completely fascinated by the gigantic setting
sun at the beginning of Rygar, the strange enemies, and odd
Indora gods. Super Mario Bros. was equally as strange with its
colorful designs and warp zones. Rad Racer stuck with me most due
to the music, which Kevin did actually talk about, saying how he was
going to "change the radio" while playing. Funny enough, I do
recall that he wasn't very good at the games and would spend more time
just screwing around rather than completing an objective.
Rad Racer (left),
Super Mario Bros. (center), and Rygar (right) blew my mind with how
they compared to earlier games
Honestly it
was those fleeting glances at
those strange games that kept
making me want to ride my bike over to Kevin's. A couple times it
seemed as if no one else was home but him, something very uncommon to
me with how large and close by my family was. One time when no
one else was home, there were empty beer cans everywhere both inside
the house and in the backyard. So many that I remember actually
kicking them while just walking through the kitchen. Kevin's mom
came home while we were in the backyard that day, and I can remember
her quickly picking them all up and restoring their home to its
familiar sterile state. She then apologized to me and said that
it would be better if Kevin didn't play that day and that I should go
home. Aside from it being weird that there were cans everywhere I
didn't think anything of it, I mean, I was six.
There was only
ever one other time I rode
over to Kevin's. It was
a Friday, just after school, maybe a couple weeks after being over
there last. I had only been there maybe ten minutes, just sitting
in the living room and talking with Kevin when the side door into their
kitchen opened. It was Kevin's dad, someone who I had never seen
nor heard a word spoken about. At about the same time his mother
came down the hallway and into the kitchen. Now what exactly
happened next is a blur to me, it was then and it is now. Kevin's
dad began to argue with his mom, and I swear I saw him drink two cans
of beer within the span of five seconds, then fling the cans on the
kitchen floor and go for more. I can't recall what Kevin's dad
said to her but he just yelled constantly at his wife. Kevin's
younger siblings emerged from the hallway and walked past without
looking at or saying anything and went into the garage, the play
room. It was then that Kevin's mom looked at he and I, and began
to say to her husband, "We have a guest right now." She keep
saying that over and over while motioning at me, "We have a guest, we
have a guest." Kevin's dad got even angrier and then addressed me
to his wife, "Yeah, and I have a witness." His dad then looked
right down at me, and said that I was a "witness" and for me not to go
anywhere. I'll never forget what he said to me next, "If you do
leave, I'll go to that house where your mom lives and bring you back
here, you're a witness." He then stormed down the hallway.
Kevin's mom was very distraught and in tears but I don't remember
Kevin's reaction.
As soon as his
dad was down the hallway I
ran for the front door,
hopped on my bike, and road as fast as I could back around the block to
my house. When I got home I was in shock I suppose - crying,
terrified, confused. My mom wanted to know what happened and all
I could stay was that Kevin's dad said I was a witness, not even
knowing what the word meant, and that I couldn't leave. If I did
leave he said he would come get me. I didn't know what had
unfolded back at my friend's house and certainly couldn't figure out
what I had to do with it. My mom told me that no matter what
anyone ever said to me, I could always leave and come home - regardless
of who says otherwise. I didn't realize it until years later, but
that event and my mom's words in response made a huge impact on my
psyche - well into adulthood. If I'm told I have to stay late at
a job or event, as an example, this little spark shorts out in the back
of my head and I get really confrontational. It's actually
something I've had to learn to try to cool off when it flares up from
time to time.
Kevin never
came to school again after
that day and I never saw him
again. A while later, when I was being a rebel and riding my bike
all the way around the block without permission, I passed his house and
it had different people living in there. The garage door was
open, it had a car parked inside. I don't know what happened to
Kevin or his mom or the rest of his family. That day always stuck
with me though, as a lot of things often do. It was my first
encounter with alcoholism and to that extension an alcoholic. The
first time I encountered a broken home. It was my first truly
traumatic experience of any kind. If there is one takeaway from
what happened then, I do hope that Kevin and his mom and siblings are
well and that his dad got help for whatever ailed him. I was in
my late teens thinking back about that day, when it clicked that the
"play room" out the garage was more than likely where Kevin and his
siblings were tucked away when his parents were having conflicts.
Perhaps why their home was so immaculate except for that area and why
everyone would disappear into bedrooms behind closed doors.
As for the
NES, it remained just as
mysterious after seeing it at
Kevin's, for a little while at least. As the year of 1988 got
more underway, a boy just a little younger than myself moved in two
houses down from my great grandparents. His name was Zack and we
quickly became best buddies for the couple more years we both lived in
the neighborhood. Nintendo began to be far less elusive and my
mom would buy me video game magazines from the grocery store full of
Nintendo games and accessories. If you didn't already have an
NES, it became the gift everyone wanted for Christmas that year,
regardless of the price or how difficult they may have been to
find. Nintendo had just released the Power Set, containing World
Class Track Meet and a Power Pad along with the Super Mario Bros. /
Duck Hunt pack-in that had become standard. From what my mom told
me years later, there was a one-day event at a toy store that December
where they were selling the Power Set as a special promotion for
$100. Both her and Zack's dad stood in line all morning so we
could both have NES systems that year for Christmas. As 1988
rolled into 1989 we both became certified Nintendo maniacs, as did most
kids our age. From then on, Nintendo was nothing but happy
memories and a way for friends and family of all ages and backgrounds
to find commonality. As anyone who has read my articles
concerning the NES over the years should be able to ascertain, it has
remained such to this day.
Every Friday on The Retrogaming Times
Facebook
page (facebook.com/theretrogamingtimes),
we present a Weekly Retrogaming Trivia question. This
just-for-fun
trivia challenge provided each week is an opportunity to test your
arcane
and oddball retrogaming knowledge. The answer to the question
from
the previous week is posted along with a new trivia question every
Friday!
Below is the recap of all
questions and
answers posted between this issue and the previous issue:
10/29/2021 - WEEK 237
Question: What
Atari game involves exploring the mansion of Zachary Graves?
11/05/2021
- WEEK 238
Question: The
bioweapon Lucifer-Alpha is the catalyst for the events of what game?
11/12/2021
- WEEK 239
Question: Although
more famous for his introductory line, what Zelda II character directs
Link to the Island Palace?
11/26/2021
- WEEK 240
Question: The Ninja
Black Sox, Battle Angels, and Mechanical Brains are all teams in what
game?
12/03/2021
- WEEK 241
Question: Top
Secret Area is a power up zone in what Super Nintendo game?
12/10/2021
- WEEK 242
Question: Although
they involve totally different sports, Final Lap Twin is the spiritual
sequel to what earlier TurboGrafx-16 game?
12/17/2021
- WEEK 243
Question: Holiday
Hare was a special Christmas themed edition of what PC game?
Error is often
remembered for his opening phrase in Zelda II (left) but he provides
important information later in the game (right).
Answers:
Week 237 Answer: Haunted House
(1982).
Week 238 Answer: Snatcher.
Week 239 Answer: Error, "South
of King's Tomb in Mido there is a tunnel."
Week 240 Answer: Super Baseball
2020.
Week 241 Answer: Super Mario
World.
Week 242 Answer: World Court
Tennis. Both games feature a Quest mode that combines RPG
elements over their respective sports.
Week 243 Answer: Jazz
Jackrabbit.
World Court Tennis'
quest mode (left), was later enhanced in Final Lap Twin - complete with
an inside joke of finding tennis equipment in the overworld (right)
Don't
be left out! Be sure
to follow
The
Retrogaming Times on Facebook or The
Retrogaming Times Info Club on Twitter for a new retrogaming trivia
question every Friday!
We
need your questions! If
you have a trivia question you would like to submit for possible
inclusion
in the Weekly Retrogaming Trivia question pool, e-mail it to trt@classicplastic.net!
If you question is selected to be featured, you will be entered in our
year-end prize drawing!
As is evident
by my contributions to this issue I've been on a bit of a Game Boy kick
lately, both on original hardware and emulation-based handhelds.
I
actually gifted Anbernic RG300 handhelds to my siblings for Christmas
as I've been having such a great time playing games on them - mostly
original Game Boy. At the start of December I decided to do
something
I haven't done previously, that may come as a surprise to some, and
that is play Pokemon Red. For whatever reason the Pokemon games
just
never hit me at the right time. That's not to
stay that Pokemon was something I scoffed at or had no interest
in. I
always liked the concept, the characters, the Pokemon designs, how
Pokemon types interact - all of it really. Over the years I'd go
in
and out of the different generations of the anime, I've seen some of
the films theatrically, and I buy a collectible now and again.
Heck,
my favorite Pokemon is Hitmonchan! No one else likes Hitmonchan,
"that's some first generation Pokemon that doesn't do anything cool."
When Red and
Blue were released I was deep into the PlayStation era, in
addition to doubling down on older games from the NES era due to their
availability and low cost at the time. When Pokemon Gold and
Silver
rolled around I was a retail professional and it was more important to
be on top of meeting the needs of people who were trying to get the
game. It was also a pretty crazy time for console gaming and with
that
and work and the rest of life, I didn't want to get sucked into
starting on the Pokemon games. I did pick up Pokemon Crystal
later but
only played a couple hours before other things pulled my interest
away. After that I kind of stepped away from handheld gaming for
the
most part and then modern gaming as well, up until a few years
ago. I
was gifted a 2DS and Pokemon Y upon the waining days of my retail
career and while I played through most of it, toward the end it started
to feel more like a chore rather than an adventure. Once again I
was
faced with the notion that maybe the Pokemon games just really weren't
for me.
With how great
Game Boy performance is on the RG300, I figured I'd give
Pokemon Red a shot. While I know a big part of the game is
trading
with other players who are playing Pokemon Blue or those making
different decisions in Red, my intention is to just play through the
game at face value. In the couple weeks I've been playing I've
really
been enjoying it but I think that has to do with the smaller scope of
the earlier games. It's not trying to be everything or add a
bunch of
new features or layer on extra complexity. It's just a fun little
journey exploring a region of the world. I understand why Pokemon
had
to get more complex over time, I mean it's an RPG where the grind is
the emphasis of the game at its core. However I've found that
simplicity to be the perfect place to start over again.
Thank
you once
again for reading The Retrogaming
Times. We'll be back on March 1st with our next
issue.
Be sure
to follow The
Retrogaming Times on Facebook and join our community for the latest
updates and information! Additionally The
Retrogaming Times Info Club on Twitter features up-to-the-moment
news
and notifications for all things The Retrogaming Times! I
sincerely
hope you enjoyed this issue and that you will return to read the next
issue
and possibly submit an article yourself. Remember, this
newsletter
can only exist with your help. Simply send your articles
directly
to me at trt@classicplastic.net or check out the submission guidelines
on the main page. Submit an article today and join a great
retrogaming
tradition!
See You
Next Game!
Content and opinions
on this
page are those of their respective writer(s)
Assembled and
published
by David Lundin, Jr. on January 7th, 2022 at ClassicPlastic.net
© 2022 The
Retrogaming
Times. All Related Copyrights and Trademarks Are Acknowledged.
