#0043 Xevious

Alright we’re finally back to SMUPS after quite some time of not trying to copy Space Invaders. Today we’re looking at Xevious, a scrolling shooter developed by Masanobu Endo of Namco in 1982 running on the Galaga hardware.

In this game you play as an aircraft called the Solvalou, armed with forward firing blasters for air targets and air to surface bombs for ground targets. In this game you fly over surprisingly detailed and varied terrain such as forests, airstrips, enemy bases, ocean, etc. Your goal is to reach the end of each area without dying, destroying enemy ships and structures along the way to score points. At the end of several stages (they flow seamlessly so it’s hard to tell when one ends and another begins) is a boss called the Andor Genesis, marking the first Boss on this list since Phoenix.

While having no in game story, squeals, spinoffs and apparently even a short story by Endo himself apparently tell a very complex story of a battle between mankind and a supercomputer named “GAMP” But I have no official sources to back this up as Wikipedia quotes Hardcore Gaming 101, and while I can’t dis on HG101 (they’re awesome guys seriously, check them out) they didn’t site any sources either, so I can’t, in good conscious, quote anything. All other Google results for “Xevious Story” or “Xevious short story” to find that short story I mentioned earlier all quote the Wikipedia page verbatim. And Wikipedia cites the International Arcade Museum as a source for said short story which isn’t mentioned anywhere on the site. This is why you don’t use Wikipedia in serious research assignments kids!

But! This is an arcade game, not a CRPG, stories in SHMUPS are like the articles in a playboy magazine, they really don’t matter; and let me tell you, this game rocks! This is probably the biggest step forward in terms of both graphics and game play since Galaxian back in the 70’s. This is one of the first SHMUPS to have a scrolling vertical background, and one of the first to not be set in space. The graphics in the game are nothing short of gorgeous. Apparently set in Peru, game goes beyond simple 8bit graphics to deliver believable, highly detailed backgrounds that are unlike anything we’ve seen so far. Seriously, this is the first time on the list that it’s NES counterpart can’t compete with the arcade in terms of graphics. Here’s two screen shots from both versions, the NES version is on the right. Notice the difference.

The detailed graphics truly give the sense that you’re flying above sprawling forests, oceans and enemy bases. Just earlier this year some developers were still having difficulty with pixel art, so I would expect a game this ambitious to feel cluttered, confusing or sloppy but the devs over at Namco were very careful to make sure that you know exactly which enemies are stationary ground enemies, and which are airborne.

Not only are the graphics incredible, the game play is very fluid with rapid fire double blasters that are easy to aim with and cross hairs for your bombs that make bombing targets a thousand times less rage inducing than games like Scramble. I found the difficulty to be fair, finding that perfect balance so that you don’t die too often and get frustrated, but don’t get too far and not spend more quarters. Plus, this marks the first time on the list that I’ve felt intimidated by a boss. Yeah, that Andor Genesis I mentioned earlier is quite a tough boss and I was honestly a little intimidated by it, which is always a good sign.

But, for how awesome this game is, it does have some flaws. For example, the music is very grating, it’s the same notes looping every several seconds, and not fun music like Dig Dug or Frogger either, it’s short blips that just loop continuously. I would have loved some more exciting music to go with killing enemy aliens. Not only that, but I would have loved to see more variety in the enemies. The designs of both the ship and the enemy ships are fairly uninspired. Most of them are circles or other geometric shapes. Also, lots of games are including a continue function now and of all the games I’ve played this is the one that I was really wanted a continue feature and had none.

Overall though, this game is amazing. The graphics are gorgeous, the setting is innovative, it puts just the right spin on an old formula to make it fresh again. I highly recommend this game, if you can pick up the 3ds classics version in the 3DS eshop, it's one of those games where the 3d effect really adds to the experience. You won't be disappointed.

Also,the main theme of this game (start at around 0:10) makes a cameo in a certain SNES game. First person to name which game and where gets bonus points.

Next up: Sokoban

#0042 Q*Bert

Alright, today's a pretty big one. Today on 1K1VGYMPBYD we look at one of the most beloved and memorable games from the Golden Age, Q*Bert. An arcade isometric platformer with puzzle elements developed by Gottlieb in 1982.

Qbert represents the first video game played from an isometric psudo third-dimensional viewpoint. You start at the top of a MC Escher like pyramid, with 28 cubes. The whole game is played with a bizarre 4 way joystick rotated 45 degrees. In this game, you play as a... Whatever named Qbert who starts each level at the top of the pyramid and moves by hopping diagonally from cube to cube. Landing on said cube changes the color. The object of the game is to change every cube on the stage to the target color while avoiding a surprising variety of enemies, and avoiding jumping off the pyramid itself.

The idea of Q*Bert was thought up by Warren Davis and Jeff Lee. Basically, Lee drew a pyramid of cubes inspired by M. C. Escher and said “Let's make a game out of this!” And they did. Drawing inspiration from comics, cartoons, Mad magazine and even Ed Roth if you can believe it, they created an armless character who shot projectiles called “mucus bombs” from his nose at enemies (this was later removed during production). Qbert's design later included a speech balloon with a string of nonsensical characters, “@!#?@!”. Lee originally presented this as a joke.

Wanting to create a high quality game both in graphics and sound, they implemented a MOS Technology 6502 chip that generates sound effects, and a separate speech synthesizer to generate voices. David Theil originally wanted to use the speech synthesizer to create English phrases for the game, such as “You have gotten 10,000 bonus points”, but the closest he could get the machine to say was “bogus points”. Frustrated, Theil finally said “screw it, what if I just stick random numbers in the chip instead of all this highly authored stuff”. The result was the exact Qberteese that's used in the game. That was the cherry on top, and Q*Bert as we know it was born.

Alright, I'm just going to say this now, Qbert is amazing. It ranks up there with Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Missle Command as a near flawless masterpiece of a game. The concept is simple, anyone can pick it up, yet there is an almost chess like strategy in watching where all your enemies are and being able to predict their movements. Figuring out the best route to clear the stage keeps you on your toes. The graphics are clear, sharp, and the pixel art is top notch. The colors are vibrant and bright but not obnoxious, the characters designs are up there with the best like Pac-Man or Donkey Kong. Honestly, everything about this game is so well made and nearly every thought, every idea that went into making this game was to make it a better play experience. I especially love the little touches such as in the actual arcade machine, when Qbert falls off the pyramid the sound actually follows him to the ground and a pinball knocker makes a thud sound when he hits the ground. Little things like that are just not expected and go above and beyond to give a unique play experience that simply can't be replicated even today.

If I had to gripe, and I'm really nitpicking here, I suppose I would say I had a little trouble adjusting to the control scheme. Seasoned gamers especially are going to have a hard time with those controls. I got game over within a minute of my first playthrough due to accidentally jumping off the pyramid or into an enemy when I meant to go a different way.

After you get used to them though, the game gets surprisingly fluid, it's a game of watching what your enemy is doing and thinking on your feet. Overall, I'd say this is an amazing contender for game of the year, a near flawless execution of a unique and addicting concept with humor that always makes me smile. If you haven't played this game, it's five bucks on steam, go play it for an hour or six.

As a side note, I did the math earlier, and turns out I did roughly 40 games last year from the time I started, to newyears. Meaning that if I keep this same pace, I'll finish 1001 in roughly 25 years! That's... Shocking. I didn't even fathom just how long this was going to take me. It's a strange feeling, I love doing these reviews and playing these old games, but it's just so surreal to think that I'll be 50 before I finish this book. Taking into consideration that I'll have kids some day, and have a career, I might not even be able to do 40 per year for long. Suddenly this challenge really does seem like a bucket list, something to try and finish before I die. It's just weird to think that this is something I'll still be doing as an old man... Kinda makes me feel my own mortality...

Up next: Xevious (Aw hell yeah!)

#0041 Mr. Do!

Kase Iemochi paced the dull, sterile boardroom. A blank whiteboard at his back, he scowled intensely at his partners as they met his gaze like a cow might stare at an oncoming train. He tapped a marker impatiently on the table.

“So we have nothing? Kazutoshi Ueda is going to walk through those doors any minute expecting the next big arcade hit and we have nothing to give him! We have been here all day! Just give me something!”

“Space Invaders!” Mitzusaka Katai blurted out, shifting his eyes nervously down to his hands as if he knew this was a stupid answer. “Different space invaders. It'll be in color and the enemies will fly down and attack you”

“No, we've been through this a million times. It's been done, It's all been done. Space Invaders, Pong, Pac-Man, everything.” Iemochi replied rubbing his eyes with aggravation.

“There's nothing left! Video games have reached their limit! Everything that can be thought of has already been thought of!” Katai wheezed through panicked breaths.

“You can't think like that.” Tsutomu Yoshimochi said finally speaking up to reassure his comrade.

“C'mon guys work with me here! Okay who's the protagonist?” Iemochi said marching over to the whiteboard.

“A blue hedgehog!” Katai blurted out again, fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Shut up Katai” Iemochi snapped not even bothering to look at him.

“How about a clown?” Yoshimochi asked.

An awkward pause filled the room as every man looked to one another, trying to judge whether or not the idea was a serious one.

“Really? A clown?” Iemochi procured, a look of uncertainty on his face.

“Um, yeah.”

“Okay! Clowns are creepy but we got nothing else!” Iemochi proclaimed scribbling the idea down on the whiteboard. “Okay, he's a clown, what do clowns do?”

“They eat things” Yoshimochi replied, almost too quickly.

“Really?” Katai started “Is that what clowns are known for? I've never heard of that bef-”

“Alright alright, we'll have him dig for them” Yoshimochi interrupted

“I love it.” Iemochi stated. His hand flying across the whiteboard.

Katai glanced at the whiteboard, a look of bewilderment on his face,“I'm not sure I'm following your logi-”

“Hey don't worry.” Yoshimochi interrupted again “There'll be weird dragon like creatures to balance it out.”

“You have a gift my friend.” Iemochi gushed giving Yoshimochi intense eye contact.

“I'm sorry” Katai chuckled “But this is actually starting to sound like another game, has anyone played Dig Dug?”

“Katai I swear to god if you don't shut up. This is nothing like Dig Dug, it's about a clown. Now if you're not going take this seriously-” Iemochi hissed through gritted teeth.

“What if we make a game about an Italian Plumber” Katai's nervousness cracked in his voice “And he need to save the princess from a giant spiky turtle?”

“Katai you're fired get the hell out of my sight! Now, let's put it all together. We have a clown, he digs through tunnels for food and must avoid dragon like creatures. What do we call it? It must be something catchy, something to do with the fact that he digs, or is a clown. Something...”

“I got it!” Yoshimochi suddenly sprang from his chair so fast that it fell behind him “We'll call it... Mr. Do.”

Yeah, that's is how I imagine the idea for this game came up. Today we're looking at Mr. Do, a strange arcade made in 1982 by Universal, and winner of the “Weirdest Idea for a Game So Far” award.

Mr. Do is about a clown, who must dig through the ground to collect cherries while avoiding being attacked by weird dragon like creatures. You must either collect all the cherries, kill all the bad guys, or spell “EXTRA” by killing the alphabet monsters or whatever they're called in order to advance. You can kill monsters by either dropping apples on their heads, or throwing a ball at them. When you throw your ball, however, you can't throw it again until it either hits a monster, or you catch it again. Once per level, a monster with a letter will appear, either E, X, T, R or A. If you collect them all and spell extra, you instantly advance to the next level and earn an extra life.

At first glance this really does look like Dig Dug's ugly cousin. I mean, you dig through the ground, you kill bad guys, and... Drop things? Honestly, once you actually start getting into the game, you start to realize that this game resembles Pac-Man more than it does Dig Dug.

In Dig Dug, your goal is to kill the enemies, period. You have a reliable weapon that is useful for doing this. In Mr. Do, your ball is more of a last resort type weapon as when you use it, you don't always get it back. Most of the time you're trying to run from the bad guys, digging mazes that confuse them, and eating in order to advance to the next level. Sound familiar?

The game is polished fairly well. The concept, while bizarre, works to create a hybrid of several games that together create a very unique maze experience. It's like playing Pac-Man, except you create the maze rather than just navigating it. It adds another level to a very solid concept and the game is stronger for it. The music is catchy and the colors are bright without being obnoxious.

If I had to find a flaw, it would definitely be with the ball weapon. I know it's to make the game balanced so it's not just a Dig Dug clone, but when you're cornered the ball is nearly worthless. Also, I would have liked more variety in the level design. Changing colors just doesn't give me enough variation to want to keep playing. Maybe adding different features to each new level or new enemies would definitely make the game much better.

Overall, it's not bad. You really have to get past the whole Dig Dug thing and just appreciate it for what it is, no matter how weird it might be. Honestly, I say give it a shot and at the very least play a game that you might not have even heard about.

Up Next: Q*Bert

#0040 Moon Patrol

Alright! Today we look at another unique game on the list called Moon Patrol, a 1982 Run and gun Vehicular combat game developed by Irem. It's quite possibly the first of it's genre.

In this game you take the role of a Luna City police officer assigned to Sector Nine, the roughest toughest area of the moon. You control a moon buggy that travels over the moon's surface. Your goal is to make it to the end of each coarse while avoiding craters, UFOs and other obstacles along the way.

At first glance Moon Patrol looks fairly laid back. You're in a slow moving moon buggy jumping over or shooting through obstacles and shooting down UFOs. Just by reading the description and looking at screenshots, I almost thought it was a PC game. Maybe something along the lines of Choplifter. So when I saw that it was an arcade game, I was a little surprised. Due to the extremely competitive nature of arcades, most of the time arcade games need to be fast paced and action packed in order to keep pre-pubesent kids from getting bored and moving on to play Galaga for the forty millionth time. But believe me when I say that Moon Patrol is no slouch when it comes to shoot em up action. Sure, it might not be Centipede, but combine the SMUP style of classics like Galaga, with the side scrolling action of Scramble or Defender, and topped off with a driving sim that hasn't been seen on the list yet, and you have a recipe for a unique and refreshing take on conventional arcade games.

The graphics are decent, you can tell that pixel art is starting to become more complex as people are starting to realize what you can do with it. The colors aren't obnoxious like a lot of arcade games at the time were. Plus, to top it off, this game introduced Parallax scrolling to video games, a pretty big step forward in terms of graphical presentation. The controls are simple, just a joystick that controls your speed, and buttons for jumping, and shooting. I also really liked the setting for each stage. Each one seems to offer something a little different, just enough to make you look forward to seeing what comes next. Plus this game has a continue function which is starting to become more common in arcade games. Something that I really appreciate.

If I had to point out some flaws I would say that the music really isn't spectacular. It's just the same four or so bars played over and over again. I mean, that was excusable with games like Space Invaders, or even Donkey Kong as both complimented the atmosphere of their respective game and for the most part were a product of their time, but considering the fact that we've heard some really inventive music from arcade games recently, I think that repetitive music can now be considered a flaw.

Overall though, the game is solid, and was a lot of fun to play. I probably won't come back to it many times like I do with other games like Donkey Kong or Ms. Pacman, but I'm still glad I played it. If you're looking for a classic arcade shooter that's not like you're traditional SMUP, go pick up Robotron 2084. If you've already played Robotron 2084, go play it again and maybe play this one as well.

Next up: Mr. Do! (Is that a frickin' clown? Creepy.)