#0152 Sid Meier's Pirates!

So I finally, FINALLY played Sid Meier's Pirates! A 1987 game by Microprose Software.

The game is a pirate simulator where you take the role of a pirate from a country of your choosing and then are just dumped into a big-ol sandbox to do as thou wilt! You can help the English fight the Spanish in their war they got going on. You can plunder towns and other ships, you can sword fight with other captains on their burning ship.

This game really reminded me of something and I just couldn't put my finger on it until I went to a town to buy from a merchant. That's when it hit me. This reminds me of some of the Oregon Trail games I've played. Not the 1971 Oregon Trail, the first game I played on the list, no the early 90s Oregon Trail games from Mecc where you have to balance your crew's well being along with supplies for the long trips you'll be taking. You have to balance how much supplies you'll have vs the weight of your ship. Except rather than just going down a pre-set path, you can go wherever you want! 

But here is where we start to see a bit of the seams coming undone. See, they tried to make this a realistic simulator. So things are really REALLY far apart. Towns, ships, ports, everything will be spread out along the Caribbean. You will sail for DAYS before you see anything of value. 

I also wish the fencing wasn't so clunky. The controls are really unresponsive and delayed. I didn't feel like I was accurately fencing, but rather just moving my joystick in random directions hoping to land something. 

However, those things aside, it's actually a pretty solid simulator. I had a good time! The menus are easy to navigate, the towns are fun to explore, fighting enemy ships and storming towns ended up being more exciting than I had originally thought. Overall i had a good time and I really could recommend it to those looking for a good pirate simulator. Just make sure to hit up the Amiga version for its beautiful visuals.

Next up: We finish up 1987 with Wizball.

#0151 Xybots

Today I played Xybots, a -get this- 1987 third person shooter from Atari! The first 3rd person shooter I've seen on the list and from what I gather, one of the first PERIOD.

you play as a dude named Major Rock Hardy or Captain Ace Gunn (depending on if you're playing first or second player) Your job is to kill robots roaming through narrow corridors. 

This game is YEARS ahead of its time. Implementing two factor movement for the first time in a shooter like this. The normal joystick moves your character left right forward and back, but rather than turning and facing the direction that you press on the joystick, your character strafes left and right. The joystick was built so that it can also rotate left and right to turn your character. This makes movement and shooting a million times more fluid than we've seen in other top down run and guns. This control scheme also meant that I actually had to map the game to a game pad in order to play, which is always fun.

So enough gushing over the innovation and the controls, how's the game? Well, honestly, amazing! I was SO skeptical when I first looked into a corridor third person shooter. We've seen similar corridor style games in Ulima and Dungeon Master, both of which were very clunky and often hard to navigate. While this is still clunky as fluid 3D environments were still their infancy, the fact that you actually move within each "square" rather than pressing a single button to move to the next one feels much better than previous games.

Another great thing about this game is its upgrade system. Basically, you can collect money throughout the level and use that money after you beat the level to buy upgrades for your character. This is the first time I've seen something like this and it's something that's still used to this day in lots of games across many genres, it adds another layer of strategy and decision making.

If I did have a gripe it would be that I'm not a huge fan of the constantly draining energy in a maze game. Your life continuously drains unless you either finish the level, or find more energy in the form of a powerup scattered throughout the maze. the powerups are too few and far between. I often had trouble finishing even the second level due to my life draining and being unable to find the exit or more energy. This causes me to not want to explore the level and just race straight to the exit, despite all the goodies and munchies that might be laying around.

Overall though, it's a solid game, if you're a fan of third person shooters, or shooters in general and are in the mood for something a little retro, this will absolutely scratch that itch.

Next up: Sid Meier's Pirates!

#0150 Shinobi

Game number 150! Woo-hoo! I'm Officially 3/20ths of the way through the entire book!

For my sesquicentennial game I played Shinobi, a 1987 arcade Beat-em-up by those guys from Sega.

The game is a clone of Rolling Thunder, which in turn was a clone of Green Beret. You play as probably the whitest ninja you'll ever see. (It's actually kinda funny how pasty this guy looks). Your goal is to rescue hostages from the bad ninjas. And that's about it. You shoot throw shuriken at them to kill them, and do sick karate moves when they get too close.

The game is fine. Mostly. Remember my Rolling Thunder game from 1986? Yeah it's pretty much that. Mostly.

the controls are fluid, killing things is easy and satisfying, i enjoyed the boss fights a lot.I also will say they really tuned the difficulty here. It's still punishing, but not so much so that I couldn't get past the first level, moving to the right once you know the layout of the level is a lot of fun actually as you know where to shoot, where enemies are going to be, it's really easy to memorize. That made for a better overall game.

Shame my 150th game had to be something so underwhelming. Oh well, I'm sure there's an audience for it, it just didn't really grab me personally.

Next up: Xybots

#0149 Rainbow Islands

So today I played Rainbow Islands, a 1987 Platformer by Taito.

So, before I get into this game, I realized while playing it, that this game was a HUGE source of inspiration for one of my favorite horror games of all time. Eversion. I mean look at the similarities:

Eversion

Rainbow Islands

Both have adorable character and enemies, both have bright overly happy aesthetics, both have alarmingly similar soundtracks. The difference is Eversion is a horror game and isn't for children and can be downloaded and played for free http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://zarat.us/tra/eversion/ here. (There's also a steam version with updated graphics and I highly recommend it)

Anywho, on to the game itself. You play as this little fat kid who shoots rainbows out of his hands. these rainbows can be used to kill enemies and if you climb on them the'll let you climb to higher places. Your goal is to reach the top of every level.

As a game, It's fine. It's an early platformer, they're all just a little off. This one has some particularly sluggish controls, that don't allow you to maneuver like you would. And the rainbows don't do much in the way of weaponry when most of your enemies are coming from directly above or below you. And the rainbows dissolve a second after you touch them so after you climb one you gotta quickly jump to the next ledge before you fall.

I love the style, it's sickeningly sweet, the music is fun and the whole game feels so happy and creative, it's hard not to feel the same while playing it. If you're in the mood for an early platformer that's not Mario, you could do a whole lot worse than this.

Next up: Shinobi

#0148 Operation Wolf

Alright! Last game in the run!

Ya know what's cheating? Playing a rail shooter with a mouse. Ya know what's even MORE cheating? When the game is so stacked against you that it doesn't matter.

This is Operation Wolf. A 1987 Rail Shooter made by Taito. The first Rail Shooter on the list actually! And while it may share the name as shooter with it's other SHMUP bretheran, this is actually an evolution all to itself. See, games like 1943 were inspired by other SHMUPS like Galaga, which was a sequal to Galaxian, which was inspired by Space Invaders, which was inspired by Breakout, a sequel to Pong. nearly all SHMUPS can have their linage traced back to Pong. Operation Wolf, cannot. It was inspired by the Rambo movies and used a new technology where motion sensors tracked a mounted gun (yeah, not a light gun, a motion censored gun) It also had haptic feedback to give you a real sense of kickback from the rifle.

You play as a buff white dude, and your job is to kill anyone who isn't white (it was the 80's, so it's okay). More specifically, your job is to save all the white people from a south american POW camp. And the game follows a fairly linear story even, something that would be followed in later Rail Shooters.

Honestly, it was a lot of fun! Killing people is satisfying, the sounds are loud and energetic, the graphics may be a bit behind the times, but I have a feeling that's due to the technical constraints of the gun technology. If I did have a complaint, it would be that holy cow is this game hard. Like, seriously, I was playing with a frickin' mouse. And the game STILL won.It was basically a point and click adventure, but bad guys keep popping out from the sides of the screen giving you zero time to react.

If you really like Rail Shooters and want a really early example of what they were like, this is probably fine, otherwise, I'd stick to other shooters until they get the kinks ironed out.

Next up: Rainbow Islands

#0147 1943

Alright! Next up is 1943, another SHMUP, this time by those guys at Capcom.

I've played three SHMUPs in a row now. How does each one seem to get consecutively better? Seriously, despite coming out the same year they seem to be learning from each other's mistakes.

1943 has a different way of handling lives than the others. You actually have a life bar. Something I've been absolutely DYING for in these games. OHKOs are a HUGE pain when you're playing SHMUPs so being able to take a hit or two is a really welcome feature.

Another thing handled very well is the powerup system! We finally FINALLY have powerups that are applied immediately to your primary weapon, and you can pick and choose which powerups you want. they don't stack, they're not single use, but they're incredibly useful and every one is unique and interesting.

Along with an amazing sound track, great visuals (if a tad pixelated compared to what came before) and a continue system that leaves you RIGHT where you left off, this is a recipe for a near perfect shooter. I'm legit impressed.

Next up: Operation Wolf

#0146 Gemini Wing

Alright! Next up is Gemini Wing another SHMUP this time by Tecmo.

I'm honestly amazed at how polished and unique these games are looking. Gemini Wing is a top down shmup in the same style as Xevious, and Galaga before it. But where it differs is in its powerups, and I gotta tell you these are some of the COOLEST powerups I've seen in even modern SHMUPs.

See, rather than just getting a couple powerups you need a couple times per level, you get dozens of one-use powerups that stack behind your ship. Every powerup is a single use, but my goodness some of these are just amazing to behold. Like, one will be a giant wall of flames that sweeps back and forth from your ship, another will be giant blue orbs that expand outward like a shield. Each one has the potential to clear the entire screen. And when you die, you don't necessarily lose all your powerups either. Kinda like Sonic did in the 90s, when you die, rather than losing your powerups, they scatter all over the screen, letting you pick up a couple if you're fast enough.

Besides that the music is fun the graphics and sprites look good even today. and the art style is just ADORABLE! Where R-Type was a gritty, serious-looking sci-fi shooter, this is an adorable game about shooting rainbow colored bugs. It reminded me a lot of Galaga in that they obviously put more effort into making the enemies distinctive looking and original.

If I did have a gripe, it'd probably be the controls. Not that they're unresponsive or anything, they're just backwards of what they usually are. Usually the button furthest from you is the attack button, while the one slightly in is your secondary. Here they're switched. A lot of times I found myself looking to use a powerup but hitting nothing because the secondary weapon was on the other side.

Honestly, again, if you're looking for a good SHMUP, this one holds up even to today's standards and is amazingly fun.

Next up: 1943

#0145 R-Type

Alright! We got four arcade games in a row! ya know what that means? That means I can plow through all of them in a single evening. let's rip into these bad boys:

So today I played R-Type, a 1987 SHMUP from Irem.

This game... Is amazing. Like seriously, this was everything Gradius was and more. Like, honestly, this is probably the most polished SHMUP I've seen so far. It has the amazing visuals and sounds of Darius, it has the powerup system of Gradius, it's like the perfect SHMUP game!

Well, ALMOST perfect. I have to say that the powerups, while amazing, take a while to accumulate in power. And the amazing art and smooth animations of every sprite make the game distracting, and hard to concentrate on what's going on around you. I found the difficulty curve EXTREMELY high. At least it has a very robust and forgiving checkpoint system so you never go back too far so long as you have enough quarters. And MAN does this thing eat quarters. I gladly fed the thing like $5 easily.  Amazing game, if you like SHMUPs at all, you NEED to give this game a try.

Next up: Gemini Wing

#0143 Maniac Mansion

today I played Maniac mansion a 1987 Point and Click Adventure from LucasArts, and from what I've heard, a real cult classic.

(yes I included a screenshot this time. Just kinda felt like it.)

So... How do I put this... the game is... Underwhelming. Maybe because it was so hyped up for me? Being an EarthBound fan I have a soft spot for cult classics, and this certainly has an EarthBound like sense of humor. But I'm not exactly sure what the appeal is honestly.

Okay, so it's about this crazy scientist guy who's trying to extract your girlfriend's brain. Your job is to rescue her from such a fate by exploring this huge creepy mansion. And that's it! Solve the puzzles, save your girlfriend.

When viewed in a vaccum the game is okay, the puzzles seem creative, I like the all-mouse gameplay (seriously, thank god that's starting to become a thing) I like the sense of humor and the atmosphere seems alright.

But when looked at in terms of what came before it, there's really just nothing special about it from what I've seen. We've seen point and click adventures before in DeJavu, we've seen quirky humor in plenty of Infocom games like Planetfall, so I'm really not sure what makes this one so special and beloved.

I have a feeling it's nostalgia, a game many people played with fondness and just grew to love it more and more as they played.

This makes it hard to recommend honestly. If you're REALLY into quirky humor and point and click adventures, this might do something for you, but honestly there's plenty of games that do it better.

If you're reading this, (and let's be honest nobody is :) I see the statistics) and you loved the game, please, by all means, leave me a comment, sell me on it. I'd LOVE to hear what others think of this game.

Next up: R-Type

#0143 Galaga '88

So today I played Galaga '88, a remake of the original 1981 Galaga by Namco.

So before I get into the remake, just like with any sequels or remakes, I think I should probably go over what I thought of the original:

I liked it. Yeah. It was one of the first great SMUPS, but IDK, I think people overhyped it for me. It wasn't as groundbreaking as Space Invaders, and didn't have as big a "wow" factor as Galaxian did (which was the first Color game iirc) but it was a very tight and well designed game. For its time it was an amazing feat that perfected on what Galaxian started.

As for the remake? It's even better. Just like with Arcanoid remake of Breakout and the Blasteroids remake of Asteroids before it. Seriously, the graphics are improved, the sounds are improved, even the gameplay has tweaks that make it feel even tighter than the original. All the things you loved about Galaga are present here, but better presented and feels like a genuine update for the late 80s.

It DOES have a couple issues, but that mainly stems from the fact that it does try to be faithful to the source material. For example, you can still only fire one bullet at a time, there's still no upgrades, and there's really no continue system to speak of. Arcanoid and Blasteroids introduced these elements in their own remakes to keep the title from feeling dated the moment it hit the floor. It is unfortunate, in my opinion anyway, that they chose to keep these design choices, but  I could see some purists preferring this.

If you liked the original Galaga, this one's even better. It's one of the few remakes I've seen where not only is the new one better, but becomes the definitive version of the game. This is one of those games, the gameplay is still just as tight as the original, the sounds and graphics are absolutely amazing, I just wish they would have updated the mechanics to modernize it a little bit.

If you liked Galaga, you're going to absolutely love this game as it's the same thing only better. If you're not a fan of Galaga, this will be okay. I can't see anyone finding the game bad, but some might not like the lack of updated mechanics.

Next up: Maniac Mansion

#0142 Oids

So today I played Oids, a SHMUP developed by FTL Games in 1987.

So before I talk about the game, I wanted to talk about what I had to go through just to play it. See, this game originally only came out on the Macintosh and the Atari ST. I didn't want to have to download yet another emulator. So, I started poking around. Turns out, back in 2014, the game was actually ported! to the Amiga.

That's right, a guy by the name of meynaf on http://eab.abime.net the English Amiga Boards actually ported a 30 year old game to another 30 year old computer.

Admitedly I didn't really look too much into WHY it was ported to such an old computer but it got me thinking about The Amiga, and how people must have really REALLY loved their Amigas back in the day.

The thing was a BEAST when it came out though, so it's really no wonder why it was so beloved by all. It also helps that the Amiga's keyboard is starting to look something more like a modern keyboard. That was always something that's been difficult with other emulators. Emulating the keyboard, the Apple II and the ZX Spectrum's keyboards are almost nothing like IBM PC keyboards, so it's nice to have something that's emulated more accurately.

Anywho, onto the game itself:

It's okay.

For all the effort I put into playing this game in a version that was only released a couple years ago, it was pretty underwhelming. It's a Gravitar clone. It has better, more updated graphics, but I was never a huge fan of Gravitar or Lunar Lander to begin with. Honestly, it wasn't bad, the controls are just like I remembered them being, if you're into physics based SHMUPS, then this might just be right up your ally, but for me, I probably could have given it a pass.

Next up: Galaga '88

#0141 Nebulus

Today was a lot of fun. Today I played Nebulus, a 1987 puzzle platformer by John Phillips for various computer systems.

That's right, this was a puzzle platformer, not on the NES, not on Arcade, but on PC and it was AWESOME!  You play as this little alien dude and your goal is to climb this big ol' tower avoiding obstacles along the way. You get hit by a bad guy, you go tumbling down a couple of levels, fall all the way back down into the water, and you lose a life.

this game introduced a mechanic that I don't think I've seen on the list before, where the main character remains stationary, while the entire world moves around them. It helps you keep track of your character while you move around and the result is some very fun platforming action.

It's helped even more by the fact that the graphics in this game look amazing. It has this affect that you really can't see in the static screenshots, but the sides of the tower narrow and fade as you move around it, giving you this cool 3D looking affect.

If I had to gripe, it'd be about the controls, they're pretty stiff and slugish. Reaction time to jump is pretty slow and the result is not being able to perform the manuvers you'd LIKE to do as well.

but honestly it's just a nitpick, the game overall is pretty amazing, especailly for a PC platformer. If you're into challenging puzzle platformers, give this one a try, it was ported to NES and Gameboy as well as Commodore 64, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST etc.

Next up: Oids

#0140 Head Over Heels

So today I played a kind of surprising game. Head over Heels, a 1987 Isometric Adventure game developed by Ocean Software.

I've played a couple of Isometric games on the list before such as Knight Lore and Fairlight, but this is the first game that felt like a complete and tested game.

You play as a duo, Head and Heels. Head can jump higher and can fire projectiles, heels is faster and can carry items. Together they can jump high, fire projectiles, is much faster and can carry items. See, you play as both, swapping between the two with the press of a button, unlike the other two isometric games, the controls felt tight, and intuitive, the gameplay and map layout felt clear and consise, I felt the challenge was much more manageable, and the two character gimick is actually a lot of fun. You'll run into puzzles where you can't do it as one of the characters, so you have to remember it and come back as the other. It's something modern games do with dungeon layout and it's great to see it here!

Next up: Nebulus

#0139 Double Dragon

Today I played Double Dragon. An arcade beat em up developed by Technos.

A spiritual successor to Renegade, which wasn't on the list, it's one of the most popular and influential beat em up games, and the first beat em up on the list!

You basically gotta save your smokin hot babe from bad guys and... That's it! Save your Girlfriend from bad guys!

The gameplay is pretty good. It's one of the first beat em ups and it shows. The hit box feels inconsistent, bad guys seem to be hit sponges, and the controls aren't super intuitive.

But it's fun! Picking up the bad guys weapon and using it against them is a good idea, and I love love LOVE the continue system. When you lose all your loves you have the option to jump RIGHT back in and keep going. Really gets you spending your quarters.

I feel it would have been even better two player. Overall though, if you're not a fan of beat em ups, this one isn't going to change your mind. But if you like beat em ups, this one's a dated, but still solid game.

Next up: Head Over Heels

#0138 International Karate +

Eh, it's okay.
I did a review of the original Karate Champ a while back, it's almost the same but with more movement allowed. The controls are stiff, and unresponsive still. I had a hard time making attacks flow.
So I did what all gamers do when they're playing a fighting game for the first time.
I button mashed.
I ended up doing okay after that.
It's okay, I suppose, foran 80s fighting game.
Still really not my cup of tea.

next up: Double Dragon

#0137 California Games

So I finally finally FINALLY played California Games. I gotta say, this one wasn't so bad. As far as sports games go, this is probably the most fun I've had with one. Their choice of games is kinda weird, like footbag, but the controls feel more responsive, and more intuitive than the previous sports games I played. Overall not bad, but I've never been a big sports game guy.

It also helps that this game is just FILLED to the brim with 80s cheese. It's just so apologetically 80s that it's hilarious.

Next up: International Karate Champ +

#0136 Dungeon Master

I liked this one! Finally, an RPG that I can relate to. The standout thing for this game is that it's in first person. But in that clunky, early first person that walks one tile at a time. But! The entire game can be played with the mouse so that's amazing. Finally no more clunky, hard to follow controls.

The game was fairly slow paced and had no music, but it was charming. I like the sense of adventure here. All the different keys you have to collect. All the different equipment.

Honestly, I think I'd like to come back to this game. Play it a little more in depth. For what it was, it was actually pretty good. Definately can't wait to see where RPGs go from here.

Nest up: California games (groan...)

#0135 A.P.B.

So I played APB. With the crash of '83, and the rise of Nintendo, less and less kids felt the need to go to their local Arcade. So how do you lure children into dingy, dimly lit buildings? You offer them what a console can't. That's why we're seeing a rise in racing games. This being yet another one, and honestly, not a very good one.

You play as a cop and your goal is to drive bad guys off the road. But if you ram into things without your siren on, you get demerits, get too many demerits and you're fired. The problem I had with this game was there's just WAY too much going on. You have to keep track of your gas, your speed, whether or not you have your siren on, the other cars, you have to keep after them and every little bump in the road will kill you. Not to mention the graphics, while fluid, are about a generation behind. It's just... Not fun. I think it would have benefited greatly by being a more linear game like Spy Hunter. Just really disappointed me.

Next up: Dungeon Master

#0134 NetHack

Today I played NetHack, an interesting game in that it ran perfectly on my computer without any emulators or anything. Want to know why that is? Because this version was released in on December 7, 2015. That's right. This is completely open source and has been regurlarly updated since 1987, 30 years ago. You can find it here and play right now if you like.

But how's the game itself? It's fine. Remember my Rogue review? Yeah, it's Rogue. It's not a Rogue-Like that seem to be all the rage these days, it's like Rogue2. In that it has the same concept of looking for treasure in a maze that you discover as you play, and every game you play is different, same ASCII layout, the only difference is that they upped the RPG elements and rebalanced the game to be more user friendly. There's not much more choice on who you can be and what you can do. It's a legitimately good game. Just didn't quite grip me as some other games did.

next up: A.P.B.

#0133 Blasteroids

It's kinda weird to think that games that came out before I was born were actually remakes of games that came out even earlier. That said, I'm liking these remakes.

It started with Arkanoid, which while TECHNICALLY it wasn't a remake of Breakout, we all totally know it's a remake of breakout. But today we're reviewing Blasteroids. It's pretty dang good.

You might recall from my previous review of Asteroids, that I wasn't really impressed with Asteroids. I didn't find it challenging and compared to what was offered at the time, I just kinda prefered Space Invaders. Which is controvercial I know, but it's safe to say that, I really enjoyed this game. You can always tell how enjoyable a game is by how fast you put your next quarter in. This game sank like six quarters before I was willing to let it go. It gripped me pretty hard. The biggest imporovement over the original is the amount of flexibity you have. You can morph between three different ships which all have their advantages and weaknesses. As well as powerups that allow you to fire mulitple shots and such. The graphics look pretty legit as well. Like, on the higher end of 16 bit. This is what SNES games looked like in 1995.

Overall, the game was fun. It's one of the few remakes in gaming that I honestly believe can actually replace the orignal.

Next up: NetHack

#0132 Super Hang-On

Fun fact about me. I'm actually a pretty big fan of racing games. Specifically realistic simulation type games like Gran Turismo. They were one of my first foreys into games not made on Nintendo Systems. But I also like arcade style racing games so today we start off 1987 with one of my favorite racing games yet Super Hang-On.

This is a motorcycle racing game made by Sega. It's fast, the controls are responsive, the handling feels tight, overall, a pretty solid racing game except for one crucial detail. It's hard. Brutally hard really. I'm a seasoned racing gamer, and I had a hard time making it past just the second checkpoint in the first, easiest level. You really gotta lay on that boot button to get anywhere close and if you whipe out, you might as well throw in the towel, you're not going to make it. It could really be more forgiving in that aspect. But for what it was, I had a lot of fun.

Next up: Blasteroids.

#0131 World Games

World games is yet another Olympics style sports game. This time with the theme of games from around the world. Each game is unique in that it originated in the country its set in. Very clever idea. But it's still a sports game and still a game I just can't get into. But if it means anything, I enjoyed this better than the last Summer Games. Plus I got to play it on the Amiga, and the Amiga looks gorgeous.

And that finishes up 1986! That means we get to decide Game of the Year 1986 and the winner of this is obviously:

Legend of Zelda.

Was there really any contest? Well, because that game is so obviously first contender for Game of the Year, let's look at other games that came out that year who could be considered Runners up:

Alter Ego: An RPG who's decisions early on shape your character. It's basically like a giant word tree, but it was incredibly fun.

Darius: The Most amazing looking game I've played on this list to date. I haven't been blown away by graphics like this since Galaxian, the first game in RGB color.

Kid Icarus: It's like a more linear Zelda game that really caught me off guard.


Dragon Quest: If it hadn't been for zelda, this game would have won. It may not be as original, but You could argue that it was even MORE influential than even Zelda. Zelda was just more fun to play though.

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels: What can I say? It's more Mario, what more could you want?

Up next: Super Hang On

#0130 The Legend of Zelda

Hell, fucking, yeah. This game is the shit. It was named Game Informer's #1 game of all time for a reason, this game kicked some serious ass.

For like the two of you who don't know, in Legend of Zelda you play as Link, your goal is to find the 8 Triforce pieces and save the kingdom of Hyrule from the evil Gannon. To do this you must explore the land of Hyrule, searching for dungeons that the pieces of the Triforce are hidden while collecting treasures and weapons to help you along the way.

This game has a sense of exploration like was never seen before in games. There were SO many secrets just waiting for you to find. With a map as big as Hyrule's, you'd think that getting from one place to another would be tedious, but no, getting to and finding the levels is half the fun. Each screen looks completely different from the others and it's one of those rare games where if you play it for long enough you start to feel comfortable, and start to get a sense of direction and feel almost at home in this place.

There's a sense of discovery in this game like nothing that had come before it. You could have just as much fun just being in the land of Hyrule, exploring caves, and burning bushes to find little secrets as you could actually playing the game. It was something so totally unique for its time and I can honestly see why it was regarded so highly.

That's not to say its perfect, it's far from perfect. It's extremely dated to the point where (like the original Metroid, not on this list) the simple inclusion of a map VASTLY improves the game experience. I played it with this map and had one HECK of a time exploring. I was able to obtain several heart containers, a couple different weapons, the Power Ring and the White Sword all before my first dungeon. However, if you DON'T have such a map handy, this game can be incredbily frustrating. It takes you a while to get powerful enough to really move through the land of Hyrule with any degree of confidence and just FINDING the first level can be a real pain in the butt. not to mention the fact that the game is so open, that you can almost do the levels in reverse order. When I played the game when I was a kid I didn't have a map, I just entered any ol' dungeon I could find and would get my butt kicked because it was one of the last levels. I had fun exploring, and any screts I did find on accident, were all the more exciting because I found it on my own.

So yeah, it's not a perfect game. But if you're looking for the Classic Zelda Adventure experience, you'll find it here okay. It's not as good as say A Link to the Past, but it still hold up. I'd just make sure to have a good world map handy. Give it a play, see what you think.

Next up: World Games

#0129 Buggy Boy

And buggy boy was pretty cool too! It has that same sprite scaling that Outrun does. The difference is the asthetic. Buggy Boy reminds me a LOT of the original Mario Kart. The sprites are colorful and the animations are smooth. Not a bad game at all.

Next up: The Legend of Zelda

#0128 Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

Well that was quite a surreal expeience. It was exactly what it said in the title. You like Mario? Well here's some Mario levels that you never played. They reskinned some of the textures, added a couple touches here and there, but other than that, it's still the same game. It's like playing a level of Mario Maker made by the creators of Super Mario Bros themselves.

Not only did they redo the sprites, they redid the difficulty. This game is WAY harder than anything in Super Mario Bros 1. I had a hard time getting to the first castle.

So yeah, it was strangely nostalgic and strangely new at the same time.

Next up: Buggy Boy

#0127 Space Harrier

I guess they forgot about this game huh? This is 1985's Space Harrier. A SHMUP from Sega that combines traditional SHMUP tropes with the sprite scaling of Outrun.

The added dimension to the game is very clumsily handled. You ahve no idea where you're firing at any given time, and this tends to rear it's head at the least oportune times. But it's hard not to get sucked in by it's incredible sense of energy and fun. So while I can't say it's a good game, I certainly enjoyed it.

Next up: Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

#0126 Thrust

Today I played Thrust. It was good... Yeah... It's fine...

Okay, so it's a gravity based SHMUP where you have to collect fule and energy pods for a galactic rebellion. Your ship is affected by gravity, momentum and inertia.

The game itself is fine. Controls are simple, physics are believable. It's just a nice fun arcade style game.

My real issue is the book praises is it as "One of the most important titles in the history of physics-based gaming" And... Why?

We've had physics based games since the 70s. 1979's Lunar Lander, which I reviewed here. And the almost identical, and I'd argue superior Gravitar from 1982 which I also reviewed here. If you're going to give credit for The Most Important Title in Physics-based Gaming, give it to Asteroids, they were the first to pioneer those types of thrust based controls.

Like I said before, the game is fine. It's just a Gravitar clone.

Next up: Space Harrier

#0125 The Sentinel

This game took me by surprise. I was ready to be unimpressed like a lot of the games lately, but I found myself oddly drawn to the game.

This is Sentinel, a First Person Strategy Stealth game. It's one of the first home games to use filed in color vector graphics. This gives it the look of very early polygon games. Like Starfox. It looks amazing, even on low-end machines.

It's a game of using and absorbing energy. There's two characters, you and The Sentinel, which as soon as you move, will slowly start rotating towards you. If it sees you, it'll start absorbing your energy. Your goal is to absorb the sentinel before it can absorb you.The problem is, you can only absorb things that are on your same field of vision or lower. If you can't see the tile it's on, you can't absorb its energy. And the sentinels are always placed very high above you. Basically, if you can't see the tile its on, you cant absorb it. You also can't move on your own. You can only transfer your essence between synthenoids. You absorb the energy of nearby trees and rocks, to create synthenoids. You'd think this would be constrictive and tough to deal with, but the game compensates you for your lack of mobility for being able to basically teleport. See, These synthenoids can be transfered to at any point so long as you can click on them. Even if they're all the way across the map. So it becomes a game of transferring yourself around the board, reaching higher and higher ground until you're high enough to absorb The Sentinel. It requires a lot of thought and is a lot of fun.

Probably the best part is, it's played almost entirely with the mouse. you only use a couple buttons to create various things, but otherwise, you look around like you would any other FPS using the mouse. It's incredibly relieving that the mouse is finally being utilized in games.

I highly recomend this and is probably a game I'll be going back to soon.

Next up: Thrust

#0124 720°

Hhhh. Tired of all these underwhelming games. Played 720° today. It birthed a genre and paved the way for skateboarding games in the future, but... I just couldn't get into it. The controls were much too confusing and unintuitive. Especially for an arcade game. It was kinda boring to be honest. I can see the merit, for what they were trying to do, but I just couldn't get into it. At least it was fun seeing what skater culture looked like back in the 80s. The only glimpses I ever got of Skater culture was at the turn of the Millennium when I think the X games were a thing. Lots of baggy pants and graphic Tees. 

Up next: The Sentinal

#0123 Super Sprint

Just played Super Sprint. Finally, a decent game. This is a racing game from 1986 that features, one pedal, and one screen that all three players share. Meaning that the wheel turns you in direction in relationship to the way the car is facing, which can sometimes get confusing. Honestly, it's not a serious racing game, but it's not supposed to be. Since it has to be crammed into one screen, the tracks have to be very creative, often crossing over one another. It's a lot of fun, and something I'd love to play with others.

Next up 720°

#0122 Rolling Thunder

Today I played Rolling Thunder. A Side Scrolling SHMUP from Namco.

Ya know, for all the praise this book gave this game. I gotta say, I'm really not seeing it. It's really underwhelming, esspecially for an acrade game. The book says this game was "Explicit by even today's standards" and praises the game in its uniqueness.

Not only is this game not unique, (it's basically Green Baret with guns), it's really not good. The very first level, there's a series of boxes that are too high to jump over, and seemingly no way around them.

I was about to say, until I actually went and took a look at the arcade cabinet. Right on the cabinet it tells you how to jump onto the upper ledges. Had the game not had this, it would have been one disaster of the game. So I went back and played the game again, with this new knowledge and... It's still okay. Honestly, I really wanted to give it a chance, see where this "Shocking explicitness" was coming from, but it's just very underwhelming. The controls are simple, I suppose, but there's really no depth that I see to the game, and the difficulty curve is intimidating. I must have tried playing that game a dozen times and was never able to even get past the first level. That's not a sign of a good arcade game. If there is something of value to this game, then I didn't see it. And unlike Defender of the Crown, the fact that it didn't hook me within the first couple minutes isn't my fault, it's the developer's fault. If you're going to make an arcade game, you have to make sure that it's engaging to the auidence from the moment you start playing, otherwise they're going to move on to other games. Simple as that. Oh well.

Next up: Super Sprint

#0121 Defender of the Crown

Today was Defender of the Crown. Finally. This was easily one of the hardest games I've ever tried to get running. For whatever reason I just could NOT get an Amiga Emulator up and running for the longest time.

But once I finally did get Defender of the Crown running, it wasn't bad. It was okay really. Controls are confisuing. Even the manual does a poor job of explaining how exactly to play the game. It's one of the few games I've played so far that I felt could use a tutorial.

But from what I could understand from the game it was alright! I mean, not the best, but It's a lot like Risk only with more to it. I honestly feel if I were to take time, sit down and really hammer out how this game works I'd be much better off. But considering what I went through to get it up and running, I'd save the mastery of the game for a rainy day. Does that make me a poor game critic? Maybe, but nobody reads these anyway, so it's okay. So long as I gave it a chance, it's good to go.

Next up: Rolling Thunder