Anyone who has been coming to this blog for any period of time knows that old games are just as likely, if not more likely, to appear on my "now playing" list, so it only makes sense for me to write about the retro games (and systems) I'm looking forward to buying (if need be) and playing this year, too, right?
Five such games and systems are detailed below. Look for five more games and systems to discussed in a similarly titled post that will be published tomorrow.
1. bit Generations series--I've had my eye on these indie-esque GameBoy Advance titles, developed by Skip/Q-Games and published by Nintendo of Japan, for a while now, but I've yet to pick up any of them because ... well, I can't tell you why. I'm sure, though, that my procrastination has some- thing to do with it costing me a pretty penny to buy all seven of them at once. Maybe I'll satisfy my craving for this series by acquiring them slowly but surely (beginning with, say, Dotstream or Orbital).
2. Chack'n Pop--Like Ice Climber and numerous other games before it (hello, Fantasy Zone!), this Famicom port of Taito's arcade should-have-been-a-classic has gone from being one that I hated to being one that I quite honestly adore--despite its overt difficulty. As such, one of my main goals for 2012 is to obtain a complete-in-box copy of this Bubble Bobble precursor. (The box is necessary because the art splashed across it is completely adorable.)
3. Coryoon--This is one of the few "holy grail" PC Engine games I have yet to add to my collection, with another being a CD-based title that will appear in the second post of this series. Anyway, this one is a side-scrolling shmup that stars an adorably bug-eyed dragon and features more layers of parallax scrolling (a big deal back in the day) than you can throw a stick at. Another reason it's near the top of my "to buy" list: It was developed by some of the same folks who made Air Zonk/PC Denjin.
4. Door Door--Never heard of this Enix-published puzzle game before? Don't worry, you're not alone--assuming you're not Japanese. I had to add that caveat because apparently this early Famicom release is quite popular in its homeland. It's pretty popular in my household, too, thanks to its chunky-yet-precious graphics and enjoyable-despite-being-really-damn-difficult gameplay, which involves clearing levels by trapping cute-as-buttons baddies behind green-colored doors.
5. Sega Game Gear system--I've been talking about getting a Game Gear (mainly so I can play Tengen's Magical Puzzle Popils) for a long time now. Rather than continue to blather on about this battery-burning portable, I think I'm finally going to bite the bullet sometime this year and buy one--along with a copy of the aforementioned puzzler, of course.
See also: 'Five games I'm looking forward to playing in 2012' and 'Five additional games I'm looking forward to playing in 2012'
18 comments:
I look forward to hearing your impressions of all of these titles once you get them! Coryoon looks like the most perfect representation of cute shmup that I could imagine. AND THERE'S FRUIT!
Hey there, Justin! Oh, you know I'll share impressions. Don't expect me to get ALL of these games and systems this year, though; it's just a 'wish list' at this point. That said, I definitely plan on getting some of them!
As for Coryoon: Yes, I'm also excited about the game's abundance of fruit :)
I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Game Gear Bryan! I love mine and there are plenty of nice games for it!
Thanks, Lost Ruin! Yeah, I definitely need to get one sooner rather than later -- and a copy of Magical Puzzle Popils, of course :P What are your favorite games for it, by the way?
I just planning to playing Door Door too!
I saw this game on youtube, it looks great!
Hey there, Pix3l! Yes, it's definitely a cute little game. The frame rate is a bit wonky (choppy), and it's hard as hell, but I still like it quite a bit :)
I'd recommend Soundvoyager as your first game. The best way to play is late at night while laying in bed, wearing headphones. You don't need to (and shouldn't, really) look at the screen when you play. You just move left or right and pick up sounds to fill out tunes, letting your mind fill in all the visual details as you focus on the music. Definitely my favorite of the bunch, though I do love dotstream, too!
Raroo! I don't think you've ever commented here. What a nice surprise :)
Also, thank you for the recommendation RE: Soundvoyager. It certainly sounds like an interesting game, and I definitely plan on picking it up at some point. Actually, I'm planning on picking up all of the bit generations games at some point, but I'm not yet sure which one will be my first. I'll certainly consider Soundvoyager being that title thanks to your recommendation, though!
I admit it - I'm not a gaming expert - so I've never heard of the bit Generations series. I love the concepts - they're definitely going on my "to buy" list.
Well, David, there's nothing with not being a gaming expert. Also, I'm glad this post could make you aware of this seemingly great series. If you buy them before I do, let me know what you think of them, will you?
wandering afield from kimimi's blog and by god i have to jump in here and second the soundvoyager recommendation. raroo knows what's up! i keep coming back to its sound catcher games time and time again, an important consideration when you're looking at such pricey little things as these.
also adding a quiet vote for coloris, though like most of the bit generations it can be as frustrating as it is beautiful.
Hey there, sharc! Welcome to my blog :) It's nice to meet someone else who love Kimimi's blog, BTW.
Other than that, thanks for the "+1" RE: Soundvoyager. I absolutely love the sound of that game (pun sort of intended), so I'm sure I'll pick it up sooner or later.
Would you recommend picking all of the bit Generations games at some point, BTW -- assuming I can swing it, of course? I'm honestly curious about all of them, even if some of them are less successful (as games) than others...
well, they're definitely among my happiest purchases. the series’ boxes constitute some of the nicest, classiest packaging a game has ever been graced with. it’s a rare case where the extra money spent on a complete copy goes toward something that's worth displaying for its aesthetics and craftsmanship, not just its value in nerd cred.
not that i am any kind of a stranger to wasting my money on stupid nerd cred. :C
the only catch is trying to get them in nice condition, since you not only have the delicate cardboard but the gloss and foil-stamping to worry about. for what it’s worth i bought mine from play-asia with no complaints.
as or the games themselves, beyond just the overall aesthetic, each one has something worthwhile to it. the only one you might want to skip out on is boundish, because it’s really a two-player affair and just doesn't come to life unless you have someone to play against. if you decide to make cuts elsewhere, note that orbient on wiiware fixes the singular unbelievably infuriating problem with orbital, and i’d personally pick coloris over dialhex as a puzzle game since dialhex is a little less unique (and, depressingly, just too hard for me).
Thank you for the further impressions, sharc! I really appreciate them :)
It's nice to know this series of games has nice packaging. I've seen the cover art for each game before, but I've yet to see photos of the actual boxes (if that makes sense).
As for which ones I'll wind up acquiring: I have a feeling I'll be picking them up slowly over time. I nearly got five of them in one eBay auction just before Christmas, but I just barely missed out on it. (Would have been at a great price, too!) Anyway, I'm still not sure which one I'll start with, although dotstream, Orbital and Soundvoyager are at the top of my list at the moment.
What's the problem with Orbital, BTW? I absolutely love the WiiWare version, which is why I want the GBA release, but I can't say I've ever heard about any issues with the latter...
oh, i assumed you already knew about the packaging, because it's almost as good a reason to own them as the games themselves. i won't spoil the surprise any further, but you're in for a treat!
the problem with orbital is that while your little planetoid rides around by attracting to or repulsing from other planets, you have zero visual cues as to what objects' gravity is affecting you and by how much. you have to determine it by trial and error, which isn't so bad when the stages are simple. but as they get more crowded and especially as objects that generate negative gravity get mixed in, figuring out what will influence your movement becomes too complex to predict.
add to this that the slightest collision with a larger object means game over and you get a whole lot of "i'll just move in this direction wait why am i going over here ah fuck i hit a moon" and then you just wasted six minutes on nothing.
the wiiware game adds those little particle streams to indicate what local gravitational forces acting on you, and although it's hastily done and doesn't totally gel with the game's visual style, it is a very necessary change.
Hello again, sharc! Thank you for the explanation RE: Orbital. That makes complete sense, unfortunately. (I say unfortunately because I really liked the WiiWare version of the game, and the GBA original definitely sounds a bit frustrating in comparison.) I have a feeling I'll still buy Orbital at some point, but at least now I'll know what I'm getting myself into :)
fired up some of the bit gen games and turns out i didn't remember quite right. no, it's not game over if you hit anything, you do have a stock of lives. though there is a lot of pinballing around and subsequent hits after a crash.
my complaints aside it's still a pretty neat little game, though! so long as you ignore Final Galaxy.
Ah, that's great to hear, sharc! Thanks for doing that bit of research and sharing it with me.
Hmmm, now I'm curious about this Final Galaxy of which you speak...
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