Manual Stimulation (Parodius Da!, PC Engine)

Before we begin to prattle on about this PC Engine game's instruction manual, let's take a second to bow our heads in honor of the fact that the world's unlikely to get another game in Konami's wacky Parodius series.

That's a shame because all of the Parodius games Konami made and released between 1988's Parodius: Tako wa Chikyū o Sukū for MSX and 1996's Sexy Parodius for the original PlayStation (and arcades)--we'll just ignore all of those pachinko games the company put out over the last decade--were more than worth the price of admission.



This 1992 release may be my favorite of them all. Granted, the PC Engine port of Parodius Da! is missing a few of the arcade original's stages, but its chaotic omake bonus level makes up for it.

Its fabulous manual eases some of the disappointment associated with this semi-downgraded port, too.



Don't take that to mean it's all that and a bag of chips. It doesn't sport nearly as many adorable illustrations as the Famicom version's booklet. And it doesn't kick off with a multi-page comic strip like the Super Famicom release's manual. Still, it's cute and colorful enough that most folks should enjoy flipping through it now and then.





The "story" spread above helps prove that point, I think. Hell, so does the regrettably tiny depiction of Takosuke (the series' iconic octopus character) hoisting and shooting a machine gun.





The illustrations on the following pages, which show off and explain the game's power-up items and abilities, are interesting in that they're in a style that's quite different from the rest of the art that appears in the Parodius Da! instruction manual.



That's not a bad thing, mind you. Still, I can't help but wish they were sillier or livelier--like the ones included in the Famicom booklet I linked to earlier.



Somewhat strangely, the designers who created the Parodius Da! manual devoted two whole pages to explanations of the game's bell power-ups. I suggest that's strange because these explanations presumably took the place of artistic representations of its enemies and bosses.



Oh, well you can't have everything, right? And at least we're treated to one last top-notch illustration before the booklet wraps up with some pithy stage descriptions.



Want to see how the Parodius Da! PC Engine case and HuCard stack up to its manual? Check out my latest "Nice Package!" post, which features photos of of both--as well as some additional commentary on the game itself.

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about Rainbow Islands, Pop'n Magic and PC Genjin

Nice Package! (Parodius Da!, PC Engine)

Before I became aware of games like Konami's Parodius Da!, I wasn't all that interested in the shoot 'em up (or shmup) genre.

Sure, early examples like Galaga and Gradius and even R-Type were well crafted and provided a certain thrill, but their deep-space, sci-fi settings left me kind of cold.



The second I laid eyes on titles like Parodius Da! and Detana!! TwinBee, though, I knew those chills--the bad sort, at least--were a thing of the past.

Although TwinBee and other, similar, games like Cotton, Hana Taaka Daka!?, PC Denjin and Twinkle Star Sprites, give me the warm fuzzies, none of them do so as strongly as the game that basically defines the entire cute 'em up genre.

Naturally I'm talking about Parodius Da!

What's so great about it? For starters, there are the visuals. Calling them "candy coated" or "kaleidoscopic" or anything of the sort doesn't quite do them justice, in my opinion.



So what does do them justice? How about "so crazy and colorful they'd make the Ringling Bros. proud."

OK, that's maybe a bit over the top, but if it conjures up thoughts of flying penguins, bathing octopuses, sunglasses-wearing moai statues and other circus-esque entities, well, it's done its job.

There's a lot more to Parodius Da! than its graphics, though. Nearly as important to its stature as a top-shelf cute 'em up is its wacky soundtrack, the bulk of which consists of remixes of classical music.

The cherry on top: this entry, like pretty much all of the Parodius series' entries, hits the gameplay sweet spot in that it's equal parts fun and challenging.



And then, of course, there's this title's packaging. I wouldn't say the cover art produced for the PC Engine port is as stellar as the imagery created for the Super Famicom one, but it's still far better than OK.

Its HuCard label and manual innards are similarly sensational--as evidenced by the snapshots above--while the back of its case is just so-so. Oh, well, you can't always have it all, right?

See also: 'Nice Package!' posts about Pac-Land, KiKi KaiKai and Hana Taaka Daka!?

My favorite games of 2015 (that were released before 2015)

In the last post I published, I admitted I didn't play too many games in 2015 that actually were released between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of that year.

I did, however, play quite a few games that were released before 2015. Here are some words about the ones I enjoyed the most.

999 (DS)--Everyone seems to love this Chunsoft-crafted visual novel. So why did it take me so long to play more than a couple of hours of it (I've owned a copy for years now)? I wish I could tell you. What I can tell you is I'm thrilled I broke through that self-imposed barrier earlier this year. This time around, not only did I finally get past 999's opening chapter, but I finished each and every one of them--multiple times over. In fact, I eventually encountered all of this tense title's many endings and devoted more than 20 hours to doing so. Hopefully I'll find Virtue's Last Reward, the Vita version of which I just acquired, just as compelling.

Alien Syndrome (Game Gear)--I turned up my nose at this arcade port for years due to what I considered (at the time) to be its subpar visuals. Truth be told, I also wasn't all that interested in its seemingly brainless gameplay. For whatever reason, I put those initially negative (not to mention ill-informed) impressions behind me and gave this iteration of Alien Syndrome another shot a month or so ago and ended up having a blast. I'm still not a big fan of its boss battles, which are more than a bit claustrophobic on the Game Gear's tiny screen, but the rest of it this creepy run-and-gunner's content is surprisingly enjoyable when you give it a chance.

Astro Rabby (GameBoy)--Here's another old title that rubbed me the wrong way the first few times I booted it up. Once I wrapped my head around its gameplay, though, I really dug it. Sure, the bonus stages that pop up now and then are beyond aggravating, but they're easily ignored after you come to terms with the fact that you'll never, ever "beat" one of them. Also, the rest of what Astro Rabby--which aesthetically, at least, brings to mind that old PlayStation launch release, Jumping Flash!--has to offer is such a rush that they're quickly erased from memory.

Chrono Trigger (DS)--Stop me if you've heard me tell this story before: my big brother and I bought a copy of this groundbreaking RPG back when it first hit store shelves in our neck of the woods. Despite my love for the company-previously-known-as-Squaresoft and pretty much every game it pushed onto the market during the 16-bit and 32-bit eras, I never played through the SNES version of Chrono Trigger myself. (I did watch my brother play through a good portion of it--not that I can remember much of the experience now.) So, what do I think of this enhanced DS re-release after putting nearly six hours into it? I absolutely love it. The soundtrack is, as expected, a revelation, and the time-traveling story and relaxed Final Fantasy-esque battles are similarly first-rate.

Shall We Do It? (Alien Syndrome, City Connection, Mickey Mousecapade, Parodius Da! and Super Mario Bros. 2)

Some of you may be wondering why all of the games mentioned in this post's headline are decidedly retro" Well, that would be because the only current game I've played in the last few weeks is Pokémon Picross.

OK, so I've also put some time--and money--into Nintendo Badge Arcade during that same period, although I don't know if I'd call the latter a "game." (It's more of an app, if you ask me.)

What about The Legend of Legacy and Undertale? I haven't played either of them in about a month, sadly. And I haven't even started Yo-Kai Watch, despite the fact that a copy of that 3DS title has been in my hands since I got it as a birthday present right after Thanksgiving.

Given all of the above, it may seem strange that I decided to spend a good part of this past weekend playing the following bunch of golden oldies. The only response I can come up with to that charge is "I needed it." And don't we all sometimes?

Alien Syndrome (Game Gear)--Considering my nearly lifelong love of the first two Alien films, you’d think I would have at least tried this similarly themed game ages ago. Actually, I have plunked a bit of time into various versions of this Sega-made title (which originated in the arcades) over the years, but for whatever reason the aesthetics and gameplay never sat well with me. Something changed in that regard this weekend, though, as I raced through three of the Game Gear port’s stages on Saturday morning and only gave up after seeing a satisfactory portion of its fourth.

If this is the first you’ve heard of Alien Syndrome, by the way, the gist of it is it’s a run-and-gun action game that’s clearly inspired by the original Alien flick. You run around each level--most or all of which take place on some sort of spaceship--and rescue stranded crewmates while avoiding (or blowing away) a whole host of nightmarish baddies. Oh, and a clock is ticking away all the while, which adds a certain sense of urgency to both of those tasks.

As is the case with most of the games I booted up over the last few days, some (maybe many) modern gamers are sure to find the Game Gear version of Alien Syndrome painfully dated, especially in the graphics department. Still, if you’re a fan of tense gaming experiences and extraterrestrial settings, you’d do well to overlook this title’s superficial stumbling points and give it a bit of love.

City Connection (Famicom)--Looking back on it now, it seems strange that as a kid I had access to an arcade containing a City Connection cabinet. After all, I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin—not exactly a hotbed of obscure Japanese games of any sort.

At any rate, I'm glad my local arcade (bowling alley, really) was home to this Axes Art Amuse-made and Jaleco-published oddity--for a while, at least. I played it every chance I got. Who could blame me? It's a platformer--of sorts--that shoves players behind the wheel of an adorable red sports car and then forces them to race and leap around a handful of stages, all of which are set in real-life cities. The point: why, to cover their roadways in paint, of course. (You do this do you can prove you've fully experienced each locale.)

I wish I could tell you how accurate the Famicom port of City Connection is to the arcade original, but I can't. I can say the former is a lot of fun, though. It's colorful, it controls well enough, it's challenging (but not overly cheap, as is the case for too many games from this era) and it has a soundtrack that's better than it has any right to be.

Mickey Mousecapade (NES)--Here's another game from my childhood. For some weird reason, this is one of the 20 or so NES games I owned as a kid. I say it's weird because I've never really been a big Disney fan. As such, I'm not sure what prompted me to buy (or, more likely, ask for it as a birthday or Christmas gift) Mickey Mousecapade.

Regardless, I remember liking this classic platformer--which curiously puts players in control of both Mickey and Minnie at the same time--well enough. I also remember finding it more than a smidge frustrating beyond its first stage. Which is kind of hilarious, as I got all the way to the game's third stage on my second try this past weekend, and without a whole lot of fuss. Sadly, that's as far as I was able to get.

Oh, well, I'm glad I finally revisited Mickey Mousecapade after all these years. It's far from a great game, and it's downright ugly in spots (I'm looking at you, annoying forest level), but the background music is nice and the overall experience is enjoyable enough that I'll probably return to it again ... in a couple of years or so.

Parodius Da! (PC Engine)--Would you believe this was one of the first Japanese games I ever imported? Detana!! TwinBee was another, along with Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI and Tengai Makyou II. Oh, and Pop'n TwinBee, too.

At any rate, this was my favorite of the bunch. (OK, so I was pretty fond of the two Final Fantasy games as well.) Which makes sense, as it's hard to play this wackadoodle shmup, which parodies Konami's genre-defining Gradius series (hence the name), without a huge grin plastered across your face all the while.

I spend most of my time with the PC Engine port of Parodius Da! playing its "Special" mode, by the way. It's a single-level, high-score romp that's perfect for short bursts of play--which means it's perfect for my ever-diminishing attention span.

Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)--Do you have a favorite Famicom or NES cart? Well, this is one of mine. To me, this bastard child of Nintendo's decades-old Mario series is the gaming equivalent of chicken noodle soup. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy in a way that not too many titles from any era can match.

Anyway, I was prompted to return to this pastel-shellacked platformer by the recently released Nintendo Badge Arcade. For the last few days, that 3DS app has offered up a slew of Super Mario Bros. 2 pins--every single one of which caused my mouth to froth in nostalgia-flavored glee. (OK, so maybe that's overstating things a tad.)

Although I somehow stopped myself from dropping $5 more into the Nintendo Badge Arcade, I wasn't able to keep myself from spending a similar amount to buy Super Mario Bros. 2 via the eShop. Which is just as well, because every 3DS needs to have a copy of this game stuck to its main menu and at the ready at all times, don't you think?

Have you played any retro games in recent days or weeks? If so, which ones--and what pushed you to spend some quality time with them?

Happy birthday to me :)

So, as I just gave away in this post's header (above), it's my birthday.

What wild and crazy things have I done since I got out of bed about seven hours ago? Well, playing the "special" mode of the PC Engine port of Parodius Da! counts as wild and crazy, right?

I've also played a good bit of a few other PC Engine games, namely Detana!! TwinBee, Pro Tennis World Court (RPG mode, of course) and Valkyrie no Densetsu.

That's all well and good, I'm sure some of you are thinking, but what about newer games? Have you spent any time with games that were made and released in the last, say, 20 years?

Not really. I'll be playing some of those kinds of games soon, though. Or at least I hope I'll be playing them soon.

That's because between my parents and myself, I received three thoroughly modern games as birthday gifts this year.

OK, so I personally bought two of the three games in question. Also, one of them technically is 20 years old--although the version I snagged is just seven years old.

That particular game would be Chrono Trigger DS, by the way.



Yes, Justin Difazzio, I'm finally going to play this classic Squaresoft RPG. (In case some of you haven't followed every single word I've said on this blog or on Google+, Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr over the years, although I watched my older brother play through most of Chrono Trigger when both of us were much, much younger, I've never played through it myself.)

As for why I bought it now, that would be because Square Enix's online store hosted a bit of a sale yesterday, and one of the best bargains to be had (for a short period of time, it seems) revolved around brand-new copies of Chrono Trigger DS for $6.

Another, far more modern game I bought for myself yesterday: the Vita port of Hatoful Boyfriend.

I've been meaning to buy this pigeon-centric dating sim for ages, but failed to do so until now for all sorts of stupid reasons.

When I heard (via Twitter) that it could be picked up via the PlayStation Store for just $5, though, I hightailed it over there and nabbed a copy as quickly as I was able.

Sadly, I'm not going to be able to play the damn thing until at least Christmas, as the game is 1.9 gigs in size--which is way more than my poor Vita can handle.

As such, until I buy (or receive for Christmas) a Vita memory card, Hatoful Boyfriend is going to have to become intimately acquainted with the other games on my PSN download list.

That leaves just the game my parents so kindly bought and sent me for my birthday: Yo-Kai Watch for 3DS.

I really enjoyed this game's demo, so I'm very much looking forward to playing through the full offering.

Have you played any of these three titles? If so, share your thoughts on them in the comments section below.

Happy (ever-so-slightly belated) 25th anniversary, Super Famicom!

Twenty-five years ago, Nintendo made its second cartridge-based games console, the Super Famicom, available to the Japanese masses.

I breathlessly followed its development in the pages of magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly, Nintendo Power and Video Games and Computer Entertainment. (Note: I remember reading this article--over and over again--like it was yesterday.) I was especially obsessed with coverage of Super Mario World, of course, although I was nearly as keen on "launch window" titles Pilotwings and F-Zero.

Despite my overwhelming interest in the Super Famicom and its initial releases, though, I didn't buy one on or around its Nov. 21 debut. Granted, I was just about to turn 14 at the time, and buying Japanese consoles (or even games) wasn't really an option--especially since doing so likely would have cost me somewhere in the vicinity of $400.

Instead, I had to wait until shortly after the Super Famicom's North American counterpart, the SNES, launched in my own neck of the woods a year later before I was able to experience Nintendo's brand of 16-bit gaming for myself. 

A couple of years later, I finally got to play my first Super Famicom (as opposed to SNES) game when I imported a used copy of Final Fantasy V--which I still have today, mind you--via one of those companies that advertised in the back of DieHard GameFan and the aforementioned EGM.

Actually, I may have picked up Parodius Da! first, but who really cares this many years later, right?

Strangely--given my current love of imported games--those two Japanese titles, along with Final Fantasy VI, may have been the only ones I ever bought to play on my trusty SNES. (Don't worry, I've bought a few more Super Famicom in the last couple of years, although only a few--so far.) 

Also, I've never owned an actual Super Famicom system. Which is a crying shame, as I've always considered its design to be among the most attractive and appealing of the consoles that have seen the light of day since the early 1980s.

What else did I--and do I--love about the Super Famicom? I've always loved its graphics capabilities, which for me represent the peak of two-dimensional, sprite-based game visuals. I've also always loved its audio components, which allowed the best musicians and composers of the day to produce some absolutely stellar soundtracks. 

And then, of course, there was the system's controller, with its four face and two shoulder buttons, which I've long considered to be as eye-catching as it is comfortable.

How about you? Do you have any particularly fond memories of this superb entry in the fourth generation of game systems? If so, feel free to share them in the comments section below. 

Second Chances: Magical Chase (PC Engine)

To be completely honest, this cute--and absurdly costly--PC Engine shoot 'em up wasn't even on my radar when I first considered which games to play as part of this month's #Shmuptember festivities.

After fellow blogger Retro King Simon (of Red Parsley fame) mentioned it in the comments section of this recent post, though, I decided I should give it a second chance.

You may be wondering why I needed to give it a second chance. After all, it's a fairly well-liked shmup among PC Engine fans--again, despite the astronomical price tags that tend to be attached to copies of it.

While that may be true, I've never really been a part of that camp--the one full of folks who fall over themselves to talk about what a top-shelf cute 'em up it is, I mean. (Admittedly, I have a feeling it's a small camp.)

Don't get me wrong, I've long thought of Magical Chase as being a "competent enough" smhup, but I've also long preferred playing similar games--like Parodius Da! and Coryoon and Air Zonk--to it.

Have I had a change of heart as a result of my most recent experience with the game? Actually, I have. I wouldn't say I now consider it to be worth its asking price (although even that could change in the coming months and years, especially given my history with such things), but I definitely find it a lot more appealing than I used to.

One of the main reasons for that is HuCard's art style seems a lot more cohesive than I remember it to be. In the past, I thought the design of the adorable, broom-riding protagonist (she is a witch, after all) didn't quite "fit" with those of the game's enemies or backdrops, if that makes sense.

Another is that I'm now pretty enamored with the "zippiness" of this colorful shoot 'em up's controls. In fact, I'd say Magical Chase compares favorably to both Coryoon and PC Denjin (Air Zonk) in that regard, and possibly even feels a bit smoother than those aforementioned contemporaries.

Now that I've come around to Magical Chase's considerable charms, though, I'm feeling kind of miffed. I mean, for the same amount of money it would cost me to acquire the Japanese version of this game, I could pick up copies of both R-Type titles, Parodius Da! and Hana Taka Daka!? instead--and still have a good chunk of change left over for a couple of cheaper chip-based titles.

The latter option seems far more desirable to me than the former at the moment, but who knows what will happen once I've filled out my PC Engine shmup collection a bit more?

See also: previous 'Second Chances' posts about Bubble Bobble Junior (GameBoy), Don Doko Don (Famicom) and Hana Taka Daka!? (PC Engine)

Five favorites: Super Famicom box art

After publishing this post about five of my favorite pieces of Japanese GameBoy Advance box art, a commenter named Jin suggested I write a similar post about Super Famicom cover art.

Well, here it is. Or maybe I should say "here's the first one," as a second is likely to follow tomorrow or the next day.

Regardless, here are five of my favorite pieces of Super Famicom box art (in random, rather than alphabetical, order):

Parodius Da!--One of the best pieces of Parodius box art produced so far, if you ask me. Also one of the most colorful illustrations to grace the cover of a Super Famicom game. As such, it clearly deserves a spot on this list--and in my games collection, at some future point in time.

Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon--More proof that sometimes simple cover art is the best. It helps, of course, that the centerpiece of this example is both humorous and appealing and that its logo has a bit more character than your average Super Famicom game.



Final Fantasy VI--If I were to concoct a number of these posts, I'd include the box art created for Final Fantasy IV and V, too, but since I'm only publishing a pair of them, I'm limiting myself to just one piece of 16-bit Final Fantasy box art. In that case, I have to go with Final Fantasy VI's, which in my opinion is about the closest video game cover imagery has gotten to "fine art."

Sutte Hakkun--Not as fabulous or as intricately designed as the cover art above and below, but this one brings a bit of old-school whimsy to the proceedings, don't you think? Plus, it features a rainbow, which always earns a positive nod from yours truly.

Seiken Densetsu 2--Easily one of my all-time favorite games, and also one of my all-time favorite game covers. Rarely has box art for any system--before the Super Famicom or after--ever looked so majestic, in my estimation.

See also: my five favorite pieces of Japanese GBA box art

Five favorites: Games featuring penguins

My recent experiences with The Berlin Wall, a Japanese Game Gear title that's filled with penguins of various colors and sizes, got me thinking it might be fun to write about my favorite games that feature these waddling, flightless birds.

This post is the result of that brainstorming, of course. Please note that I decided to focus on games that have penguin protagonists. As such, you won't see games like the aforementioned platformer or, say, Super Mario 64 discussed here.

1. Binary Land (Famicom)--This Hudson Soft-made game, which puts players in control of a pair of in-love penguins, is one of my favorite Famicom games, so it shouldn't be too surprising that I'm including it here. I don't love Binary Land because of its adorable protagonists, by the way; I love it because of its unique gameplay (you literally control both characters at the same time as you work them toward each stage's "exit" of sorts) and its highly hummable soundtrack.

2. Parodius Da! (PC Engine)--I could have included any of Konami's Parodius games in this post, really, but I decided to go with this, the series' second release, because it's the first I played. A few additional reasons for its inclusion here: it stars Pentarou, son of Antarctic Adventure's main character, and it features hordes of penguin "baddies" as well as a rather notable penguin boss (who earns extra points from yours truly for being both pink and a pirate), too.