From the back of my boyhood closet, part one

Those of you who read this post from yesterday afternoon will know that I recently discovered a bunch of game-related treasures while digging through my boyhood closet. (And if you haven't read the aforementioned post? Uh, maybe you should read it now.)

Well, one of those finds--I'll write about five more in the coming weeks--is the Sega Genesis 2 system (and controller) seen in the following photo.

Neither item is in perfect condition, but both are in good, working order, so you know what that means: I now can play that copy of Pier Solar I bought early last year. (Read about that situation here.)

I don't expect Pier Solar to be the only game that gets stuck into my recently-rediscovered Genesis 2 this year, of course; I also expect to slide copies of Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force, Shining Force II and Landstalker into the system's cartridge slot at some point or other.

Before I purchase those titles, though, I'm going to have to get one of those slick, six-button controllers, since I've never been much of a fan of the cheap, chunky, three-button ones.

See also: Previous 'from the back of my boyhood closet' posts

Five more retro games and systems I'm looking forward to playing in 2012

Yesterday, I wrote about five retro games and systems--like Chack'n Pop for the Famicom and the Sega Game Gear--that I'm looking forward to buying (if need be) and playing in 2012. Here are five more:

1. Kaettekita Mario Bros.--To those of you wondering what the hell Kaettekita Mario Bros. is: It's an updated version of Nintendo's arcade classic that was released, with the help of Japanese food company Nagatanien for the Famicom Disk System back in 1988. The main reason I want to own and play it: Honestly, I like that it's a somewhat-rare oddity. There are other reasons, too, though, such as that the graphics and music in this version are a smidge better than those seen and heard in the Famicom cart release and that the titular Mario brothers (finally) can change direction in mid-air.

2. Madou Monogatari--This is the other "holy grail" PC Engine game I eluded to in my last post. Unlike the first one, this one is a CD-based dungeon-crawler that stars a doe-eyed little girl and a slew of characters that later appeared in Compile's Puyo Puyo series. The only reasons I haven't already acquired a copy of Madou Monogatari: It's awfully expensive (copies go for well over $100 on eBay, plus it requires an Arcade Card, which tends to go for about $40) and it's entirely in Japanese.

My Pier Solar replacement cartridge has arrived!

Actually, it arrived on Saturday, but since I rarely publish posts on the weekend this is the first chance I've had to say anything about it.

I hate to say this, but I wasn't all that sure the guys at WaterMelon were going to keep their word and send me a replacement cart. A part of me thought I had been scammed, although in retrospect I guess that was kind of a silly thought to have considering I did receive the professionally produced case and manual.



As for when I'm finally going to be able to play this homebrew RPG, well, that'll probably have to wait until I can get my parents to ship me my Genesis or until I buy a Sega CDX (a sexy little system that I've wanted for quite some time).

For more information on Pier Solar, read this post or this post--or go to the game's official site, where you can order a copy, too, if you so choose.

Well, this sucks ...

Shortly after publishing this post earlier this year, I went ahead and pre-ordered a copy of the homebrew Genesis/Mega Drive game, Pier Solar.

It arrived a few weeks ago, but I didn't open it until today because, well, I don't have a Genesis at the moment. (I own one, but it's in the closet of my childhood bedroom--which is, oh, 2,000 or so miles away from my current bedroom.)

Anyway, when I opened it this morning--so I could ogle it and snap some photos of it--this is what I found:



Case? Check. Manual? Check. Poster and stickers? Check? Pier Solar cartridge? Er. Uh. Well...

I just contacted the folks at WaterMelon, the game's developer/publisher, so hopefully they'll respond shortly and either offer to send me a replacement or give me a refund.

The best 16-bit RPG you've never played, eh?

That's what one person over on neogaf.com is calling Pier Solar, a Genesis/Mega Drive RPG (recently) created by a team of coders that go by the name of WaterMelon Development.

According to the game's official website, it began life (in 2004) as a homebrew mini-game. Eventually, its developers decided to turn it into a full-fledged RPG in the vein of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and Phantasy Star IV.

Another likely source of inspiration: Game Arts' Lunar series, as evidenced in the following video (especially the battle scene, which begins around the 4:45 mark):



Copies of Pier Solar can be pre-ordered here for $45. (Check out this discussion thread at neogaf.com for more information on this intriguing game.)