Pithy impressions of a handful of long-ignored PC Engine platformers: Berabo Man, Doraemon, Dragon Egg, Genji Tsushin Agedama, Momotaro Katsugeki and Pac-Land

I guess you could say that Anne Lee's #PlatforMonth has inspired me a bit since it was announced late last month. In the last week, I've not only written and published a pair of posts crammed full of platformer recommendations for folks who are planning to participate in this particular "community game-along," but I've also--gasp!--played a number of games that could be considered part of this most classic of genres.

Because the bulk of the platformers I've played in the last few days have been of the PC Engine variety, I thought I'd compile my (sometimes pithy) impressions of them here.

Chozetsu Rinjin Berabo Man--There's no denying this side-scrolling platformer, known as Bravo Man in the States, never much appealed to me before TheGameroomBlitz suggested it in the comments section of this recent post. To be frank, screenshots of it (and, really, video of it, too) make it look like a complete turd. That, combined with the rather terrible word of mouth that surrounds this Namco-made HuCard, has been more than enough to keep me from giving it a go. Until last week, I mean. So, now that I've finally played it, what do I think of it? Surprisingly, I kind of like it. It's a low-rent game, no doubt about it, and it has a whole host of issues--the super-hero-ish protagonist is large and slow, the graphics are on the messy side--but it also has a certain charm to it that makes it more enjoyable than it has any right to be. In large part, that's due to Berabo Man's elastic limbs, which are used to dispatch enemies in lieu of a more traditional gun or laser, but for me it's also due to this game's curious cast of characters, which includes absurdly small tanks, cartoonishly squat ninjas and some other odd-looking creatures that look remarkably similar to Fantasy Zone's Opa-Opa.

Doraemon Nobita no Dorabian Night--Here's another PC Engine platformer that I've ignored over the years due to what I considered to be subpar graphics. In action, though, they're actually rather nice, if still slightly rough around the edges. Nobita no Dorabian Night's gameplay is similarly "acceptable," with some aspects being pretty interesting--Doraemon's stun gun being one of them--and others, like the overall blandness of the action at hand, being less so. At the end of the day, Nobita no Dorabian Night feels like PC Genjin's less accomplished cousin, which isn't exactly the worst thing you could say about a PC Engine platformer, if you ask me.

Dragon Egg!--Like the titles mentioned above, this NCS-developed platformer isn't all that impressive at first blush. The dark graphics and stiff controls made me think I was playing a bottom-shelf Mega Drive (Genesis) game early on, which wasn't what I was expecting based on some of the positive impressions I've read elsewhere. A few stages later, though, my opinion did a 180. That's when I'd collected enough power-ups to transform the lowly egg the Sayo-chan-esque protagonist had been using as a weapon up to that point into a small, Yoshi-like dragon who gladly popped his head out of a sack and aimed his fiery breath at any and all enemies in her path. That one detail was enough for me to add this game to my lengthy "to buy" list (so far I've only experienced it via emulation), despite the fact that I've only completed a few levels so far.

Genji Tsushin Agedama--What kept me from giving this colorful conundrum (it's part shmup, part platformer, after all) a proper once-over until recently? I honestly have no idea. It couldn't have been its graphics, which are both well drawn and brilliantly hued. Maybe it was its mouthful of a name, which just doesn't have the same appealing ring to it that games like Bravo Man and Dragon Egg! do? Regardless, I'm now beating myself up over that idiotic oversight, as Genji Tsushin Agedama seems to be a real gem of a PC Engine game (based on the few stages I've played through thus far, at least). The auto-scrolling levels do take some getting used to, it has to be said, but once that's out of the way the game is a thoroughly and surprisingly enjoyable romp.

Momotaro Katsugeki--Here's a HuCard I first played a few years ago due to a random recommendation I can't fully recall at the moment, only to find it decidedly underwhelming. Upon picking it up again last week, though, I had at least a slight change of heart. I still find it less thrilling than some folks do, but I now appreciate all of the things it brings to the PC Engine-platformer table, such as its colorfully diverse backdrops and its similarly varied actions and obstacles. This is another game that brings to mind the famed PC Genjin (Bonk's Adventure outside of Japan) series, by the way, and not only because of its visuals, although the titular Momotaro's projectile weapon (a peach-flinging sword, I believe) helps to give Katsugeki a different feel than its prehistoric predecessor.

Pac-Land--I have surprisingly vivid memories of encountering the arcade version of this game for the first time in a faraway arcade as a teen. This was back before the Internet clued us into every last release, mind you, and as such the very sight of a Pac-Man-themed platformer blew my young mind. I share this because I have a feeling it'll help explain my decades-long interest in this particular title, which is unabashedly derided by pretty much every other person on the planet. Yes, the bulk of Pac-Land's graphics look as though they were created by a five-year-old with very little artist talent. Yes, its gameplay alternates between boringly basic and hair-pullingly challenging (in the "cheap" sort of way). Still, I get a kick out of booting it up and running through at least a handful of its stages every now and then. That may be nostalgia talking, I admit, but I honestly think there's a little more to it than that--although probably only just a little.

Have any of you played the aforementioned PC Engine platformers? If so, please feel free to share some of your thoughts on them in the comments section below.

If you haven't played some or even any of them, maybe you should consider doing so as part of Anne's #PlatforMonth game-along event?

#PlatforMonth game suggestions for some systems that aren't the PC Engine

In my last post, I discussed a handful of PC Engine platformers that I think would be well worth playing as part of Anne "apricotsushi" Lee's just-announced #PlatforMonth game-along.

Today, I'm going to share some #PlatforMonth recommendations for a few other systems--namely, the Famicom (NES), Mega Drive (Genesis), Super Famicom (SNES), PlayStation and, of course, the GameBoy.

Don Doko Don 2 (Famicom)--I've long considered this to be a rather under-appreciated gem given its pedigree (made by the masters at Taito, follow-up to sort-of-classic Don Doko Don) and its overall quality. I'm guessing the lack of attention from the Famicom set stems, in part, from the fact that this sequel's basically a straight-up, side-scrolling platformer rather than the single-screen sort like its predecessor. Plus, Don Doko Don 2 doesn't do a whole heck of a lot to separate itself from the Famicom-platformer pack. Still, I've always found it to be an enjoyable little romp that sports a bit of that "classic Taito" look as well as a unique gameplay hook--involving the same hammer used to such success in the first Don Doko Don--for the genre.

Marvel Land (Mega Drive)--It took me a while to warm up to this console port of Namco's amusement-park-themed arcade title from 1989. I'm not sure why that is, to tell you the truth, as the game's appreciably bright and colorful and the princely protagonist calls to mind the kind of characters Sega was known for during its heyday. Maybe it's because the first few levels are far from thrilling? Thankfully, I eventually found a way to work through my ho-hum feelings for this cart and I now consider it to be one of my favorite platformers for Sega's 16-bit system.

Nail 'N Scale (GameBoy)--I only just discovered this Data East-made game, which was released in Japan (in 1990, with its North American release coming in 1992) as Dragon Tail, a few weeks ago thanks to a recommendation made by someone on Twitter, I believe. Regardless, I'm glad it found its way onto my radar, as it's a surprisingly unique entry in the platforming genre largely due to the fact that its hat-wearing main charatcer can climb--and sometimes destroy--the walls that populate each stage by shooting spikes into them.

Shake Kids (PlayStation)--OK, so this platformer recommendation is on a different level than the ones I've made so far--as in, this one's a far less polished and accomplished offering, to be completely honest. That said, I think people who get a kick out of undeniably odd Japanese games will enjoy the time they spend with On Demand's Shake Kids, what with its cocktail-shaking protagonists and poor man's Rankin/Bass aesthetic (to put it nicely)--as long as they don't spend too much money to acquire a copy of it.

Spanky's Quest (Super Famicom)--Is this Natsume title really a platformer? Probably not, or at least not entirely, but it features enough of the genre's tried-and-true elements that I think it warrants being included here. For those of you who've never heard of it, Spanky's Quest (Hansei Zaru: Jirō-kun no Daibouken in Japan) stars an adorable monkey who subdues enemies by tossing various kinds of sports balls (baseballs, soccer balls, volleyballs) at them. Don't worry, it's far more engaging than it sounds--and it's so darn cute that I think it would be worth checking out even if it weren't. (Oh, and a similar game was released for the GameBoy, too--as Spanky's Quest in the West and Lucky Monkey in Japan.)

Have you played any or all of the above-mentioned platformers? If so, do you agree with my assessments of them, or do you feel differently?

Also, if you were asked to do so, what are some of the platformers you'd suggest to people who are planning to participate in this #PlatforMonth game-along?

PC Engine game recommendations for #PlatforMonth

Before we get to the PC Engine game recommendations that are promised in the header above, how about we deal the question that's sure to be on some of your minds: what in the heck is #PlatforMonth?

The answer, my dear readers, is that #PlatforMonth is yet another of Anne "apricotsushi" Lee's monthly game-alongs, with this one focusing on--you guessed it--platformers.

So why'd I decide to focus on must-play (in my opinion, naturally) PC Engine platformers in this post? Well, my original plan was to cover a whole slew of systems, but when I got to the PC Engine portion of said post I couldn't stop coming up with titles to recommend. So, I decided to devote an entire post to NEC's "little white wonder," as I like to call it.

Don't worry, I'm going to publish a second post that offers up platformer recommendations for other consoles and handhelds in a couple of days. For the time being, through, let's keep our minds trained on PC Engine run-and-jumpers.

Speaking of which, I know I could wrap up this post right here and now by suggesting you play all three of Red Company's PC Genjin--or Bonk, if you're a TurboGrafx-16 kind of guy or gal--titles, but I'd rather introduce folks to some new experiences this time around, such as:

Hany on the Road--Admittedly, this probably isn't the best place to begin a post like this one. After all, Hany on the Road isn't exactly a textbook example of the genre. Still, there's a lot of running and jumping to be done if you want to beat it, so why not include it here? As for how it plays: if you've played Capcom's ancient arcade game, Son Son, you've basically played this one, too--although I think Hany looks better and is more challenging than its archaic predecessor.

Jigoku Meguri--One lesson I learned some time ago is that the people who used to develop games for Taito know how to produce a top-tier platformer. This game--an arcade conversion, actually--is a prime example. At first, it appears to be your average side-scrolling, run-and-jump title--except for the fact that the shiny-headed protagonist is able to launch human-sized beads of various colors at his demonic foes. That simple action single-handed makes Jigoku Meguri a joy to play, by the way. There's just something fun about running around and tossing as many beads or marbles or whatever they're supposed to be at anything and everything in your way.

Mizubaku Daibouken--If you took Jigoku Meguri and exchanged its underworld setting for a bright and cheery one that wouldn't seem out of place in Rainbow Islands or Parasol Stars (two more Taito joints, coincidentally enough) and switched out its monk-like protagonist for the most adorable pixelated platypus you're ever likely to see, you'd have Mizubaku Daibouken (aka Liquid Kids outside of Japan). The only real difference: in the latter, the character you control tosses water bubbles at baddies rather than multi-hued prayer beads. If you've only got the budget or attention span for one of these two games, I say go for this one, although both are well worth your time if you've got money and mindshare to spare.

The New Zealand Story--One slight problem with the bulk of the titles discussed here so far is that a good number of them are ports of arcade games. That's rarely, if ever, a bad thing when it comes to Taito, though, so I say go with it. Of course, I'd say "go with it" in the case of this game even if it were a bit subpar, as it stars a cute-as-buttons kiwi bird who utilizes an array of weapons (including arrows, bombs and laser guns) and vehicles (balloons, blimps and even UFOs among them) to battle and/or avoid a menagerie of surprisingly relentless foes. Another of The New Zealand Story's positive attributes, in my opinion: its sometimes-perplexing, maze-like stages. Just do your best to ignore this iteration's ear-splitting soundtrack.

Obocchama-kun--Finally, an original effort! And I mean "original" in every possible way in the case of this odd-as-a-duck platformer, which focuses on the bratty star of Yoshinori Kobayashi's satirical manga from the 1980s. Like The New Zealand Story, Obocchama-kun takes platformer fans to some strange and unique places--chief among them being the kooky cast of allies (my favorite being the crying teen who seemingly flings what appears to be hairbrushes at enemies) players can summon into action, although its eccentric bosses are pretty great, too. (For more on this HuCard, check out my "Great Gaymathon" review of it.)

You may have noticed that I've left a bunch of this system's single-screen platformers (aka Bubble Bobble clones) off this list. I made a concerted effort to do that, actually, as I could have filled this post with such games.

Should you prefer to play a single-screen platformer rather than a garden-variety one during #PlatforMonth, however, here are the PC Engine releases I'd most recommend: Don Doko Don, Parasol Stars, Pop'n Magic and Rainbow Islands.