Manual Stimulation: Double Dungeons (PC Engine)

I pretty much ignored first-person dungeon-crawlers until I tackled the original Etrian Odyssey back in 2007 or so.



Given my love of RPGs, that probably seems a bit odd. So what's the deal? I'm not sure, to tell you the truth. I've never really thought about why I tend to avoid (even today) first-person dungeon-crawlers. The only reason I can come up with at the moment is I like seeing my party members.



Did all of that change after I played and loved Etrian Odyssey? Not exactly--which is to say I still vastly prefer more traditional (Japanese) RPGs to these labyrinth-obsessed offshoots.



What prompted me to pick up Double Dungeons, a 1989 release that's about as "labyrinth obsessed" as you can get?

The main reason is I was on a real PC Engine kick when I picked up the copy that gave me access to the manual you see here. Also, it was dirt cheap, which always helps.



It's a good thing this HuCard can be picked up on the cheap, too, as it's not exactly the most stunning dungeon-crawler around.



Sure, Double Dungeons offers up an intriguing gimmick--two people can explore a level simultaneously (although not side by side, sadly)--but most who try it won't find it thrilling enough to overcome the title's otherwise-dull gameplay and graphics.



Still, you've got to give developer Masaya credit for attempting something unique with this typically staid genre.



You've also got to give credit to the artists and designers who worked on Double Dungeons' instruction manual.



It makes buying a complete copy of this game well worth the price of admission, as you're likely now aware.



I'm especially fond of the backdrop that frames Double Dungeons' story on the manual's second page.  I also like the strangely sweet illustrations that sit in the corners of pages four and seven.



Line drawings of the title's enemies would've made the package even more appealing than it already is, in my opinion, but that ship sailed long ago.



Plus, the folks who pieced together the Double Dungeons how-to booklet included the requisite--for me, at least--depictions of the game's items and accessories (see pages 14 and 15, above), so you won't hear me complaining too loudly about it being a stinker.



What do you think of this edition of "Manual Stimulation"? Is it the most delicious thing you've ever seen, or is it a total dud?

See also: 'the best PC Engine game manuals (I've seen)'

Manual Stimulation: Bomberman (PC Engine)

To be frank, there aren't a whole lot of reasons to buy, own or play the first PC Engine Bomberman title in 2016.

In fact, I can only think of three reasons at the moment: 1) you're a huge fan of this Hudson-made series, 2) you have a bunch of friends as well as a bunch of PC Engine (or TurboGrafx-16) controllers and 3) you're trying to fill out your HuCard collection and this game is the best of what's left on your dwindling wish list.



Actually, I just came up with another reason: you like Bomberman's iconic cover art, which can be seen in the scan above. (As always, click on it to take a much better and closer look at its contents.)



OK, so maybe I'm being a bit harsh. The first Bomberman isn't a complete turd, after all. Still, it pales in comparison to later titles, like Bomberman '93, Bomberman '94 and Saturn Bomberman.



That's mainly because the play fields, power-ups and enemy selection in this entry fail to display the imagination and creativity that seemingly helped produce the aforementioned sequels.



Thankfully, fun can be had despite the fact that it's all rather vanilla. Plus, nabbing a copy of this version of Bomberman these days won't cost you an arm and a leg (unlike a lot of other PC Engine or TurboGrafx-16 games) and it'll also net you the surprisingly appealing instruction manual that's displayed throughout this post.



Admittedly, the Bomberman depictions in this manual are kind of wonky, but the other illustrations on hand go a long way toward making up for it.



Also, the folks who designed Bomberman's booklet covered its handful of pages with some nice pops of color.

Could this particular PC Engine instruction manual be better, flashier, more fabulous? Of course. Even as is, though, it's got more going for it than Rainbow Islands' or Parasol Star's manual, so at least there's that.

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about Bikkuriman World, Dungeon Explorer, Hana Taaka Daka!? and The New Zealand Story

Manual Stimulation: Bikkuriman World (PC Engine)

A little warning before you start scrolling through this post: Hudson Soft's Bikkuriman World was one of the very first games released for the PC Engine.

Keeping that in mind should help you appreciate, or at least accept, the generally ho-hum nature of this 1987 game's instruction manual.



Given the title's pedigree, you could be forgiven for thinking it's a bit strange that Bikkuriman World's booklet can be described in such a way.

Specifically, Bikkuriman began life in the 1980s when Japanese candy-maker Lotte introduced a chocolate-and-peanut snack of the same name. Each package included a Bikkuriman sticker that children could use to play a tag-like game.



The stickers, especially, became a big hit--so much so that both manga and anime series featuring the Bikkuriman characters followed. As did, of course, the PC Engine game discussed here.

Hudson Soft didn't create Bikkuriman World from the ground up, by the way. Instead, the company took Westone's Wonder Boy in Monster Land and altered some of its sprites (the bosses, mostly) to look like figures from the Bikkuriman franchise.



Some of those figures can be seen on Bikkuriman World's cover art, above. Others can be found on the first couple of pages of its manual.

Oddly, that's all the space the Bikkuriman cast are given in this booklet's handful of pages. Most of the rest of its acreage is devoted to black-and-white screenshots and explanatory text.



We do get a few nice illustrations of weapons, armor, items and power-ups near the end, at least. Still,  would it have killed Hudson Soft's artists to crank out a couple of enemy drawings? I guess so.

Oh, well, at least Bikkuriman World's old-school platforming gameplay is strong enough to make this little slip-up a lot easier to take in stride.

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about Dungeon Explorer, Parodius Da!, Son Son II and Valkyrie no Densetsu

Manual Stimulation: Dungeon Explorer (PC Engine)

Dungeon Explorer is one of those PC Engine (or TurboGrafx-16, if that's how you swing) games I've always wanted to own, always thought I should own, but only recently picked up.

Why the long wait? The main reason, I guess, is that I've long thought of this Hudson-made Gauntlet clone as one that's only enjoyable when multiple people are playing it at the same time. (Dungeon Explorer famously allows five people to play through it together--assuming they have a multi-tap accessory and five PC Engine or TG-16 controllers.)



I still feel that way, actually, but a month or so ago I plopped down a few dollars on a used complete-in-box copy of Dungeon Explorer anyway because I went on a bit of an eBay binge and couldn't resist this game's top-tier cover art (see above) when I came across it.



It has to be said, by the way, that I didn't realize the content of Dungeon Explorer's instruction manual was on par with--or even better than--its cover illustration.

I especially like the grittiness of the art sprinkled throughout this HuCard's manual. Most manuals from this era featured art that was decidedly cute. Here, though, it's almost gruesome--or at least it's not as polished as what's on offer in the manuals that accompanied similar titles.



That the imagery showcased in Dungeon Explorer's instruction booklet is in black and white adds to its appeal, in my mind. That's not to say I would've minded if its designers had added a bit of color here and there, but I'm also not about to complain about its current look.



If you're looking for my favorite of this manual's many drawings, by the way, check out the squished, chibi-esque character illustrations seen in the spread below.



That said, I find the following illustrations of some of the game's enemies pretty thrilling, too.

Will all of this prompt me to get off my lazy butt and finally spend some real quality time with Dungeon Explorer? That's the current plan.



Of course, I have quite a few other games begging for my attention right now--like the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII, the just-released 3DS eShop title Chase: Cold Case Investigations, the Pokémon Sun/Moon demo and even Great Greed for GameBoy--so fitting it in this week or weekend may be tough. Still, I'll do my best to play at least a bit of it in the next seven days or so.

In the meantime, have any of you played either the Japanese or North American version of Dungeon Explorer? If so, what do you think about it?

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts

Nice Package! (Dungeon Explorer, PC Engine)

If you're one of the many millions of non-Japanese gamers who ignored the PC Engine or TurboGrafx-16 back in the late 1980s and early 1990s--or, you know, you're young enough that this is the first you're hearing of either of those NEC-made consoles--you may not know much, if anything, about Dungeon Explorer.

The best way to describe it, I think, is to say it's a clone of Atari's Gauntlet, itself a product of the 1980s. That's not an entirely accurate comparison, mind you, as Dungeon Explorer takes that classic quarter-mucher's overhead hack-and-slash gameplay and builds on it greatly. Still, there's little doubt the team behind Dungeon Explorer looked toward Gauntlet while developing their title, so I'm comfortable leaving my description as is.



Gameplay isn't the only area in which Dungeon Explorer bests Gauntlet, by the way. It also beats it in the graphics department.

Now, that's not to say the PC Engine title's the looker of the 16-bit generation, but it's definitely atmospheric. To see what I mean, check out the screenshots found in videogameden.com's and thebrothersduomazov.com's write-ups on this five-player game.

Of course, you expect an atmospheric experience when you play at Atlus-developed game, right? Wait, you didn't know the company behind Shin Megami Tensei and Persona made Dungeon Explorer? Well, it did.

And then Hudson Soft--the now-defunct company that brought the world the Adventure Island, Bomberman and a number of other series--published it. (In 1989, to be exact.)

As for Dungeon Explorer's lovely packaging, which is supposed to be the focus of this post, I've got to say its cover (and HuCard) illustration is my favorite part of the whole she-bang. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's among the best the PC Engine has to offer when it comes to box art.



That's not to say other components aren't ogle-worthy, too. For instance, Dungeon Explorer's instruction manual is filled to the brim with fabulous illustrations like the ones--of the game's cast of characters--showcased in the photo above. (For scans of the entire Dungeon Explorer manual, check out my latest "Manual Stimulation" post.)

With all that said, have any of you played Dungeon Explorer--or even Gauntlet? If so, share your thoughts on those titles in the comments section that follows. (Fair warning: I could talk about the latter for hours.)

See also: 'five PC Engine games you've overlooked and need to play ASAP'

Manual Stimulation (Pac-Land, PC Engine)

I've said it before--or at least I've suggested it before, such as in this recent post--but it's worth repeating: Pac-Land doesn't get enough love.

That's not to say there aren't reasons for that lack of affection and attention. After all, the 1990 TurboGrafx-16 port of this Namco-made Pac-Man platformer, originally released in the arcades five years earlier, was roundly ignored on this side of the pond.

The TG-16's dearth of sales had a lot to do with that, of course, as did the game's age by that time. Also, Pac-Land in any form could be described as antiquated, difficult and repetitive.

Still, I think it has just enough positive attributes to be worth checking out if you're a fan of the genre. The main ones: its graphics, which look like something pulled from a Saturday morning cartoon, and its infectious soundtrack.



It also has a pretty great instruction manual, as you'll see if you continue scrolling through this write-up. Granted, that's not going to help you enjoy playing the PC Engine version of Pac-Land, but it should help you feel better about owning a copy (if you happen to buy one, that is).



The highlight of Pac-Land's booklet, in my humble opinion: its abundance of color. Although I've liked a lot of black-and-white PC Engine manuals over the years--the ones made for Don Doko Don, Mizubaku Daibouken and The New Zealand Story are good examples--I usually prefer a bit of color.



Well, there isn't a single black-and-white spread in this particular manual. Hell, there's only a couple of black-and-white illustrations--both of which can be found in the scan below.



Every other page of the Pac-Land instruction booklet features illustrations awash in color. Some of them aren't of the highest quality, mind you, but as my mom's always told me, nothing's perfect.



Thankfully, most of the art that's on offer here is nice enough that no one should regret spending $10 to $20 to obtain it (along with the game's HuCard and outer case, naturally).



Now that I've wasted a number of sentences discussing and dissecting the quality of the art that appears in the Pac-Land manual, let's change course a bit and chat about the theme that surrounds that art. Specifically, I'm talking about the game's odd "alpine aesthetic," for lack of a better phrase.



Don't see it? Look at every single depiction of Pac-Man in the scans shared in this post. The old pellet-chomper sports some sort of mountaineering hat in all of them. He also spends a surprising amount of time leaping from log to log and traipsing through forests and fields in this side-scrolling adventure.



That's just a side note to the rainbow-swathed drawings and screenshots scattered throughout this booklet, though.

And although I can't say I like them more than the ones included in another Namco PC Engine instruction manual, for Valkyrie no Densetsu, they're better than what you'll find in less thrilling manuals--Parasol Star's is an unfortunate example--so you won't hear me complaining anytime soon.

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts

Nice Package! (Pac-Land, PC Engine)

I've mentioned before (in this not-so-old post, for example) that I have a strange attraction to Pac-Land.

The gist: I became aware of it at a time in my life when both Namco's Pac-Man and Nintendo's Super Mario Bros.--and a bunch of other classics--were front and center in my mind. As a result, an arcade game that combined both of those titles into one blew my teenage mind.

Did this quarter-muncher's graphics and gameplay really deserve such a response? Not really. Pac-Land was more than a bit questionable even back then, especially in the looks and controls departments.



Still, it could be fun to play, and it had a stellar soundtrack, so I plopped money into it whenever I was able--which wasn't very often, as the only cabinet I knew of at the time was located in a mall arcade a couple of hours from my hometown.

Given all of the above, you'd think I would've picked up a copy of the TurboGrafx-16 port of Pac-Land shortly after I bought that system. Instead, I ignored it for games like The Addams Family, Fighting Street and Valis II and III. (Don't worry, I also owned a ton of great TG-16 titles.)

I recently made up for that by buying the Japanese PC Engine version of the game. It was well worth the handful of dollars I spent on it. How so? Just look at the photos showcased throughout this post. They tell you everything you need to know, don't you think?

Thankfully, the game that's packed into the Pac-Land HuCard is, as I said earlier, a good bit of fun. Hey, it may not be on par with any of the 8-bit Super Mario Bros. titles, but it's miles better than the woeful Keith Courage.

Plus, this port allows players to use their console's d-pad to control Pac-Man, which is a change from the arcade original. (In the latter, you used a pair of buttons to move the iconic character left and right, while you nudged a joystick to make him jump.)



Anyway, as is the case with pretty much all of Namco's--or Namcot's--PC Engine releases, this one comes with a really eye-pleasing instruction manual (see above for a glimpse of one of its pages).

Speaking of which, look for one of my "Manual Stimulation" posts that'll detail both the exterior and interior of this game's how-to booklet in the next week or two.

In the meantime, are any of you Pac-Land fans? If so, share your thoughts and memories in the comments section that follows.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts

Second Chances: Valkyrie no Densetsu (PC Engine)

You'd think I would've learned long ago not to judge a PC Engine game by static screenshots.

After all, though I originally turned up my nose at titles like Gokuraku! Chuka Taisen, Mr. Heli no Daibōken and Obocchama Kun due to what I considered to be their far-from-catwalk-ready looks, I changed my tune on each of those HuCards (as well as a number of others) after sinking a bit of time into them.

The thing is, I didn't much like Valkyrie no Densetsu--Legend of Valkyrie in English--even after a few go-rounds with it. I guess I didn't find its gameplay all that appealing during those initial forays. Or maybe I just couldn't get past its rough-hewn graphics.

Granted, calling Valkyrie no Densetsu's graphics rough-hewn seems downright generous at first glance. Its enemy sprites in particular are nightmare fodder thanks to their surprisingly crude designs that stand in stark contrast to those of the game's adorable protagonist and most of its backdrops.

I say "most" here because, well, some aspects of this Namcot-made title's environmental graphics also aren't what I'd call pretty. A case in point: a lot of the trees you saunter by during the adventure at hand look as though they could've been tended to for a few more hours (if not days) before earning the company's seal of approval.

All that said, if you're anything like me, a surprising number of the components singled out for complaint so far will grow on you--at least a bit--over time.

Seriously, at the moment, when one or more of the game's imp or ogre baddies skitters into view, I now look at them with more than a smidge of admiration rather than the tight-lipped frown of disgust that used to greet their appearance.

Is that because Valkyrie no Densetsu's a blast to play? Honestly, I don't know. I mean, the game is pretty fun--it basically feels like an antiquated precursor to The Legend of Zelda, even though it was released three years later--but I'm not sure I'd say it's such a blast it would cause me to forget about eye-searing graphics.

No, I think the only acceptable explanation here is that I've somehow come around to Valkyrie no Densetsu's awkward aesthetics.

Which is a very good thing, as Martha Stewart might say (if she enjoyed video games). There's a lot to like in this 1990 release. Although its adventure is stubbornly straightforward--no real exploring or even backtracking is allowed, although forks in the road pop up now and then that let you switch paths--the scenery changes frequently enough that you're unlikely to become bored.

Also, new enemies, obstacles and situations--like rescuing a captive child, or stumbling upon a hidden shop--are introduced at a fairly nice clip, and that helps liven up the proceedings as well.

Valkyrie no Densetsu's controls deserve a positive nod, too. Some may describe Miss Valkyrie as a tad sluggish, especially when she has to make a leap, but I disagree. Or I'd disagree if those same folks implied her somewhat languorous movement holds back the game in any meaningful way.

In fact, the single knock I can aim at this surprisingly adept arcade port is that the boss monsters you encounter every once in a while aren't the most interesting of adversaries. That's basically the only complaint I have at the moment, though, which I guess goes to show how much it can help to give games that don't click with you at first a second chance.

Have any of you played Valkyrie no Densetsu? If so, let me and others know what you think of it in the comments section that follows.

Note: photos via thebrothersduomazov.com and videogameden.com

Manual Stimulation (KiKi KaiKai, PC Engine)

That little peek into KiKi KaiKai's manual a couple of days ago--in my most recent "Nice Package!" post--wasn't enough, was it?

Don't be shy. I also didn't think it was enough. I couldn't just fill that write-up with photos of this PC Engine game's instruction booklet, though, could I? Thankfully, I have another series that's pretty darn suitable for such things.

Speaking of which, let's take a more thorough look at this Taito title's manual, shall we?



KiKi KaiKai's cover illustration sure is snazzy, isn't it? I especially like that there's more perspective and movement to it than a lot of its counterparts from the same era.



The art style used inside KiKi KaiKai's instruction manual is quite a bit simpler than the one used on its cover, but I don't see that as a negative. In fact, I'm a big fan of the illustrations that fill its handful of pages.



That's a very good thing, as without those wonderful drawings, KiKi KaiKai's manual would be nothing but a bunch of text, some squiggles and a couple of black-and-white screenshots.

Not that such a product would be the worst thing in the world, mind you. But who wouldn't prefer to look at pretty illustrations while learning how to play their brand-new (back in 1990), ball-busting PC Engine game?



My only complaint with this particular pamphlet: the same accomplished (and adorable) depiction of Sayo-chan--this is the name of KiKi KaiKai's protagonist--that appears on its initial pages also pops up a few more times as you flip through it.

Oh, well, you can't have everything, right? Anyway, speaking of Sayo-chan, she's a young Shinto shrine maiden living in Feudal Japan, in case you didn't pick up on that in the manual's opening salvo.



KiKi KaiKai's story can be summed up as: a handful of "Lucky Gods" (whatever that means) surprise Sayo-chan one day and warn her of impending danger. Shortly thereafter, they're ambushed by a group of thuggish goblins who whisk the deities away to a far-off mountain range.



Being the rather bold gal that she is, Sayo-chan chases after them--with this colorful HuCard's contents cataloging her ensuing adventure.

Some of the baddies she--and you, as the person who controls her in-game--encounters along the way can be spotted in the illustrations showcased above and below.



And here (below) are the bosses who do their best to impede Sayo-chan's progress. Not that I have any experience battling a good number of them. As I've surely said before, KiKi KaiKai regularly kicks my butt, so I've rarely made it past this overhead smhup's third or fourth stage.



How about you? Have you ever played either the arcade original version of KiKi KaiKai, this PC Engine port, or even some other iteration of this vaunted--if not exactly long-running--series over the years?

Even if you haven't, what do you think about the manual made for its PC Engine release? Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section that follows.

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts