The Great Gaymathon Review #55: PC Genjin 2 (PC Engine)

Game: PC Genjin 2

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Red Company

Publisher: Hudson Soft

System: PC Engine

Release date: 1991

Back when it was released in 1991, I considered PC Genjin 2 (aka Bonk's Revenge) to be miles better than its predecessor. Today, I'm not so sure. Oh, there's no doubt that the second PC Genjin is a more polished affair than the first one, but that doesn't mean the former is superior to the latter--or at least it doesn't in my mind. Which elements make me think Bonk's, er, PC Genjin's first pixelated outing bests his second? For starters, as much as I like the sequel's cuter and cleaner graphics, I prefer the grittier ones found in the original. (I'm especially fond of the original's enemy designs--although the bosses that can be found in its successor are also quite fabulous.) If forced to do so, I'd also choose PC Genjin's "chunkier" soundtrack over the comparably subdued one that was produced for PC Genjin 2, although I feel less strongly about that area of this pair of platformers than I do about others--such as gameplay. Speaking of which, that's another thing Hudson's 1989 release does better than its 1991 follow-up. Specifically, both titles feature a spin move (press a button to make the big-headed protagonist jump into the air and then press another, repeatedly, to make him spin/hover/fly) that is not only more useful in the older game, but more enjoyable, too. (In the newer game, the move is gimped--thanks to a slight delay that was, for some strange reason, added into the mix--to the point of annoyance.) Now, the HuCard otherwise known as Bonk's Adventure doesn't beat its descendant in every category. Case in point: The stages in PC Genjin 2 are the antithesis of straightforward, and the majority of them are a joy to explore. Also, many of said stages harbor bonus rounds and other secrets that are just waiting to be discovered. Finally, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention my favorite part of PC Genjin 2: The power-up that plasters the main character with makeup and provides him with a "kiss attack" that turns enemies to stone. In the end, I now think I prefer Red Company's initial effort to its subsequent one. That said, I consider both to be well worth buying and experiencing.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Is it wrong that this image has singlehandedly changed my opinion of New Super Mario Bros. 2 from 'eh' to 'day one, beyotches'?

When I first heard that Nintendo was prepping a New Super Mario Bros. game for the 3DS, I was stoked. Although I found the DS original to be a snoozefest, I completely adored its Wii-based sequel.

Still, New Super Mario Bros. 2, which will be released throughout North America on Aug. 19 (pre-order a copy here), was rather unceremoniously pushed to the back of my consciousness during E3 2012--thanks in large part to games like Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Project P-100, Pikmin 3 and even New Super Mario Bros. U.

The portable-platformer-to-end-all-portable-platformers returned to its position at (or at least near) the front of my mind yesterday, though, after I came across the following piece of New Super Mario Bros. 2 concept art (click on it to take a closer look):

It's funny how expanding the view of this game's box art makes the entire endeavor so much more appealing, isn't it?

Zoom in on Mario and Luigi, a la the above-mentioned cover image, and all you really see is a whole lot of gold. Zoom out a bit, though, and you see colorful blocks that call to mind Super Mario Bros. 3 and a bursting-with-Koopalings Koopa Clown Car that calls to mind Super Mario World.

I'm still not altogether sure what to think of New Super Mario Bros. 2's coin-obsessed storyline, but at the moment I don't much care. Bring on the Koopa Clown Car, I say!

(Via nintendolife.com, by way of tinycartridge.com)

Put me down for one copy of Kirby's Dream Collection, please

When I first heard that the folks at Nintendo were planning a Kirby's Dream Collection (I'm leaving out the "Special Edition" part because I think it's both pointless and stupid) for Wii, I wasn't sure what to think.

I mean, Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition was nice enough--as far as "ROM dumps" go--but I barely spent any time with it. Would I similarly ignore the not-all-that-different Kirby's Dream Collection, despite my new-found love for the Kirby series? Both my heart and head suggested I would--although it's hard to know that for sure without knowing this upcoming release's contents.



Fast-forward to a few days ago, when I read (here) that Kirby's Dream Collection would include the six "mainline" Kirby games that were released for the GameBoy, Famicom, Super Famicom and Nintendo 64, as well as a "More Challenge Stage" mode that I don't quite understand at the moment.

Has that news caused me to change my mind about picking up this Wii compilation? Actually, it has--although obviously it helps that I've only played one of the collection's six games thus far (that being Kirby's Adventure).



Also responsible for my change of heart: Unlike the games featured on the aforementioned Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition, the ones included on Kirby's Dream Collection will feature adorable--rather than black--borders (like the ones seen in the screenshots above).

Finally, I find the packaging that's being prepped for this particular title--see it here--to be beyond adorable (and we all know I'm a total sucker for anything adorable).

Now all that needs to happen is for the folks at Amazon to allow me to pre-order the darn thing.

If only Nintendo's Takashi Tezuka had such fond memories of Super Mario Bros. 2

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but in case I haven't: Super Mario Bros. 2 is my favorite of the two-dimensional Super Mario Bros. games. (Note: I don't consider Yoshi's Island to be a "mainline" Mario game.)

I'm not alone, apparently. Although he doesn't say so in the description he penned for the work-in-progress painting (below and here) that he posted on deviantart.com earlier this year, I have to imagine WayForward's Austin Ivansmith has similarly fond memories of the game that's known in Japan as Super Mario USA.

(By the way, I have to admit that I very much like Ivansmith's painting as is. I love that I knew, the second I saw it, which characters, and which game, it was supposed to bring to mind--despite the fact that it's made up of just outlines, noses and eyes. OK, and a pair of pixelated mustaches.)



Another person who seemingly prefers Super Mario Bros. 2 to the rest of the classic series' releases: Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto. At least, that's what "the man who made Mario" says in this recent ign.com article.

Sadly, it seems unlikely Miyamoto's colleague, Takashi Tezuka, feels the same way. In the aforemented article, for instance, Miyamoto says, "The Mario games of that type are really in the hands of Mr. Tezuka at this point. Because he didn't work on [Super Mario USA] ... he doesn't have memories of developing it that he would draw on to re-create concepts in the New Super Mario Bros. series now."

Are any of you as crushed as I am to hear that it's unlikely Nintendo will be making another Mario game that's akin to Super Mario USA/Super Mario Bros. 2 anytime soon?

WonderSwan cartridges (and boxes) in context

While prepping my last two "Acquisition #123" (#132: Engacho! and #133: Tane wo Maku Tori) posts, I realized that some of you (many of you?) might like to see how WonderSwan game boxes and cartridges stack up to their counterparts in the portable world.

So, I took a few photos of a few of my recent WonderSwan pick-ups sitting next to 3DS, DS, GameBoy, GameBoy Advance, Game Gear and PSP carts and boxes.

The photos below, as I'm sure you can see, show that WonderSwan cartridges (the clear one on the left, below Wario Land II, and the black one beneath Balloon Kid) are closest in size to GameBoy Advance cartridges.

The photo above, on the other hand, shows how WonderSwan game boxes compare in size to DS and PSP cases. The box on the right, by the way, is for a WonderSwan Color game called Flash Koibitokun.

All "regular" WonderSwan games are in smaller/squatter boxes a la Engacho!, by the way, while all WonderSwan Color games are in the taller ones a la Flash Koibitokun.

Anyway, so now you know how WonderSwan boxes and carts compare to their 3DS, DS, GameBoy, GameBoy Advance, Game Gear and PSP counterparts.