My Favourite Games - Part 4

Wow, these things take longer to write than I thought they would. And to think I was going to post all thirty in one go for my first post! I'm glad I decided to write just five a day (yes I know it hasn't been every day!), hope you're enjoying them (if anyone's even reading this!)...

Galaga '88 - PC Engine (1987)

I've always preferred this series of shooters to other games of the type such as Space Invaders. There are countless versions of Galaxians/Galaga/Gaplus, but few could argue that this PC Engine update isn't the best. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say this is the Engine game I've spent most time playing ever! The fact that my good friend, Luke, gave me the HuCard for free certainly didn't help matters - it's addictive as hell! The graphics are hardly pushing the Engine hardware to its limits, but they are very appealing nonetheless. The sprites are well-defined and colourful, and there are now nice backgrounds too. The Challenging Stages from the original Galaga return here, beginning with an announcement of "That's Galactic Dancin'", and accompanied by some nice music! Anyway, nice presentation aside, it's Galaga, you know what you're getting. Simple, addictive fun. Right up my street!

Pang 3 - Playstation (1997)

I still find it pretty amazing that the Pang games  weren't more popular here in the UK. This third offering, released here on the PS1 as part of the Super Pang Collection, is my favourite of the series. The same basic gameplay is prevalent - that is, destroy the bouncing balloons by shooting them with a harpoon gun, splitting them into ever smaller pairs until they're gone - but this time they've managed to tack on a story mode! You can choose between four characters - Don Tacos, Pink Leopard (my favourite), Captain Hog, and Sheila the Thief, each of whom fires a different type of harpoon, and also has an additional skill. Pink Leopard, for example, is able to go unhindered by the various enemies on each stage. It is then your job to journey around the world collecting various works of art by popping balloons! It's a crazy game but it's addictive and great fun!

LocoRoco - PSP (2006)

I knew from the first moment I saw a screenshot of LocoRoco that I wanted to play it! I had no idea what sort of game it was, of course, but that didn't matter. Just look at it! It wasn't until a couple of years later that I finally got a PSP, having convinced a guy at work that his one wasn't really worth much and I'd help him out by taking it off his hands! Hee hee! Anyway, the next thing I did was to trade in all the EA Sports crap that came with it, for LocoRoco. Finally it was mine! It was worth the wait too, what a crazy game! It's basically just a collect 'em up set in the happiest, most colourful game world of all-time, but instead of controlling any characters, you simply tilt the landscape back or forth, rolling the spherical, singing LocoRoco's around. It's great fun, features some very imaginitive levels, including more secrets than I can count, and a highly amusing soundtrack is the cherry on the cake! If you want to play a funny, happy game for a change, instead of all the violent nonsense around these days, give it a try!

Tee Off - Dreamcast (2000)

Yep, it's another golf game! I do really enjoy these Japanese cartoony style ones, and this is one of my favourites. I don't know about anyone else, but I find them very relaxing and enjoyable, and perfect for the times when I don't feel like dodging millions of bullets or making pixel-perfect jumps whilst fighting some evil monster. This one, by Bottom Up, is clearly based on Everybody's Golf for the Playstation, but that's no bad thing, and features five courses of varying difficulty - Japan, USA, Australia, Scotland, and South Africa. Each course has it's own look too, and there are several characters to choose from, and various game modes to play through. Granted, there's nothing terribly spectacular about this game but it suits me down to the ground!

Desert Strike - Mega Drive (1992)

Released a short while after the first Gulf War, it doesn't take a genius to see where the inspiration for Desert Strike arose! However, regardless of its dubious genesis, surely even those most critical of its origins couldn't fail to be impressed by such a splendid game! Far from being an all-out shooter, Desert Strike is a free-roaming isometric-viewed game with more than a smattering of strategy tucked into it's rapid-fire cannons. Controlling a shiny new Apache Gunship chopper, you must complete a set number of missions per level. Some serve military ends, some political, but all must be completed before you have an opportunity to shove a Hellfire missile up "The Madman's" bunghole (clearly based on Saddam). The sequels added a lot to the formula, not least more vehicles to control, but it's this first game in the 'Strike' series that most gamers, myself included, still hold most dear.

That's it for now! RKS is tired and will have some dinner before retiring for a while. Next five will be here soon, as well as the first in my 'Top Five' series that I've been 'researching' today... ;)

My Favourite Games - Part 3

Hello, I'm back a day late! I was too tired to post anything yesterday, I had a nice looong sleep for the first time in a while instead! And that means I've just worked, slept, and worked again since last posting, so I don't have anything interesting to say! So, to resume with my favourite games:

Thunder Force 3 - Mega Drive (1990)

Back in my Sega fanboy days, I used to love it when a game like this came along. It would give me more ammunition to use against those who would seek to besmirch the good Sega name, and would almost always overshadow similar efforts on other machines (at least until the SNES came along!). I can fondly recall many arguments with my Amiga fanboy friend at college. Try as he might, he could never convince me that Project X was a patch on this game! I didn't have to argue hard either. Featuring lush graphics, an awesome rocking soundtrack, kick-ass weaponry, big bosses, and eight varied levels (including the awesome lava stage, pictured), there's not really much more a shoot 'em up fan could ask for here. Many people prefer the fourth game in the series, but it's the third title all the way for me. Perhaps my fondness for this game comes from the fact that I rule at it, but there can be no doubting its quality. After all, how many other shooters are so good they have an arcade version made after they come out?

Datastorm - Amiga (1989)

There aren't too many Defender clones as blatant as Datastorm, but it is without question my favourite, even including Defender and Dropzone. In fact, when I started playing it, I hadn't even played Defender yet! A friend's Amiga was the setting of many of these early sessions, and when I finally got my own Amiga, this was one of the first games I sought out for it. I remember buying it in a second hand store and the guy in the shop accidentally put two copies of the game in the case. Hee hee! Anyway, it's similar in style to those aforementioned great games. The object is to collect at least one of eight pods drifting along the ground of each 'wave' and deliver it to the portal, then destroy the many and varied aliens. That's about it. It's not as insanely difficult as Defender but does have a few extras such as power-ups, bosses, etc, and it's addictive as hell.

Head Over Heels - Spectrum (1987)

There can't be many Speccy owners who didn't play this celebrated classic by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond, it's almost as famous as the Speccy itself! I have always been absolutely useless at it, but that never stopped me from loving it! Controlling, first either Head or Heels, then later on both at once, you are tasked with the liberation of the five planets of the Blacktooth Empire. The story doesn't really matter a great deal though, it's the gameplay that counts, and Head Over Heels has it in bucketloads! The stages are creatively designed and full of imaginitive touches and the graphics, though monocrome, are nicely defined and full of character. It is a bit tricky though, I can't even finish the first planet! It's amazing that I like it so much and I've not even seen 1/5th of its 300 screens! Maybe some day, huh?

Everybody's Golf - PSP (2005)

Until recently, this 'slot' was filled by Neo Turf Masters on the NeoGeo Pocket Color, a fine game by any standards, and probably my favourite golf game too. That is, until I got this little gem for my PSP! Generally speaking, there are two types of golf games. The serious, take-an-hour-to-prepare-each-shot type game (eg, Tiger Woods series), and then there's this kind. The arcadey, fun, not-so-serious cartoony sort that come from Japan. And it is this kind which is by far my favourite. The series debuted, of course, on the PS1 some years before, but this effort, which was a launch title for the PSP, is a significant improvement over that already fun effort. It's a lot more forgiving for one thing, but, perhaps more importantly, it has a lot more longevity. Many, many tournaments are available to play though, and there's more unlockable items than seems possible to begin with. New characters are among these items, but they mostly consist of often nonsensical things to customise your chosen character with. Nonetheless, they are a lot of fun to collect, and give an excuse to keep playing! Just need to find a bikini costume for my favourite, Yumeri now!

Worms Armegeddon - Dreamcast (1999)

It's almost impossible that no-one has played at least one game in this classic, not to mention sizeable series of strategy games from Team 17. It's also likely that there are better offerings than this one, such as one of the online play versions, but this is the version I've spent the most time playing, and therefore, at time of writing at least, my favourite. I've most often played this in two-player with my good buddy, Luke, but it can be played by up to four people at once, which can lead to some chaotic but entertaining battles! Admirably, Team 17 have also tried to improve the single player game by including a mission-based game mode, but it is the main game you'll return to most often, even if you're on your own! Nothing beats creeping up on a lairy CPU-controlled worm, dropping a bundle of dynamite next to him, and sneaking off again! Hee hee hee!

Back with the next five tomorrow...

My Favourite Games - Part 2

Well, much of today has been spent in the fruitless pursuit of an obscure Japanese game and an emulator to run it on. I'm starting to think it's impossible to find the combination of desired game rom and the relevant emulator, despite the help of couple of good chaps from Retro Gamer forum. Anyone know how to emulate the Sharp X-1, or the NEC PC-98, or goodness know which other previously unknown 25-year old Japanese computers?! Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure something out!

And so, to continue with the fairly unremarkable list of my favourite games, numbers 6 -10... Behold!

Super Mario World - SNES (1992)

Proclaimed by many to be the greatest platform game of all-time, who am I to argue? After spending all of the preceding generation as a Sega fan-boy, I really didn't want to like this game, but I finally relented and got myself a SNES along with this game, and I was soon converted! Despite looking far less flashy than a certain blue hedgehog's debut on the rival Mega Drive, this game soon proved to me that looks aren't everything! I can still remember the first time I completed it, I was so proud of myself but my parents didn't even care about my achievement! Consisting of a sprawling 96 levels (many of which are secret), I felt justified in being proud of myself too! Despite its size, it never failed to consistently introduce new and creative features either, not least of which was Yoshi, now almost as famous as Mario himself, but the game was just so enjoyable to play through, and has so many nice touches. Has it ever been bettered? Not in my opinion...

Star Fighter - 3DO (1996)

Now here's one that most people haven't even heard of, nevermind played! I bought this from the 3DO clearance bin in my local second-hand games store towards the end of the 3DO's brief life for a mere £5, or something like that. I wasn't sure what to expect when I loaded it, but then came one of just a few genuine 'wow' moments in my gaming life! It was the first free-roaming 3D flying game I had ever played, and it was amazing! Sure, visually it's looking pretty ropey nowadays, as all early polygon games are, but back then it was a revelation! Originally an Acorn Achimedes game, this spruced up version is, at its core, a mission-based 3D combat game, but it's not just an out-and-out blaster, no siree! Strategy plays a big part too, especially during later missions, and there's so much to do. Star Fighter was way ahead of its time; I've still not played anything else quite like this, and I'd dearly love to! If you want to try it out though, just steer clear of the horrifying Saturn and Playstation versions!

F-Zero X - Nintendo 64 (1998)

Along with Burnout 2, this is easily my favourite racing game of all-time. Nintendo took the controversial decision of reducing the graphical detail in the game (especially with the backgrounds) in order to keep it running smoothly at 60fps. Was it worth it? You're damn straight it was! This could be the most exciting, edge-of-the-seat, sweaty palms, racing game ever made! Racing at speeds of up to 1500kph over courses that often look more like immense rollercoasters, I'm sure you can imagine why too! There are over 20 varied courses, each race is contested by 30 distinctive racers, and there's even a four-player battle mode, so there's no danger of getting bored anytime soon either. Simply the fastest, most exciting racing action to be found anywhere!

Space Station Silicon Valley - Nintendo 64 (1998)

This is another under-appreciated classic which I discovered thanks to the short-lived magazine, Total Control. I can't even find any reference to that magazine with a quick Google search, but I'm glad it did exist or I may never have played this game! It's a 3D platform/puzzle game in which you control the microchip of a malfunctioning robot called Evo, damaged when the ship he was on crashed into the titular space station it was meant to be landing on! Populating this space station are many robotic animals, which you can take over by leaping into them. Each animal has unique (and often very strange) abilities and, using them, you must perform set mission objectives (also often very strange) before you can move onto the next. It's a highly original, creative, and funny game in which you never know what's around the next corner!

The Revenge of Shinobi - Mega Drive (1989)

Or Super Shinobi, as it's known in Japan, and this was the version I first played. When visiting my good friend, Stu's, house one day after school I was excited to see that his brother had a gleaming new imported Japanese Mega Drive sitting in his room. It wasn't long before Stu and his brother, Darren, were demonstrating the power of this new console, and this was the game they used to do it. And it worked! The awesome intro sequence, the breathtaking graphics, the now legendary music... I was still used to my Master System and trusty Speccy at this time, so the effect this game had on me was profound, and it still holds a lot of good memories for me. And after all these years, it's clearer than ever that this wasn't all window dressing either, it still plays like a dream. Still the best game in the Shinobi series if you ask me!

Next five to follow tomorrow...

My Favourite Games - Part 1

Welcome!
Hello, and welcome to my long-planned blog! I'm RetroKingSimon (or RKS to my friends). I've been meaning to get around to this for over a year now, and I've been meaning to make a replacement for the website I used to have with my good friend, Luke, for even longer. This blog is the start, and will eventually lead to my full website, and I hope to keep the two running side-by-side.

Some of my many interests include retro videogames, movies, and anime, but I have been complacent in the pursuit of these interests for quite some time now, especially since I've been married. This blog is my attempt to make amends, and will offer the opportunity/excuse to sample some of the best, and no doubt worst, these subjects have to offer, including some that I've been meaning to try for many years, and will also allow me to re-evaluate some old favourites that should perhaps be better consigned to fondly-recalled memories.

In addition, I have a curious fondness for making random, and often nonsensical 'Top Five' lists, often with the help of Luke. These will also form part of my tomfoolery here, and are just for fun. Any of you that read these musings, I encourage you to make comments or let me know what you think, good or bad, but trolls and other hateful rapscallions can direct your bilge elsewhere. :)

Anyway, to mark my first post here, I thought it might be prudent to list my favourite games. There are 30 here, though I like many more of course, and with the exception of the first one, they are in no particular order. I will post five a day for the next 6 days...

Star Control 2 - 3DO (1994)

My favourite videogame of all-time? Without question! Not many sci-fi TV shows or films even have a story as engrossing as this game! It's an epic space adventure game where, controlling a large, but weak starship, you must wander the galaxy searching for artefacts, forging alliances with or fighting against the many alien races, gathering resources, and building a fleet with which to take on the evil Ur-Quan Heirachy who have enslaved Earth and several other worlds. Featuring hectic real-time battles, hours of speech, and countless things to do, it's a sci-fi game that has everything. You even get to score with a green-skinned alien girly for goodness sake! The best thing of all about this game is that you can download a conversion of the 3DO game for nothing and play it on any modern PC. Get it here (the game has had a name change though, it's now called Ur-Quan Masters).

Burnout 2: Point of Impact - Gamecube (2002)

Granted, there's a lot of games I haven't played, but right now this is the finest arcade-style racing game I've ever played. You have three opponents and racing takes place on long stretches of road also populated by civilian drivers ranging from cars right up to coaches and juggernauts. There are a few cars to choose from when you start the game and successful racing unlocks many more. It's all fairly standard stuff, it's just done so well. Control over the cars is precise, the courses are busy and superbly designed, and opponent AI is pretty good too. This all combines to make some pretty awesome, hi-octane racing! In my humble opinion, this was and remains the pinnacle of the Burnout series (and marks the final installment before Electronic bloody Arts bought the franchise and ruined it), and the arcade racing genre in general.

Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon's Trap - Master System (1989)

Introduced to me by my good friend Luke, this game blew me away when I first played it in the late 80's, and has remained a firm favourite. Despite its name, this is actually the fourth game in the convoluted Wonder Boy/Monster World series of games and almost certainly universally considered the best. The game, which takes the form of a sprawling arcade adventure, carries on directly from Wonder Boy in Monster Land, and sees Wonder Boy cursed by a dragon and turned into Lizard Man! And so Wonder Boy's latest quest begins. He must brave many strange and distant lands in his bid to return himself to Human form, but not before he takes various other forms too! A top game when it was first released and it remains a top game today, arguably the best game of the Master System.

Gauntlet 4 - Mega Drive (1993)

Not strictly speaking a sequel, Gauntlet 4, released on the Mega Drive/Genesis exclusively, was more a tarted-up conversion of the original and features four different modes. The Arcade Mode is a near-arcade perfect port of the orignal Gauntlet arcade game from 1985, but with the addition of an all-new soundtrack, the Record Mode, which is a variation on the arcade mode tailored to achieving high scores, the Battle Mode is a multi-player fight to the death, and best of all is the Quest Mode, which is an all-new Gauntlet game where the player must battle through the ten floors of each of an ancient castle's four towers before tackling the dragon dwelling therein. Including some RPG-style features, this is a whole game in itself. Overall, for any Gauntlet fan, this is the complete package.

OutRun - Arcade (1985)

Until the Burnout series came along, this was still my favourite driving game ever, and in many ways is responsible for my love of videogames to begin with. Everyone knows all about this classic by Yu Suzuki which is still as enjoyable today as the day it was made, in my view. Sure, OutRun 2 and Coast 2 Coast superceded it in many ways, not least graphically, but do they contain the spirit and atmosphere of the 1985 original? I can't think of many driving games that don't even have any opponents which are still as enjoyable as this! Simply cruising along listening to Magical Sound Shower is a treat matched by only a small number of other gaming experiences. It's a shame so few people will ever get to play the arcade behemoth now!

That's it for now, I'll post more tomorrow!