Film Round-Up #41

I don't think any regular readers here need reminding of my fondness for things of the 80s. Admittedly, my main focus in that area is normally games, but we must never forget the wonder that was 80s cinema. I saw many fine examples at the time, I've seen some others long after that glorious decade ended, and there are even some well known titles I've never seen. In the first of what will probably be several posts on the subject, here's a look at five (hopefully) great examples:

WarGames (1983)

I only seem to recall watching this one with my dad when I was pretty young but I thought I remembered it. It turns out that was only partly true but one thing's for sure - it must've been one of the first films based around computery stuff. Matthew Broderick stars as nerdy Seattle student David Lightman who hacks into what he believes is a videogame company only to set in motion a 'war game' simulation by accident. This wouldn't be so bad but the simulation is being run by WOPR, the NORAD computer which was actually the one David hacked into, and it makes the US military think the Soviets are really attacking! I thought I remembered there being more time spent in front of computer screens with David and the WOPR contraption trying to outwit each other but he spends most of his time sneaking around NORAD or running around with Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) trying to save the day. My poor memory doesn't make it a bad film though, and despite the obviously-outdated technology, perhaps even because of it, I really enjoyed seeing this one again... 8/10

Better Late Than Never #1

Shinobi by Sega (1987) - Master System

Oh hey, what's going down? Welcome to another new (kind of) feature here at Red Parsley! As I've no doubt mentioned before, despite my enthusiasm for and love of video games, especially ones of the 80s and 90s, I've never been particularly good at them. Some I could complete, but there were many I could not. There were some games that have stuck in mind all these years as being ones I played a lot and got quite a long way into a lot, but never managed to finish. This feature, whilst otherwise very similar to my existing Game Gallery posts, will showcase my (probably save state-assisted) journey to finally completing some of the offending games. First up is one of my very favourite games for one of my very favourite consoles:

Click here for the full review of this fine game.

Indie Nuggets #8

Sapphire Yours (2017)
By: Bence Sipka Genre: Puzzle / Action Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: PC
Also Available For: Android, iOS

There were a number of classics I missed out on in my youth. Among them was Boulder Dash, the much-loved jewel-grabbing, debris-avoiding mazey action/puzzler. I'm still not quite sure how I managed to miss it since it was released on every format under the sun but I have of course now remedied my oversight. Just in case anyone else missed it, or perhaps wasn't even around in its heyday at all, it was brought back to grace our screens once again much more recently! Okay, it's not officially part of the series but it may as well be. The first version dates back to 2001 and was created by an Austrian (I think) developer called Reinhard Grafl while the version I've looked at here comes to us courtesy of Bence Sipka, a Hungarian (I think) indie developer who is presumably a fan of both First Star Software's iconic game as well as Mr. Grafl's unofficial follow-up, and whose own game is available to play for free. How generous of him!

TV Shows #35

Flipping Bangers (2017-22)
Developed By: Just Might TV
Starring: Gus Gregory, Will Trickett

Certificate: PG Running Time: 43-50 Minutes per Episode (approx)

I'm not sure why but sometimes when I'm not feeling great, I end up watching something totally different to the kind of thing I would normally watch. As you might have guessed, just such an occasion befell me recently. I hadn't been feeling too good all day but I went downstairs at my normal time to pour a nice drink (usually bourbon and cola) and continue whichever streaming show I was in the middle of at the time. When I got there, however, I just... didn't feel like it. I toyed with the idea of just going to bed when I noticed a show being spammed on my Firestick's menu, so... I just clicked it. As it happened, it turned out to be a reality show - a genre I typically avoid like the plague - but it was one featuring cars which are of interest to me, so I gave it a try. And wouldn't you know it, it turned out to be pretty corking! I even continued watching it after I felt better again, and there were three seasons of it for me to get through. Naturally, when I finished, I figured I might as well burble on about it here!

Action RPG's #3

StarTropics (1990)
By: Nintendo R&D3 Genre: Action RPG Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Nintendo NES
Also Available For: Nothing

This game is unusual in that it was an NES game made by Nintendo themselves but only released in the US and Europe, with poor Japanese players having to do without. This has probably happened with certain types of sports games or tie-ins to things only popular in the west but this was an action RPG - a genre more popular in Japan than maybe any other! It's also, oddly, a game I never heard about in its day from magazines or other gamers, only learning of it later from collectors. It has, however, intrigued me since then, mainly due to its name and the images it conjured in my head - something to do with spacey, sun-bathed alien worlds overflowing with lush vegetation and glowing sands, punctuated by curious creatures and hiding some sort of magical adventure. The other day I was oafing around in my garden and decided it was time to see what the actual game was like, and if it bore any relation to the version I have been having visions of for many moons. Join me as I venture forth, into the mysterious tropics...

Cover Art: Mega Drive - Part 2

For many of us oldies, the world of Japanese gaming first became apparent as a Mega Drive owner. Virtually all the games we had available were released there as well (usually first) and they generally had different (better?) cover artwork too. It might have taken me a good while (three years!) to get around to comparing some more fine examples accordingly, but feast your eyes on this selection!

Arrow Flash (1990)

This is not one of the MD's more fondly-remembered shooters these days and it's not one of my favourites either, if I'm honest. But it does have some pretty interesting cover artwork. Both actually have similar designs depicting a brave female mecha pilot apparently floating, one in orbit, the other over a cityscape, but both in front of their big mecha ship thing, though the Japanese one seems to be partly faded out. Both use the same logo/font too, but the art styles are very different as you might imagine, with the European cover using a Western comicbook style while the Japanese example unsurprisingly uses an anime style. Which is best? I suppose that depends on which style you prefer. I think I like the European one more, mainly because it shows the mecha properly, and the planet with presumably-hostile aliens in the distance is cool/foreboding, but both are pretty good. There is actually a third cover for the US version which is decent too. (full review here)

Wifey's Watches #2

Gentleman Jack (2019 - 2022)

A while back, my wife had one of her old friends staying with us for a while. This friend is a lesbian, so naturally, everything we watched while she was with us had to be lesbian-themed or have a lesbian character too. Occupying much of this TV time was Gentleman Jack which is another 'dramatisation' of the life of Anne Lister, a landowner and industrialist in 19th century England who has since come to be known as the 'first modern lesbian' thanks largely to the extensive diaries she wrote which detail all aspects of her life, including her romances and love affairs, all with other women. While we see a couple of old flames here and there, the focus in that regard is on shy but wealthy heiress Ann Walker (the magic-boobed Sophie Rundle) who Lister (Suranne Jones) meets upon returning home to her Yorkshire estate brokenhearted after her lover leaves her for a pesky man.

Computer Platform Games #9

Bomb Jack II (1987)
By: Elite Genre: Platform Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: ZX Spectrum First Day Score: 10,400
Also Available For: Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64

I was a big fan of Tehkan's classic bomb-collecting platformer, Bomb Jack, and as detailed in a previous post, I spent a great many happy afternoons playing the excellent CPC version at a friend's house on the way home from school. As you might imagine, I was therefore keen to acquire the game for my Speccy too, but I never saw it in the shops for some reason. I did see Bomb Jack II though, and soon bought it hoping it would be more or less the same as the game I had been enjoying so much. Sadly, I quickly learned that aside from using the same name and main character, it bore little resemblance to the original. Okay, it was also a single-screen platformer and there were still small platforms dotted around the screen and you still had to collect stuffs and there were still enemies to avoid. But it still didn't play much like the mighty Bomb Jack (no, not Mighty Bomb Jack). But was it enjoyable in its own right?

PS4 Purchases #15

Aggelos by Storybird Games / PQube / Look At My Game (2018)

Not only have I actually owned this game for several years now - that's normal for me with these posts as it takes me ages to get around to posting about them - but I've even played it quite extensively which is less normal for me! I can't really remember how I first discovered it now. I think I might've just been browsing Amazon one day and the pixelly graphics on its cover caught my eye, but however it happened, I'm sure glad it did as it turned out to be exactly the kind of game I hoped it would be. Namely, a Wonder Boy III clone. The story is the usual fare - you play as a brave warrior who must gather 'the elements' in order to defeat some flange called Valion who wants to destroy the kingdom. Or something. What matters is that it's a vast adventure set over many different areas filled with monsters and tons of stuff to collect including many different swords, armour, and magic rings and scrolls.

Film Reviews #126

The Killer (2023)
Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Michael Fassbender, Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Kerry O'Malley, Sala Baker, Sophie Charlotte, Tilda Swinton

Certificate: 15 Running Time: 118 Minutes

Tagline: Excution is everything.

There are a number of film directors I would call myself a fan of but David Fincher has never really been a name I'd put on that list. Looking though his filmography, he probably should be - I love Seven and The Game, and I've seen six (I think) more of his films, most of which are excellent - but no, I didn't really follow his career and/or works in progress like I do with a few other directors. It was therefore a surprise when I saw someone on social media excitedly talking about The Killer's upcoming release, but I soon found myself sharing this person's excitement for some reason. "Oh yeah", I thought. "Fincher... He has a new film and it seems likely that it's about a killer - could be good. Maybe I'll even go to the cinema for this one!" Imagine my surprise, therefore, to find it staring at me on Netflix a couple of nights later. My viewing plans for the evening were swiftly cancelled and I pressed 'play'.

Arcade Shmups #29

Ashura Blaster (1990)
By: Visco Corp / Taito Genre: Shooting Players: 1-2 Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Arcade First Day Score: 126,000 (one credit)
Also Available For: Nothing

There can't be a huge number of arcade shooters that never left Japan (they were one of the most popular genres in the West, after all), and even fewer that never received any home conversions, but I managed to find one in the fairly splendidly-named Ashura Blaster, developed by Visco Corp and released by the mighty Taito just as that most wonderful of decades had drawn to a close. Due to this somewhat restrictive release I can't tell you too much about its backstory, but I can tell you it's apparently set in the far-flung future of 2020 (chortle). As you may have noticed, it's a vertical scroller, and a very familiar type too. It doesn't take a genius to work out the probable vague outline though - some dictator or heinous regime has threatened national/global peace and only you (and a friend) can save the day for some reason. Better dig out that chopper license!

Intellivision A-Z

I had never even heard of this console when I was growing up and didn't see one in real life until about 12 years ago - I guess it wasn't too popular here in the UK! It was pretty popular elsewhere though, and has remained a favourite for many to this day. Despite its moderate success, it didn't receive that many releases either, so I'll be featuring all of them here. Bear in mind, however, that all will have been played via an emulator and not therefore with the Intellivision's notorious controller. This is one of five posts to that end and features all games beginning with letters D through L:

Deep Pockets (1990)

No, this late release isn't about some really generous guy, it's actually a pool game. The table isn't green (probably due to the Intellivision's limited colour palette) and the balls flicker, and the controls aren't nearly as precise as many would want either, but there are tons of options and it's pretty good fun for two players.

TV Shows #34 - Part 1

The Night Agent Season One (2023)
Developed By: Shawn Ryan
Starring: Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan, Hong Chau, Fola Evans-Akingbola, D. B. Woodside, Sarah Desjardins, Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei, Robert Patrick, Enrique Murciano, Kari Matchett

Certificate: 15 Running Time: 45-56 Minutes per Episode (approx), 10 Episodes

Tagline: "Heroes aren't born. They answer the call."

I've watched a lot of films and shows like this over the years. I would call them spy dramas but they don't always involve actual spies. They do always involve government agencies though - the 'three letter' agencies, as some like to say - and usually some conspiracy or other, mostly the work of some terrorists and often also a 'inside man' or corrupt member of one of these agencies. Most examples feature real agencies like the FBI, CIA, MI5/6, etc, but there are a few that make up their own, and this new 'Netflix Original' show features the latest - Night Action. Seems a bit of a weird name, don't you think? It sounds like the name of a swingers club or something. Hmm, anyway... I think it's meant to be a super secret branch of the FBI but it seems to operate much more like the CIA. Either way, it's so secret that other agencies don't even know it exists. That must make things tricky.

Non-Speccy Homebrew Games #2

Electrobots (2021)
By: OxCode Genre: Platform Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: BBC Micro First Day Score: 1,800
Also Available For: Nothing

There are quite a few retro formats that receive deserved attention from the homebrew community but for what I'm disappointed to say is only my second review in this series of posts here, I've gone for another BBC example. I've had it for at least three years ago now (if you watch the video below on YT you can see a comment of mine from that long ago!) and played it quite extensively at the time, but didn't get around to reviewing it then for some reason. The title screen to the right here saves me the trouble of relaying the game's brief backstory but what I probably should mention is that it takes the form of a flickscreen platform adventure which is set over three zones - Land Zone, Water Zone and Space Zone. The ancient objects mentioned in the story are dotted around all three zones. As are various enemies too, naturally, which appear to be robots as well, or security droids or something.

Gaming Memories - Part 18

The mid-to-late 90s were a painful time for me as a gamer. While I wasn't giving the scene my full attention during the year that saw the wonderful 16-bit systems replaced by the dazzling new 32-bit examples with all their polygons, I was still a Sega fan and I knew of the difficulties they had faced while faffing around with the 32X, Nomad, CDX, TeraDrive, and lord knows what else, and I also knew of their troubles concerning the development and release of the Saturn itself.

These collective woes ultimately led to the premature downfall of the Saturn. I still remember one day when I had just bought the latest Official Saturn Magazine on the way home from work and was sat on a bench flicking though it. Times were grim and the magazine staff did their best to give us hope, but there were only a handful of new reviews at best. The news pages brought faint glimmers of hope that some of the PS1's popular games might see release on Sega's ailing system, but I knew they wouldn't (which proved correct) and I think that was the moment when I finally accepted that the Saturn was on its way down. Did I put aside my sadness and frustration and step foot into the enemy's camp? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em - right? I'm ashamed to admit my desire to play new games eventually outweighed my loyalty to Sega and I went in search of a second-hand PlayStation console.