World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn) - Still the Greatest Nine

Whenever I'm feeling the itch to play Sega Saturn, I always have a short list of "must play" games to play, and World Series Baseball 98 is always near the top of that list. Back in 1997, I was convinced this was the greatest baseball videogame ever created, and in the year 2015, I still hold to that belief. I don't think this sports title has ever been surpassed.

One of Sega's greatest strengths during the 16-bit era was their stellar lineup of sports titles. If you wanted to play sports games, you had to have a Genesis. On Saturn, however, Sega struggled and stumbled for years, as Sony and Electronic Arts dominated the sports arena on the Playstation. It remains a cruel irony that Sega finally regained their mojo just as the Saturn was being phased out in the US; the '98 sports lineup - World Series Baseball 98, NBA Action 98, NHL All-Star Hockey 98, Worldwide Soccer 98 - proved to be their strongest in years. It may have been Sega's best sports year ever.

World Series Baseball 98 looked stunning when it was new, running on Saturn's high resolution mode (Sega's ace in the hole that was criminally underused). Graphics are clean, clear, sharp and detailed. Colors are bold, confident and smooth. In other words, what we've come to expect as the "Sega Look." It's a good preview for what would follow on Dreamcast. All the official ballparks are realsically rendered and in the proper proportion (you'd be surprised how many old baseball games screwed this up), and the polygon players are confident, solid. There's that squarish, slighly chunky look that comes with Sega Saturn, owing to its use of quads instead of triangles; as a visual style, it was widely criticized by software developers, but I personally enjoy it. It gives Sega Saturn's best games a unique charm and adds to the mystique.

All in all, this game looks fantastic on Saturn, one of the system's finest hours, and a far cry from those early roughshod days in 1995, where everything looked ugly. Sega clearly needed two more years added to Saturn's lifespan: one at the start, and one at the end. Fortunately, I think a lot of this momentum carried through to the Dreamcast, where Sega was creatively unstoppable.

Now we come to what really makes World Series Baseball 98 great, why it's still the video game baseball king: the pitcher/batter duel. The pitcher chooses from his aresenal, aims the pitch during the windup, and lets it go. Available pitches are based on the real-life players' skills, making their curveballs, sliders and sinkers very unique (and lose their effectiveness as the pitcher tires). The batter has two methods of attack. He can attempt to follow the pitch with the cursor, where it will "lock on" at the correct destination. Precise swings can result in fly balls, grounders, or curves, depending on where the cursor strikes.

The batter's second option - and this is the masterstroke - are the quadrants. The batter's box is broken into four quadrants, and each player has their unique "hot" and "cold" zones. By selecting a quadrant before the pitch is thrown, the batter will focus their attention on that area. If the ball travels towards that quadrant, the batter will "lock on" the ball, guaranteeing a hit. These are essentially the "power" swings. If the batter guesses wrong, he regains the batting cursor, but with only a fraction of time to attempt a swing.

This is the genius of Sega's design. They've turned the pitcher/batter duel into a strategic series of mind games and shootouts. No longer do you swing at every pitch, or just throw the ball wildly. The pitcher tries to get the batter out of his zone, away from his power swings that could result in home runs. The batter tries to wear the pitcher down, drag out the count, wait for that arm to get tired. A tired arm results in bad pitches. Those lead to "lock on" power swings.

For the pitcher, your strategy is to keep your opponent guessing, try to make him swing at a bad pitch, try to keep away from his strong side. For the batter, the strategy is to know when to use your normal swings (cursor), and when to aim for the power swings (quadrants). Get a hit, get a man on base, then try for a bunt or steal. It's difficult to move around those bases. This game doesn't make things easy. And home runs are, thankfully, uncommon. You can't rely on them to win games.

Traditionally, nearly every baseball game followed a basic formula for pitching and batting: you just press a button. Press a button to throw a pitch (and maybe weave it side-to-side in midair); press a button to swing the bat. Whether it's Home Run on Atari 2600, RBI Baseball on NES, Sports Talk Baseball on Genesis, or Ken Griffey Baseball on Super NES and Nintendo 64, the gameplay remained extremely basic and simple. WSB98 on Saturn smashes that paradigm to pieces. Thank God for Sega and their eternal underdog spirit. Something special about videogames died when they were forced out of the hardware business.

For reasons I have never understood, Sega never used the WSB98 pitcher/batter model again. Nobody did. If anything, modern software developers have only succeeded in making baseball games needlessly complicated, without adding anything to the strategy. Heck, we hardly even have baseball video games anymore. The modern scam of "one developer per sport" is a sick, demented joke. Thank God you can find a Sega Saturn and WSB98 for less than the price of dinner.

I'm serious. Get yourself off the couch, step away from the desk. Find yourself a Sega Saturn, a couple controllers, and copies of Sega's '98 sports lineup. It's the best bargain any videogame sports fan will find.

Videogame Classics - Super Mario World

 
Super Mario World
Nintendo
Super NES
1991

Nintendo fans will argue among themselves as to which Super Mario game was the absolute best, but everyone agrees that the golden period ranged from 1990 to 1996, from Super Mario Bros 3 on NES to Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island on the Super NES, and Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64. That's the absolute peak of Shigeru Miyamoto's playful genius.

For my money, Super Mario World is the best one. This was where Mario was his most expressive, his most colorful, his most inventive. It can be easy to forget, as games lumber on from one franchise sequel to the next, that there could be a game where practically everything in it is new, or at least novel. Eventually, the games cater more and more to the demands of the fans, like middle-aged rock stars who surrender their creativity and just play their old hits.

I think that's the feeling I'm finally stuck with by the time I finished New Super Mario Bros on Nintendo DS. That game was little more than a sugar-coated nostalgia circuit, a videogame greatest hits album. The early thrill gave way to a weary sense of disappointment, a feeling of going through the motions for the sake of going through the motions. This is why I'm not a fan of high school reunions.

I don't think New Super Mario has one tenth the inventiveness and brilliance of Super Mario World. Just run through all the cool moments that have become standard Nintendo lore. Yoshi the dinosaur. The Yoshi eggs. The Ghost Manor. The Big Boo. Switch palaces. The hidden keyholes. The star world. The extra-secret star world. The shortcut to Bowser's castle that almost skips through the entire game. The Superman cape. Flamethrowing dinosaurs. Flying dolpins. Rotating cages. Sunken ships.

There's that world map that can be skipped about from one place to the next, provided you can find the secret exists to star world. For that manner, there are all those secondary exits from the stages. You don't need to find them; it's just all part of the fun of wandering around and having fun for fun's sake. That's the real joy of Miyamoto; his childhood thrill of exploring and discovering. It's a great tribute that all the best exits require your most agile skills to discover.

There's another moment in Super Mario World that became one of the most-copied standards of modern videogame. It's the very first level with the Superman cape. You can hop down a pipe and go to a secret place, a wide area with nothing but coins in the air. The purpose is to teach you the new skill of flying with the cape. There must be several hundred coins up there, and it takes you some time if you want to grab them all. Eventually, you learn the subtlety of flying, which is an essential skill for finding all those secondary exits and keyholes.

Every videogame since then gives you the chance to learn a new skill and practice it out before it's fully called into service. Every game. It's probably the greatest contribution to game design since, well, the original Super Mario Bros.

Also, I should also point out my all-time favorite Mario secret. It's the prize you win once you've completed the second star road, eight stages of hardcore gaming hell. Damn, those are hard levels to get through, but get through them you can, and when you step back into the real world...well, if you've never played through this game, it'd be horrible of me to spoil it for you. I really think this is the point where the psychedelics really kick in. Miyamoto's Magical Mystery Tour.

Oh, and I love the ending to the game. The final battle against Bowser's far better than the anti-climactic finish to Super Mario 3, and we are treated to one of the all-time best endings. And what's with all the ragtime music? Who thought up that? Genius.

I think Shigeru Miyamoto knew that he reached a peak with this game that could never be surpassed. That's why he started his period of grand experimentation, of veering into stranger and stranger directions. Yoshi's Island is an entirely different beast, the electric kool-aid acid test of the Mario universe. Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy, indeed. And Super Mario 64 (and its 3D children) inhabits its own universe, a different realm of reality. There wouldn't be a proper, 2D Mario game for fifteen years. I never could have imagined that, as I was discovering the final, masterfully psychedelic secrets, that Super Mario World would be the last great trip.

Hopefully, the blockbuster success of New Super Mario Bros DS and New Super Mario Bros Wii (aka "Super Mario Bros 5") will encourage Nintendo to embrace this 2D series once again.  I only ask that future games not recycle the same old formulas; instead, reconnect to that wild, zany, psychedelic spirit that made Super Mario World so memorable.

Videogame Classics - Virtual Kasparov

Virtual Kasparov
Titus Interactive
Gameboy Advance
2001

April 14, 2003

Video chess is one of those novelty ideas that never really panned out. It reminds me of the Atari 2600 days, when designers experimented with video versions of Checkers, Backgammon, Tic-Tac-Toe, hide-and-seek (seriously), and chess. These games were needlessly awful, and functional at best. Pretty much the only chess program worth playing has been the Chessmaster series. There just isn't much point to playing against a computer when you can play against, well, real people. Maybe I'm still burned at how Atari's Video Chess cheated (it stole your pieces between moves).

If there's going to be a good video chess program, especially in this day and age, there has to be some pizzazz. Chess may be the greatest game ever invented, but, believe me, it does not have pizzazz. Watching people play chess is slightly more exciting than watching people sleep.

Thank goodness for Titus. I have to say, the Gameboy Advance has surprised me a lot so far, and among those pleasant surprises is Virtual Kasparov. Finally, here is a chess game that is actually geared towards gamers, without insulting their intelligence or boring them to death.

My favorite feature is the tutorial mode, which offers a wealth of knowledge about the game. Beginners start off by learning the rules, the pieces, and their functions. Then you progress to the opening game, various tactics and strategies, different mate schemes, and endings. For more advanced lessons, you study several games, learn about Queen Sacrifices, and even watch three famous grandmaster-level games.

The title is, of course, a giveaway, as Garry Kasparov walks players through each step; not only showing, but asking feedback as well. This approach works wonderfully; you learn better when you're asked to provide the answers, instead of just taking notes. It certainly helps to gain the insights of the greatest living chess player.

The meat and potatoes of Virtual Kasparov is Story Mode. Here, you square off against a succession of opponents around the world. Your first matches are embarrassingly easy, but as you travel across the globe, unlocking more continents to visit, the computer challengers become increasingly difficult. Unless you happen to be a master of the game already, you won't be finishing Story Mode anytime soon. Thank goodness chess isn't one of those games that need to be updated every year; you could be coming back and playing matches for years. The final challenger is, of course, Kasparov himself, and, no, I am nowhere near him yet. Ask me in 2008.

Titus Interactive Studio is the French software house responsible for this game, ad it ranks among their best. There is always a certain devotion to style in all the French gaming studios, and Virtual Kasparov is no exception. I enjoyed the many portraits of your different opponents, from housewives to school nerds to businessmen to world-weary travelers. There are also a dozen different chessboards to choose from: two boards in 3D, ten in 2D. The boards show a wide range of colors and styles, from the conventional to the abstract; a couple boards have an almost cubist feel to them. And yet, it is still easy to make out the pieces. Even the game's default black-and-white chessboard looks great, classical in its simplicity.

This is the perfect game for a handheld like the Advance. I can also see this as the perfect solution for anyone who wants to learn the game, from your friends or your spouse or your kids. Anything to get them off Fox News and start using their brain.

Videogame Classics - Motoracer Advance

Motoracer Advance
Delphine Software
Gameboy Advance
2002


April 21, 2003

Shortly after getting into Moto GP (and loving every minute of it), someone pointed me in the direction of Delphine Software's own Motoracer Advance. I can't remember how exactly the subject came up, but I'm glad it did. I have an affinity for anything that shows genuine creativity, that spark of fun, be it art or music or film or even videogames. Motoracer has sparks to spare.

The game is loosely based on a series of motorcycle racing games on the Playstation by Delphine, which featured different styles of racing fused together. I can't say I've ever seen the original games, but chances are that I've missed out. That's not to suggest this title is yet another port; not so. Everything has been built from the ground up.

Every game needs a hook. I found myself hooked once I started my first race and quickly discovered how wonderful everything looks. I wouldn't call it a "cartoon" look, but everything is drawn with a painterly approach, as though sketched with watercolors and stencils. There hasn't been anything on the Advance quite like this; "cartoon" games are usually covered with a saccharine gloss; Motoracer instead resembles an underground comic book. Smooth color, rich tones. Consider, for example, the Kenya course, with its rich browns, its animated locals waving from the side.

Then, of course, things start moving, and you realize how brilliant the game's graphics engine truly is. There are certain expectations with racing titles on Gameboy Advance, usually variations on the Super Nintendo "Mode 7," or the twists and turns of Sega's Hang-On and Outrun, or some attempt at 3D polygons (with mixed results). Adeline has achieved something different here. The game is entirely presented without polygons, and yet we have roads that buckle, heave, and twist in every direction. The first time you take a jump over a hill is a rush; sometimes, there are so many bumps and drops that one could feel dizzy. And everything is wonderfully smooth and very fast, even with a screen filled with trees, poles, buildings, animals, crowds, oncoming traffic. Motocross Advance has achieved something of a minor benchmark with old-school bitmaps. The question then remains: if this is what can be achieved on the Advance with sprites, why even bother with polygons?

That sense of speed is, of course, crucial to any great racing game. And the fact that this is achieved without sacrificing frames of animation only adds to my respect. I'm amazed at how far the horizon stretches. Perhaps that's just a benefit of all the hills and turns that I can see so far. The benefit to the player is that they can plan better for those upcoming turns. The game's camera is low to the ground, closer to a first-person view. Some may complain that their view is blocked because of this, but I've never had any trouble. Most driving games set the camera too high anyway.

Of the three different racing modes, the dirt bikes are my favorite, since they offer the most jumps and hills. In addition to dirt bikes are the GP and Traffic levels. GP includes the same high-speed motorbikes that made Moto GP so cool, with smoother curves and hills. One course takes place across a highway, where players must constantly drive across the narrow off-ramps. Traffic does just what it promises: you race against other drivers through city traffic. Trying to gain the lead while diving down the San Francisco hills is one thing; trying to avoid those trollies is another thing altogether. There are eighteen racetracks between the three modes, each similar in approach but noticeably unique in style.

Regardless of which bike you drive, the steering is impeccable. It's ironic that the motorcycle games on this handheld have turned out to be the best-playing. More often than not, bike games are throwaways after the cars have had their fun. Again, notice how your vehicles don't swerve recklessly every time you make a turn. There's a real sense of gravity at work here, between the traction and those insane drops. Even with the faster bikes (that you unlock as you progress), things never get out of control. Note that I don't crash to a complete stop if I touch one of the other bikers. Note how they actually put up a real fight, instead of letting me walk away with trophies.

There are more features to be discovered in Motoracer Advance. Suffice it to say, there's a lot of game here. Championships, crashes, squashing chickens, hitting fans, cheerleaders, and on and on. Up to four players can race against each other; which of course makes this title a must-have if you and your friends all have Gameboys. I'll be so bold as to say this is the best racer on Nintendo's portable. Alright, the best racer that isn't Super Mario Kart. Close enough.

Videogame Classics Featured on Gamasutra

This week, my Videogame Classics essay on Samurai Showdown 2 was selected as a "Feature Article" on Gamasutra.  I've begun posting my reviews on the site, in hopes of generating attention for my work, and I'm very humbled and thankful to be included on the site's main page.

My plan is to post one of the Videogame Classics reviews on Gamasutra every couple days or so, depending on how much attention I'm receiving.  I still can't decide which games to choose yet.  It's always impossible to guess which posts will draw attention.

Oh, and I really need to get cracking on the books.  Both Videogame Classics and Virtual Console Review were meant to be published eventually.  We'll see what happens.

Virtual Console Review - Neo Turf Masters (Neo-Geo)

Neo Turf Masters - Nazca for Neo-Geo - 9/10

I don't know if the claim will mean much to today's Nintendo Wii audience, but I'm of the mind that Neo Turf Masters on the Neo-Geo is the best arcade golf game ever made.  It's so easy to become spoiled by motion controls on Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort and Tiger Woods Golf, isn't it?  It's very tempting to toss aside all the older golf games and stick with the Wiimote.  However, I do strongly suggest that you hold on to this one.

I really love the presentation on Neo Turf Masters.  This game is wonderfully polished and you can see the care and dedication Nazca, the developers, brought to the table.  Golf games were decidedly second-tier in the arcades (usually reserved for PC simulations), and I think that's part of the reason gamers are so impressed.  Just look at the bright and brilliantly detailed graphics.  Note the excellent use of color, and note the spectacular animation of the golfers.  Observe the stunning use of scrolling to simulate 3D depth with sprites.

I certainly wouldn't expect four different courses, at 18 holes each.  I certainly wouldn't expect a variety of golfers with their unique skills, or a full set of clubs, or the ability to add curves or spin to the swings.  In other words, I would expect a stripped-down arcade game, not the full experience.  Nazca clearly proved their dedication and love of detail - a trait they would demonstrate again and again with their Metal Slug series.

Perhaps because this is an arcade title, the courses aren't recreations of actual locations, but offer the sort of surreal fantasy video games are made for.  I especially like the par-three holes which take place over cliffs. I also enjoy the brisk speed of the game; it's just a couple quick button presses and you're making your next shot.  It's fairly easy to make shots, but you will have to use your golfing skills, as the game is quite challenging.

And, hey, look at that!  I made it to the end of the review without cracking lame Tiger Woods jokes.  What an achievement.  I should get an award for this review.

Virtual Console Review - Samurai Shodown 2 (Neo-Geo)

Samurai Shodown 2 - SNK for Neo-Geo - 9/10

Now we come to one of the all-time great fighting games.  Samurai Showdown 2 is a brilliantly executed and conceived sequel, a skillful and challenging game that should keep fans thrilled for ages.  This is universally regarded as the peak of the series, for good reason.

Half a dozen new fighters are introduced to the roster, all very impressive and unique, all while exploring different methods of weapon-based combat.  I'm very impressed that SNK managed to create new characters without copying anyone else.  Even Soul Calibur could barely manage a dozen fighters before double-dipping.  SamSho 2 brings the total to a very impressive 15.

The controls feel well-oiled, and matches seem to flow more quickly than before.  All fighters have more special attacks, including a number of defensive moves that were truly groundbreaking.  In addition to rolling, ducking, or hopping to dodge attacks, you can successfully parry an attack with precise timing.  At least, that's what Wikipedia says.  I'll be very thrilled if I can pull that trick off, so I better practice.

In addition, you can taunt your opponent, unleash super desperation moves when your POW (frustration) meter is filled, and even destroy your opponent's sword.  That is an especially thrilling moment, especially when you're clawing back a dramatic comeback.  I've saved my bacon more than a few times thanks to the desperation moves.

The graphics appear more detailed, more colorful, more smoothly animated.  The color palette hews darker for this sequel.  It's an autumnal tone, heavy on the reds and browns.  I'm a sucker for warm color tones, so obviously I'm a fan.  The arterial sprays look especially nice at the end of a match, and how often do you get to say that?  Even the camera scaling, a staple of Neo-Geo games, appears very smooth and refined.

I think SamSho 2 plays much, much better than the original, for all the reasons listed above.  The game feels more liquid, more loose.  Attack combos are now a factor, and this really speeds up the game.  Thankfully, the tactical approach to fighting is still present and has not been sacrificed.  I appreciate that Samurai Shodown is a smarter fighting game.  Button mashers are not welcome.  Smarts are what is required.

I love the Japanese vibe to Samurai Shodown 2.  It's even more steeped in the mythic past than the original, evoking Kabuki and Noh theatre and Kurasawa's samurai westerns.  The music and audio are especially grand at transporting me back to this lost world.  This game just breathes style with every note, every beat.  SNK really was onto something special.  Is this their greatest fighter?  Fans will no doubt flock to the King of Fighters series, and rightfully so.  Those are outstanding arcade games.  But this game has the panache.  It has style in spades.

Photos - Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

Yesterday, while adding the Virtual Console and Videogame Classics archives, I had to repost my essay on Simon's Quest.  I also snapped a number of photos for the old review, so now I'm giving them a proper "screenshots" post.

Castlevania fans thrilled that Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PC Engine CD) is finally available on the Virtual Console.  I haven't touched the television set in a week (spinning records on my stereo is far better), but I have played the game and I love it.  Very stylish and artistic and deeply challenging; I especially love the early level where you walk through a devestated town, in homage to Simon's Quest.  Yeeeh!.

I highly recommend adding Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest to your Virtual Console, especially if you're a fan of NES action-adventure games like Zelda 2, Metroid and Blaster Master.

Videogame Classics - Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest - Konami for NES - 10/10

Hooray! Everybody has a number of classic games that they wait eagerly for. They buy themselves a couple Wii Classic Controllers just for the occasion. Well, folks, here's mine.

A little backstory for everyone first. As a teenager, Castlevania was my favorite videogame series. This was sometimes contested by Super Mario and Contra and Ninja Gaiden, but it always came back to this. It was also a favorite with many of my oldest friends from Duluth, Minnesota. If you were sick of the winter weather that day - and, kids, this was back in the day when we actually had winters...back when we had polar ice caps - just turn on the Nintendo, then turn it off, then turn it on and off again, then pull out the cartridge and blow on the ends, then pop it back in, turn it on....and start playing.

Um, yeah, by the way? If you ever find the person who actually designed the NES, please punch him in the stomach for me. Anyway, let's get back...

Castlevania! It's part gothic, part monster movie, part serious, part jokey, and all hardcore gamer fun. These were the tough games, the ones you blistered your fingers trying to beat. Just how are you supposed to get through all those armored knights? Slash, slash, jump, that's how. You have to be fast, too. This becomes something of a bonding experience for everyone involved. Many grownups assumed that one person is playing, and all the friends are merely watching, but that's not the case. We're all in this together. Castlevania's the prime example in my case.

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest was my favorite NES game. It still is. Played it to death through high school, at least until we all got to that point where were were all hopelessly stuck. This is a fiendishly tough game. Like many Nintendo games of its day, it's more of an adventure quest than an arcade game. Blaster Master, Rygar, Zelda, Guardian Legend - just a few titles off the top of my head. The NES couldn't compete on the graphics front, so developers resorted to deep, lengthy adventures instead. It was the smarter choice, I think. This is why I often lament the poor choice in Virtual Console titles for the NES. Some of its best games have never been bettered, because technology enabled software makers to take a simpler route.

I've discovered over the years that Simon's Quest has a mixed reputation because of this. Many gamers prefer the straighforward action of the original Castlevania, and they felt Konami strayed from their roots. As it turns out, everyone has it completely backward. The long-running series began, not with Castlevania (or Demon Castle Dracula, as it's known in Japan), but as Vampire Killer on the MSX computer. The game was an adventure game, using single screens instead of a scrolling environment. The settings were identical to the first Castlevania, only with different arrangements and a more adventure-minded style.

There's actually a bit of dispute about this, since Vampire Killer and the Castlevania we all know both appeared within weeks of each other. You could say that this was the stripped-down version, created due to the MSX's scrolling limitations. However, Symphony of the Night challenges all that. Now, the Castlevania series follows in the mold of MSX Vampire Killer and NES Simon's Quest.

In any case, it's far easier to appreciate Simon's Quest today, after all the post-Symphony titles in the series. I can't imagine what any fan would find wanting. There's just as much to fight and just as many enemies to kill. Only now you're fighting through the forests and villages of Transylvania, and stuggling to figure out where all those other castles are hiding.

For me, this was the greatest thing about Simon's Quest - it's atmosphere. There's such a wonderful Bavarian style to these lands, to the designs of the towns, the way everything is build with those damn stone blocks. It was the most compelling and believable game world I had seen up to that point. People walking by are always eager to offer advice or hints; I was floored when I discovered that most of what these people have to say is, frankly, bullshit. Ahem.

This is a great sendup of all those adventure and role-playing games in which every civilian has some key piece of information that's useful only to you, and only at that moment. It's all so contrived. Konami clearly felt so, and they decided to mess with our heads. This is a great game for messing with heads. You can explore most of the countryside, find such things as flames for your morning star, or secret books, or crystal balls. But you'll be damned if you can ever get beyond that first castle. Dracula's first castle is a gimmie, it's right out on the main road. The others are deftly hidden away. It took me and my peer group years to finally figure it out.

Sure, you boast that you won't get stumped. Then again, you can just go online and look at the solutions at gamefaqs. Heck, most major games have cheat books that walk you by the hand all the way through. You have an easy out. Kind of defeats the whole point of playing an adventure game, I would argue. We didn't have those options in the late '80s. The solution to discovering Dracula's second castle relied upon a gameplay maneuver that wasn't even revealed in the instruction book. You were just expected to solve it yourself. You kids today are coddled.

If you can somehow withhold the temptation to reach for those easy cheats, you'll really see how challenging and mysterious Simon's Quest truly is. Like most adventure games, and most riddles, it loses a degree of mystique once the secret is revealed, so it's far more rewarding to struggle and sweat it out by yourselves. I don't even want you reading the Simon's Quest strategy guide I wrote for the first issue of V, my old zine. No! Bad toad! Bad toad!

Like all the classic Castlevanias (meaning, frankly, all the ones before Symphony), this game is deeply challenging without ever feeling unfair. You're never placed into an impossible situation, nor left underpowered against foes. It's a brilliant example of game design from the NES era, just as it's a perfect example of Konami's skill. This series may have long since lost its lustre, but back then, the NES days? Konami were the kings back then, baby. They were the kings.

Videogame Classics - Review Index

This is the official database for the Videogame Classics Reviews. All of the video game essays can be accessed here, and this list will be updated as new reviews are written.

Advance Wars 2 - Gameboy Advance
Anarchy in the Nippon - Sega Saturn
Ballblazer - Atari 800
Batsugun - Sega Saturn
Blue Lightning - Atari Lynx
California Games - Atari Lynx
Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest - NES
Chip's Challenge - Atari Lynx
Clubhouse Games - Nintendo DS
Devil's Crush - PC Engine / Turbografx-16
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime - Nintendo DS
Electrocop - Atari Lynx
F-Zero X - Nintendo 64
Fire Shark - Sega Genesis
Ghouls 'N Ghosts - Sega Genesis
Grow - Online
Gunstar Heroes - Sega Genesis
Herzog Zwei - Sega Genesis
Hikaru no Go 2 - Gameboy Advance
Just Dance - Nintendo Wii
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer - Gameboy Advance
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Super NES
Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - Gameboy Advance
Motoracer Advance - Gameboy Advance
M.U.L.E. - Atari 800
Montezuma's Revenge - Atari 800
Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory - Atari 800
Ms. Pac-Man - Arcades
Neo Turf Masters - Neo-Geo
Neutopia 2 - PC Engine / Turbografx-16
NFL 2K1 - Sega Dreamcast
NiGHTS Into Dreams - Sega Saturn
Ninja Gaiden - NES
Panic! (Switch) - Sega CD
Robotron: 2084 - Arcades
Samurai Showdown 2 - Neo-Geo
Sega Rally Championship Sega Saturn
Seven Cities of Gold - Atari 800
Shanghai - Atari Lynx
Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master - Sega Genesis
Sonic 3 & Knuckles Sega Genesis
Sonic CD - Sega CD
Sonic the Hedgehog - Sega Genesis
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Sega Genesis
Steep Slope Sliders - Sega Dreamcast
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike - Sega Dreamcast
Strider - Sega Genesis
Super Bomberman 2 - Super NES
Super Mario Galaxy - Nintendo Wii
Super Mario World - Super NES
Super Metroid - Super NES
Thunder Force 3 - Sega Genesis
Todd's Adventures in Slime World - Atari Lynx
Virtual Kasparov - Gameboy Advance
Wario Ware Twisted - Gameboy Advance
Warlords - Atari 2600
Wii Music - Nintendo Wii
World Series Baseball 98 - Sega Saturn
Worldwide Soccer 97 - Sega Saturn
Xevious - Atari 7800
Xevious - PC Engine

Videogame Classics - Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Sonic Team for Sega
Sega Genesis
1994

October 25, 2004

First comes invention, then refinement, and then finally perfection.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles represents Sega at its absolute peak, at a time when they defined cool. Sonic was largely responsible for that, wrestling half the videogame market away from Nintendo and spawning an unending stream of mascot games. And like any rock star, the time came for the big, epic statement; that definitive work that captures all the themes and summarizes its era, its Sgt. Pepper.

Perhaps it is unusual that I define Sonic in rock ‘n roll terms, but there’s no denying the pop appeal the character generated. Also, the first four Sonic titles – 1991’s Sonic the Hedgehog, 1992’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 1993’s Sonic CD, and 1994's Sonic 3 & Knuckles – remind me of The Ramones’ first four albums, which for all intents and purposes defined punk rock. These four titles redefined games with its speed, invention, and sense of attitude.

The first Sonic the Hedgehog started at full bore but spend most of its time stuck in mid-tempo. Sonic 2 focused on the speed, but the worlds were still not large enough; it was all over too fast. Naka and his team were still working to find that ideal balance between barreling speed and intricate level design. In S3K, they finally found that perfect balance, without sacrificing either element. If anything, this Sonic seems even faster, if that were possible.

The enormous size of the game worlds allow for some truly amazing speed runs, torpedoing through loops, twists, turns. There are eruptions of water, deep, pummeling vertical drops, snowboarding down mountains, elevator cars run amok, runaway spinning tops. One of my favorite moments are the “racetrack timers” in the Death Egg Zone, which grab Sonic and hurl him in chaotic loops through open space. It’s completely gratuitous, of course, but a terrific rush (and clearly predicts NiGHTS).

This is the one videogame that I think captures the essence of a speed junkie’s highs and lows. When you’re high, you’re flying so fast so can’t catch breath. But when it’s time to slow down, the panic sets in. S3K features numerous moments of moving walls and collapsing ceilings, crumbling backdrops and closing walls. And the timer, almost completely useless in the first two Sonic games, looms over your head from start to finish; those large worlds guarantee you’ll often run out of time before reaching the exit or defeating the bosses. This tension is one of the game’s calling cards.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is blessed with some of the finest and intricate level design, and this is the balance that truly makes the game great. There’s the obvious Mario influence in the way surprises and rooms are hidden away, but now they are plentiful enough to actually justify all that wandering. You are amply rewarded for your curiosity, with its secrets and multiple pathways, and that’s what keeps you coming back again and again. I suppose you could run through the various zones several times and still not take the same exact path twice.

The smartest move was to take the giant rings from the original Sonic, and tuck them away for you to discover. These rings whisk you away to the magnificent bonus rounds, which involve navigating through a spherical maze of red and blue spheres. It ranks among the best visual effects seen on the Genesis (or the Super Nintendo, for that), and it’s the best of the whole series; they’re fun and challenging enough to stand as a game of their own.

Yuji Naka was the creative mind behind this game, and just like Sonic 1 and 2, it’s his baby to the core. The enormous success of Sonic 2 gave him the leeway to start making demands, and he brought over a number of people from Japan to America for the third Sonic, including Takashi Yuda, the character designer responsible for Knuckles. Oddly enough, Sega didn’t have the rights to the signature theme, since the original songs were written by a member of the Japanese pop group Dreams Come True, so instead of paying hefty royalty fees, they had to compose new music for this venture; thankfully, it’s as vibrant and catchy as one could ask.

S3K is videogaming’s great double album. I say that because it is, in fact, two Genesis cartridges: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, each half released eight months apart. When Sonic 3 was released in February of 1994, we were thrilled, but a bit puzzled as to why it seemed cut short. Then when Sonic & Knuckles appeared, that sense of burnout began to set in. That cynicism set in, that sinking feeling that we were merely being worked over for a few more bucks, just as Capcom had pulled with Street Fighter 2.

I remember being especially critical in my own fanzine at the time; the 16-bit market had become saturated with beat-em-ups, fighters, and mascot titles and we were, frankly, tired of it. Perhaps that resulted in a throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater approach, which meant that we never gave late-era Genesis classics (like Gunstar Heroes, for instance) the attention they deserved.

It was only much later that I truly recognized S3K’s brilliance, understood how Sega’s politics influenced the release of the game in two halves. This was not only Sega’s peak, you see, but also the beginning of their downfall. Their corporate senses just, bafflingly, drifted away, leaving the company to make poor decision after poor decision, until they had to exit the console hardware business entirely. The hubris had taken over.

So we’re back to the rock star analogies again. It doesn’t matter. In the end, we remember the artists’ achievements: its zones that vary in tempo and style; its lush, beautiful environments and visual effects; its challenging bosses, both large and small; and that magnificent sense of speed, speed, speed. Sonic 3 & Knuckles belongs on any short list of the greatest videogames.

Videogame Classics - Sonic CD

Sonic CD
Sega
Sega CD
1992

June 25, 2005

I knew a friend of mine who bought himself a Sega CD soon after it was released. I suppose he thought it would boost his popularity or "status" with other gamers. Unfortunately, lady luck just didn't seem to go his way. For starters, the unit cost $300, which at the time was a rediculous amount of money to spend on a videogame machine, especially when the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo cost $150.

To compund problems, the games for the Sega CD turned out to be duds. Complete, utter flops. Despite months of endless hype, all we had to show for it was barely enhanced versions of Genesis cartridge games. Sure, it was kinda cool watching the cartoon intro to Sol-Feace, but that was only good for five minutes.

I suppose you could suggest the Full-Motion-Video games, but the novelty on those, ahem, "games" wore off pretty damn quick. Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective at least was fun for twenty minutes or so, but what good is that? And the less said of Sewer Shark, the better.

So, my friend ended up paying $300 for a doorstop. I eventually bought it from him for a song, which probably wasn't the wisest decision from me; but that's largely because I believe money should never be exchanged between friends.

Perhaps this will give you an understanding of why so many gamers from the 16-bit era will swear on a stack of holy book that Sonic CD was the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread, perhaps even the greatest of all the Sonic games. At the time, we were seriously starved for anything good, and the Sega CD debut of Sonic exceeded our wildest dreams.

The game's long disappearance from future compilations and greatest-hits packages only seemed to strenghen its status. Sonic CD achieved the status of mythic legend.

It wasn't until now, in the year 2005, that Sega finally brought its classic back from the mists and onto a console again. What will the average Playstation 2 owner think? There's more to overcome than the passage of time; the two-dimensional platform game has become all but extinct.

I don't think it should be too difficult. All you need is a chance to sit down with a controller in hand and a couple minutes. Sonic will have sunk his claws into you by then. Anyone who isn't seriously hooked should question their love of videogames. You know, real games, not pre-rendered movie clips.

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The First Four Sonic Games - Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic CD, and Sonic 3 & Knuckes - represented Sega at their creative and commercial peak. I'm always reminded of the first four Ramones albums, which wrote the book on punk rock and spawned countless imitators. Of these four, I think the original Sonic is the weakest, but this is how it should be. The creative talent later refined and perfected their formulas.

After S3K, I'd say Sonic CD is my favorite in the pack. It's different from the others, a little off the beaten path, and it suggests another way Sonic could have evolved it Sega CD's fortunes turned out different.

Imagine, if you will, that the Sonic branches in two different directions after the original. In one direction, Yuji Naka, the crack programmer who left Sega Japan for work in America. He found himself working at the Sega Technical Institute, with the independent American talent. By a bold surprise, he was handed the Genesis sequel to Sonic, with considerable creative freedom to mold the character in his own likeness.

Naka took that opportunity and ran, resulting in Sonic 2, the Genesis' most successful game and the standard for every Sonic game that ever followed.

Back in Japan, a second branch moved away. This was led by Naoto Oshima, the other major talent from Sonic. He was given a team to design the Sonic sequel that would appear on the Sega CD.

Naka's contribution to Sonic was speed, but Oshima's contribution was intricate, tightly designed platform levels. His inspiration was Super Mario, games that rewarded exploration and depth above barreling through as quickly as possible.

What he and his team created is a marvel of game design. The worlds in Sonic CD are vast, enormous. These are the largest levels in the 16-bit era. I want you to notice an especially striking feature. Note how vertical these levels are. Note how long some of these drops are.

Sonic, of course, can still fly at lightning speed, but that speed must be tempered against plaftorms, ledges, towers. There's a lot of territory to climb and explore. You could, if you wish, simply run to the finish line as quickly as possible, and it shouldn't take more than a minute or two. But look at how much you've missed. It's not the destination that matters, but the journey.

This brings us to Sonic CD's most famous feature: time travel. The worlds are seperated into three time zones: past, present, and future. Scattered about are sign posts that enable you to travel forwards or backwards in time. In the game's story, the ever-present villain Dr. Robotnik has corrupted the world of the future. By travelling into the past, you can destroy his machines and set the course of history straight.

Each level has four parts: past, present, future, and the good future. And this is the real genius, isn't it? We can see the steady progression through time, in each of Sonic CD's worlds. The attention and dedication to consistency of style is striking. And, for players, there are more than enough variations to make you want to explore each time zone as much as possible. The standard ten minute time limit can get stretched thin pretty quickly.

I've mentioned the level design, and the architecture, but observe how Oshima uses them to counter Sonic's speed. After hitting a sign post, you need to run at full speed for a length of time (think Back to the Future). The trick is that, as you progress, there are fewer places to just barrel ahead without running into something. You need to explore a little, and find a place where you can loop or bounce between springs.

Each of the seven zones in Sonic CD carries its own style, and often require different tactics to progress. There's the bright, green valley that starts off every Sonic, and the industrial factory at the end, but we see some locations that have never been revisited in the series, like a crystalline cavern or a colossal series of trumpet horns. One zone even features an electric floor that shoots everything - including you! - dozens of stories high. You have to wonder why the recent Sonic sequels always rely on the same schtick. Where's the creativity?

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One thing that really strikes me about Sonic CD is the look of it all. It's very psychedelic; not loaded with trippy visual effects, but very heavily saturated in color. The Sega CD offered a larger palette over Genesis, and Oshima's artists took great advantage of this. It's one of the best examples of acid-drenched pop art seen in a videogame. Turn me on, dead man.

Classic gamers also happen to remember Sonic CD for another reason: the soundtrack. In Japan, they took advantage of the then-new CD medium and recorded a terrific musical score. It's not too loud, not too far removed from cartridge music, but the quality is a grand improvement. The past and future zones play variations on the main theme, and it all gels perfectly.

For some reason, Sega decided to rescore the game when bringing it to the States. That task fell to Spencer Nilsen, who wrote a lot of game music for Sega during the 16-bit era. I will, in his defense, say he did a very good job. He recorded a variety of synth-pop tunes, some with backup vocals; for some cruel reason, it reminds me of Paula Abdul. That's just mean.

But it has to be said that it doesn't match the Japanese original. More importantly (and this is where I firmly oppose dubbing foreign movies), Sega of America intruded upon the original vision. It's as if a gallery owner decided a certain artist's paintings needed more green, and then started in with a paintbrush.

The fanzines back then were really upset about this. I also remember Diehard Gamefan reminding its readers (?) every chance it could. Does it really matter in 2005? Probably not. The internet took care of that. It's a sort of karma; a way of bringing a sorely-overlooked classic to modern audiences.

Not that I'm telling you to download the old files so you can play Sonic CD on your emulator. Oh, no, not me. Wink, wink.

Videogame Classics - Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Team for Sega
Sega Genesis
1991

March 12, 2005

Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to that select group of videogames that is more famous for what it achieved than the the game itself. Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, Tetris, Street Fighter 2 - these are the landmark titles that redefined the medium and influenced everything that followed.

I'm not too sure how to convey to younger readers just what it was like to discover Sonic in that summer of 1991. It was the year underground rock and Seattle grunge finally toppled contrived pop and hair metal; the closing days of the Cold War; the beginning of the end for Reagan-Bush. Not to get too political here, but '91 was the year for change.

When Sonic arrived, it was a rush of fresh air. We were accustomed to Mario and countless wannabees, but this was different. This was modern, flashy, new. Here was a game practically bursting at the seams, eager to prove itself. For anyone with a Genesis, it was a dream come true.

Most gamers are familiar with the story of Sonic, of how hardscrabble Sega, desperate to compete against Nintendo's impending steamroller into the 16-bit console market, pooled their best talent to create a mascot game that would embody their rebel spirit and sell systems. They succeeded beyond their wildest expectations; the resulting shock waves are still being felt.

You've seen it in boxing once or twice, as when Muhammed Ali beat Sonny Liston or when Buster Douglas knocked out Tyson. Those champs weren't defeated, they were ended. Their careers were over the moment their faces hit the canvas; immediately reduced to rubble, to irrelevance. Sega delivered that blow to Nintendo. Sonic the Hedgehog destroyed Nintendo, finished them.

At one time, they were king of the hill, untouchable. Hell, Nintendo was videogames. Now, they're nothing. Genesis took away half the console market in one punch. Then Sony swept away the both of them and finished the Console Wars for good.

Nintendo doesn't even make games anymore. They've spent the last five years on the gas fumes of nostalgia, hoping the old fans will return for another Mario, another Zelda, another Metroid. But those few gems are few and far between, and the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube consoles have the dust to prove it. All Nintendo really has left now is their Gameboy, and now Sony's Playstation Portable will take that away. Nintendo is over, and it all comes back to that blue hedgehog in the summer of '91.

It goes without saying that Sonic is a great game. If you gave me the opening Green Hill Zone and discarded the rest, you would still have one of the great videogames. It's bold, abstract checkerboard patterns, it's trees and robot animals that resemble the computer animation of its day, those collapsing cliffs and shining rings; everything just jumps out at you. These levels have that perfect mix of speed and mystery, of turns, tunnels, and buried surprises just off the page.

It's really in Green Hill that Sonic the Hedgehog earns its mythology. This is where we're promised all the roller coaster thrills and bad attitude, and it delivers. The early levels in Sonic CD and S3K may have refined and perfected the formula, but this is where they stole all the ideas.

Now that said, I'm going to write something that really needs to be said: the rest of the game isn't as good. Sonic's other five worlds are varied and carry their own theme - volcanic temple, underwater ruins, city construction site, industrial wasteland - and they're a lot of fun. But that reckless speed that was promised at the beginning is almost entirely abandoned. Poor old Sonic is stuck in mid-tempo, or worse, left waiting around for something to happen.

Why was this done? There's something of a creative tension between Sonic Team's two top talents. Naoto Oshima, who designed the characters, preferred intricate level structure, while Yuji Naka, the lead programmer, wanted the speed. You can see this play out as they were both given their own Sonic sequels: Oshima with Sonic CD, Naka with Sonic 2 and S3K.

I happen to think that Sonic CD and S3K are both superior to the original, but there's no denying the appeal of that first discovery. Time has given it a unique flair, warts-and-all.

With its triumphant release, Sonic the Hedgehog quickly became the Genesis system-seller, and spawned an endless stream of mascot-tinged platform games. For the rest of the 16-bit era, it seemed every software publisher had to have its own smart-alecky mascot.

Aero the Acrobat. Awesome 'Possum. Bubba and Stix. Bubsy the Bobcat. Chester Cheetah. Cool Spot. Dynamite Headdy. Earthworm Jim. Mr. Nutz. James Pond. Pulseman. Socket. Radical Rex. Ristar. Taz Mania. Tinhead. Treasureland Adventure. Vectorman. Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel.

That's only a partial list of games that appeared on the Genesis. I haven't even begun on the Super NES, to say nothing of every game system to come after. Even today, most action-platformers star cartoon heroes who try to be "cool."

The key word here is "try." None of them can still touch Sonic. Sure, he stole the toe-tapping bit from the character in Boulderdash, but so what? The hedgehog was always cooler.

Videogame Classics - Fire Shark

Fire Shark
Toaplan for Dreamworks
Sega Genesis
1990

(Written on July 1, 2004)

The shoot-em-up is just about the longest staple of videogames. If games let you do anything, it’s shoot. Toaplan was the famed Japanese developer that probably did more to advance the vehicle shooter genre than anyone. With rare exceptions, shooters were all Toaplan cared about. At their best, they focused with a laser precision that probably hasn’t ever been bettered. Sadly, that’s partly because this style of games are rarely made anymore. This is a once-vibrant genre slowly headed for extinction.

I can’t imagine why anyone who loves videogames would choose to live without a handful of shooters in their library. These are the very definition of instant-gratification, dazzling the senses and fraying the nerves in less time than it takes to read most instruction manuals. Casual players dominate the market now, and they want simple games; not simple to learn, but simple to walk through. Toaplan shooters cannot be easier to grasp – shoot or be shot – but they require a skillful combination of reflexes and memorization that punishes the casual.

There are a string of classics created by Toaplan from 1986’s Slap Fight to 1993's Batsugun, each brilliant and somehow unique in its own way. Right in the middle of this pack lies Fire Shark. A close cousin to other Toaplan titles like Sky Shark and Twin Cobra, it features a bi-plane set against waves of tanks, boats, cannons, and airplanes, over cities, forests, oceans, deserts, and tundra. This isn’t a game that redefines shooters in any obvious way, but each element is fine-tuned to perfection, and retains a timelessness all its own.

Notice, first of all, your weapons. You begin with a three-shot spread as a default; most games would make you earn those extra bullets. This gun can be powered up three times; the final weapon fires a massive spread of bullets in a wide forward arc. The second weapon is more powerful, but concentrated in a smaller wave in front of your plane. This is in keeping with the shooter convention that balances weapons between the weak-but-wide shot, the powerful-but-narrow shot, and the wild card. But, never fear, the green beam takes up half the screen when fully powered.

The third weapon, the “wild card,” is one of the reasons I love Fire Shark so much. It is a flamethrower, but no ordinary flamethrower. It begins with one small column of flame that instantly destroys anything it touches, and then two columns. The third level is the pay dirt: two columns on each side, sweeping side-to-side. Level four: yet another two flaming columns, now covering your backside, sweeping and swaying. It’s a wonderful sight to behold.

And, yet, here is what really makes Fire Shark a classic shooter: it retains a sense of fairness and challenge. Owning the most powerful guns hardly guarantees an easy victory through the game’s ten stages; as the game progresses, you’ll be literally deluged from all sides, and no matter how many times I played through over the years, I could never remember just when and where everything would pop up. There’s always some damned plane that’s going to hit you on a blind spot, sooner or later. You will get shot down, and start all over; and you will still have more than a fighting chance, even against the massive bosses.

There’s never been a more balanced shooter as far as I can remember. Ever. I can’t figure it out, why other developers have to choose between making it easy for the fully powered-up player, and making it hard for you when you lose those weapons. Thunder Force 3 couldn’t do it (too easy). Aleste (all 350 of them) couldn’t do it. Gaiares sure as hell couldn’t do it; that game’s too hard even with all the power-ups. But Fire Shark has that balance, and it will never be done better.

Consider the enemy armies pitted against you. Tanks maneuver across terrain, following in formation, or sometimes just spinning in the sand. Trains will follow across a maze of tracks, as hidden cannons pop out of nowhere and disappear again. The boats sail in packs and always with air cover. And, of course, there are those planes. Most shooters would have planes travel a single-file line (ala Galaga and Gradius); the planes in Fire Shark swoop like crazed hawks, in straight lines, in waves, in cross-patterns, in every conceivable direction. It’s all such wonderful chaos.

The arcade original is good, but the definitive version of Fire Shark is easily the 1990 Sega Genesis version. This was released just as the Genesis was reaching its stride, and remains just about the best shooter ever released on that wonderful console. The game’s graphics show such a sharp attention to detail, and terrific variety, throughout. Here’s another great game that remembers the pointless, little details. Notice the tiny, animated soldiers that await you at home base between each stage. In one moment, another plane crashes during takeoff. In another, one soldier breaks formation to watch you land; try not to chuckle when the Sergeant berates him.

Let us also pause to remember the thunderous, booming explosions, and that magnificent soundtrack. Here is one of the great guitar scores that made the Genesis the envy of many during the 16-bit era; that little black box could really churn out the sounds when in the right hands. It certainly owes something to ‘70s AOR rock; a little Blue Oyster Cult, a little Who, a little Zep. The original arcade’s audio is lost to emulation, possibly forever (the arcade’s custom audio board has never been cracked), so this is another reason why the home version is superior.

I’ll close with one final virtue to bestow upon Fire Shark: you can play the game forever. Once you complete all ten stages, once the credits have rolled, you play through the game again, on a harder (and I mean HARD) setting. This is really the thing that made Contra on the NES so perfect; you’d think this would be standard-issue for every console videogame. You’d be wrong.

Videogame Classics - Gunstar Heroes

Gunstar Heroes
Treasure for Sega
Sega Genesis
1994

(Originally written July 23, 2004)

Gunstar Heroes is just about the best game ever made for the Sega Genesis. It certainly symbolized everything that made the Genesis so cool: terrific music, speed, innovation, and style, style, style. There is more style and clever ideas crammed into this game than in many consoles’ entire libraries, and I’m sure that sounds like some cheesy cliché, but this time it’s very true. Gunstar is the rightful heir to the greatest of all the run-and-gun shooters, Contra; Contra filtered through 1990’s pop culture, Japanese anime, channel surfing, and way too many explosions.

Here is a game where you face off against a giant bouncing cell with an enormous happy face. Here is a game where you venture through a giant dice maze. Here is a game where a villain, trapped on a burning train, hurls his own soldiers at you. In one of the early levels, you battle against suicide bombers, soldiers who set fire to houses, killer bees, flying drones, thugs who grab you from behind, and a creature, made entirely out of boxes, who attacks with the dragon punches and foot sweeps from Street Fighter 2.

That crazy sense of humor has since become a trademark quality of the game’s developer, a small Japanese studio named Treasure. The developers originally hailed from Konami during the 8- and 16-bit eras, and a number of them worked on many classics, although exactly which ones remain clouded in mystery. It’s commonly believed that they were responsible for Castlevania 4 and Contra 3 on the Super Nintendo (Gunstar’s first level is something of a homage to Contra 3), and possibly Bucky ‘O Hare in the arcades. I’ve heard assertions that some of these developers even worked on the original Castlevania and Contra, but I’m a little more skeptical. It’s all a part of the legend, I suppose.

In any case, these folks grew unhappy with having to churn out sequels and brand-name tie-ins. They wanted to break out and pursue their own original ideas. They wanted something new. So this small collection of programmers and artists left Konami and founded Treasure. They immediately set to work, churning out a number of games on the Genesis; Gunstar Heroes was their first title.

Treasure immediately made an impact on the industry; with their first game, they demonstrated a technical brilliance and mastery of the Genesis. Truly Konami let some of their best talent slip out the door. Treasure also built up a fiercely loyal fan following, from fanzines (like mine) to magazines like Diehard Gamefan. To this day, you aren’t really considered a hardcore gamer if you don’t passionately love Treasure’s games.

Gunstar Heroes is just one of those great "kitchen sink" moments when a group of creative people are finally given the freedom to do everything they've ever wanted. How else can one explain the sheer diversity present from start to finish? Notice, first, your choice of two main characters. In addition to firing guns, you can also throw enemies, jump kick, body dive, slide, hang from ceilings, or even block. Your choice of weapons is determined by collecting various power-up icons, and then combining them into new weapons. Want a flamethrower? How about a laser gun or a lightsabre? Would a homing beam be more to your style, or would you prefer streams of red bullets?

The best games allow for at least some improvisation, and Gunstar’s many options brought a wonderful freshness to the genre. It’s great to catch soldiers sleeping on the job, or running away in a panic; it gives them a goofy sense of character, instead of merely being an endless line of moving targets. The main bosses are the best example of this. One of the bosses is a dead ringer for M. Bison (again with the Street Fighter riffs); weirder, one looks exactly like Jesse Ventura, our beloved wrestler-turned-governor. Or maybe he’s supposed to be the General from the movie “Akira.”

Did I mention the boss named Melon Bread, which is basically a smiley face that just sits there? How about Rice and Curry, the name of a monster made entirely out of brown rice balls? The “smash-the-vehicle” bonus stage with a hapless soldier trapped inside? This is a game that almost parodies itself.

Treasure pulled out some truly fantastic effects, arguably the finest of the 16-bit era. Even today, in our age of hyper-powered game consoles, it’s hard to think of a game with as much visual jazz and pop. Large characters twist, bend, and warp with ease. Backgrounds wiggle and fade into the distance. One main character, a defector from your team, rides a vehicle that morphs into a spaceship, a robot, a buzzsaw, and a gun; all superbly animated. And everywhere there are explosions, explosions, explosions. Hardly a second ever goes by without something blowing up.

The one great tragedy of Gunstar is that, outside the fan base, it came and went without a peep. Why did most Genesis owners never see this game? What marketing genius decided to pack the game with Fruit Roll-Ups? Who passed up the original Japanese box art for the lousy American version? What the hell was Sega thinking? I remember this was occurring while they were busy pushing the Sega CD and 32X, just before the Saturn arrived. It's funny now to realize just how incompetent they were at that time. You'd think the executives were deliberately trying to tank the company.

Sometimes it can’t be helped. Herzog Zwei was forgotten by Sega in its time, too. Videogame fans, real gamers, always knew the score, and Gunstar Heroes is as good as they come. What a wonderful, thrilling, crazy game.

Videogame Classics - Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master

Shinobi is one of Sega's most celebrated heroes. The arcade original was a smashing success, building upon the foundation of Namco's Rolling Thunder (an early example of the long-running Sega/Namco rivalry), and adding in a ninja theme. Most of the home versions were pretty weak by comparison, but you didn't mind too terribly as long as there was a Shinobi down at the local arcade.

For the Genesis, Sega turned to its ninja master with one of the greatest videogame sequels ever made, Revenge of Shinobi. That game was arguably the first killer ap on the Genesis (although some would argue for Ghouls 'N Ghosts), and stands today as a masterpiece of the action-platform style. Another arcade sequel appeared, dubbed Shadow Dancer, but neither it nor the Genesis port (which was an almost entirely different game) managed to reach that earlier peak. So Sega turned back to their roots once more as the Genesis was winding down.

The result is Super Shinobi 2, or known in the West as Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master. In both cases, the title makes it clear that this is the follow-up to Revenge of Shinobi, and that's plainly obvious at the very start. Thankfully, Sega creates a masterful sequel that builds upon the gameplay conceits of the original Genesis classic, offering a brilliant example of gameplay and design, and pushing the console's graphics powers to their limit.

I think these two titles were the only time anyone came close to matching the brilliance Tecmo achieved with Ninja Gaiden on the NES. Amazing, then, that with so many ninja games in the early '90s, nobody could reach that high peak. No one except Sega.

One thing Shinobi 3 has in spades is a sense of speed. It's a much faster game. Joe Musashi, the series hero, has a variety of new moves, including a sprint dash, the ability to climb on ceilings, and an assortment of attacks, both with his sword and his shurikens. The exciting thing is that it's equally fun to play both ways; in fact, I really wish there were an option to remove shurikens from the game entirely, and just go it with sword slashes and kicks.

Level design, likewise, throws out all the stops. Playing through this game is like taking a sightseeing tour of the Genesis' finest moments. You have assaults through the forest, stealth through underground caves, an attack on a military base, a vertical climb over falling rocks in a valley, one chase on horseback, another chase on surfboard....yadda yadda. Add in a series of challenging, thrilling boss battles that show off every visual effect mastered by Genesis, and you have a platformer almost without peer.

If you asked me which Shinobi title was the better one, I don't know what I'd say. Most probably I'd still go with Revenge of Shinobi, if just because of its immense impact on the early Genesis scene, and its towering stature at the time. Shinobi 3 is more of a 1993 refinement of that standard, albeit with all the bells and whistles you can ask for. Oh, and there is the music. Yuzo Koshiro's music for Revenge is among the finest you'll ever hear. Shinobi 3's music is standard action fare, probably the game's only letdown.

Sadly, Shinobi became another casualty of Sega's tragic fall at the close of the 16-bit era. The name was revivied a few years ago, instead as a 3D polygon series. But the Playstation 2 incarnation was a different beast entirely, and nowhere near as compelling. Like most 3D platformers, the tight structure and skillful design of the 2D sprite-graphics era is mostly lost. For these kind of fast-paced action games, you just can't beat the old school.

Videogame Classics - Super Metroid

Name the best game ever made for the Super NES. For some, it's Super Mario World or Zelda 3. Others, Super Mario Kart. A number will point to Final Fantasy 3, which was how it was named here in the States). And a lot of you will insist that it's really Super Metroid.

You may be right. This might very well be the SNES' finest hour.

I think some part of the mystique about Super Metroid is the fact that the game remained alone, without any sequels or follow-ups, for so many years. While Mario and Zelda and the rest continued with newer games on the Super NES and Nintendo 64, Metroid held back, alone in its own little world. It really wasn't until 2002, eight years later, that a new installment finally arrived, and even then, gamers were surprised to discover a 3D shooter that was closer to Quake and Doom then their beloved Metroid.

And, in the meantime, Konami completely reinvents its old Castlevania franchise by aping the gameplay structure of Super Metroid. The forgotten classic was becoming a legend, influencing others. Goodness knows Konami sure loved that game, enough to shamelessly steal from it for every 2D Castlevania game ever since.

Oh, yeah, sure, Nintendo eventually figured things out, and returned to their roots with a pair of Metroid titles on the Game Boy Advance. But let's be honest here. Those games weren't any good. The first one, especially was a clunker. The second, Zero Mission? Eh, better, but, again, it just felt like a dumbed-down kiddie version of the 1994 masterpiece. Remember those Atari 2600 games that had the child-friendly mode with the teddy bear icon? Yeah, that's exactly what Zero Mission was all about. A Metroid that holds you by the hand, when not stumbling into Miyazaki's Ohmus.

What comes to mind when I think of Super Metroid? Dark, moody, mysterious. This is just about the heaviest game Nintendo ever made - heavy in that late-'60s, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple sense. The whole enterprise just breathes in a dark, misty atmosphere, this strange alien landscape, this mishmash of different cultures. This world that Samus Aran finds herself in, this is a world with a history. You can almost trace that history as you progress through the game, spotting the places where some poor fool vainly tried to civilize the place. You can see the corpses for yourself to see how that turned out.

Modern videogames, if they really can be called "games" anymore, shove narrative down your throat. They think story can only be conveyed by scripted movie scenes. But a good game, all of the best ones, can tell a story without these tired cliches. Story, setting, mood, character - all can be shown by the actions and environment of the game itself. That's one of the things that makes Super Metroid a masterpiece. It's a very story-driven game at heart, but one that lets your imagination roam.

The only other exploration game that captures that same sense of mood and mystery, to my mind, is Todd's Adventures in Slime World on the Atari Lynx. And that game was created back in 1990. How's that? In many ways, Slime World serves as a foundation for the expansive game world Super Metroid builds upon. It seems impossible to keep the two seperate in my mind; the original Metroid serves as the original starting point, but this sequel stretches and expands and builds so far beyond those first boundaries that they become almost unrecognizable.

So that's what I take out of the experience. The dark, underground world, teeming with life and teeming with secrets. And the whole enterprise is hard. Real hard. In this game, Nintendo drops you into a cave, in the middle of nowhere, and just leaves you. No goofy sidekicks pointing the way out of the maze. No cheap icons to hold you by the hand and make things easy. In this life, things are much harder than in the afterlife. In this world....you're on your own.

Forget about that first Metroid. It's a good game, but it's too dated to really hold your affections. This is the real version, the one that carries all the mystique. This is the moment which all future Metroids struggle to recapture. They'll struggle in vain. You'll probably never see a better action/adventure no matter how many years you'll live.