Yesterday's discussion of Myst and the continuing saga of DS remakes made us a little nostalgic, and we can't stop thinking about other titles that should be remade. Sure, we did an entire focus on it not long ago, but so long as companies keep pushing out the remakes, we'll keep dreaming. Today, we're fondly dreaming of a King's Quest compilation for the DS. Wouldn't that be lovely? Sure, games like Myst that promise extra content, or ports like Geometry Wars: Galaxies (also with beefed-up content) are nice, but multi-packs of old, untouched games would do us up right as well. Can you think of anything older you'd like to see come to the DS as-is (or close?)
Posts with tag Retro
DS Daily: Bring out your dead
Yesterday's discussion of Myst and the continuing saga of DS remakes made us a little nostalgic, and we can't stop thinking about other titles that should be remade. Sure, we did an entire focus on it not long ago, but so long as companies keep pushing out the remakes, we'll keep dreaming. Today, we're fondly dreaming of a King's Quest compilation for the DS. Wouldn't that be lovely? Sure, games like Myst that promise extra content, or ports like Geometry Wars: Galaxies (also with beefed-up content) are nice, but multi-packs of old, untouched games would do us up right as well. Can you think of anything older you'd like to see come to the DS as-is (or close?)
Space Invaders streamed
We've been hyping Space Invaders Extreme relentlessly since we saw the first screens. And now that Ruliweb has made a gameplay video available, we're going to have to up our efforts. The screens and description do nothing to convey the brilliance of this game, which not only speeds up the pace of Space Invaders significantly, but adds power-ups and quickly shifting challenges, all set to a thumping soundtrack (which, to some DS Fanboy ears, evokes Genesis's "Invisible Touch") and flashy visuals.
Space Invaders Extreme, in imitation of Rez, seems to time the collisions between bullets and enemies to the music, such that every explosion sets off an appropriate sound effect in time to the music. It worked to give Rez a rhythm-game feel without actually making it a rhythm game. Along with, of course, the cyber-psychedelic visuals and the optional Trance Vibrator, the musical integration just helped to make the whole experience more hypnotic. We knew that Space Invaders would probably feature something like that, but seeing it in action really shows how effective the technique is. We have watched this video at least five times already, and we're going to keep watching.
Super Mario Sisters was almost a reality
In some deeply weird alternative universe, perhaps one in which Japanese people actually bought Microsoft consoles and England's footballers weren't quite so irredeemably rubbish, we might never have experienced Super Mario Bros. as we know it. Instead, we could have been playing Super Mario Sisters.Alas, Nintendo of America never did follow through on a trademark application it filed in February, 1990 for a game called "SUPER MARIO SISTERS." The application was abandoned almost two years later, depriving us all of an estrogen-fuelled version of the world's favorite platformer.
Go past the break for a grab of the application.
Arkanoid DS plays dirty
We thought Arkanoid DS was awesome from the moment we first saw it. The customizable graphics and sound effects, the varied width of the levels, the quest mode, and, most importantly, the miraculous paddle controller won us over. For that matter, the word Arkanoid won us over. Being way-huge fans of the NES game (and its controller) we were pushovers.But now we find out that Arkanoid DS has a story mode full of adorable mascot characters? With their little Vaus-shaped heads, they look like a cross between the Prince of All Cosmos and Bomberman. That's just not fair. We were already going to buy the thing; now we have to super-buy it or something. Maybe we'll buy the inevitable mascot goods -- the plush dolls, DS styli, and such.
The Legend of Kage 2 still looks amazing
If you think that our hunger for side-scrolling action sequels on the DS is sated this week, then you are underestimating our desire to run from left and right and shoot/slash things. In fact, Contra 4 has just made us want more. And The Legend of Kage 2 looks like the same kind of thing: a gorgeous fully 2D update of a NES-era classic. Even if the original is only a classic to us. If the development team behind Kage 2 learns anything from the last 20 years or so of gaming, we hope it's how to make a better Legend of Kage game.From the screens, it looks like they may achieve that. It already looks like they've turned to Ninja Spirit for inspiration. That can only mean good things for the world.
Game Center CX in loving detail
Continuing with his coverage of Game Center CX, Chris Kohler has posted descriptions of the game's progression, along with details about each of the games. A few games at a time are unlocked, and you earn more games by completing specific challenges. For example, getting all your characters to level 7 in the Dragon Quest-like Guadia Quest, or shooting a giant asteroid in the Galaga-inspired Cosmic Gate fulfill requirements set by the game.Every element of Game Center CX accurately parodies Japanese retrogaming: Rally King SP is a remade version of the (also fake) top-down racer Rally King with branding from a fictional ramen company. Product tie-in games like this were common in Japan at the time (though they've all become frustratingly rare now!) and in fact, some, like Gradius: ArchiMENdes Edition, were actually given away by ramen companies.
The "challenge" focus of the game actually sort of makes Game Center CX a bit more modern. Rather than simply completing levels, you're fulfilling objectives. It's almost mission-based, but in an interesting way.
Space Invaders Extreme mixes it up
It's been a while since we saw screens of Space Invaders Extreme. We've been pacing back and forth since then, taking one step forward every time we make it from one side of the room to the other. Finally, new screens have appeared of the psychedelic, pulsing upgrade to, like, the oldest shooter ever.Along with the gorgeous new screens, we have learned a few more details about the game. As we knew, shooting invaders of the same color consecutively triggered bonuses; this is encouraged during "Feature" mode, in which you basically fulfill objectives given on the top screen. Completing these objectives earns powerup items.
Shooting invaders of certain colors is not the only possible objective, however. Sometimes the featured task involves picking up a certain number of dropped items combined with shooting invaders.
Success leads to bonus minigames, in which you shoot as many invaders as possible in a fixed time period, usually with increased firepower. In these "rounds" the invaders fly around in more Galaga-like patterns.
DS Daily: Game Survey CX
A very simple topic today: would you play the Game Center CX game? Check out our previous coverage of the game and make a hard decision about whether parody retrogames, combined with parody game magazines, are the kind of thing you'd like to experience.
Just in case somebody from Namco Bandai happens to wander into our little website, we'd like to have proof that there's an Anglophone audience for this game. Your comments will be that proof! (Note to hypothetical Namco Bandai representative: if nobody comments, it's just because our readership has puckishly decided in unison to play a little joke.)
Just in case somebody from Namco Bandai happens to wander into our little website, we'd like to have proof that there's an Anglophone audience for this game. Your comments will be that proof! (Note to hypothetical Namco Bandai representative: if nobody comments, it's just because our readership has puckishly decided in unison to play a little joke.)
Game Center CX sounds really great
We knew that Namco Bandai's Game Center CX strongly exhibited the spirit of awesomeness, as a collection of fake retro games tied into a TV show about playing old games. Chris Kohler reports that the game is actually pretty great, and a lot more clever than even the premise of parody retro games.Basically, you're tasked with performing specific challenges in each game, and you need to go through the made-up instruction book included in each game's pause menu to figure out how to achieve those objectives. Furthermore, you can find secrets by looking through fake game magazines. The game simultaneously parodies the inscrutability of old games and accurately models real gameplay experiences. That's pretty cool!
Kohler recommends a localization for this game, and we'd like to agree. It sounds great, but the game requires rather a lot of Japanese reading. Since, as Kohler says, "you need not be at all familiar with the source material to understand the premise," it would probably be okay to bring it over without the license, or possibly as the only representative of the license. The retrogaming theme is enough context for us.
But those Japanese gamers who are familiar with the show get a clever bonus: a replica of host Shinya Arino's Bandai Namco business card, given to him at Bandai Namco's offices while playing The Quest of Ki. Everyone should get some kind of consolation prize for playing The Quest of Ki.
A day on the Game Center CX set
The feature, much of which is contained in the photo gallery, describes a normal day on the set of the show, as Arino spends the entire day trying to finish this game, getting covert tips from Namco staffers, applying cooling pads to his forehead to stay alert, and facing the constant danger of failure. Will the games in the DS adaptation be as hard as the real thing? Will we be expected to suffer?
We have an ulterior motive for posting about Game Center CX. We continually hope that our posts about the show will convince someone at one of the companies who localizes and releases anime to pick up the license for this show and subtitle it in English. We'd totally buy the DVDs, and that's not something we can say for any current anime offerings! And then, in this hypothetical ideal universe we've built up, a localized version of the DS game could come out!
Have you heard of Famista DS?
Famista DS (Family Stadium) -- not to be confused with Famitsu, the magazine in which Famista DS was first announced -- is the latest entry in a series of baseball titles that go back all the way to the Famicom. The franchise has gone by other names the few times it has popped up in western markets -- RBI Baseball and Super Batter Up.Developed by Namco Bandai, Famista DS combines retro graphics with modern video game elements (e.g. unlockable uniforms/stadiums, online support, and gratuitous cameos from Namco mascots), while keeping with the simple A+B controls you remember from your NES days. You can view a short commercial and a minute-and-a-half trailer at the movie section of the game's official site.
Famista DS arrives in Japan this November 15th, and while it's possible that Namco Bandai will eventually bring this one to the states, we're not getting our hopes up. Consider it your punishment for not buying enough copies of Rebelstar Tactical Command.
If they have to remake something ....
The age of remakes is upon us. If you're a DS owner, you can hardly escape it ... if you even want to! After all, Square Enix is certainly supplying us with plenty of remakes that promise heretofore unknown levels of awesome, but they're not the only ones crafting games both new and old for the world's best-selling system.Everyone wants a piece of the DS pie, but the question is, which pies are we interested in? There are a lot of games out there, after all, and while we love the Wii's Virtual Console for bringing that (mostly, usually) authentic retro experience, the list of games that could benefit from an update or touchscreen functionality is extensive.
We would like to look more closely at what our readers would like to see redone, and why. List your choices. Put on your debating hat and get ready to defend your favorites. From the list you provide, we will select a final list that we'll post as a poll in the coming days, in order to find out which remake possibilities can beat out the rest in a fanboy fight of epic proportions.
TGS07: Game Center CX, the new game about old games, previewed
1UP's original Retronaut, Jeremy Parish, took in some Game Center CX at TGS, and it sounds as meta-fabulous as we thought. The central gimmick of the game is that you play as two kids who are themselves playing games; they have a Famicom-esque system in front of them and a pile of magazines. Both the games and the magazines are original creations based on classics; the games imitate Galaga, Lode Runner, and others, and the magazines talk about those games in a style reminiscent of Famitsu.We're as bummed about the fact that this game will never make it to the U.S. as we are about the Game Center CX show. We're sure Spike TV or G4 or somebody could make decent money from a subtitled version of the show, but we don't know how big the market would be for a game about it. Too bad for what is basically a love letter to retrogaming.
Game Center CX: the game
Game Center CX is an absolutely brilliant Japanese TV show in which, with the help of some production assistants, Shinya Arino plays old games to completion. The show documents the hardships involved in trying to finish the most unfairly difficult and nonsensical old games from the Famicom generation and beyond.And now it's getting its own DS game. The game consists of fake retro games made in authentic NES style, including a ninja platformer (Karakuri Ninja Haguruman) and its sequel, a shooter (Starprince) and even an RPG; to go along with the fake games, there's even a fake weekly game magazine. Maybe in 20 years, someone will play through this whole game on TV.
The Legend of Kage 2 details emerge from the shadows
Looks like The Legend of Kage 2 is going for just a little more depth than its predecessor. Not that that's hard, considering that The Legend of Kage had five (brutal) stages that repeated three times. We loved the game, however, and that's why we're as happy about this sequel as 22 of you are.The new game has 12 stages for Kage and 12 stages for his kunoichi counterpart, Chihiro. Though these stages will probably use the same environments, we are hoping for different enemy and item layouts, or Taito's cheating by calling them different stages.
There will be over 30 equippable abilities, which are gained by picking up and equipping elemental spheres. According to the GAME Watch article, these abilities will allow players to customize their play style. The NES game only had one style that we were aware of: jam on the attack buttons while jumping randomly and hoping that you'll kill all the bad ninja before getting hit by an unavoidable shuriken.
Gallery: The Legend of Kage 2
