Zillion (Sega Master System)
Back when I first decided I wanted a Sega Master System, I didn’t actually know much about it. I knew there were a few highly regarded games, like Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star, and Wonder Boy, but I didn’t know much else. I really just wanted it because I love getting new hardware — especially the more obscure, “failed” systems. Since the SMS was so heavily overshadowed by the NES during its run, it fit the bill perfectly.
Then as I began to explore the platform more, I kept reading about this game called Zillion. Supposedly, it was the Master System’s answer to Metroid. That seemed intriguing, so I decided I wanted it. Then at the Midwest Gaming Classic, I found a complete copy, and the search was over.
So what’s my point here? Well, my point is that this is a great game, but it’s clearly not at the forefront of the Master System mindset. Everybody who know knows about the Master System knows about the basics like Alex Kidd and all the arcade ports like Outrun and Space Harrier, but it apparently takes some extra digging to get to the likes of Zillion. Then if you actually want the game, you have to get past hundreds of unwanted copies of Hang-On/Safari Hunt, Black Belt, and After Burner to get there. It seems to me that this game was probably overlooked, even in its heyday. And that’s a shame, because if more people played it, then the system might have received more games like it. And if it got more games like this, then we might not look at the Master System as such a failure today.
First Impressions: Cloud Master, Shinobi, Gangster Town
First impressions are important. If you meet someone for the first time and they make a bad first impression, it takes something like four positive experiences to reverse that opinion. I think things work similarly with first impressions of a new game, too. The first few minutes can completely shape your opinions.
With that in mind, I played each of my three new games for about 15 minutes. I don’t necessarily intend to dig into each of them much further in the near future, but I think this post will be interesting to come back to when I do. Once I play the whole game, will my opinions differ from my first impressions?
- Cloud Master: In general, this seems like a solid little side-scrolling shooter. At first, there was nothing remarkable about it, but then I started to pick up a bit more of the power-up system and discovered a secret door that led to a magic shop. I think there could be some hidden depth here.
- Shinobi: Stiff. Wooden. Ugly. One dimensional. I’m not really feeling the love for this game, despite its good reputation. Perhaps there’s more to it that I haven’t seen yet? The first level did make an interesting switch into a first-person view point and changed up the game mechanics, so maybe there’s more going on. Or maybe people were just blinded by the arcade version?
- Gangster Town: Holy cow, I wasn’t expecting this! It’s an 8-bit light gun game, so I expected something with about the level of depth of Hogan’s Alley. But no, there’s a lot more going on here. There’s a surprising amount of interactivity — you can shoot the hats off of the enemies’ heads, then shoot the hat again while it’s in the air for bonus points. You can shoot the tires off of cars. You can shoot down signs. I’m impressed, and am looking forward to playing more of this one.
Latest Haul: Cheap Master System Fun
Well, it’s been a while since I did a Latest Haul post. Heck, it’s been a while since I posted, period! I figured I’d let everyone know I’m still alive and share my latest pickups. In fact, this is the first retro gaming purchase I’ve made since the Midwest Gaming Classic over six months ago! When you take a month off and travel Europe, gaming just takes a back seat for a while…
Anyhow, I’m back home and don’t start my new job until next week, so why not blog a bit? I dropped by my neighborhood used games/movies/music store and saw a few interesting items on the Sega rack:
Shinobi, Cloud Master, and Gangster Town
This shop occasionally gets a few Master System games, but almost always loose carts, and mostly sports games from the “Great” series (which, as any Master System fan knows is really not-so-Great). This time, though, they had boxed copies of Shinobi, Cloud Master, and Gangster Town! (But no, they’re not factory sealed — that’s just the store’s shrink-wrap.) None of them were on my immediate “to-buy” list, but at $1.99, who can resist? And pleasantly, I discovered that Cloud Master and Gangster Town are in complete, mint condition. Aside from a bit of dust, they look like they’ve never been played, the manuals have never been read, and the pack-in posters have never been unfolded. Nice!
Oh, and speaking of the Master System, I’ve been playing through Zillion. I’m about 80% of the way through, so I may actually have a review to post this week. Crazy, huh?
Impressions: Cosmic Spacehead (Genesis)
April 1, 2010 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Cosmic Spacehead boxart
Well, how about this… I’ve already beaten a game I got on Saturday at the Midwest Gaming Classic! I was giving all my new games a quick test run and wasn’t planning on spending much time with them yet, but this one managed to grab me enough to keep playing. A full review will come later, but for now, I thought I’d share some initial thoughts.
Cosmic Spacehead is a nice little game. It’s a hybrid point-and-click adventure/platformer (kind of like Alex Kidd: High Tech World….. but not as bad). The story is that you’re playing as Cosmic, and you’ve just discovered planet Earth. The problem is that, when you return home to tell everyone, nobody believes you. Now, you’re off to set the record straight. You have to find a way back to Earth to take pictures and return home with proof so you can get the hero’s welcome you deserve.
Overall, the game is pretty easy and pretty short, but generally well-made. I really love the colorful, cartoony graphics (it’s one of the few Genesis games with a great color palette) and the general tongue-in-cheek style. Basically, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s always a plus in my book. That’s all for now, stay tuned for a full review!
Videogames Hardware Handbook
January 30, 2010 by Tim · Leave a Comment
I’m a big fan of Retro Gamer magazine, despite how expensive it is to get here in the US (it’s a UK import). It’s a fantastic classic gaming mag, jam packed with lots of great content in every issue (the typical issue is 114 pages, with virtually no ads).
One of my favorite parts of the magazine is their recurring “Retroinspection” feature. With this feature, they give an overview of a particular gaming platform. They go into its history, its strenghts and weaknesses, relevance in the marketplace at the time, and oftentimes even interview key players involved with the platform in some way. These articles are a great introduction to the different platforms that are out there, and the “Perfect Ten” portions where they recommend 10 games everyone should play are a great way to figure out where to start when exploring a new system.
So, when Retro Gamer released a compliation of past Retroinspections over the holidays, I knew I had to have it — especially considering how interested I am in collecting hardware. Videogames Hardware Handbook: The Game Machine Collector’s Manual covers a 22 year timespan from 1977 to 1999 and covers everything from consoles to handhelds to odd British 8-bit computers that we never saw over here (but are crazy popular over there). You get info on all the platforms you’d expect, like the Atari 2600, NES, Genesis (or the Mega Drive, as they call it), plus some of the more obscure, like the 3DO, Jaguar, NEC PC-FX, and 8-bits like the ZX Spectrum and Dragon 32. Basically, it’s 256 pages of pure content covering 35 different platforms.
Unfortunately, though, it’s not comprehensive. Since this is a compliation of past articles instead of fresh content, anything that wasn’t already covered in a Retroinspection isn’t included. So, no Colecovision, no 32X, no Neo-Geo, and no PlayStation. Nevertheless, if you’re into retro game collecting, I’m finding it a fascinating compliation and a great value.
Note that I’m in no way affiliated with Imagine Publishing and this isn’t a paid ad or anything. I just really like Retro Gamer magazine and this special edition. I want everyone to know about it! And I want it to sell well enough that they make a second volume covering all the platforms that weren’t included in this edition…
Excitebike: World Rally
This week, I was fully expecting to follow up on my previous post with more impressions of Metal Gear and Castelian on the NES, but that didn’t happen. Why not? Excitebike: World Rally happened.
I want to take a minute to give a quick shout out to this game. It was released the same week as New Super Mario Bros. Wii, so I think it got somewhat overlooked. I know I was interested in it, but forgot all about it in the wake of Mario. Now that I’ve finally downloaded it, I’m hooked!
This is a fantastic little update to the original Excitebike. It’s got 16 different courses spread across four different cups, a great online component (with a very active playerbase, it seems), a track editor, and lots of new bikes to unlock. The single player experience goes by pretty quickly if you don’t try to get S-ratings on each race, so take your time and savor it.
Any retro gamer who’s a fan of the original Excitebike (and let’s face it, who isn’t?) should get this game for WiiWare. You’ll be hooked (oh, and don’t fall for the temptation to revert to classic NES-style controls — the tilt controls really work well and are a lot of fun).
Impressions: Castelian (NES)
December 10, 2009 by Tim · 2 Comments
Castelian originally caught my eye when I read about its Commodore 64 incarnation: Nebulus. Namely, it’s the interesting graphical effect it uses during almost all of the gameplay that drew me to it. The game is a puzzle platformer where you’re some strange pig/frog creature and you’re hopping around platforms on the outside of a series of cylindrical towers in an effort to tear them down. The effect used to display the rotation of the tower as you move around it is really convincing, and quite impressive for an 8-bit game.
I left it at that, though. I don’t own a C64, so I wasn’t going to make much of an effort to play it. But then I noticed this game called Castelian on the NES that looked really similar. As it turns out, it’s actually the same game, just under a different name. Why? I dunno. But I’ll take it. It was a pleasant surprise to see I could play Nebulus after all!
So now that I have it, how does it fare? Pretty well, so far. My first impression of the game was that it was pretty damn hard. I couldn’t even beat the first level. Your pig/frog is not very mobile, doesn’t jump very well, and there are lots of awkwardly placed ledges to fall down and enemies to run into. Then I remembered what Metroid and Metal Gear taught me: Be patient! It’s not about busting through the game on a single life, it’s about exploring and learning the best way through the level. Once I took that approach, I started to make some good progress.
So now I’m up to the fourth level (of eight) and the level design is really starting to come alive. Stage 3 had some clever tricks to it, and stage 4 is even more intricate. I’m really starting to like it, and I’m eager to see what’s in store for later levels.
I still suck at the bonus stages, though…
Sega’s disjointed hardware strategy: A story in pictures
November 4, 2009 by Tim · 2 Comments
It’s no secret that Sega was all over the place towards the end of the 16-bit era in terms of their hardware strategy. There were two models of the base Genesis, two models of the basic Sega CD, the CDX combination system, third party hardware like the JVC X’Eye and other licensed devices, the Nomad, and, of course, the 32X. In other words, what a mess!
So, I always knew things had gotten complicated for Sega fans around the time of the 32X’s release, but now that I’ve picked up a new-in-box console myself, it’s really become clear how bad it really was. One of my favorite parts of getting an unopened gaming item from years past is looking through the stuff that comes in the box. Not just the game, systems, or manuals, but especially the advertising inserts. Opening these old games and systems is like a time capsule, and the 32X was especially interesting.
I figured a few other people out there might be interested in seeing some of the same things, so here are a few shots of what came in the 32X box, which really emphasize how much of a mess Sega’s hardware strategy really was.
Let’s start off a little easy. First of all, we have a flyer for the Genesis six-button controller. This controller did a nice job of segmenting the Genesis market. There were those who had the three button controller and couldn’t make the most of the hottest games of the time: fighters. Mortal Kombat? Street Fighter II? Eternal Champions? Forget it, if you didn’t have a six-button controller. Sure, you could play them, but why would you want to? I give Sega the benefit of the doubt on this one, though. The three-button controller was well past its prime and six buttons were practically required. Besides, controller changes are almost always for the better. This one was a fantastic upgrade, just like the NES dogbone controllers, and the Xbox S and Saturn revisions that would follow.
Six Button Flyer
Sure, an upgraded controller segments the market, but it was probably a good business decision in general, since the older controllers were so lacking. But this next one is odd. Did Sega really need to get into the business of making power strips? Well, they were kind of forced to. After all, if you had a Genesis, Sega CD, AND a 32X, then you’d have three separate AC adaptors. The best part? Most standard power strips can’t fit three separate AC adaptors… So, Sega was there for its devoted fans:
Sega Power Strip
So, getting all your systems plugged in is a bit difficult, huh? Well, that’s nothing compared to this next picture. Just think about all the different possible hardware combinations those power supplies were feeding. In fact, there were even different cords required for attaching the 32X to different base combinations! This picture sums it up nicely, but actually underestimates the problem. Where’s the X’Eye? Where’s the LaserActive?? Oh, and remember that the number of combos doubles once you add in the 32X!
Too many Sega combinations
The best part of all this? Even Sega themselves couldn’t keep their different hardware combinations straight. As the next two pictures show, there was some definite confusion over the CDX. Was it supported or wasn’t it? It seems they thought it was, but at the last second, decided it wasn’t, so they slipped a warning card into the box and a sticker on its front to correct the out of date printed instructions. Oh, and how were people supposed to know that the 32X audio might not work properly for their model of Genesis if gamers only got to see this warning card after buying and opening the system?
32X Warning Card
Conflicting Information
Ahh, that was fun. I hope you get as much amusement out of all this as I did. It’s sad to see Sega out of the hardware business, but when I see stuff like this, it’s obvious they have nobody else to blame but themselves. Can you really hold it against consumers for being skeptical when Sega released the Saturn? As great as the system was (and really, the Sega CD and 32X aren’t awful platforms, either), I can understand why things turned out the way they did.
Oh, and as for my Genesis/CD/32X setup? Yeah, it’s a mess, too. To make matters worse, the system just ends up flat out freezing when I play anything on the 32X. Fun! Notice the extra A/V cord for the Model 1 Genesis, the otherwise useless piece of spacer plastic for the Model 2 Genesis, and the two totally different controllers. Plus the Sonic & Knuckles with lock-on Sonic 3! Maybe “disjointed hardware strategy” is an understatement…
Sega 32X'Eye
A new addition to the family (Sega 32X)
October 24, 2009 by Tim · 3 Comments
The latest addition to my console collection arrived today — a brand new, still in the box, complete, unopened Sega 32X. I was an SNES guy back in the 16-bit days, and it’s really only recently that I’ve come to love the Genesis, too. There’s really a lot of good stuff hidden beneath the mountains of old sports games!
But anyhow, my point here is that I’m exploring more of the Genesis era, so I recently purchased an X’Eye, and now I have the 32X. With all that in tow, I now have access to the entire Genesis/CD/32X library. Now I just need to get some 32X games, and more than one Sega CD game!
Impressions: Metal Gear (NES)
I’m going to try something a little different… Instead of just posting reviews after I’ve completed a game, I’m going to post a sort of “gameplay diary” to record my thoughts as the game progresses. I’ve noticed my opinion of a game can change a lot as I go through various parts of it, so it might be fun to jot those thoughts down. So here we go!
After finishing Top Gear 2 and Wario Land, I needed a new game to play. So I asked my girlfriend to pick one out for me — of course, she had no idea what she was looking at, so it was essentially “pick a game from my game room at random.” It worked out pretty well, though, since Metal Gear was one game I’d been thinking I need to try out.
Anyhow, my first impression of the game is that everyone is right about the god-awful translation. I’d heard about it so many times that it had become cliché — just one of those things that everyone has to poke fun of because it’s the thing to do. Well, it’s not just a cliché. It’s genuinely bad. “First, attempt to contact missing our ‘Grey Fox.'” (?) “I feel asleep!” (??) “Uh-oh the truck have started to move!” (???) Ugh.
My second impression was how damn hard the game is. You start out virtually defenseless, with no weapon but your fists, and all kinds of enemies (including dogs) will kill you in no time. Frankly, it’s frustrating. But once I got into the right mindset, I started to “get” it. I started treating the game less as an action/adventure and more as a puzzle game. I stopped worrying about dying and just set the goal to find the best possible path through each section. If I died, no big deal, I just tried a different way. Thankfully, you keep all your items when you continue.
So at this point, I’m starting to actually like the game. I found the instruction book online and learned what some of the items do, I’ve found a virtually flawless path through the opening sections, I have some new items at my disposal, and I’m infiltrating the enemy base, so things are starting to pick up. I just hope I get a weapon soon…
Anyway, off to play it a bit more. I will keep updating this post as I get further along, so check back!
Update 1: Okay, this game is terrible. Really, seriously, terrible… Infinitely respawning (and seriously retarded) enemies; tedious gameplay that forces you to restart completely each time you die (or even when you use your password to continue); glitches galore (the game flat out hung on me three times so far). And yet, I’m hooked. For some reason, I just want to keep playing. I want to see what’s through the next door and around the next corner. I want to find that perfect path through each room that sneaks me past every obstacle without a scratch. I’m, somehow, enjoying all this?? I’m just wondering when the hell I’m gonna get a gun, though. I found explosives, remote-controlled missiles, and even a silencer, but no gun? I think I must have missed it. But at the same time, I’m not so sure I want to find it. I’m enjoying the pure-stealth approach. Well, maybe I’ll find the gun next time, since I have to restart from the beginning when I continue, anyway.
Update 2: Oh for crying out loud. I just finished a session of this game where I was really starting to get into it. It turns out I did, in fact, miss a handgun in my earlier playthroughs, so I finally found that — along with mines, a grenade launcher, a machine gun, and lots of other fun stuff. I even made it far enough that now I don’t have to start over from the beginning when I continue! But of course, just as I’m leaning towards “You know, this game’s not so bad… I actually rather like it,” it decides to just crash on me. After finding Grey Fox, finding all my supplies again, and taking down (what I’m assuming is) the first boss, I do something as simple as try to go to the next screen, and it just hangs. Fun! I wonder how much QA this game actually got. I’m leaning towards “None.” The best part? I’ll be crawling back for more tomorrow…
Update 3: Making good progress — No crashes or anything like that to report today! I suspect I’m just about halfway through, about to rescue Pettrovich. I found a whole bunch of POWs that I missed before, so I’ve reached the 3-star level and am pretty much unstoppable. Also, I decided to check out the original MSX version of the game, so I got the fan translations up and running on an emulator. Boy, is it better! The graphics and sound are way different. I’m noticing that the NES version is actually pretty faithful once you get past the awful opening jungle sequence, which doesn’t even exist in the MSX version. I’m thinking about doing an in-depth article to compare the Western version of the series (Metal Gear and Snake’s Revenge on NES) to the Japanese series (Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake on MSX). That could be fun, but I’d have to play through all four games first!
Update 4: Oh, Kojima… You got me. You got me good. I thought I was about to rescue Pettrovich, but nope… Plot twist! Anyway, onto Building 2. I’m a 4-star rank and making good progress. There’s much less stealth involved at this point, though — there’s no real point in avoiding enemies anymore, considering how much health, how many rations, how much ammo, and the body armor I have. The game is now more about exploration, finding the items you need to progress, and taking down big boss-type enemies. The password system is really getting on my nerves. Why would anyone design a 25-character password where you can’t back up and correct mistakes? One typo, and you have to actually finish filling out your (incorrect) code, then start all over again. Ugh!
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