Wow! The second episode of Chronsega is now ready and available to stream or download. For those just tuning in, Chronsega, is the companion series to Chrontendo, and is covering every release for the Sega Mark III/Master System in Chronological order. Episode Two examines 15 games released from September 1986 to February 1987, including the first US/Europe only releases. Unlike Nintendo, Sega wasted no time getting the Master System to the US, debuting it in October 1986, a year after the Japanese release. Before the year's end, Sega had 20 games on the US market; strangely enough, only 16 Mark III games hit the shelves in Japan that year. So from the very beginning, Sega was focusing very strongly on the Western market. As it happened, the Master System was most successful in Europe, Australia and Brazil.
In Chronsega Episode One, I lamented that most of the Mark III's releases seemed like rejected arcade games (along with a handful of ports of actual Sega arcade games.) The situation does improve somewhat this time around, with the November release of one of the Mark III's most fondly remembered games. Also on the board are an honest-to-good Portopia-style adventure game from Sega, as well as the usual arcade ports, US computer game ports, and so on...
Gold Medal goes to:
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Our uncontested winner this episode is Sega's attempt at a Super Mario like killer app for the Mark III/Master System. While Alex Kidd sold only a fraction of the copies that the Mario game did, it remains (along with Phantasy Star) one of the few "must have" games for the system. The first Alex Kidd title, an arcade release called Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, was a straightforward run and jump scrolling platformer. For the console-only sequel, Sega added some more advanced components into the mix. Alex Kidd now smashes blocks looking for items, collects money to spend in shops, rides a motorcycle and a helicopter, travels through vertical and horizontal levels, and explores maze like castles filled with some seriously tough platforming. While far from perfect - the controls are way too loose - Alex Kidd in Miracle World is slightly ahead of its time; it reminds me a little of Kid Icarus, which would be released a month later for the Famicom. Sega has proven they can make an excellent console game. Let's hope they pull this feat off again in 1987.
Silver Medals:
Space Harrier
At the end of 1986, the Mark III is finally graced with a port of one of Sega's greatest arcade games, Space Harrier. When Space Harrier first hit arcades in 1985, it was bleeding edge: incredibly fast action, amazing sprite based 3-D graphics, convincing speech. Can the Mark III hope to replicate this on a console? Definitely not, but it certainly tries its hardest. While the home version suffers from slower game play and problematic handling of sprites (see the image above), the fact even a semi-successful attempt was made to bring Space Harrier to a home console in 1986 is impressive.
The Circuit/World Grand Prix
The Mark III's first auto racing game plays like a four-wheeled version of Hang-On, but with a difference. After each race points are awarded based on your finishing time. After accumulating enough points, you can buy upgrades for your car. That's right, you can power up your car! However, these power ups only last for one race, thus preventing any progressive improvement of your stats. Still, it was a nice idea, and quite unusual at the time.
The Ninja
Terrible name, but surprising decent game. Certainly The Ninja is much better than the other vertical run and gun on display this episode, Ashura/Rambo/Secret Command. Your Ninja only has one weapon, but, to compensate, has the special ninja power to vanish momentarily. While most levels are standard Commando-style fare - you move upward, shooting at enemies that come down from the top of the screen to attack you - there are some more interesting, and more difficult levels thrown in. One level finds you running horizontally dodging enormous boulders; another places you in the middle of a horse stampede. All in all, The Ninja is better than its somewhat tarnished reputation would lead you to believe.
Brown Medal Games:
Ashura/Rambo/Secret Command
A terrible Commando/Ikari Warriors clone that manages to be less playable than than the Famicom/NES Ikari, Ashura is mostly notable for the fact that it was released in three different versions in different territories. In the US, it was Rambo: First Blood Part 2, in Japan, Ashura, with slightly different characters sprites, and in Europe, it was known as Secret Command. As if running around in broad daylight killing hundreds of people with machine guns and explosives could possibly be described as secretive behavior. At any rate, the game seems so Rambo-esque, down to the explosive tipped arrows, that I assume it was developed for US release as Rambo, then converted to the more generic Ashura for Japan, rather than vice-versa. Either way, this game is not a lot of fun.
Astro Warrior
The box for Astro Warrior should be labeled, "Marginally better than Satellite 7!" Yes, its another original vertical shooter for the Mark III. It looks and plays better than Satellite 7, but is absurdly easy, short and boring. While the Saturn, Dreamcast and even the Genesis had some excellent shoot-em-ups, the Mark III/Master System fell way behind the Famicom in this genre.
Double Target/Quartet
Port of Sega's four player arcade game, except that only two people can play! Quartet unsuccessfully tried to ride the wave of revenue generated by Atari's Gauntlet, but providing four player simultaneous action and an oversize cabinet. The Mark III port has been seriously cut down: the number of players reduced to two, the speech synthesis removed, and the graphics and music downgraded. What is left is the most unremarkable sidescrolling platforming imaginable, not really any better than the stuff Bandai was releasing for the Famicom around this time.
Also this episode:
Great Ice Hockey - A decent looking ice hockey game that requires a special controller, the Sega Sports Pad, to play. A US only title.
Great Golf - Sega chose not to simply rip off Nintendo's Golf for this release. It seems the Great Sports titles are showing some improvement.
High School! Kimengumi - The second game based on a licensed property ( the first being last episode's Hokuto no Ken), Kimengumi is a weird graphic adventure type game involving running around, collecting, then using various items.
Marksman Shooting/Trap Shooting/Safari Hunt - Combo cart only relased in the US (without Safari Hunt, which was included on a pack-in cart with Hang On) and Europe. To be used with Sega's light gun accessory.
Loretta no Shouzou - Sega makes a Japanese, Portopia style adventure game. Involving Sherlock Holmes!
To download Chronsega Episode 2, head on over to archive.org.
Every Nintendo Game In Chronological Order
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Chrontendo Episode 15: Enter the RPG
After that charming little diversion into the world of Sega, we are back with the newest episode of Chrontendo, which may be streamed or downloaded at archive.org! We open in early 1987, and the Famicom's release schedule starts picking up again, with a nice solid 8 titles released in February. Episode 15 is virtually a special RPG episode, with two distinctively Japanese RPGs released. A handful of RPG games came out in 1986, the first Dragon Quest, the Zelda/RPG hybrid Athena, Hydlide, and the western-style Deep Dungeon. But this episode sees two JRPGs released almost back to back; one turn based, and the other an action RPG. But both seem to embody many of the elements that would define the JPG: super deformed character designs, quirky enemies, a substantial amount of required leveling, a combination of fantasy and sci-fi themes, and a relatively clear cut plot and objectives. Episode 15 almost became a three RPG episode, but Marchen Veil, a purported action RPG, turned out to be more of a top down adventure game.
Episose 15's MVP:
Dragon Quest II/Dragon Warrior II
The inevitable sequel to Chunsoft/Enix's suprsise hit of 1986, Dragon Quest II was an even bigger success, selling around 2 and a half million copies in Japan. Later games would sell even more, resulting in DQ becoming perhaps the biggest video game franchise in Japan. In the 1987 the concept of a sequel to a video game was still a little fuzzy; video games with actual plots being
a recent development. Unlike Zelda 2, DQ II is everything you could want in a sequel. It fixed many of the frustrating things in the first DQ, and then improved and expanded upon the things in DQ that made that first game so unique. The major change is the increase of the number of characters from one to three and that multiple enemies are faced in each battle. This makes DQ II's battles require a bit more strategy, as you need to decide which monsters to attack first, how many characters to use offensively versus for support, and whether you want to spend valuable magic points on offensive spells to soften enemies up. Magic plays a much bigger role in this game, but still feels underpowered. There are no really powerful offensive magic spells; the closest DQ II comes to a Nuke spell is Explodet, which does decent damage, but misses with alarming freuency (hitting 1 or 0 enemies out of 3 or 4 is not uncommon).
I had played Dragon Quest II in the past, but never finished it. Compared to later RPGs, it seemed impossibly old fashioned and virtually unplayable. Latter day RPG players may recoil in horror at some of the game's old school peculiarities: if two characters have selected the same enemy to attack and the first character defeats that enemy, the second character will simply do nothing and lose a turn -- the early Final Fantasy games also had this quirk. Yet playing DQ II in the context of early 1987, it seems like a mini-masterpiece and huge step forward for RPGs and console games in general.
Other Interesting Games:
Eggerland
The second released from HAL Laboratory, Eggerland manages to be substantially better than Gall Force (covered in Chrontedo 13). HAL had previously released two games for the MSX computers, and the Famicom EggerlandEggerland is a reworking of the second MSX game. One of the best Sokaban type games of this era, Eggerland is creative, clever and sometimes head-bangingly challenging puzzler. HAL would follow this up with lots more titles in the Eggerland/Lolo series.
Esper Dream
Konami's first RPG was released three weeks after Draqon Quest II, and while it pales next to Enix's title, it is an intriguing game which can be appreciated by English speaking gamers thanks to an unoffical translation. Esper Dream is an action RPG in which enemies are visible on the overworld, but still uses a separate battle screen, similar to Ultima III. Eschewing the usual sword and sorcerty theme, Esper Dream takes place in storybook like setting, with enemies such as bugs, fish and chess peices. Oddly, your arsenal includes laser guns and bazookas as well as ESP abilities. At times Esper Dream can stupidly difficult - later enemies can take many, many hits to kill, even with the best weapons. And some attacks are impossible to avoid. As a result, strategy often plays little part in the game - getting through a level will usually depend on if you have a enough max HP or MP to make it to the boss.
Mickey Mouse
One of the few non-Capcom Disney games of this era, Mickey Mouse was developed and released in Japan by Hudson. By 1988, Capcom had already inked their deal with Disney, and Mickey Mouse ended up being released by Capcom in the US, under the name Mickey Mousecapade. Strangely, either Hudson or Capcom changed many of the enemy sprites for the US release. On first glance, Mickey Mouse appears to be a rather simple platorm game, something the kids can enjoy. However, it soon reveals itself to be sadistically tough at times, perhaps to compensate for the shortness of the game. Unfortunatley, though it is a better than average Famicom platformer, Mickey Mouse is not quite as good as it should be. Once again, Hudson is phoning it in for a game based on a licensed property.
The Bottom of the Barrel
Shin Jinrui: The New Type
The other Hudson release this episode is almost a complete disaster: a land based shoot-em-up that reminds me of Square's terrible King's Knight. The one notable thing about Shin Jinrui, aside from the title, is that it is the sole game published by Rix Soft. I have no idea how Hudson got mixed up with them, but Rix Soft turns out to be a short lived software division of Ricoh Elemex, a Japanese manufacturer of precision measuring equipment. Taken in conjunction with Adventure Island and Bonk, I'm beginning to think Hudson has some sort of caveman fetish.
Black Bass
Fishing is not exactly the most exciting sport, and you wouldn't expect a fishing video game to be thrill packed. Black Bass is the Famicom debut from the hideously named publisher Hot B. Aside from giving their company a name that sounds like a deviant sex act or an obscure Southern rapper, Hot B introduced fishing simulations into the world of console gaming. Granted, there were fishing games before this, like Fishing Derby for the 2600. But did Fishing Derby let you chose your lure, pick your spot in the lake to drop your line, or give you a reeling-in mini game? Nope, it was Black Bass that first gave us a gritty, realistic fishing video game. Not included: 6-pack of warm Schlitz.
Ultraman -Kaijuu Teikoku no Gyakushuu
This dull, unimaginative, sidescrolling platformer helps demonstrate has stagnant the genre was
becoming, less than a year and a half after Super Mario Bros. Marginally worse than the Tose developed Pocket Saurus; Ultraman makes this list due to the sloppy programming.
Also this episode:
Famicom Golf Japan Course - Another sports title from Nintendo, and a virtual remake of their earlier Golf, courtesy of HAL Laboratory.
Hiryu no Ken - Weird beat-em-up/platformer/fighting game hybrid from Culture Brain. The platforming sections are terrible, but the fighting levels are decent.
Nazoler Land - Jesus, another awful game from Sunsoft. This time it's a "magazine" title, which means Nazoler Land 2, 3, etc will follow shortly.
Ikanari Musician - No relation to Ikari Warriors, this is a very simple music program. With rabbits.
Marchen Veil - Port of 1985 Japanese computer game with a fantasy theme. It'd be nice to see an English translation of this, but I very much doubt this will turn out to be a lost classic.
Super Lode Runner - Wow. Another Lode Runner game, this time from Irem. Funny how almost every pre R-Type game from Irem turns out to be a little lame.
Pocket Zaurus: Ju Ouken no Nazo - You are transformed into a bowtie and glasses wearing dinosaur and must travel back in time to 10,000,000 BC. Then you move to the right and jump over stuff. Courtesy of Bandi and Tose.
Family Trainer Aerobics Studio/Dance Aerobics - Yet another Family Trainer game from Bandai, released in the US by Nintendo for the Power Pad. Don't worry, there's only a few dozen more of these to go.
And that is it! Check back next time for Chronsega Episode 2, featuring 15 games from August 1986 to February 1987. Then its back to the Famicom with Chrontendo Episode 16, featuring... a couple more cool Konami games.
Download or stream Chrontendo Episode 15 here.
Episose 15's MVP:
Dragon Quest II/Dragon Warrior II
The inevitable sequel to Chunsoft/Enix's suprsise hit of 1986, Dragon Quest II was an even bigger success, selling around 2 and a half million copies in Japan. Later games would sell even more, resulting in DQ becoming perhaps the biggest video game franchise in Japan. In the 1987 the concept of a sequel to a video game was still a little fuzzy; video games with actual plots being
a recent development. Unlike Zelda 2, DQ II is everything you could want in a sequel. It fixed many of the frustrating things in the first DQ, and then improved and expanded upon the things in DQ that made that first game so unique. The major change is the increase of the number of characters from one to three and that multiple enemies are faced in each battle. This makes DQ II's battles require a bit more strategy, as you need to decide which monsters to attack first, how many characters to use offensively versus for support, and whether you want to spend valuable magic points on offensive spells to soften enemies up. Magic plays a much bigger role in this game, but still feels underpowered. There are no really powerful offensive magic spells; the closest DQ II comes to a Nuke spell is Explodet, which does decent damage, but misses with alarming freuency (hitting 1 or 0 enemies out of 3 or 4 is not uncommon).
I had played Dragon Quest II in the past, but never finished it. Compared to later RPGs, it seemed impossibly old fashioned and virtually unplayable. Latter day RPG players may recoil in horror at some of the game's old school peculiarities: if two characters have selected the same enemy to attack and the first character defeats that enemy, the second character will simply do nothing and lose a turn -- the early Final Fantasy games also had this quirk. Yet playing DQ II in the context of early 1987, it seems like a mini-masterpiece and huge step forward for RPGs and console games in general.
Other Interesting Games:
Eggerland
The second released from HAL Laboratory, Eggerland manages to be substantially better than Gall Force (covered in Chrontedo 13). HAL had previously released two games for the MSX computers, and the Famicom EggerlandEggerland is a reworking of the second MSX game. One of the best Sokaban type games of this era, Eggerland is creative, clever and sometimes head-bangingly challenging puzzler. HAL would follow this up with lots more titles in the Eggerland/Lolo series.
Esper Dream
Konami's first RPG was released three weeks after Draqon Quest II, and while it pales next to Enix's title, it is an intriguing game which can be appreciated by English speaking gamers thanks to an unoffical translation. Esper Dream is an action RPG in which enemies are visible on the overworld, but still uses a separate battle screen, similar to Ultima III. Eschewing the usual sword and sorcerty theme, Esper Dream takes place in storybook like setting, with enemies such as bugs, fish and chess peices. Oddly, your arsenal includes laser guns and bazookas as well as ESP abilities. At times Esper Dream can stupidly difficult - later enemies can take many, many hits to kill, even with the best weapons. And some attacks are impossible to avoid. As a result, strategy often plays little part in the game - getting through a level will usually depend on if you have a enough max HP or MP to make it to the boss.
Mickey Mouse
One of the few non-Capcom Disney games of this era, Mickey Mouse was developed and released in Japan by Hudson. By 1988, Capcom had already inked their deal with Disney, and Mickey Mouse ended up being released by Capcom in the US, under the name Mickey Mousecapade. Strangely, either Hudson or Capcom changed many of the enemy sprites for the US release. On first glance, Mickey Mouse appears to be a rather simple platorm game, something the kids can enjoy. However, it soon reveals itself to be sadistically tough at times, perhaps to compensate for the shortness of the game. Unfortunatley, though it is a better than average Famicom platformer, Mickey Mouse is not quite as good as it should be. Once again, Hudson is phoning it in for a game based on a licensed property.
The Bottom of the Barrel
Shin Jinrui: The New Type
The other Hudson release this episode is almost a complete disaster: a land based shoot-em-up that reminds me of Square's terrible King's Knight. The one notable thing about Shin Jinrui, aside from the title, is that it is the sole game published by Rix Soft. I have no idea how Hudson got mixed up with them, but Rix Soft turns out to be a short lived software division of Ricoh Elemex, a Japanese manufacturer of precision measuring equipment. Taken in conjunction with Adventure Island and Bonk, I'm beginning to think Hudson has some sort of caveman fetish.
Black Bass
Fishing is not exactly the most exciting sport, and you wouldn't expect a fishing video game to be thrill packed. Black Bass is the Famicom debut from the hideously named publisher Hot B. Aside from giving their company a name that sounds like a deviant sex act or an obscure Southern rapper, Hot B introduced fishing simulations into the world of console gaming. Granted, there were fishing games before this, like Fishing Derby for the 2600. But did Fishing Derby let you chose your lure, pick your spot in the lake to drop your line, or give you a reeling-in mini game? Nope, it was Black Bass that first gave us a gritty, realistic fishing video game. Not included: 6-pack of warm Schlitz.
Ultraman -Kaijuu Teikoku no Gyakushuu
This dull, unimaginative, sidescrolling platformer helps demonstrate has stagnant the genre was
becoming, less than a year and a half after Super Mario Bros. Marginally worse than the Tose developed Pocket Saurus; Ultraman makes this list due to the sloppy programming.
Also this episode:
Famicom Golf Japan Course - Another sports title from Nintendo, and a virtual remake of their earlier Golf, courtesy of HAL Laboratory.
Hiryu no Ken - Weird beat-em-up/platformer/fighting game hybrid from Culture Brain. The platforming sections are terrible, but the fighting levels are decent.
Nazoler Land - Jesus, another awful game from Sunsoft. This time it's a "magazine" title, which means Nazoler Land 2, 3, etc will follow shortly.
Ikanari Musician - No relation to Ikari Warriors, this is a very simple music program. With rabbits.
Marchen Veil - Port of 1985 Japanese computer game with a fantasy theme. It'd be nice to see an English translation of this, but I very much doubt this will turn out to be a lost classic.
Super Lode Runner - Wow. Another Lode Runner game, this time from Irem. Funny how almost every pre R-Type game from Irem turns out to be a little lame.
Pocket Zaurus: Ju Ouken no Nazo - You are transformed into a bowtie and glasses wearing dinosaur and must travel back in time to 10,000,000 BC. Then you move to the right and jump over stuff. Courtesy of Bandi and Tose.
Family Trainer Aerobics Studio/Dance Aerobics - Yet another Family Trainer game from Bandai, released in the US by Nintendo for the Power Pad. Don't worry, there's only a few dozen more of these to go.
And that is it! Check back next time for Chronsega Episode 2, featuring 15 games from August 1986 to February 1987. Then its back to the Famicom with Chrontendo Episode 16, featuring... a couple more cool Konami games.
Download or stream Chrontendo Episode 15 here.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Chronsega Episode One is here!
Wow! An exciting new era for Chrontendo begins today. For we are broadening our scope to little to take in the other home console of the 8-bit era: the Sega SG-1000 Mark III aka the Sega Master System! Yep, Chrontendo presents -- Chronsega Episode 1.
A superior console on a purely technical level, the Master System failed to make much of a dent in Nintendo's market share in the US and Japan. However, the system was successful in Europe, Australia and Brazil and actually had a fairly long lifespan, from 1985 to 1998. The main culprits for the Master System's failure to make an impact on US consumers are usually given as exceptionally bad marketing (the Master System games had notorioulsy awful cover art in the US) and lack of third party support. Virtually every major Japanese game developer/publisher had already thrown their lot in with Nintendo. Due to Nintendo's restrictive contracts, they were prevented from dealing with Sega. During the system's Japanese and US lifespan, almost every game was released by Sega themselves.
And, of course, the Master System was not known for having a lot of good games. Whereas Nintendo threw all their effort in the Famicom, during the 80s Sega seemed like an arcade game manufacturer that just happened to make a few console games on the side. The original titles for the Master System were not always top-shelf Sega. On that note, let's take a look at the 15 games covered in Chronsega Episode 1. These games span October 1985 through July 1986. Keep in mind that during this same time period, we were seeing such pioneering titles as Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest being released for the Famicom.
Fantasy Zone
Surprisingly, Sega released very few arcade ports during its first 10 months of existence. The best Mark III/Master System this game turns out to be a port of their almost brand new 1986 arcade title. A horizontal shoot-em-up, Fantasy Zone is, along with Konami's Twinbee, one of
the first cute-em-up games: shooters that replace the typical military or sci-fi themes with silly, cute enemies and environments. While Fantasy Zone is definitely charming and cute, it is isn't actually a humor game, the way Twinbee or Parodius are. Humorous cute-em-ups tend to insert mundane objects into bizarre, inappropriate settings. For example many of the enemies in Twinbee are household objects, or in Hudson's Star Parodier, your ship is actually a PC Engine console! Fantasy Zone, on the other hand, exists in a coherent fantasy setting, albeit an usually colorful and cutesy one.
The game itself is surprisingly good for an 8-bit shooter; certainly miles above the other two shooters this episode. While some graphical elements from the arcade version needed to be eliminated, the Mark III Fantasy Zone still looks great. And it features some of the biggest and most creative bosses seen in a console game so far.
Hang-On
A port of Yu Suzuki's 1985 arcade game, Hang-On was a launch title for the Mark III. Certainly, the game shows off system's capabilities, with its fast, smooth, sprite based 3-D effects. Granted, the game loses something in the translation, since you are not playing while sitting on a motorcycle as in the arcade version, but the Mark III Hang-On is still a fun little racing game.
Comical Machine Gun Joe
A short arcade style shooting game, Machine Gun Joe is a pleasant time killer. It features an early version of the mechanic found in Cabal; your fedora and trench coat clad character is
free to move horizontally along the bottom on the screen. Enemies appear in the background/top half of the screen, spraying bullets down upon you. This game is a good example of the Japanese humor game aesthetic: while Machine Gun Joe has an ostensible gangster theme, various incongruous elements are thrown in. Enemies include pigs, giant spiders, schoolgirls, and Joe travels from docks and dive bars to a wooded fairyland.
Ghost House
I suppose the fact that such an average game as Ghost House made this episode's "good games" list says a lot about the quality of the Mark III's early releases. Ghost House is a typical arcade style platformer, distinguished only by its horror theme. While this was released a few months before Castlevania, it is not anywhere near as unique, exciting or well-designed as Konami's game. Games such as Ghost House give the impression that Sega was putting most of
its resources into its arcade titles, and relegating second-tier game ideas to the Mark III.
The Bottom of the Barrel Games:
Seishun Scandal/My Hero
This prototypical beat-em-up, developed by Coreland (later known as Banpresto), worked fine as an arcade game. However, something went seriously wrong with the Mark III version. Three out the four levels were scrapped, and the difficulty level shot sky-high. In the arcade game, your character could cut through punks like a hot knife through butter; in the home version, coming in contact with an enemy will frequently result in the enemy getting the first hit in. Considering that a single hit will kill you, this is serious problem. Come to think of it, maybe one-hit-deaths in beat-em-ups is a bad idea.
Satellite 7
Wretchedly dull vertical shooter. Every aspect of Satellite 7 is undistinguished: enemies, power-ups, music, backgrounds. Seriously, this is one of the most generic shooters I've seen, and I've already covered quite a few lame shooters for the Famicom.
Great Soccer
Sega, needing to put some software on the shelves for its new console, published a series of hastily developed sports games, all with "great" in the title. Of the three covered in this episode, Great Soccer, Great Baseball and Great Tennis, the soccer games is probably the worst. All three games are derivative of Nintendo's early sport titles, but Great Soccer features some daaaamn ugly character sprites.
Also:
Astro Flash: Another shooter, released immediatly after Satellite 7. Considerably better, but still not exactly a classic.
Fushigi no Oshiro Pit Pot: This sort of resembles a top down puzzle game such as HAL's Lolo games crossed with Legend of Zelda. That might not be a bad idea, but it this case, it resulted in a remarkably lame release.
F-16 Fighting Falcon: Port of super dull looking MSX flight simulation game. The fact that it requires two controllers to play the game makes it a bit of a drag. This late 1985 release is the first third party developed Mark III title; it was by the US based company Nexa.
Hokuto no Ken/Black Belt: This is about a million times better than the Famicom Hokuto no Ken game released by Toei around the same time. But it's still not very good.
Teddy Boy Blues: The other Sega launch title, and a port of a now forgotten Sega arcade platformer. The odd title comes from a hit Japanese pop single, and the game itself has nothing to do with Teddy Boys.
Gokuaku Doumei Dump Matsumoto/Pro Wrestling: Decent, but frustrating wrestling title. The Japanese version is based on a real female wrestler while the US release features fictional male wrestlers.
Great Baseball/Great Tennis: Just your average everyday mid-80s sports games. These are remarkably similar to Nintendo's Tennis and Baseball, but with slightly better graphics.
I really shouldn't be too hard on Sega; after all, it takes every console a while to hit its stride. On the other hand, this was Sega's second console. They had been releasing games for the old SG-1000 for a few years, and had developing video games since the late '70s, so you would hope they would approach the Mark III as grizzled veterans, not bumbling newbies. But, I have high hopes for Chronsega Episode 2, which will feature one of the Mark III's most respected titles. Look for it shortly after Chrontendo Episode 15.
To stream or download Chronsega Episode 1, go to archive.org.
A superior console on a purely technical level, the Master System failed to make much of a dent in Nintendo's market share in the US and Japan. However, the system was successful in Europe, Australia and Brazil and actually had a fairly long lifespan, from 1985 to 1998. The main culprits for the Master System's failure to make an impact on US consumers are usually given as exceptionally bad marketing (the Master System games had notorioulsy awful cover art in the US) and lack of third party support. Virtually every major Japanese game developer/publisher had already thrown their lot in with Nintendo. Due to Nintendo's restrictive contracts, they were prevented from dealing with Sega. During the system's Japanese and US lifespan, almost every game was released by Sega themselves.
And, of course, the Master System was not known for having a lot of good games. Whereas Nintendo threw all their effort in the Famicom, during the 80s Sega seemed like an arcade game manufacturer that just happened to make a few console games on the side. The original titles for the Master System were not always top-shelf Sega. On that note, let's take a look at the 15 games covered in Chronsega Episode 1. These games span October 1985 through July 1986. Keep in mind that during this same time period, we were seeing such pioneering titles as Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest being released for the Famicom.Fantasy Zone
Surprisingly, Sega released very few arcade ports during its first 10 months of existence. The best Mark III/Master System this game turns out to be a port of their almost brand new 1986 arcade title. A horizontal shoot-em-up, Fantasy Zone is, along with Konami's Twinbee, one of
the first cute-em-up games: shooters that replace the typical military or sci-fi themes with silly, cute enemies and environments. While Fantasy Zone is definitely charming and cute, it is isn't actually a humor game, the way Twinbee or Parodius are. Humorous cute-em-ups tend to insert mundane objects into bizarre, inappropriate settings. For example many of the enemies in Twinbee are household objects, or in Hudson's Star Parodier, your ship is actually a PC Engine console! Fantasy Zone, on the other hand, exists in a coherent fantasy setting, albeit an usually colorful and cutesy one.
The game itself is surprisingly good for an 8-bit shooter; certainly miles above the other two shooters this episode. While some graphical elements from the arcade version needed to be eliminated, the Mark III Fantasy Zone still looks great. And it features some of the biggest and most creative bosses seen in a console game so far.
Hang-On
A port of Yu Suzuki's 1985 arcade game, Hang-On was a launch title for the Mark III. Certainly, the game shows off system's capabilities, with its fast, smooth, sprite based 3-D effects. Granted, the game loses something in the translation, since you are not playing while sitting on a motorcycle as in the arcade version, but the Mark III Hang-On is still a fun little racing game.
Comical Machine Gun Joe
A short arcade style shooting game, Machine Gun Joe is a pleasant time killer. It features an early version of the mechanic found in Cabal; your fedora and trench coat clad character is
free to move horizontally along the bottom on the screen. Enemies appear in the background/top half of the screen, spraying bullets down upon you. This game is a good example of the Japanese humor game aesthetic: while Machine Gun Joe has an ostensible gangster theme, various incongruous elements are thrown in. Enemies include pigs, giant spiders, schoolgirls, and Joe travels from docks and dive bars to a wooded fairyland.
Ghost House
I suppose the fact that such an average game as Ghost House made this episode's "good games" list says a lot about the quality of the Mark III's early releases. Ghost House is a typical arcade style platformer, distinguished only by its horror theme. While this was released a few months before Castlevania, it is not anywhere near as unique, exciting or well-designed as Konami's game. Games such as Ghost House give the impression that Sega was putting most of
its resources into its arcade titles, and relegating second-tier game ideas to the Mark III.
The Bottom of the Barrel Games:
Seishun Scandal/My Hero
This prototypical beat-em-up, developed by Coreland (later known as Banpresto), worked fine as an arcade game. However, something went seriously wrong with the Mark III version. Three out the four levels were scrapped, and the difficulty level shot sky-high. In the arcade game, your character could cut through punks like a hot knife through butter; in the home version, coming in contact with an enemy will frequently result in the enemy getting the first hit in. Considering that a single hit will kill you, this is serious problem. Come to think of it, maybe one-hit-deaths in beat-em-ups is a bad idea.
Satellite 7
Wretchedly dull vertical shooter. Every aspect of Satellite 7 is undistinguished: enemies, power-ups, music, backgrounds. Seriously, this is one of the most generic shooters I've seen, and I've already covered quite a few lame shooters for the Famicom.
Great Soccer
Sega, needing to put some software on the shelves for its new console, published a series of hastily developed sports games, all with "great" in the title. Of the three covered in this episode, Great Soccer, Great Baseball and Great Tennis, the soccer games is probably the worst. All three games are derivative of Nintendo's early sport titles, but Great Soccer features some daaaamn ugly character sprites.
Also:
Astro Flash: Another shooter, released immediatly after Satellite 7. Considerably better, but still not exactly a classic.
Fushigi no Oshiro Pit Pot: This sort of resembles a top down puzzle game such as HAL's Lolo games crossed with Legend of Zelda. That might not be a bad idea, but it this case, it resulted in a remarkably lame release.
F-16 Fighting Falcon: Port of super dull looking MSX flight simulation game. The fact that it requires two controllers to play the game makes it a bit of a drag. This late 1985 release is the first third party developed Mark III title; it was by the US based company Nexa.
Hokuto no Ken/Black Belt: This is about a million times better than the Famicom Hokuto no Ken game released by Toei around the same time. But it's still not very good.
Teddy Boy Blues: The other Sega launch title, and a port of a now forgotten Sega arcade platformer. The odd title comes from a hit Japanese pop single, and the game itself has nothing to do with Teddy Boys.
Gokuaku Doumei Dump Matsumoto/Pro Wrestling: Decent, but frustrating wrestling title. The Japanese version is based on a real female wrestler while the US release features fictional male wrestlers.
Great Baseball/Great Tennis: Just your average everyday mid-80s sports games. These are remarkably similar to Nintendo's Tennis and Baseball, but with slightly better graphics.
I really shouldn't be too hard on Sega; after all, it takes every console a while to hit its stride. On the other hand, this was Sega's second console. They had been releasing games for the old SG-1000 for a few years, and had developing video games since the late '70s, so you would hope they would approach the Mark III as grizzled veterans, not bumbling newbies. But, I have high hopes for Chronsega Episode 2, which will feature one of the Mark III's most respected titles. Look for it shortly after Chrontendo Episode 15.
To stream or download Chronsega Episode 1, go to archive.org.
Episode 14 Is Here and Chrontendo Goes Sega!
Surprisingly enough, Chrontendo Episode 14 is only somewhat behind schedule and available to stream or download at archive.org! An historic episode, this, featuring not one but two big releases from Nintendo themselves, and.... we finally move into the year 1987! I'll undoubtedly come with with some sort of 1986 debriefing/1987 introduction, but that will need to wait for next episode. Episode 14 is simply packed with too much 8-bit goodness/weirdness to fit in any more content. You even get a bonus game! There are 16 instead of 15 this time.
This episode has a pretty densely packed release schedule - 12 games released between 12/19 and 12/26. Publishers were clearly trying to get some product on the shelves before the year's end, regardless of the quality. Thus we have two titles from Kemco on 12/26; one was an odd little text adventure game based on an animated feature film and the other a port of an ultra-obscure platformer originally released for the Atari computer systems. Taito and Nichibutsu both release arcade ports that come with special controls. Capcom ports one of their most recent arcade games while Bandai quickly puts another Family Trainer game on the market. And future Nintendo rival Sony releases their first game for the system, which is naturally based on a Japanese rock band. The first month of 1987 starts off slowly by comparison, but does contain one huge release.
But...there is more big news! Chrontendo has so far been focusing strictly on releases for the Famicom and ignoring all other gaming systems. This is changing as of right now because we will now be covering the Sega Master System/Mark III! That's right, the next episode will actually be Chronsega Episode 1!! We'll begin in October 1985 and continue on through the first half of 1986. Chronsega Ep. 1 will be followed by Chrontendo Ep. 15, and then by Chronsega Ep. 2. At this point, we'll be "caught up" and episodes of Chronsega will appear occasionally. The Master System is virtually a lost system in the US, having sold a fraction of the number of units that the NES did. Since Sega has a pretty good reputation with its later consoles, I'm hoping to find some forgotten gems on the Master System.
Back to business! This episode's gold medal goes to:
Hikari Shinwa - Palutena no Kagami AKA Kid Icarus
Produced by Gunpei Yokoi, Hikari Shinwa (literally "Myth of Light - The Mirror of Palutena") is sort of a follow up to Metroid. However, while Metroid focused on exploration and item gathering in a large, non-linear setting, this game is more action based and straightforward. Most levels are completely linear, though usually vertically orientated. In between each "world" is a maze-like fortress level, which are structured like side-view versions of Zelda's dungeons. Hikari is definitely not the classic that Metroid was, but still manages to be a solid, fun and occasionally very difficult platformer. One major issue is the curiously inverted difficulty level. Your character Pit starts off very weak, with almost no attack power and a short life bar. As Pit obtains new weapons throughout the game he gradually changes into an unstoppable killing machine. The final level is a cakewalk compared to the first. Regardless, Hikari Shinwa still stands heads above the other games this episode.
Other titles of note:
Layla
While having absolutely nothing to do with the Derek and the Dominos song, Layla still manages to be a slightly better than average run-and-gun game. It features a Samus Aran like space chick who blows through various asteroid/space station levels, killing everything in sight and picking up ice cream cones and pieces of cake for bonus points. Not to mention weapons and ammo. TONS of weapons and ammo. Layla must be the most well-armed character in video game history, able to carry around blasters, lasers, flamethrowers, bombs, rocket launchers, light sabers, axes, and so on. At a time when Castlevania's two weapon system was still fresh and new, the ability to switch between a dozen or so weapons seems way ahead of its time. If only the gameplay itself was a little more exciting....
Arkanoid
Taito ports their often-copied arcade hit to the Famicom, complete with a special rotary controller. Unfortunately, Konami had just released a very cool Arkanoid copycat called Nazo no Kabe (covered in Chrontendo Episode 13). Arkanoid's main strength/weakness is the special controller. Having the controller allows you to more replicate the arcade experience, while not having the controller renders the game virtually unplayable.
Seikima II
OK, OK! So Seikima II is not a good game! It is still the wackiest game this episode, and thus earns an honorable mention. The Famicom debut from Sony (but not first video game from Sony - they had been releasing games for Japanese computer systems such as the MSX for a little while), Seikima II is based on a black leather, spikes and make-up encrusted Japanese rock band that was popular in the 80s. Incidentally, this game is not a sequel; the band's name is actually "Seikima II." The game itself is a pretty standard platformer. You play as Seikima II's singer, collecting money and objects, avoiding enemies, and buying items in shops.
The Legend of Zelda 2 - Link no Bouken/Zelda 2 - The Adventures of Link
The last game covered this episode in the famously disappointing Zelda 2. The black sheep in the Zelda family (unless you count the CD-i games, but most Zelda fans simply ignore the existence of those), The Adventures of Link radically alters the formula that made the first game one of the most successful titles for the Famicom. The sequel adds some RPG elements - experience points, spells, random monster attacks, villages, NPCs that request your assistance - while removing the money and shops. Additionally, much of the sense of exploration and adventure has been removed from the game, and the overworld is laid out in a much more linear fashion. But the most commented on change in Zelda 2 is the switch from an overhead to a side view for all the action segments of the game. While this isn't necessarily a bad idea, the execution is far from perfect. The dungeons tend to be on the boring side, and many of the enemies are incredibly annoying. Additionally, some enemies do not yield experience points when killed! Judged on its own merits, Zelda 2 is a good, but flawed game. Compared to its predecessor, however, it can't help but be a let down.
This episode's brown medals go to:
Cosmo Genesis/Star Voyager
This Star Raiders clone from ASCII adds a few new elements to the formula, but still suffers from poor execution. Granted, Cosmo Genesis is not terrible, but nevertheless ends up being the worst game this episode. While Episode 14 does contain a few uninspired games, there's really nothing this time to compare to Super Monkey or Convoy no Nazo. Or course, Cosmo Genesis was still bad enough to catch the eye of Acclaim, who released it in the US as Star Voyager.
Tatakai no Banka/Trojan
After releasing a string of early classics such as 1942, Commando and Ghosts 'n Goblins, Capcom unleashed this dud. A side-scrolling futuristic beat-em-up, Trojan simply fails to capture the magic of those earlier titles. Again, Trojan is not a really terrible game, but it is a pop fly that arrives after a series of home runs.
This episode's utterly puzzling game:
Moeta Princess - Puzzling Zelda-like adventure game, heavy on the Japanese
The Rest:
Toki no Tabito: Time Stranger - Very simple text adventure game from Kemco.
Electrician - Another oddity from Kemco, this is a port of an old Atari computer game.
Dragon Buster - Port of Namco's ahead-of-its-time fantasy themed arcade game.
Hi no Tori: Wagaou no Bouken - A licensed property from Konami, based on an Osamu Tezuka manga.
Mahjong Goku - The third Mahjong game for the Famicom. It won't be the last.
Crazy Climber - Port of Nichibutsu's arcade classic, which requires a special controller.
Family Trainer: Running Stadium - Another game in Bandai's Family Trainer series.
Labyrinth - Action adventure game based on the Henson/Lucas film. This Tokuma Shoten
release is completely different than the LucasArts game, and is possible developed by Atlus!
As always, Chrontendo Episode 14 may be downloaded at archive.org here.
This episode has a pretty densely packed release schedule - 12 games released between 12/19 and 12/26. Publishers were clearly trying to get some product on the shelves before the year's end, regardless of the quality. Thus we have two titles from Kemco on 12/26; one was an odd little text adventure game based on an animated feature film and the other a port of an ultra-obscure platformer originally released for the Atari computer systems. Taito and Nichibutsu both release arcade ports that come with special controls. Capcom ports one of their most recent arcade games while Bandai quickly puts another Family Trainer game on the market. And future Nintendo rival Sony releases their first game for the system, which is naturally based on a Japanese rock band. The first month of 1987 starts off slowly by comparison, but does contain one huge release.
But...there is more big news! Chrontendo has so far been focusing strictly on releases for the Famicom and ignoring all other gaming systems. This is changing as of right now because we will now be covering the Sega Master System/Mark III! That's right, the next episode will actually be Chronsega Episode 1!! We'll begin in October 1985 and continue on through the first half of 1986. Chronsega Ep. 1 will be followed by Chrontendo Ep. 15, and then by Chronsega Ep. 2. At this point, we'll be "caught up" and episodes of Chronsega will appear occasionally. The Master System is virtually a lost system in the US, having sold a fraction of the number of units that the NES did. Since Sega has a pretty good reputation with its later consoles, I'm hoping to find some forgotten gems on the Master System.
Back to business! This episode's gold medal goes to:
Hikari Shinwa - Palutena no Kagami AKA Kid Icarus
Produced by Gunpei Yokoi, Hikari Shinwa (literally "Myth of Light - The Mirror of Palutena") is sort of a follow up to Metroid. However, while Metroid focused on exploration and item gathering in a large, non-linear setting, this game is more action based and straightforward. Most levels are completely linear, though usually vertically orientated. In between each "world" is a maze-like fortress level, which are structured like side-view versions of Zelda's dungeons. Hikari is definitely not the classic that Metroid was, but still manages to be a solid, fun and occasionally very difficult platformer. One major issue is the curiously inverted difficulty level. Your character Pit starts off very weak, with almost no attack power and a short life bar. As Pit obtains new weapons throughout the game he gradually changes into an unstoppable killing machine. The final level is a cakewalk compared to the first. Regardless, Hikari Shinwa still stands heads above the other games this episode.
Other titles of note:
Layla
While having absolutely nothing to do with the Derek and the Dominos song, Layla still manages to be a slightly better than average run-and-gun game. It features a Samus Aran like space chick who blows through various asteroid/space station levels, killing everything in sight and picking up ice cream cones and pieces of cake for bonus points. Not to mention weapons and ammo. TONS of weapons and ammo. Layla must be the most well-armed character in video game history, able to carry around blasters, lasers, flamethrowers, bombs, rocket launchers, light sabers, axes, and so on. At a time when Castlevania's two weapon system was still fresh and new, the ability to switch between a dozen or so weapons seems way ahead of its time. If only the gameplay itself was a little more exciting....
Arkanoid
Taito ports their often-copied arcade hit to the Famicom, complete with a special rotary controller. Unfortunately, Konami had just released a very cool Arkanoid copycat called Nazo no Kabe (covered in Chrontendo Episode 13). Arkanoid's main strength/weakness is the special controller. Having the controller allows you to more replicate the arcade experience, while not having the controller renders the game virtually unplayable.
Seikima II
OK, OK! So Seikima II is not a good game! It is still the wackiest game this episode, and thus earns an honorable mention. The Famicom debut from Sony (but not first video game from Sony - they had been releasing games for Japanese computer systems such as the MSX for a little while), Seikima II is based on a black leather, spikes and make-up encrusted Japanese rock band that was popular in the 80s. Incidentally, this game is not a sequel; the band's name is actually "Seikima II." The game itself is a pretty standard platformer. You play as Seikima II's singer, collecting money and objects, avoiding enemies, and buying items in shops.
The Legend of Zelda 2 - Link no Bouken/Zelda 2 - The Adventures of Link
The last game covered this episode in the famously disappointing Zelda 2. The black sheep in the Zelda family (unless you count the CD-i games, but most Zelda fans simply ignore the existence of those), The Adventures of Link radically alters the formula that made the first game one of the most successful titles for the Famicom. The sequel adds some RPG elements - experience points, spells, random monster attacks, villages, NPCs that request your assistance - while removing the money and shops. Additionally, much of the sense of exploration and adventure has been removed from the game, and the overworld is laid out in a much more linear fashion. But the most commented on change in Zelda 2 is the switch from an overhead to a side view for all the action segments of the game. While this isn't necessarily a bad idea, the execution is far from perfect. The dungeons tend to be on the boring side, and many of the enemies are incredibly annoying. Additionally, some enemies do not yield experience points when killed! Judged on its own merits, Zelda 2 is a good, but flawed game. Compared to its predecessor, however, it can't help but be a let down.
This episode's brown medals go to:
Cosmo Genesis/Star Voyager
This Star Raiders clone from ASCII adds a few new elements to the formula, but still suffers from poor execution. Granted, Cosmo Genesis is not terrible, but nevertheless ends up being the worst game this episode. While Episode 14 does contain a few uninspired games, there's really nothing this time to compare to Super Monkey or Convoy no Nazo. Or course, Cosmo Genesis was still bad enough to catch the eye of Acclaim, who released it in the US as Star Voyager.
Tatakai no Banka/Trojan
After releasing a string of early classics such as 1942, Commando and Ghosts 'n Goblins, Capcom unleashed this dud. A side-scrolling futuristic beat-em-up, Trojan simply fails to capture the magic of those earlier titles. Again, Trojan is not a really terrible game, but it is a pop fly that arrives after a series of home runs.
This episode's utterly puzzling game:
Moeta Princess - Puzzling Zelda-like adventure game, heavy on the Japanese
The Rest:
Toki no Tabito: Time Stranger - Very simple text adventure game from Kemco.
Electrician - Another oddity from Kemco, this is a port of an old Atari computer game.
Dragon Buster - Port of Namco's ahead-of-its-time fantasy themed arcade game.
Hi no Tori: Wagaou no Bouken - A licensed property from Konami, based on an Osamu Tezuka manga.
Mahjong Goku - The third Mahjong game for the Famicom. It won't be the last.
Crazy Climber - Port of Nichibutsu's arcade classic, which requires a special controller.
Family Trainer: Running Stadium - Another game in Bandai's Family Trainer series.
Labyrinth - Action adventure game based on the Henson/Lucas film. This Tokuma Shoten
release is completely different than the LucasArts game, and is possible developed by Atlus!
As always, Chrontendo Episode 14 may be downloaded at archive.org here.
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