UFO 50 is a remarkable release: a compilation of 50 “fake retro” games for an imaginary games console, developed by Derek “Spelunky” Yu, Ojiro “Downwell” Fumoto and several others.
The concept behind it is that a hitherto-unknown ’80s gaming system, known as the UFO Soft LX, has been discovered, and you are now rummaging through a pile of 50 disks for it, each containing a game. The LX is similar in capabilities to the Famicom Disk System, with a distinctive 32-colour palette available to it — though Yu and company have made some concessions to modern players by eliminating elements such as slowdown or sprite flicker, as well as allowing each game to be presented in widescreen.
The interesting thing about UFO 50 is that each of its component games has been fully developed and fleshed out rather than just being a minigame. So I thought it might be a worthwhile experience to explore each of them in turn. Let’s begin with the very first game in the collection, Barbuta, which supposedly dates back to 1982. Hit the jump to find out more.
