Tag Archives: retro games

Essentials

Parasol Stars: The Bubble Bobble Everyone Forgets

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At the time of writing, the world is gearing up for a fourth official installment in the Bubble Bobble series.

Wait a minute, I hear you ask, fourth? What happened to the third? I don’t judge you too harshly for asking this question; I know some people who weren’t even aware that Rainbow Islands was the second Bubble Bobble game, so for you to be unaware that there had already been a third one is entirely understandable.

It doesn’t stop it being a huge shame, however, because 1991’s Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III is a wonderful game; one of my all-time favourite single-screen “kill ’em all” platformers, in fact, beaten only by Rod-Land. And yet, for various reasons, very few people either know it exists or remember it.

Continue reading Parasol Stars: The Bubble Bobble Everyone Forgets →

Videos

Atari A to Z: Dan Strikes Back

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After the success of Diamonds, programmer Simon Hunt decided that he wanted to make a sequel using the characters he’d established.

Inspired by the vertical scrolling of Firefleet, another game from English Software, he decided he wanted to expand beyond the original game’s single-screen gameplay, and thus Dan Strikes Back was born.

Digger Dan’s most precious of treasures has been stolen away by the evil Brian the Blob! Can Dan make his way through the many perilous layers of Brian’s vault to reclaim his prize? Probably not, given that I’m in charge, but it’s fun having a go anyway…

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Adventure II

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One of the most interesting things about the retro scene is how these old, supposedly defunct platforms still have plenty of people developing for them.

In some cases, these projects that began as homebrew affairs end up being official follow-ups to established classics, thirty or more years later! Such is the case with Adventure II, which was first released in 2005 as part of the Atari Flashback 2 console.

Mechanically, there’s not much new in Adventure II, but the interesting new map design and cranked up difficulty makes it a distinct experience in its own right!

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Navigation Issues – Final Fantasy I #10

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After last week’s unfortunate adventure in the Earthgift Shrine, the Warriors of Light do their best to get back on track.

However, it’s not quite that simple! Their next destination is concealed in the heart of a complicated labyrinth of rivers and streams… and it turns out that they perhaps weren’t even heading in the right direction in the first place.

Oh well. Those are the perils you sign up for when you take on a less linear RPG!

One-Shots

Nintendo Switch: Modern Console, Gateway to Retro

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Retro gaming has been growing increasingly popular over the course of the last few years; as we move further and further away from gaming’s earliest days, it seems people are becoming more and more keen to know the medium’s roots.

This is absolutely great, as there are lots of different aspects you can explore the history of through retro gaming. You can see how storytelling has developed over the course of numerous generations of RPGs and adventure games. You can see the rise and fall of numerous mechanical genres. You can even see how now-famous creators got started!

There’s a growing problem, however; as retro gaming — and by this I mean “officially sanctioned” retro gaming, rather than the legal grey area that is emulation and ROM downloads — becomes more popular, it also becomes more difficult and more expensive to get involved with.

That is, unless you have a Nintendo Switch.

Continue reading Nintendo Switch: Modern Console, Gateway to Retro →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Welltris

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Tetris is a timeless classic that remains relevant today. Its various sequels and spinoffs, on the other hand, have varied somewhat in how well they’ve persisted over the years.

One such title that has been largely forgotten today is Alexey Pajitnov’s official follow-up to the original Tetris, known as Welltris. Developed in Soviet Russia, ported to a variety of platforms and published by Spectrum Holobyte and Infogrames around the world, Welltris takes Tetris into the third dimension.

It’s a solid game… but you have to approach it very differently to Pajitnov’s more enduring classic!

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Do Not NTR Lu Bu – Warriors Orochi #54

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Of all the things you should not do to Lu Bu — and there are many — I’d say that cuckolding him is pretty high up the list, perhaps just underneath pursuing him.

Still, Diao Chan doesn’t seem to be particularly enamoured with his attitude fighting in Orochi’s forces, and so she decides to defect to the Coalition. Naturally, Cao Pi is more than happy to welcome a new ally to the fold.

Of course, as you might expect, a betrayal of one of the most legendarily powerful warriors in existence is not something one can expect to go all that smoothly…

Announcements, Community

Around the Network

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Hello everyone, apologies that this is a day later than usual, but the weekend was… trying, to say the least.

On the positive side, we recorded a new episode of The MoeGamer Podcast, which should be with you later today on both YouTube and Soundcloud, so please look forward to that; it was a very enjoyable discussion. On the unpleasant side, however, the news of independent games developer Alec Holowka’s passing and the circumstances surrounding his death had a fair amount of emotional resonance for me. I won’t get into the details of that right now, as it’s still a somewhat contentious issue, but I’ll just say that my thoughts and sympathies are with those who were close to Alec at this difficult time.

Anyway. Let’s turn our attention to cheerier things and have a look at what you might have missed last week.

Continue reading Around the Network →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Adventure

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Hey! Listen! Do you like Zelda? If so, then take a moment to give thanks to 1979’s Adventure for Atari.

Adventure is an early example of a top-down action-adventure, and has been cited as an important influence on the development of subsequent titles such as The Legend of Zelda. While it may look primitive today, its abstract graphics, simple sound and straightforward mechanics still do a surprising amount to stir the imagination, even today.

It’s also the first ever game to feature an “Easter Egg” — and it’s all because the programmer Warren Robinett, quite reasonably, decided that he wanted to actually be credited for his hard work!

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Essentials, Taito

Taito Essentials: The Electric Yo-Yo

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One of the nice things about the two Taito Legends compilations on PS2, Xbox and PC (and the separate PSP release, which acts as a kind of “best of” compilation containing elements of both) is that it includes both well-known games and more obscure affairs.

One such example of the latter is The Electric Yo-Yo, an unusual Taito America game from 1982 that is so obscure that it doesn’t even have its own Wikipedia page (shock!). If Giant Bomb’s rather bare-bones page on the game is to be believed, it seems that it wasn’t all that well-received back in the day — but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in MoeGamer’s lifetime, it’s that it’s always worth considering something on its own merits, devoid of its original context and popular reception.

And y’know what? I kinda like The Electric Yo-Yo. I mean, sure, it’s kind of infuriating and I’ve hurled some deeply offensive language at it during my time with it… but I still kinda like it.

Continue reading Taito Essentials: The Electric Yo-Yo →