Retro XP

@retroxp.bsky.social

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The retro video games newsletter of @marcnormandin.bsky.social

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The Gee Bee pinball and brick breaker-style games didn't get Namco the breakout (sorry) hit they were looking for. But Gee Bee was their first in-house release, Bomb Bee their first partnership with Nintendo, and Cutie-Q their first "character" game. Which led to a little guy known as Pac-Man.

XP Arcade: Cutie-Qretroxp.substack.com Cutie-Q, a hybrid Breakout-style virtual pinball arcade game, is the best entry in a very important series of Namco's.

Enix didn't start publishing abroad until Dragon Quest was already a hit, so for the last nearly 40 years those of us outside of Japan have been robbed of Door Door's tightly designed action maze gameplay

Did you know that Chunsoft took its name from the main character of a pre-Chunsoft game made by its founder, Koichi Nakamura? And that this game, Door Door, was developed for a contest held by Enix to find programmers and games worth investing in? Even better: the game itself is still great fun.

Re-release this: Door Doorretroxp.substack.com The game that launched a company that made a bunch of other games that North Americans have actually played before.

This isn't a "Re-Release This" entry, but it could have been. It's 2024, and it's still time for Klax, Warner.

Klax is a falling block match three puzzler from 1990, featuring 100 challenge-based levels. It's one of Atari Games' finest outings, and while it was ported to basically everything in existence for a good decade or so, nowadays, Warner Bros. Interactive mostly seems to have forgotten it exists.

XP Arcade: Klaxretroxp.substack.com It is 2024, and there's still time for Klax

It's the Georgia thing.

With the Perfect Dark revival in the news again, I returned to the last time Microsoft attempted a successor. Perfect Dark Zero is probably better than you remember! But what does that mean, exactly? And am I more annoyed about the new haircut or the Georgia thing?

Retro spotlight: Perfect Dark Zeroretroxp.substack.com Let's look at the last time Microsoft tried to make Perfect Dark their own.

Seriously, though. Necromancer Gauntlets.

Once the world had DOOM in it, that meant it also had room for games made using a modified DOOM Engine, like Raven Software's Heretic. In plenty of ways, this was DOOM: The Dark Ages decades before that game was announced. Also: Necromancer gauntlets.

Retro spotlight: Hereticretroxp.substack.com id wasn't alone in making first-person shooters with the DOOM Engine for very long, though, they did publish another company's effort, with one of their key figures producing.

Wrecking Crew '98 was a Japan-exclusive for decades, which was a loss for everyone outside of Japan, considering. A la Donkey Kong '94, this revival of an 80s property goes big, taking the spirit of its predecessors while adding in genre developments made since, creating something new out of it all.

It's new to me: Wrecking Crew '98retroxp.substack.com Nintendo went back to before Mario was a plumber for this revival sequel, and completely changed not just the game, but the genre it was in, in the process.

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Nintendo announced that Four Swords would come to Nintendo Switch Online with online play, reminding me that HAL's Revenge of the 'Gator deserves that, too, unlike its 3DS release where Match Play was simply disabled. Oh, and 'Gator's pinball is real good, too!

Re-release this: Revenge of the 'Gatorretroxp.substack.com Another 3DS Virtual Console release that would, at the least, make sense on Nintendo Switch Online.

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It's pretty funny that there's a softball game out there titled I Love Softball, but anyone who bothers to play softball feels that way about the sport, so I get it. This Famicom exclusive picked up an unofficial translation a few years back, so I took a look at what was on offer.

Retro spotlight: I Love Softballretroxp.substack.com Softball doesn't get nearly as many video games as baseball, but 1989 brought us one, at least in Japan.

Just like its predecessor, Moon Cresta, worked off of Namco's Galaxian, Terra Cresta based itself off of Xevious. And the result was, again, something very different from the game it took inspiration from, in both design and gameplay. Oh, and the soundtrack rules, too.

Past meets present: Terra Crestaretroxp.substack.com The Cresta franchise has been dormant for some time, and it looks like its revival will use its oldest, best entries as a jumping off point.

Kirby's Adventure was the second game, not the first, in this now long running franchise, but it established so much of what has persisted throughout. Like, what color Kirby is, and copying enemy powers, and releasing very late in a platform's life cycle after everyone had moved on.

30 years of Kirby: Kirby's Adventureretroxp.substack.com Kirby's console debut has a history worth exploring, as does its later portable remake.

Demon's Crest marked the SNES debut of the Gargoyle's Quest subseries, and also its end: it was an infamous flop. It was also a killer action platformer with some light pathfinder elements that encouraged exploration, though, and this underappreciated Capcom gem holds up 30 years later.

It's new to me: Demon's Crestretroxp.substack.com The third and final game of the Gargoyle's Quest spin-off series meaningfully changes the formula and naming convention, while still very much fitting in with its predecessors.

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Decided to check out an FPS I missed the first time around: Criterion Games' Black. Sure, the term "gun-porn" makes me twitch, but the visuals pushed the PS2 and Xbox in 2006, and the sound design, with its "choir" approach to combat, is truly something.

It's new to me: Blackretroxp.substack.com A developer known for destructive car games made a first-person shooter that also focused on destruction.

Empire Earth, created by Age of Empire's lead designer, jumped from 10,000 years of focused, historical RTS to 500,000 years that included a cybernetic and nano future. It had loads of ambition and plenty of innovation, and holds up over two decades later, too.

Retro spotlight: Empire Earthretroxp.substack.com Age of Empires' lead designer left to form another company, and to make an even more expansive historical RTS in the process.

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Revisited the WiiWare exclusive MaBoShi's Arcade, from the mind of Mikito Ichikawa and his studio, Mindware, while also giving a bit of background on those two and their lengthy, wildly influential role in the background of Japanese video game history.

Re-release this: MaBoShi's Arcaderetroxp.substack.com A game released to little fanfare by a developer who didn't release games very often anymore. It deserves another chance.

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Every Golvellius version is different and this one will be in Japanese, but I can still be excited about a Compile gem seeing the light again

MSX2+ Action RPG Golvellius Comes To Nintendo Switch

MSX2+ Action RPG Golvellius Comes To Nintendo Switchwww.timeextension.com Another welcome EGG Console release

Remembering Compile: Golvelliusretroxp.substack.com An action-adventure game with a twist or three.

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With a new Mad Movie movie on the way, let's dive into one of the only Mad Max video games out there: 1990's NES title, known simply as Mad Max. Gray Matter developed the game, which makes a lot of sense when you see what they had already developed before this dip into licensed work.

It's new to me: Mad Maxretroxp.substack.com The first Mad Max game released on the NES back in 1990, and it's kind of a mashup of everything the movies were to that point.

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Sony might not have meant for Crash Bandicoot to be their mascot squaring off with Mario and Sonic, but that's what Naughty Dog wanted. While the original PS1 game had its rough edges, it also worked as the base for superior games to come, and as a launch pad for Sony and Naughty Dog's relationship.

It's new to me: Crash Bandicootretroxp.substack.com Sony's first mascot came from Naughty Dog's first game, and it all feels even further in the past than that phrasing suggests now.

A much different take on the myths of Hades, and one where you don't just play as Herc(ules), either, despite the name of this LucasArts gem.

Reader request: Herc's Adventuresretroxp.substack.com Hercules saying, "Where's the beef?" is going to live in the part of my brain that occasionally leaks non-sequiturs into my consciousness for reasons I'll never understand.

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The original Dead Rising, released in 2006, was one of Capcom's first forays into a next-gen HD experience. Not everyone who played it liked it or even understood it, but hey, now we're in a post-Souls world where roguelikes and repetition are much more accepted. Give Dead Rising another go!

Retro spotlight: Dead Risingretroxp.substack.com The first Dead Rising was one of Capcom's initial truly next-gen HD offerings, and, not to make you feel too old or anything, but that was 18 years ago.

Before the recent remakes of the first few Tomb Raider games came 2007's Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the original developed in the style and with the control scheme of Crystal Dynamics' first go at the series, Legend.

It's new to me: Tomb Raider Anniversaryretroxp.substack.com A remake of Lara Croft's first adventure

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The Blue Crystal Rod wrapped up the mainline series began by The Tower of Druaga a decade earlier. This Super Famicom title isn't a challenging action game like its predecessors, but is instead an adventure game where you try to prove humanity deserves to see heaven. There are 48 possible endings!

It's new to me: The Blue Crystal Rodretroxp.substack.com The main line of Namco's Babylonian Castle Saga of groundbreaking role-playing and action games wraps up with something out of left field.

If you're into old-school RPGs, Phantasy Star III and its undeniable, multi-generational ambition are capable of scratching that itch for you. Just don't expect it to be on par with the all-time greats from the same series that flank this one.

Retro spotlight: Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doomretroxp.substack.com The black sheep of the original Phantasy Star games is loaded with ambition and skill, but it's the odd one out for a reason, too.

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The original Yakuza is much more than just a seed being planted for a long-running series: this already felt like what Yakuza would come to be known for in many important ways. Well, outside of a notoriously messy localization and dub that messed with these important pillars.

Retro spotlight: Yakuzaretroxp.substack.com The original Playstation 2 version of Yakuza remains fun, but it's the idiosyncratic bits that stand out 18 years later.

Think the SNES library is strong? Start playing Super Famicom-exclusive games like the action-platformer Magical Pop'n, and you realize there's far, far more quality 16-bit games for Nintendo's system than you knew.

It's new to me: Magical Pop'nretroxp.substack.com Another in a long line of quality games that never made it outside of Japan during the 16-bit era.

Namco never bothered releasing 1986's Famicom puzzle-platformer, Tower of Babel, outside of Japan. In 2023, though, it was added to Nintendo Switch Online, and it's worth seeking out if you (1) have access to the service and (2) want to build staircases and squash priests with the same tools

Past meets present: Mystery Towerretroxp.substack.com Or, The Tower of Babel, as it was originally known in Japan, where it stayed for nearly 40 years before finally releasing worldwide on Nintendo Switch Online.

Super Metroid's music is atmospheric, perfect for the game that it's within. It's also fantastic outside of that original context with the right arrangement, as Metroid Metal's 20 years of work have shown us. @marcnormandin.bsky.social spoke with Stemage, the band's founder, about their music.

The music of Super Metroid and Metroid Metalretroxp.substack.com Super Metroid took the spirit of the original's mood-setting music, added its own unsettling atmosphere, but left enough space for a metal band to thrive on the sound.

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The first Goemon game released in North America, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja, did so poorly sales-wise that its three sequels never made it out of Japan. This here is a classic despite that, though, one now unavailable on modern platforms.

Re-release this: The Legend of the Mystical Ninjaretroxp.substack.com One of the few Goemon games to ever make it out of Japan is also a classic.

The Super Star Wars SNES games aren't really all that much like Star Wars and its sequels, no, but they've still got memorable setpieces, lightsabers, and loads of tense action. BioWare would get to Star Wars' talking bits later on, anyway.

Re-release this: Super Star Wars (trilogy)retroxp.substack.com Certainly not the faithful reproductions of the original films the marketing might have led people to believe they were, but they're still quality run-and-gun games. And absurdly challenging, too.

Ys: Memories of Celceta completely reimagined the fourth Ys entry for modern platforms and gameplay, but it also wasn't as simple as that: there were already multiple, competing versions of Ys IV out there before this one united them into something different than either of them.

It's new to me: Ys: Memories of Celcetaretroxp.substack.com It took a couple of decades, but Nihon Falcom finally made their own version of Ys IV, and it's great.