NES Works: 3-D WorldRunner | Sky Kid
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    3-D WorldRunner & Sky Kid retrospective: Depth-defying debuts | NES Works #052



    (That's "The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner" if you're nasty.) Four—count 'em, four!—companies make their NES debut here before going on to become third-party pillars of the platform. 3-D WorldRunner comes to us courtesy of Squaresoft (they of Final Fantasy fame) and Acclaim (they of, uhhh, Bart Vs. The Space Mutants infamy). Sky Kid is a Namco/SunSoft joint. None of these companies should need any sort of intro for anyone who has a decent familiarity with the NES, and this is where they both get their start on the U.S. side of the console. Nothing inspiring here, but these are the seeds for greater things.
    Hey, now that you've gotten to Pac Man NES, where's that revised version of the Game Boy review?
     
    NES Works: Gauntlet | Pac-Man | R.B.I. Baseball
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    Gauntlet - Pac-Man - R.B.I. Baseball retrospective: Tengen trio | NES Works #053



    Note: Since this video was initially posted to Patreon, historian Kevin Bunch has determined that the earliest mention of these games' release dates appeared in the summer of 1988 (in Computer Entertainer magazine, the only U.S. publication consistently covering console games at the time). So they appear to be totally misplaced in NES Works 1987. Such are the challenges of groping blindly through video game history...

    We take a side excursion into a nebulous place in NES history: Tengen's licensed trio of games from 1987. Or is it 1988? It's hard to say, because there's no firm record of when these games originally shipped. It's always tough to pin down exact American release dates for NES games, since Nintendo of America only officially cites release months... but what happens when Nintendo refuses to acknowledge the existence of a game altogether for political reasons? That's the conundrum that surrounds the first three games released by Atari spinoff Tengen under license by Nintendo—before they went rogue.
     
    NES Works: Stinger
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    Stinger retrospective: Two 'Bee or not two 'Bee? | NES Works #054



    Another Konami shooter arrives, and this one encompasses a little bit of every other shooter to have appeared on the system to date. It's also tied to a long-running series, despite having been renamed in the U.S. So why does no one ever talk about this game? Is it because it was unbearably cute? Or is it because it was overshadowed by its own sibling release a year later?
     
    Game Boy Works Advance: Super Mario Advance
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    We've got yet another platform that Jeremy will never get around to finishing! At least we're starting off strong with a port...of a remake...of a reskin.

    Super Mario Advance retrospective: Blighted by voices | Game Boy Works Advance #001



    A new series begins here to round out the entirety of the Game Boy family's history. At the very least, we'll explore the early days of Game Boy Advance and how Nintendo and their partners brought more than a decade of handheld gaming experience to bear on a system that was (generally) powerful enough to allow them to realize their grander ambitions. As we can see from this very first release for GBA, it was a transitional process....
    Surprised you didn't go about the boosted contrast because of the GBA's lack of backlight, Jeremy.
     
    Game Boy Works Advance: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
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    Castlevania: Circle of the Moon retrospective: I spit on your Graves | Game Boy Works Advance #002



    Yep, it's Halloween, and that means it's time for my annual Castlevania retrospective. This time, we jump forward a decade from Super Castlevania IV...

    For many long-time fans, the big selling point for Game Boy Advance at launch wasn't a kooky Mario port or a throwback F-Zero sequel—it was Konami's first proper attempt at a Symphony of the Night follow-up in the form of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Circle absolutely blew away anything that had ever been created to that point for a handheld system, with stunning music and great-looking graphics.

    Unfortunately, Circle wasn't without its shortcomings—some resulting from questionable game design choices, and others resulting from issues with the GBA hardware itself. This tiny metroidvania juggernaut wasn't quite the grand slam it could and should have been, but don't let its flaws distract from the fact that this was an unparalleled feat in portability back in 2001.
     
    Metroidvania Works: Pitfall II: Lost Caverns
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    I was really hoping I wouldn't have to type up this stupid word again.

    Pitfall II retrospective: Get Lost | Metroidvania Works #007



    The sequel to Pitfall! gives us an even more expansive world to explore than pioneers like Montezuma's Revenge: A system of underground caverns comprising roughly 250 screens of virtual real estate. Sure, about 50 of those screens amount to columns of empty air, but the underlying concept has merit. Pitfall II downplayed white-knuckle action in favor of unraveling the pathways and interconnections of its subterranean world in order to explore every corner, score points, and complete an objective.

    Also in this episode, we check in on the progress of the action RPG genre with Falcom's Dragon Slayer and T&E Soft's Hydlide.
     
    NES Works: Deadly Towers
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    Deadly Towers retrospective: Myer lemon | NES Works #055



    While NES Works normally focuses on contextualizing NES games (especially those from Japan) by defining their place in contemporary video game history, and by explaining the state of the industry at the time of their initial creation (and subsequent release into the U.S., when applicable), sometimes exceptions must be made. Here we have one of those cases. While it's certainly worth understanding the import-only works that inspired Deadly Towers's genesis, a significant portion of this game's legacy came about more than a decade—or even two decades—after its U.S. debut. Here we see that sometimes a game is not nearly so remarkable as the conversation that springs up around it.
     
    NES Works: Tiger-Heli | Star Voyager
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    Tiger-Heli & Star Voyager retrospective: Micro(nics)aggressions | NES Works #056



    A double-header from Acclaim this week, which isn't as bad as you might expect given the publisher's track record. Neither of these games are particular standouts, but neither will have you praying for the sweet release of death, either. Tiger-Heli is a decent-ish adaptation of a decent-ish arcade shooter, and Star Voyager... well, it's ambitious, but not especially good. There were far better NES games, but there were certainly much worse as well.
     
    Game Boy Works Color: Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
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    Well, if neither of you are gonna post today's episode, I guess I will myself.

    Turok 2: Seeds of Evil retrospective: Jurassic parkour | Game Boy Works Color #008



    A quick bit of backpeddling here to catch a launch title I missed: Acclaim's Turok 2, which was only a launch title in Europe (that most poorly documented of regions for console releases). You may think a 64-bit first-person shooter would be a poor fit for the Game Boy Color, but to its creators' credit, the game does its best. Not exactly a timeless classic, but surprisingly playable despite its glaring flaws.

    Video Works is funded through Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite)—sup... the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! And be sure to check out the Retronauts podcast (http://www.retronauts.com), where I (and many others!) tackle a much wider array of classic gaming topics each week.
     
    Game Boy Works Advance: F-Zero: Maximum Velocity | Napoleon
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    F-Zero: Maximum Velocity & Napoleon: Liberté, égalité, vélocité | Game Boy Works Advance #003



    The second and third of Nintendo's first-part releases at the GBA's Japanese launch go under the microscope here as we examine F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (a reversion of the franchise to its original Super NES style) and Napoléon, AKA L'Aigle de Guerre (a real-time strategy game, sort of). By embracing the speediest and deepest of 16-bit genres, they help reinforce just what a big deal GBA was at the time of its launch—a proper home console experience on the go! That you could barely see. But hey. Details.



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    NES Works: Stadium Events | Winter Games
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    Stadium Events & Winter Games retrospective: Worth its weight in gold medals | NES Works #057



    The holiest of NES holy grails arrives this week: Stadium Events by Human Entertainment and Bandai. This game is worth relatively little in its European release, and has almost zero value in its reissued "World Class Track Meet" version. But stumble across the original U.S. release and you've basically paid for your retirement. Special thanks to Steve Lin for allowing me to include actual photography of this rarity here.

    For contrast, the backup feature: Winter Games, a complete botch job of the PC sports classic by Epyx. It has no intrinsic value, either as a game or as a collector's item.

    Next time:

     
    NES Works: The Tower of Druaga
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    The Tower of Druaga retrospective: Green around the Gils | Game Boy Works #115



    We're briefly jumping one month out of chronological order here in 1990, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 31, to look at a game that keeps showing up in Video Works: Namco's The Tower of Druaga. While admittedly it's the arcade game from 1984 and the Famicom port from 1985 that keep getting mention for their formative impact on Japanese games design (rather than this port from five or six years later), this is a more or less direct conversion of the original with a few quality-of-life tweaks. Anyway, with this episode in the can, I don't have to explain The Tower of Druaga every time I reference it. We all win.
     
    NES Works: Batman: The Video Game
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    Could you have at least waited until I or someone else posted the video first?

    Batman: The Video Game retrospective: Wayne of terror | NES Works #168



    Hmmm... another out-of-sequence video, though this one is vastly moreso than Tower of Druaga. Batman hit the U.S. two and a half years after our current point in NES Works (Feb 1990 vs. Sept. 1987). But this episode is by patron request as a Christmas gift for his wife, so how can ya say no to that? (You, too, can make similarly heartwarming requests as a video patron: http://www.patreon.com/gamespite)

    Two years clearly made a huge difference in terms of design, tech, and sophistication. Batman is a far cry from the kinds of games we've been looking at on NES Works. In fairness, it's one of the strongest NES releases from 1990, but the design skills and underlying tech boosts required for this game simply didn't exist in 1987. The 1989 Batman film was a huge media event, and for many kids this detailed, challenging game (bursting as it was with excellent music and quirky but tight controls) was the highlight of that marketing blitz.

    Tired: Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
    Wired: Die Hard isn't a Christmas movie, but Batman Returns is.
    Super Wired: Eyes Wide Shut is the ONLY Christmas movie.
     
    NES Works Gaiden: Metal Storm Collector's Edition
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    Metal Storm CE review: A flippin' classic | NES Works Gaiden #010



    Let's kick off the new year by looking at 2020's hottest NES release: A reissue of Irem classic Metal Storm by Retro-Bit Entertainment (and Castlemania Games, and Limited Run Games, and so on). While Metal Storm came out in U.S. back in the day, this rerelease is actually a new conversion of the Japanese game that shipped a year after America's cart and included some new features, including an introductory story cinematic, new difficulty settings, different color schemes for many graphics, and some handy built-in cheat codes. It's new! And old! It's good.

    Special thanks to Retro-Bit for this review copy. Preorders for this new version of the game are still available at https://castlemaniagames.com/collecti...
     
    NES Works: Double Dribble | Ring King
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    CORNER 3...and other tired corner jobs-JOKES!

    Double Dribble & Ring King retrospective: Three-point arena shooter | NES Works #058



    NES Works continues (properly back in the year 1987 once again) with another pair of sports games. One is quite good, and the other... is not only kinda bad, but it also means lots of people are going to leave tired jokes about blowjobs here, because there's no 20-year-old Seanbaby joke that isn't made even better by being left as a drive-by YouTube comment.

    I will say this for Ring King, though: At least it has an exhibition mode, which means I didn't actually have to play it while recording footage. Quite considerate of Data East, really.
     
    NES Works: Spy Hunter | Alpha Mission
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    Spy Hunter & Alpha Mission retrospective: Shoot the snore | NES Works #059



    SunSoft returns to NES with their first internally developed game for the U.S., though like this episode's back-up feature (Alpha Mission) the game in question (Spy Hunter) actually hails from the arcades. Neither of these vertical shooters offer much in the way of a compelling reason to play them, aside from a pretty good take on the Peter Gunn theme in Spy Hunter. Don't worry, though. SunSoft will get a lot better. And SNK.. will get a little better, at least on NES.
    Really, there was no other Spy Hunter games before The Rock one, when there were TWO GAMES (!) released several years prior.


     
    NES Works: Zanac | Lunar Pool
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    Zanac & Lunar Pool retrospective: Greatest hits Compile-ation | NES Works #060



    After a few too many humdrum releases rounding out September 1987, October sees the NES back in proper fighting form with a string of games for the ages. First up, we have the dual debut of legendary developer Compile (under the auspices of FCI) with a pair of lesser-known classics that showcase the unique sensibilities and impressive skills for which the studio would become known.
     
    N64 Works: Wave Race 64
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    Wave Race 64 retrospective: The N64's a-wake-ening | N64 Works #003



    The first post-launch release for N64 proved to be as strong as its two day-one titles. Wave Race 64 arrived mere days after SingleTrac and Sony's Jet Moto, but it felt like a massive leap forward in terms of tech and fluidity. Nintendo's x-treme water racer maximized its sophisticated water programming, creating a series of physically and aesthetically varied tracks that felt like no other racing game before it—and while its frame rate and HUD haven't aged well, it's still a blast to play.
     
    NES Works: Rad Racer
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    Rad Racer retrospective: The silver Star | NES Works #061



    Squaresoft returns with its second game, and its second game to feature 3D tech. This one's a little different than The 3-D Adventures of WorldRunner, though, even if what we saw in American worked the same. Ah, the rabbit hole of Japan-only Famicom add-ons!

    Rad Racer marks the beginning of many things, from the Famicom 3-D System to the career of mad RPG genius Akitoshi Kawazu, but it also brings us to the end of an era. Pour one out for pixellated box art, friends
     
    Game Boy Works Gaiden: Game Boy Camera
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    Game Boy Camera retrospective: Selfie brick | Game Boy Works Gaiden #03



    By request of patron Joseph Wawzonek, this Gaiden episode dives into something that is neither game nor peripheral... it is both. And it is the best. It is... the Game Boy Camera. History's greatest video game gadget! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
     
    NES Works: Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
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    Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! retrospective: Tech knock-out | NES Works #062



    Nintendo's final release for 1987 is one for the ages: A conversion of minor arcade hit Punch-Out!! So how do you port a cutting-edge arcade game to a console that launched a year before the coin-op machine without losing its essence? If you're Nintendo, you create a fancy new microchip specifically for the task; you radically overhaul the game to emphasize precision and readability; and you enlist the support of the most popular athlete in the world. It's a combo that's hard to top—and the results were so strong that it still holds up even without the endorsement of Mike Tyson.

    Special thanks once again to Steve Lin and the Video Game History Foundation (http://www.gamehistory.org) this episode!
     
    NES Works: The Goonies II
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    The Goonies II retrospective: Truffle shufflevania | NES Works #063



    Konami's sixth release for 1987 is interesting in a few ways, not least of which is that NES publishers were supposedly limited to five releases per year. But when you're on fire the way Konami was in 1987, I suppose the rules get a little wobbly. The Goonies II bases its action very (very) loosely on the 1985 movie, but rather than just being some crappy licensed title (like we've seen with M.U.S.C.L.E. or Chubby Cherub), it's one of the most ambitious and complex NES titles to date. It's a bit opaque in the adventure scenes, but despite some parts that haven't aged well, it's... aged pretty well.
     
    NES Works: Super Pitfall
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    Super Pitfall retrospective: Super pitiful | NES Works #064



    While the NES was an improvement over previous console generations in most respects, not everything that showed up on Nintendo's system was a clear winner versus what had come before. Case in point, Super Pitfall: An update of sorts to Pitfall! II, except far, far worse. It's an ambitious reworking of an Atari 2600 classic, but "ambition" doesn't necessarily mean "quality." Another fine mess you've gotten us into, Micronics.
     
    NES Works: Star Force | Side Pocket
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    Star Force | Side Pocket retrospective: The bore 'n the Pocket | NES Works #065



    After an amazing summer and autumn for 1987, the NES is well into its year-end doldrums. Don't worry, we've got some bangers (as the kids say) lined up for the grand finale a few episodes from now, but for the moment it's all tepid, dated games that pale in comparison to superior takes on these genres that have been showing up of late. But please don't give up on NES Works just yet. Did I mention Mega Man is on the way? Because it is.
     
    NES Works: Kid Niki | Gotcha! The Sport
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    Kid Niki & Gotcha! The Sport retrospective: Shinobi shootout | NES Works #66



    Data East (finally) serves up a pretty solid game in the form of Irem's Kid Niki: Radical Ninja, but the real story here is Gotcha!: The Sport. Not only is it the debut release from one of the NES's most questionable publishers, it also very much represents a specific moment in popular and political culture. Gotcha! was based on a movie and a toy line, and its publisher's fortunes were impacted by poor toy sales right as the national conversation began to focus on some unfortunate results from America's gun culture and the early days of the the police's move toward militarization. That's quite a lot to tie to a simple NES Zapper game...

    Thanks to Steve Lin for lending the Kid Niki packaging to this endeavor!
     
    NES Works: Jaws | The Karate Kid
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    Jaws & The Karate Kid retrospective: Let's Just Not | NES Works #067



    Following on from Gotcha!, LJN continues plying the same furrow with two more games based on film properties, developed by Atlus. (Or at least someone pretending to be Atlus, anyway.) Two out of LJN's three 1987 releases are pretty decent, if a bit thin in terms of content, and really only The Karate Kid hints at the kind of crap the company would make its stock in trade over the coming years. Jaws might even be considered genuinely good, if only it had been given a little more time in the oven to allow all its concepts to come together...
     
    NES Works: Top Gun | Breakthru
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    Top Gun & Breakthru review: Take my NES away | NES Works #068



    Two final middling releases for 1987, one of which is based on a licensed property. Yeah, you can definitely see the future of the NES shaping up here. Neither Top Gun or BreakThru is the worst game we've seen, but neither can quite make up its mind as to what it wants to be. Is Top Gun a flight sim or an aerial combat game? Is BreakThru a side-scrolling platformer or a shooter? Rather than feeling like brilliant hybrids, these both just seem a bit muddled...
     
    Game Boy Works Gaiden: Trip World
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    Trip World retrospective: No items, final destination | Game Boy Works Gaiden #03



    This week's sequence break comes to you by a patron request from Joseph Wawzonek and courtesy of Steve Lin of the Video Game History foundation: A look at the highly coveted import-only collector's item Trip World for Game Boy. SunSoft's charming platformer commands a towering reputation for its quality and its unconventional nature, even if it does come off as slight. Here I explore the origins of the game, contemplate the creative aims behind its unique design, and delight in repeatedly pronouncing its protagonist's name.

    Thanks again to Joseph and Steve!
     
    NES Works Gaiden: The Evolution of NES Fandom: An Overview
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    Something a little different this week.

    The Evolution of NES Fandom: An Overview | NES Works Gaiden #11



    By patron request of Brian Larsen, here's something a little different: Rather than look at a single game, this episode takes a wider view of NES culture and fandom, and how fans of the platform have kept the NES alive and vibrant 25 years after its retirement. From the rise of emulation to modern clone platforms, NES devotees continue to make NES accessible and surprising, as this cursory overview explains.
     
    NES Works Gaiden: Mega Man Legends
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    This better not lead to the start of yet another thing you'll never finish, Jeremy.

    Mega Man Legends retrospective: Ten true summers | NES Works Gaiden #12



    I've been taking a different approach to video production while we're all hunkered down for the pandemic. Some people cope with booze or by binge-watching; I cope by making videos about games I love. Case in point: Mega Man Legends for PlayStation, which is well outside the scope of Video Works... but I'm let it kite along in the slipstream of the recent NES Mega Man retrospective. It's an incredible game—a personal favorite. So, please: Just roll with it.
    I should also mention why you didn't bother to correct the "Episode 11" error in the video.

    Another Error: Minions and by large Despicable Me are not by DreamWorks, but Illumination.
     
    N64 Works Gaiden: Final Fantasy VII
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    Final Fantasy VII retrospective: Premake | N64 Works Gaiden #01



    I said we'd be jumping over to N64 Works, and I meant what I said... it's just that it's happening, uh, gradually. In this case, we're defining the shape of N64 by what wasn't there: Specifically, one of the biggest and most popular games of the late '90s. One part historic overview of the business politics of the N64 era, one part look back at the compelling introductory design of Final Fantasy VII's opening chapter, you'd better believe this video was basically just an excuse for me to play a classic game from outside the bounds of the Video Works project in an effort to bolster my spirits during the age of social distancing.


    *Aerith.
     
    Game Boy Works: Battle Bull | Navy Blue 90
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    Battle Bull & Navy Blue 90 retrospective: Not so bullish | Game Boy Works #116



    They say you have to walk before you can run, and in Game Boy Works, we need to slog through some mediocrity before we get to the good stuff. Neither of these games is terrible by any means; Battle Bull feels like an update to Sega's Pengo or Irem's Kickle Cubicle, while Navy Blue 90 is, y'know, Battleship. However, both end up being let down by some questionable creative choices and frustrating technical issues. Neither lives up to its real potential.
     
    Metroidvania Works: Metroid | Vampire Killer | Milon's Secret Castle
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    Metroid / Vampire Killer / Milon's Secret Castle retrospective: Namesake | Metroidvania Works #009



    Finally! The Metroidvania Works series arrives at the games that lent the genre its name... or at least early entries in those games' franchises. Metroid brings us the first real taste of the exploratory action platformer, with a complex world that players unlock and explore by upgrading their hero(ine). Meanwhile, Vampire Killer on MSX adapts the NES classic Castlevania to a PC-style framework with (temporary) item collection and intra-stage exploration. And finally, Milon's Secret Castle applies the "search everywhere for invisible items" philosophy of mid '80s action games to a contiguous, freely traveled world containing multiple self-contained stages. None of these are quite metroidvania games yet... but we're getting there.
     
    N64 Works: Mortal Kombat Trilogy | Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey
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    Mortal Kombat Trilogy & Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey Retrospective: MKUltra | N64 Works #004



    N64 Works shifts into third gear—third-party gear, that is—with a pair of games that I am wholly unsuited to break down. So instead, this episode dives into the history surrounding them: The so-called N64 Dream Team, the checkered relationship between Nintendo and Mortal Kombat, and what this version of Trilogy says about the N64 when held side-by-side against the PlayStation release.
     
    Game Boy Works: RoboCop | Play Action Football
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    RoboCop & Play Action Football retrospective: Gridironman | Game Boy Works #117



    Nintendo publishes a football game, and an arcade hit comes to Game Boy after being filtered through the soupy green monochrome of the Amstrad CPC. They're not great! This is not fulfilling video game content! Let's hurry through and get along to the next. OK, thank you, please drive through.
    Video game version of Nukem when?

    Update: Having actually gotten to watching the episode now, Jeremy does not hold back in relation to brutal pigs being brutal pigs in the RoboCop segment.
     
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    Metroidvania Works: The Wing of Madoola | Relics | Zillion
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    The Wing of Madoola / Relics / Zillion retrospective: Side quest | Metroidvania Works #010



    This week, we take a little bit of a sidebar between the genre's foundational works (that is, Castlevania and Metroid) and the major works ahead in 1987. These games covered in this episode do not constitute critical contributors to the genre; nevertheless, the ideas seen here speak to some solid instincts. We'll see more refined takes on these concepts further along, but for now, here are some noble efforts that don't quite nail it.
     
    N64 Works: Wonder Project J2
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    Wonder Project J2 retrospective: Ai no A.I. | N64 Works #005



    The flip side of Midway's U.S.-oriented releases comes with one of the most unique games ever released for Nintendo 64 in Japan: Givro and Enix's Wonder Project J2. A simulation game of sorts, Wonder Project J2 tasks you with helping to rear a naïve robot girl named Josette, teaching her to become self-sufficient—and to integrate naturally into human society, while also helping to undermine the schemes of a military empire. That's a lot to ask for one waif, and her success is entirely up to you. Anyone who followed the N64 around the time of its launch remembers seeing this game plastered all over English-language magazines and websites, making it one of the best-known N64 titles to remain stranded in Japan.

    Special thanks to "Ryu", whose excellent fan translation made this video possible! Check it out for yourself at https://www.romhacking.net/translations/1074/
     
    Game Boy Works: In Your Face | Koro Dice
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    In Your Face / Koro Dice retrospective: Sham dunk | Game Boy Works #118



    A portable gaming first—the first-ever handheld basketball game cartridge. Sadly, In Your Face is not precisely the game to lead the charge; it's more of a technical foul than anything else. Happily, the backup entry for this episode, Japan-only puzzler Koro Dice, is a pleasant diversion that makes up for it. Was I complaining about Game Boy puzzlers recently? Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking.
     
    NES Works: Renegade
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    Renegade retrospective: Shoulder-tossed in translation | NES Works #071



    The NES's 1988 lineup begins with the debut of a gaming legacy. Renegade gave us both the River City/Kunio franchise AND the Double Dragon franchise, and given what lies ahead in the near future for both NES and Game Boy, we definitely need to have a look into the origins of these brawly species.

    Special thanks this episode to Steve Lin and the Video Game History Foundation.
    No Lorenzo Lamas here.
     
    Game Boy Works Gaiden: Mr. Driller: DrillLand & The History of Mr. Driller
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    Mr. Driller: DrillLand & The History of Mr. Driller | Game Boy Works Gaiden #05



    I had intended to take a deep dive into the history of Mr. Driller once Mr. Driller 2 showed up in Game Boy Works Advance, but then Bandai Namco had to go and remaster the best game in the series before I got there. So I've jumped the gun a bit for this combination retrospective (of the franchise) and review (of Mr. Driller DrillLand). It's terribly self-indulgent and overlong, but I'm afraid that's just how it has to be.

    Special thanks to GSK and Quintin Marcelino for their contributions to this episode, and to Bandai Namco for providing a review code of the U.S. release of DrillLand.
     
    Metroidvania Works: Zelda II | Rygar | The Goonies II
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    Zelda II / Rygar / The Goonies II retrospective: NES is more | Metroidvania Works #11



    The metroidvania genre expanded greatly in 1987 as developers grew more confident in their design concepts and technology began to expand to accommodate their ambitions. Nintendo's Famicom/Disk System/NES platform proved to be especially fertile ground for innovation, as these three different takes on the format demonstrate. While you could arguably classify Zelda II, Rygar, and The Goonies II as action-RPGs, each one interprets that concept in unique ways. The one thing they have in common? They attempt to push the creative boundaries of the 2D platformer by shifting viewpoints and perspective at various times: Zelda II with an abstracted, Dragon Quest-inspired overworld view, Rygar with a Zelda II-style top-down action format, and The Goonies II with a first-person adventure mode.
     
    Metroidvania Works: Romancia | Ys | Legacy of the Wizard | Faxanadu
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    Romancia / Ys / Legacy of the Wizard / Faxanadu retrospective: Falcom Works | Metroidvania Works #12



    Metroidvania games and action-RPGs are closely intertwined, and perhaps no developer had more influence on the shape and direction of action-RPGs like Nihon Falcom. This episode is devoted to their follow-ups to the original Dragon Slayer and Xanadu... as well as an all-new property that would become one of the company's best-loved works. Though not all the games here fall into the metroidvania category, it's hard to deny that style of game would look quiet different without all the essential work Falcom did here.
     
    Game Boy Works Gaiden: Lynx 1989: Blue Lightning | California Games | The Gates of Zendocon | Electrocop | Chip's Challenge
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    Lynx 1989: Blue Lightning / Cali. Games / Zendocon / Electrocop / Chip's Challenge | GBW Gaiden 06



    Game Boy wasn't the most powerful portable on the market back in the early '90s—that was Atari's Lynx. Just what did Atari have to offer gamers in the place of international hits like Mario and Tetris? With this first Lynx-centric overview, we'll look at Nintendo's contemporary handheld competition and see what the most established name in gaming brought to the table for those who weren't content with murky green monochrome or portable platforms that could actually fit in a pocket.

    This first Lynx summary covers the entire 1989 launch lineup of five games: Blue Lightning, California Games, Gates of Zendocon, Electrocop, and Chip's Challenge—all developed by Epyx (the company that had designed the Lynx hardware itself) and published by Atari.

    Since the very beginning of Game Boy Works back in 2014, I've always intended to give air time to Nintendo's competition—if you were to hack into the GBW website database, you'd find Lynx and Game Gear releases tucked away in there, too (please do not hack into the GBW database). As we near the end of Game Boy Works 1990 and the arrival of Sega into the portable market, the Game Boy odyssey simply wouldn't be complete without an overview of what the system was competing with during its lifetime. So, Game Boy Works Gaiden will finally be expanding, as has always been intended, to encompass both Lynx and Game Gear summaries in parallel with the GB launch lineup. These extracurricular activities will show up FAR less frequently than the core episodes, as each Gaiden episode will contain three to five games apiece—and Game Boy saw many times the number of releases that its competitors did in any given year.
    Something, something, small library meaning actual completion of series, yadda, yadda.
     
    Game Boy Works: Double Dragon II | Scotland Yard
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    Double Dragon II & Scotland Yard retrospective: Mean green streets | Game Boy Works #119



    A second Double Dragon release for 1990 lands on Game Boy... except not really. In Japan, Double Dragon II was presented as an expanded remake of the original Renegade—which is to say, Kunio-kun's first adventure. Acclaim and Technos gave it a facelift for western release a year later, turning into a Double Dragon game in name if not in fact. Still, while this "sequel" lacks some fundamental essentials found in the arcade game, it does allow for simultaneous play—so that's something.

    Also this episode: An equally rocky Japan-exclusive conversion of German board game Scotland Yard.

    Special thanks this episode to my nephew Speedy Playz for his help with the two-player video capture. Please subscribe to his channel and help encourage him as he learns to create his own video projects! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrBY...
    'Ello, 'ello, 'ello. What's all this, then?
     
    Game Boy Works Gaiden: Lynx 1990 (1 of 3): Paperboy | Klax | Roadblasters | Gauntlet: The Third Encounter
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    Lynx 1990 (1 of 3): Paperboy / Klax / Roadblasters / Gauntlet Third Encounter | GB Works Gaiden #07



    Our first of third Lynx overviews for 1990 looks at the system's own home-brewed arcade legacy... well, sort of. Here, arcade titles by Atari Games (the game design company) make their way to a system distributed by Atari Corp. (the home computer company). Does the close connection between the two make for memorable coin-op conversions, or is Atari's post-crash selloff a rift that could never be repaired?

    Spoilers: It's the former. These are some excellent handheld adaptations of several popular arcade releases from the late '80s, performing at a technical level that far outstrips anything the Game Boy or Game Gear could manage. The one exception to this rule is the one arcade sequel (sort of) that was originally developed by Epyx as a completely different property. (It shows.)
     
    Game Boy Works: Bubble Bobble | Chibi Maruko-chan
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    Jeremy's fizzog now in frame full time, it seems.

    Bubble Bobble & Chibi Maruko-chan retrospective: Shop 'til you pop | Game Boy Works #120



    Ah, Game Boy: The system that ruled the world on the strength of both its portability and its support for multiplayer gaming. Remember Tetris? Remember Pokémon? Remember F-1 Race and its four-player adapter? So naturally, when Taito brought Bubble Bobble—a cooperative arcade game designed to be played (and only fully completed!) with a second player—to Game Boy, naturally they made heavy use of its link capabilities for teaming up with a friend, right? Uh... right?

    Oh well. At the least the title screen music for this episode's import title rocks hard enough to make you forget your disappointment in Bubble Bobble.

    And yes, this episode I've finally taken advice from years of drive-by commenters and have palced myself briefly on-camera, which is something I've considered doing for ages. We'll see if putting a human face in there makes this series more personable or appealing or whatever to the average viewer. Do people actually want to see THIS particular face? I don't know, but it's the best I can do to obey the rules of gaming YouTube without going full screamy-thumbnail.
     
    Game Boy Works Gaiden: Game Gear 1990 (1 of 4) Columns | Pengo | Super Monaco GT
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    Game Gear 1990 (1 of 4): Columns / Pengo / Super Monaco GP | Game Boy Works Gaiden #08



    As 1990 winds down for Game Boy Works, it's only proper to explore the major competitor that entered the Japanese market that fall: Sega's Game Gear. Where Atari's Lynx was too poorly supported and too region-specific to pose a serious threat to Nintendo's handheld dominance, Game Gear arrived just as Sega began its meteoric 16-bit ascent in the west. And this trio of Japanese launch titles—a set of arcade conversions running the gamut in terms of original vintage and play styles—demonstrates a canny understanding of what made the handheld gaming market tick. It's a strong debut showing for Sega as they positioned themselves to attack Nintendo's grip on the games industry on two fronts at once.

    Special thanks to Stone Age Gamer for helping to make this series possible with their EverDrive-GG X7: https://stoneagegamer.com/everdrive-gg-x7-black.html
     
    NES Works: Karnov
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    Karnov retrospective: Rush 'n attack | NES Works #072



    Coming on the heels of the NES's faithful home conversion of the not-so-faithful arcade localization of Kunio-kun/Renegade, we have Data East's almost-classic Karnov: The tale of a fire-breathing Russian strongman (who is actually dead) out to save the world from a dragon by toting around a ladder. A somewhat strange game in the Ghosts 'N Goblins/Wonder Boy II vein, Karnov doesn't quite hit the mark overall, but its NES conversion is surprisingly strong and includes a few welcome quality-of-life tweaks over the coin-op. As for localization, all we lost in the U.S. was the fact that main character Karnov was a big enough bastard in life to merit personal attention from the Hebrew god Himself.
     
    Game Boy Works Gaiden: Lynx 1990 (2 of 3): Ms. Pac-Man | Rampage | Rygar | Xenophobe
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    Some part of me wants to keep alive 30-year-old fanboy wars by griping how unfair it is for Jeremy's Lynx coverage to wind up as GameBoy Works Gaiden... but of course the actual content gives Lynx its due as a legit threat that just missed the mark. Latest video is up and also is fun: Ms. Pac-Man, Rygar, Rampage, Xenophobe.

    Only one I didn't pick up at the time was Ms. Pac-Man. The other three I beat. I even played all the way through Rampage organically, even though there was a level-select cheat. When you spent all your money on a Lynx for college instead of a GameBoy (color! backlit!), you made sure you got your money's worth.

    Rampage for Lynx as I mentioned has a pretty easy level-select cheat, you just hold one of the option buttons on a certain screen and push left or right to select your city, IIRC. It's also pretty interesting in that it has none of the arcade music, and in fact it's title screen music is the same music from an Epyx C-64 game called The Movie Monster Game which actually featured licensed monsters like Godzilla and look-a-like monsters like The Glog wrecking cities in an isometric perspective.

    This makes Rampage kind of the last Epyx-feeling titles on the system, and the lack of their music talent would help make future releases seem more shallow. I'm enjoying the Lynx GameBoy Gaiden series so far but it did miss a bit of appreciation for that early Lynx music from the Epyx masters of the hardware. If you played with headphones the audio was in stereo, too. Composers Alex Rudis and Robert Vieira really made the system sing.

    Anyways, great Lynx videos Jeremy. Thanks!
    Oh my, way to remind me that there's a new video out.

    Lynx 1990 (2 of 3): Ms. Pac-Man / Rampage / Rygar / Xenophobe | GB Works Gaiden #09



    This episode is all about the number three: Our third Lynx retrospective, and the second of three for 1990, looking at third-party licensed titles for the year. Of which there were... four. Well, close enough.

    Perhaps even more so than the first-party Atari conversions from last episode, these four games really show off the strengths of the Lynx as a platform. Not only are all four games solid and mostly faithful interpretations of coin-op hits, there are one or two that might well be the definitive home adaptations of those particular properties.

    Under examination this episode: Namco's (well, GCC's) Ms. Pac-Man, Midway's Rampage and Xenophobe, and Tecmo's Rygar. An eclectic mix of old and (for the time) new. Which ones fare well and which ones fare awesomely? Only by watching this video in its entirety will you know for sure.

    (Please do not be alarmed by the presence of a human face introducing each game. He means you no harm and is merely attempting to game the algorithm.)