This looks a lot like the old Konami game Knightmare for the MSX system. Also Actraiser was developed by a group called Quintet (who also did the soul blazer trilogy) who are no longer around, god bless them!
RE: the whole NES vs 64 debate. It's a bit silly really. You can't compare the 2. The NES stomps it graphically but the c64 came out before the NES so keep that in mind. Where the 64 really excels obviously (Apart from the brilliant SID sound chip) is in its games, they were just so different compared to the NES titles, whos lineup was mostly generic platformers and action games and then clones of said games. That's all well and good but if you want some truly original gameplay then you can't go past the 64.
Unfortunately due to its age a lot of people aren't going to like the games because a) there's only one fire button, b) some of them are a little dated and will be difficult to appreciate if you're not already familiar with them. c) a lot of them are BLOODY HARD. Seriously if you've grown up only playing console games prepair to get your ass handed to you by the difficulty in some of these games. For the rest of us that's half the attraction! *edit - One exception is Ghosts n Goblins, The NES version is terrible, the 64 version is easier and a lot more fun.
The master system was huge in Australia! Aussie gamers are generally graphics whores and when the master system came out people were used to drab looking NES games. Needless to say the general public lapped it up like kittens under a cow udder.
I think this game cops a lot of undeserved stick. Unfortunately to truly appreciate it you basically have to had played it when it first came out, or take a time machine back to the 80s, or play it in extreme retrospect. There wasn't really much out like this at the time... maybe zelda 2 or faxanadu.... or the monsterworld series.... but there wasn't a billion metroid/castlevania games back then so this kinda game was still pretty fresh. Everyone else has sorta written about the gameplay so i'll just say that this game paved the way for future castlevania titles, mixing in more of an adventure style into the action. The puzzles are ridiculous, but keep a guide handy and this game can be quite enjoyable.
Wonderboy 3: The Dragons Trap was easily one of the greatest 8 bit console titles every created. As already mentioned this is pretty much identical except for some of the sprites. Comparisons to "metroidvania" games are inevitable, but keep in mind when this came out only Metroid was released and this far outshines it, and Castlevania hadn't started ripping off the Metroid series just yet... so this isn't really as unoriginal as it may sound. It basically expands on the concepts of the first Monsterworld title (Wonderboy in Monsterland/Bikkuriman World) by adding a bit more exploration into the mix. Your character changes forms periodically throughout the game giving you different abilities, attacks and stats, and also access to different areas of the game previously unreachable. There is a little backtracking at times and it's still slightly linear unlike some of the later metroid/vania titles, but it's still a great little action adventure romp. Dragons Curse does have the edge over the Master System version for a few simple reasons. Firstly the graphics. This version has silky smooth scrolling whereas the Master System version had a lower frame rate for some reason. Secondly you can save your game in this and not have to worry about writing down passwords.
Underrated for sure. Kudos should actually be given to Masaya and not Konami. Konami just published and distributed it in the west, Masaya actually did the developing. Also note the japanese version has a bit of stuff not in the western release. There's a lot more dialogue/story and also character portraits pop up whenever you receive a message from one of your team mates. Quite a bit was censored aswell in particular a specific scene at the end of the game... Buy this anyway but at the same time i recommend locating the translated original Japanese version aswell.
The reason the music in this is so bloody good is because it's by Yuzo Koshiro (who also did Streets of Rage, Shenmue, Actraiser etc).
The only problem with these games is the combat which is a little dated. You basically have to just plow into your enemies and if your level isn't high enough you cop the damage. So quite a bit of monster hunting is required to get your levels up and also to earn enough money to buy some decent armour. Realistically though it's still a great game, it did come out in 1987 (i think) after all so you can forgive any annoyances it might give you. Now we just need better storage to hold all these cd based games that are coming out.
PS Trev - The pal version of Sonic CD has the correct music aswell.
I really do not understand all the bad ratings for this game. It's a solid platformer with responsive controls, excellent graphics, and a decent difficulty curve, lots of hidden extras, multiple paths etc etc etc. The music is cute but original and it fits the game perfectly.
Comments 15
Re: Japanese Virtual Console list - April 2008
It was just a sound chip, there shouldn't be any problems emulating it.
Re: Master System Hitting US 'Soon', 400 Points Per Game
Yep they're different. Same gameplay but the levels etc are all different.
Bring on wonderboy iii - the greatest 8bit console game of all time!
Re: King's Knight
This looks a lot like the old Konami game Knightmare for the MSX system. Also Actraiser was developed by a group called Quintet (who also did the soul blazer trilogy) who are no longer around, god bless them!
Re: Shockman
The 3rd game is pretty cool, bet we never see it though
Re: Ghosts 'n Goblins
Poor conversion of a great arcade game. What a shame.
Re: Commodore 64 coming to Virtual Console
Agreed - except International Karate is good and Uridium is brilliant and they the first 2 games coming out.
Re: Commodore 64 coming to Virtual Console
RE: the whole NES vs 64 debate. It's a bit silly really. You can't compare the 2. The NES stomps it graphically but the c64 came out before the NES so keep that in mind.
Where the 64 really excels obviously (Apart from the brilliant SID sound chip) is in its games, they were just so different compared to the NES titles, whos lineup was mostly generic platformers and action games and then clones of said games. That's all well and good but if you want some truly original gameplay then you can't go past the 64.
Unfortunately due to its age a lot of people aren't going to like the games because a) there's only one fire button, b) some of them are a little dated and will be difficult to appreciate if you're not already familiar with them. c) a lot of them are BLOODY HARD. Seriously if you've grown up only playing console games prepair to get your ass handed to you by the difficulty in some of these games. For the rest of us that's half the attraction! *edit - One exception is Ghosts n Goblins, The NES version is terrible, the 64 version is easier and a lot more fun.
Anyways here's some developers to look out for;
ps 500points is a bit steep...
Rapadash6 - the saying is "COULDN'T care less"
Re: Hardware Focus - Sega Master System
The master system was huge in Australia! Aussie gamers are generally graphics whores and when the master system came out people were used to drab looking NES games. Needless to say the general public lapped it up like kittens under a cow udder.
Re: Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy
sigh I really miss my MVS cabinet, i have this but it's stuck back at my parents house. Awesome little game!
Re: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
I think this game cops a lot of undeserved stick. Unfortunately to truly appreciate it you basically have to had played it when it first came out, or take a time machine back to the 80s, or play it in extreme retrospect. There wasn't really much out like this at the time... maybe zelda 2 or faxanadu.... or the monsterworld series.... but there wasn't a billion metroid/castlevania games back then so this kinda game was still pretty fresh.
Everyone else has sorta written about the gameplay so i'll just say that this game paved the way for future castlevania titles, mixing in more of an adventure style into the action. The puzzles are ridiculous, but keep a guide handy and this game can be quite enjoyable.
Re: Dragon's Curse
Wonderboy 3: The Dragons Trap was easily one of the greatest 8 bit console titles every created. As already mentioned this is pretty much identical except for some of the sprites. Comparisons to "metroidvania" games are inevitable, but keep in mind when this came out only Metroid was released and this far outshines it, and Castlevania hadn't started ripping off the Metroid series just yet... so this isn't really as unoriginal as it may sound.
It basically expands on the concepts of the first Monsterworld title (Wonderboy in Monsterland/Bikkuriman World) by adding a bit more exploration into the mix. Your character changes forms periodically throughout the game giving you different abilities, attacks and stats, and also access to different areas of the game previously unreachable. There is a little backtracking at times and it's still slightly linear unlike some of the later metroid/vania titles, but it's still a great little action adventure romp.
Dragons Curse does have the edge over the Master System version for a few simple reasons. Firstly the graphics. This version has silky smooth scrolling whereas the Master System version had a lower frame rate for some reason. Secondly you can save your game in this and not have to worry about writing down passwords.
Re: Cybernator
Underrated for sure.
Kudos should actually be given to Masaya and not Konami. Konami just published and distributed it in the west, Masaya actually did the developing.
Also note the japanese version has a bit of stuff not in the western release. There's a lot more dialogue/story and also character portraits pop up whenever you receive a message from one of your team mates. Quite a bit was censored aswell in particular a specific scene at the end of the game...
Buy this anyway but at the same time i recommend locating the translated original Japanese version aswell.
Re: Ys Book I & II
The reason the music in this is so bloody good is because it's by Yuzo Koshiro (who also did Streets of Rage, Shenmue, Actraiser etc).
The only problem with these games is the combat which is a little dated. You basically have to just plow into your enemies and if your level isn't high enough you cop the damage. So quite a bit of monster hunting is required to get your levels up and also to earn enough money to buy some decent armour.
Realistically though it's still a great game, it did come out in 1987 (i think) after all so you can forgive any annoyances it might give you.
Now we just need better storage to hold all these cd based games that are coming out.
PS Trev - The pal version of Sonic CD has the correct music aswell.
Re: Lords of Thunder
Jazzem you'll love this even more than GoT!
Cally check this out for a comparison
Re: Blue's Journey
I really do not understand all the bad ratings for this game. It's a solid platformer with responsive controls, excellent graphics, and a decent difficulty curve, lots of hidden extras, multiple paths etc etc etc. The music is cute but original and it fits the game perfectly.