Platformers you might not have heard of.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:37 pm

Got a little extra free time today so I thought I'd list some games I don't see talked about much but fellow arcade fans might be interested in:

Snow Bros. 2. This game has some REALLY fucked up artwork. I'd try to describe it, but a picture's worth a thousand words:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d111/ ... ow0000.png

Adds to the original with new characters (who've got new weapons), and ability to jump to a lower plane. Enemies, even in a full snowball, can work their way out eventually, so be careful. Like Snow Bros. 1, last too long and invincible enemies show up to encourage you. Scoring consists of a multiplier which increases per each enemy you hit with the same snowball. If you manage to clear the screen with a single snowball, you get congratulated (GREAT!) and the screen floods with scrolls that are worth 10k points each. So you've got to figure out the best way to get to the top, then get everyone in one blow. A thinking man's game.

Joe & Mac Returns. Gorgeous graphics, great music too. Particularly on the ice level and the sea level (which is a classical tune I can't quite recall the name of mixed with caveman chants

). Sound is a little weak, voice acting ranges from good to 'gets slightly irritating after awhile' and the attack effect is a weak crunch, sounds downsampled as though it were a Saturn port.

Gameplay is a mix of Snow Bros 2 and Tumble Pop. You hit enemies with the club or it's shock 'aftereffect' to dizzy them, then collect them in your bag. Then throw the bag at other enemies, if there's more than 1 enemy in the bag you can hit multiple enemies. If you hold them in the bag for too long, they can break out which will make you lose your current life, a holdover from Tumble Pop. There's also a princess who needs rescuing in each level. Free her with your club aftershock or just by walking up to her and she'll reward you with powerups and point items. Hit her with the club directly and you'll get a slap in the face.

[edit - I've just realized it steals from parasol stars w/the invisible item thing. Snowmen in the ice level and flowers in the forest level for example. Sometimes the princess is hidden as well...]

Tumble Pop. Joe and Mac Returns's older sister. Influenced by Snow Bros. 1 and this in turn influenced Snow Bros. 2, with jumping to a lower plane and 'vacuuming' enemies. Also with the bit about getting letters to get extends. Music's a little weak and gfx obviously don't compare to Joe and Mac, but still a fun-arse game. Also the only one of these games to get ported, though the GB version sadly sucks ('shopping' for items etc). PCB is cheap ($50 range) so stick with that or mame.

Stuff to be added in the future: Bombjack Twin, Bubble Memories, Diet GoGo, Don Doko Don, Rainbow Islands, Saboten Bombers, Zupapa, Edward Randy, Spin Master, Top Hunter, Wardner.

Thanks to Pa, Rando, and anyone else who've recommended a lot of this stuff to me in the first place.

zaphod · Post by **zaphod** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:53 pm

Snow BRos 2 is widely cconsidered to be inferior to the original.

other than that nice finds.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:56 pm

zaphod wrote:Snow BRos 2 is widely cconsidered to be inferior to the original.

other than that nice finds.

really? All I read was a review on gamefaqs that said it was too easy, and that could have been cause the arcade op. switched the difficulty. But I haven't put a huge chunk of time into either, so it's possible.

zaphod · Post by **zaphod** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:06 pm

as someone who actually 1cced the first one, the sequel jsut doesn't seem to have the magic the first one does..

THe phrase "supposed to be better, but isn't" comes to mind here. the ability to jump down as well made the level design less inspired, for example.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:31 pm

Not too widely, then.

Less magic but new elves! Also, there are parts where you can't jump down, so it's not as though it's made certain designs impossible. Just made the gameplay less fascist-strict.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:28 am

I like Nightmare in the Dark as far as Snow Bros./Bubble Bobble type games go.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:01 am

Bombjack Twin is great -- a new reason to TATE your monitor. If you're not limiting it to MAME, Gussun Paradise ranks up their for me.

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:38 am

it290 wrote:I like Nightmare in the Dark as far as Snow Bros./Bubble Bobble type games go.

NitD is excellent. Great gameplay as well as excellent music. However, the level 4 boss can suck it.

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 2:40 am

No offense, but I find NitD to be absolute bottom of the barrel in genre. Nice graphics, but the gameplay is hella slow and weak. Zupapa! Now there's a MVS SSP!

My other big faves are Don Doko Don and Diet GoGo.

Nice thread Neon

Pa

PS: Neon, have you played Ghostlop?

Post by **Shatterhand** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 3:28 am

Global Gladiators

http://hol.abime.net/2734

Released for Mega-Drive and Amiga

I dunno why I was thinking about this game earlier today

this game is AWESOME. The sound part of the game is just AMAZING, with great tunes and excellent sound fx.

The gameplay is just awesome too.

I dunno why it became so unknown with time. I always found this game to be real real fun.

Or are we supposed to talk only about bubble bobble alikes?

Ko.oS · Post by **Ko.oS** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 3:31 am

well, ive played snow bros on genny and in mame, and the former had 20 extra stages, so you may want to look into that as well. if you havent already.

and yea, that game is heaven for score-chasers (blue balls giving more points than white ones, etc), too bad stages 50/70 can be milked 4ever . . .

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:58 am

If you're not limiting it to MAME, Gussun Paradise ranks up their for me.

I've heard great things about this game but I haven't got ahold of it yet. I'll check out Ghostlop, Global Gladiators, and the Nightmare game as well, thanks for the headsups.

Nice to see Genesis Snow Bros. has other improvements, I was already counting it as better than arcade perfect because of the better (same songs, but better sounding) music.

Now to finish up the Toaplan and Data East stuff:

Diet GoGo. Another Data East game with all the excellence that implies. KLOV does a pretty good job at summarizing the gameplay. Basically you shoot food at the baddies to fill them up, then hit them from the desired angle to make them bounce around the screen. Simply a must play.

Wardner/Pyros. Forget about Sonic: Top shelf arcade platformer here which also got a Genesis release. Use your jumps and fireballs to beat the stages. LOTS of problem solving involved with this game, if you're a 'mindless fun' advocate you'll hate it. Otherwise you're in for a treat. Great graphical artstyle and soundtrack.

Gotta run. Next update, PCE stuff: Don Doko Don and Parasol Stars. (DDD also on NES and Taito Memories).

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:05 am

Saboten Bombers is excellent in the Snow Bros vain. Zupapa kicks NiTD, but I still enjoy NiTD a lot. The best in the genre though, in my opinion, is the original Snow Bros.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:19 am

Heh, Neon, you seem to be a bit obsessed with Data East. Don't get me wrong, they put out a lot of good games, but they also had their fair share of crap. Ah well, to each their own I guess.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 2:38 pm

it290 wrote:Heh, Neon, you seem to be a bit obsessed with Data East. Don't get me wrong, they put out a lot of good games, but they also had their fair share of crap. Ah well, to each their own I guess.

There isn't a single company that doesn't, really. And you know I hate brand loyalty...but when Data East is good, they're really fucking good, yet completely ignored even within the arcade community, so I advocate them maybe a little too much. I haven't put much time into Edward Randy though I'm really not liking it so far.

Does anyone still care? If not I won't be too hurt, just want to know whether I'm wasting time or not. Nevertheless I'll do a few more before my next class...

Don Doko Don. For NES, PCE, and PS2, though none are arcade perfect (Taito F2 hardware). Gamefaqs lists a PC port in 2004 as well but I don't know a thing about that.

Gameplay consists of hitting enemies with your mallet, then picking them up and throwing them, preferably into other enemies (anyone seeing a pattern?). Interesting bit about this game is that there will be point items in a hard to reach place, so one must wipe out MOST of the enemies, get the item, then get the last baddie to prevent moving to the next stage before you have time to collect the item. No ability to jump to a lower plane (1989 game) but you can move through the mouths of trees (who needs hallucinogenic drugs when you've got Don Doko Don?) to change heights. I think Rando did a review of this on his gaming journal so you should check that out. Graphics and music both pretty good, btw.

[edit - found it: http://www.free-conversant.com/gaming_journals/2322 ]

Parasol Stars. For PCE, Amiga, Atari ST, Gameboy, and European NES. Only port you should really bother with is PCE though Atari ST is ok. The linked Wikipedia page does a mostly accurate job on describing the gameplay. One thing not mentioned is there are hidden fruits in specific places which must be shot with bubbles/enemies to be revealed and/or collected. GFX/sound are a beaut. PC Engine is worth owning for this game alone.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 3:40 pm

Parasol Stars is a game I used to play quite a bit. Definitely a good one. I always thought the Amiga port was best, though- is that just my Amiga fanboyism talking?

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 4:03 pm

Course it was, I can't honestly remember a game that was ever better on ST than Amiga...

Post by **Shatterhand** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:18 pm

The PC-Engine version had a few graphic effects that aren't in the Amiga version (Like the way the 1st level of each world is presented), but it's a minor aspect. The Amiga version sounded a little better, but both are nearly identical.

And it's by far, IMHO the best game Neon listed so far

I am a BIG fan of Parasol Stars. I played it to death up until I 1cced the Amiga version. Never saw the "good ending" though, but I know how to activate it (It's just that doing that AND finishing the game is kinda challenging

). This game is just marvelous, and I think everyone should play it

IMO it's the best "Collect'em up" kind of platform game in any system.

What I find really weird is that this game was never released on arcades. It's an arcade port of a game never released, heh.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:55 pm

Though not in the big league of platformers by any means, does anyone remember
Rick Dangerous?

I always found this a very fun little platformer on the Amiga (it being one of only few games I had in the beginning probably helped...). I remeber there being a sequel too, but can't remember playing it as lot as this. :

Edit: did a quick search trough Yahoo and found a nice Flash version of it here.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:59 pm

Haha yep. Classic game. Someone actually ported it to X Windows a while ago IIRC.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:00 pm

I've read once that Tomb Raider, when its early development, would star Rick Dangerous

Pure memorization hell this game was. I played the sequel a lot more than the original though. Both games are very similar ,just the theme that is different - The 1st game is a Indiana Jones homage, while the 2nd one is a sci-fi adventure, with aliens and stuff.

benj · Post by **benj** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:09 pm

Super Laydock wrote:Though not in the big league of platformers by any means, does anyone remember Rick Dangerous?

I never cared much for Rick Dangerous or it's sequel. Maybe the most frustrating platformer ever. Too dependant on memorization and pixelperfect, splitsecond movement IMO.

What about Jaleco's Rodland? The first single screen platformer I played extensively back in the good old days. Had a pretty good Amiga converstion, too.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:17 pm

Marc wrote:Course it was, I can't honestly remember a game that was ever better on ST than Amiga...

I dunno, I just tried the Amiga version and it's all slow 'n crappy. Could be emulation issues. Either way PCE is the best version.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:57 pm

I got Parasol Stars GB becuase a local EB had it for 10 dollars. It's a very good port of the PCE one, though it doesn't seem to have two players.

Ocean did a good job of re-sizing the game to fit on the small screen, though.

BIG · Post by **BIG** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:57 pm

Toki

B-

99pence · Post by **99pence** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:12 pm

Sure you might not like the gameplay but the level design of Don Doko Don is second to none in the 1 screen platform genre by a long long way.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:49 pm

Shatterhand wrote:I've read once that Tomb Raider, when its early development, would star Rick Dangerous

And I think they are sure glad they didn't.

Maybe the most frustrating platformer ever. Too dependant on memorization and pixelperfect, splitsecond movement IMO.

I agree that it could be frustrating sometimes, but it always got me back.
Must have been the masochist side me then.

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 9:19 pm

Rainbow Islands has the score engine ever seen, btw. And it was 1987

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:17 pm

http://www.free-conversant.com/gaming_journals/2285

Is this a platformer Rando? I'll try it later, little busy atm.

What other early Sega games do you recommend? If you say Flicky, God will surely kill a kitten.

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:27 pm

Not in the strictest sense. You have this guy jumping around and shooting baddies. If you kill them, they will become small larvae, and you need to collect these larvae by 'chaining', so to speak. Basically it's a mix between a one-screen platformer and an action game, in a rather loose sense. Bonus stages are, well, a treasure hunt mini-game or a first person gun game of sorts, go figure. Brilliant as much as quirky. Other early Sega stuff...i'm sorry is actually good, and Alex kidd in all formats. Wonder Boy, uhm! I liked it, monotonous, in the long distance, 20 years later. Wonder Land is another masterpiece, though. Wonder boy III, pseudo-run and gun with shooting sections, but quite cute and fun. uhm, Psychic 5 is also another little known gem, or city connection (both by Jaleco), and i liked Momoko, because i was a little perv (the game is repetitive but fun).

To be honest, though, we just need Pacrappa to write a list of games, he should be unofficially elected the authority on puzzles and platforms