Jeremy Parish Presents: Retronauts Video Works (Chronological Retrospective Series)

[Nerdkiller]

Arkanoid & Athena retrospective: Big boxes, big pain | NES Works #049

Two direct arcade ports hit the NES here, and boy golly are these things not necessarily created equal. About the only thing they have in common is that they're both incredibly difficult to complete. But Athena is a hot mess of a conversion, as is the Micronics way, while Arkanoid is a pretty spectacular adaptation. Of course, to be fair, Arkanoid has an advantage here: It came with its own pack-in controller, designed exclusive for use with this one game. But even without the Vaus paddle, it's still a far sight more fun than Athena. Which isn't to say Athena was necessarily a barebones package; in Japan, it came with a special bonus pack-in that Americans were denied...

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And because Jeremy is every so generous, here's the whole tape.

 

[Nerdkiller]

V-Tetris retrospective: Red blocktober | Virtual Boy Works #14

We launch into Virtual Boy's Japan-exclusive line-up by heading back to the other Tetris game at the other end of the system's life: V-Tetris. This game is nothing at all like 3D-Tetris; for one thing, it's actually Tetris. V-Tetris does nothing to really take advantage of the hardware here, so it's a shame that this interpretation of the block-dropping classic has been locked to Virtual Boy—its special mode offers a unique and enjoyable take on the venerable favorite.

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[Nerdkiller]

Space Squash retrospective: In the court of the crimson swing | Virtual Boy Works #15

Another Japan-exclusive Virtual Boy release, this one from minor publisher Coconuts Japan. And it's a good, if slight, creation that takes great advantage of the Virtual Boy hardware to present players with a sci-fi rendition of a popular sport. Like a lot of other games on the system, it needed a little more time in the oven to achieve its full potential—but it's both fun and interesting, making it one of the more notable imports for Virtual Boy.

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[Nerdkiller]

Virtual Fishing retrospective: Red tide | Virtual Boy Works #16

Next in our look at Virtual Boy's Japan-exclusive lineup is the system's sole foray into the fishing genre: A by-the-numbers take on the format by Locomotive and Pack-In-Video called, creatively, Virtual Fishing. It is... fishing. On Virtual Boy. The end. Thanks as always to Chris Kohler for lending his copy of the game to this project.

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[Man God]

There's a dungeon in PS1 that has red walls and a black background and is sometimes dubbed the Virtual Boy dungeon.

 

[Nerdkiller]

Innsmouth no Yakata retrospective: Chthonic adventure | Virtual Boy Works #17

Venture into the ineffable madness of on of Virtual Boy's most unique creations: A fast-paced first-person shooter based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. This is one of those games whose existence seems completely inexplicable—but it's nevertheless quite welcome. Innsmouth no Yakata (sometimes transcribed as Insmouse no Yakata) is a relentless, challenging shooter that creates an impressive sense of anxiety—which means it's a pity it never made its way outside of Japan.

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[Syril]

Innsmouth no Yakata retrospective: Chthonic adventure | Virtual Boy Works #17

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Apparently the TV movie this was based on was written and directed by Chiaki Konaka of Serial Experiments Lain and Digimon Tamers fame.

 

[EraErr0r1]

Absolutely love Jeremy Parish's works. Passion, quality and informative. I haven't seen many (if any) other creators tackle the obscure, older titles that he documents at such a standard.

 

[apocat]

I never picked up Innsmouth back when I was hunting virtual boy titles a few years back, and I kind of regret it now. It seems more interesting than I had gathered after having read older reviews.

 

[Nerdkiller]

Space Invaders: Virtual Collection retrospective: The Andromeda eyestrain | Virtual Boy Works #18

We're nearly done with Virtual Boy Works, but before we can put a bow on this venture, we need to tackle the four daunting Japan-only collector's pieces that shipped in the console's final month of existence in that market. First up is Space Invaders: Virtual Collection, a pretty decent recreation of and embellishment on the venerable arcade classics. It's a game that would be a no-brainer pick-up if not for the fact that its value has shot into the stratosphere thanks to its extreme rarity. Oh well.

Thanks to Chris Kohler for providing this game for coverage.

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[krae_man]

As a Canadian, I appreciate the Rush reference Jeremy.

 

[Nerdkiller]

Virtual Lab retrospective: Scientific progress goes "boing" | Virtual Boy Works #19

The second of Virtual Boy's big-ticket Japan-only rarities, Virtual Lab stands out from the rest by virtue of being the absolute worst. It's a disaster of a puzzle game, riddled with derivative yet ill-conceived mechanics, terrible visuals and sound, and a lack of quality that permeates every aspect of this overpriced cartridge. Do not engage.

Thanks as always to Chris Kohler for lending this rare, expensive, and kind of awful game to the project.

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[Nerdkiller]

We're in the home stretch now.

SD Gundam Dimension War retrospective: Thin red lines | Virtual Boy Works #20

Japan's next-to-last Virtual Boy release, and the only Japanese title for the platform to be based on a media license. It's SD Gundam, though, and you can bet it lives down to whatever expectations that might instill for you. A brief and unpleasant strategy game in which battles play out through terrible combat sequences, Dimension War is definitely not worth the enormous price it commands on the aftermarket.

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[Nerdkiller]

Last official Virtual Boy game.

Virtual Bowling retrospective: 10 pins none the richer | Virtual Boy Works #21

This is it! The very final Japanese release for Virtual Boy. The final Virtual Boy game retrospective. And the most expensive Virtual Boy game by far. But you know, it's kind of nice to end this series on a high note. Virtual Bowling is legitimately a fantastic take on the sport, with great mechanics and pleasant visuals. Pity that a boxed copy will set you back as much as a decent used car these days.

One final "thank you" goes out to Chris Kohler for providing this rare work for coverage.

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But that's not the end of the story, as Jeremy has plans to cover not only the console itself, but the various homebrew games it's spawned (including the aformentioned Street Fighter II Virtual Boy port, Hyper Fighting).

 

[Rapscallion]

While I look forward to some unlicensed looks, it's quite an accomplishment to have so comprehensively looked at all of the official releases. Really enjoyed the series and gave me more appreciation for the console and its library.

It has also cemented the waterworld soundtrack into my head until the end of time.

 

[krae_man]

Up next for Jeremy:

Tiger R-Zone Works!

 

[Meatwad]

Up next for Jeremy:

Tiger R-Zone Works!

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I would rather watch Game.Com Works

 

[krae_man]

I would rather watch Game.Com Works

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I already asked him about that and he said "no chance in hell unless a playable build of SOTN for it surfices."

 

[HosannaExcelsis]

Congratulations on actually being able to finish an entire console library's worth of videos, Jeremy!

 

[JeremyParish]

Sometimes the low-hanging fruit can be quite satisfying.

 

[Nerdkiller]

Lode Runner & Raid on Bungeling Bay retrospective: Brød wars | NES Works #050

American publisher makes its NES (and console) debut with conversions of two of its own landmark computer titles: Doug Smith's Lode Runner and Will Wright's Raid on Bungeling Bay. Neither men had any direct involvement with these conversions, which instead were handled by Japanese developer Hudson. The result is a pair of visually overhauled (but generally quite faithful) ports that go a long way toward embodying the overall tone and style that would define NES games. At the same time, these ports speak to America and Japan's shared love of great games while highlighting the stylistic differences between east and west in the 8-bit era. A solid duo of classics... though perhaps a bit slow to reach the U.S. to have true impact here.

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And of course Jeremy brings up Heiankyo Alien here.

Next time: Oooh, baby, we're ready for some spelunking.

 

[Knurek]

JeremyParish Why the HAL credit in the Dragon Quest segment? A mistake or is there some new information I'm not aware of?

 

[JeremyParish]

Satoru Iwata handled the U.S. localization programming on Dragon Warrior for Enix and Nintendo.

 

[Knurek]

Satoru Iwata handled the U.S. localization programming on Dragon Warrior for Enix and Nintendo.

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Oh...
Is that why the US version is such a massive QoL improvement over the Japanese one?

 

[JeremyParish]

That and the 3-year gap between releases.

 

[Nerdkiller]

Tetris DX retrospective: Hue kid on the block | Game Boy Works Color #001

Game Boy Works travels forward in time eight years to the invention of a radical new concept in portable gaming: Color! Well, maybe it wasn't so new for the industry at large, but true color was a first for Nintendo portables. And to kick things off, the Kyoto giant went back to the well to reprise the block puzzler that helped make the original Game Boy a smash hit: Tetris. In addition to a color palette, Tetris DX also tweaked the vintage release with new modes and modified physics. It's not so much a remake as a sequel, but it's a fitting kickoff to the Game Boy Color lineup (even if it wasn't technically the first Game Boy Color release, having been beaten to the punch by Dragon Warrior Monsters).

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Oh great. Another Works series that Jeremy will never be able to finish within his lifetime.

 

[Meatwad]

Honestly I'm glad he's skipping over to GBC Works as it's own series, I'd be old and grey by the time he got to GBC otherwise

 

[Knurek]

How soon till we have four series running concurently JeremyParish
(One GB, one GBC, one WonderSwan and one NeoGeo Pocket game per month)

 

[krae_man]

How soon till we have four series running concurently JeremyParish
(One GB, one GBC, one WonderSwan and one NeoGeo Pocket game per month)

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Watara Supervision Works should be next. He won't need any After market soldering, or dev equipment to do it.

Just a giant expensive car seat for his Supervision:

 

[Deleted member 48897]

Honestly I'm glad he's skipping over to GBC Works as it's own series, I'd be old and grey by the time he got to GBC otherwise

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But I watch game boy works because I like the whole old-and-gray thing

 

[JeremyParish]

If someone hooked me up with an RGB-modded WonderSwan or NGPC I'd tackle them in a heartbeat. Heck, I'd even cover SuperVision if someone could source the boxed library.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Interesting that Jeremy seems to be using a Wide Boy for this rather than, say, a Game Boy Player with GBI. I mean, it WAS the official solution for playing GBC games on TV at that time, even if it was only for devs and press, but from what I remember they have not so great video output (and this week's episode seemed a bit less crisp than other recent episodes because of it) and tinny audio.

How soon till we have four series running concurently JeremyParish
(One GB, one GBC, one WonderSwan and one NeoGeo Pocket game per month)

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We're already at 3 with GB, GBC and NES.

 

[Nerdkiller]

Hexcite retrospective: A hexed sight | Game Boy Works Color #002

Game Boy Color's second release is ALSO a portable puzzler, but one with less mass appeal than Tetris. While clearly a passion project by a small team, Hexcite is bogged down by its fidelity to an actual physical board game release and a few too many rules for its own good

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[Man God]

Gameboy Color because of the Pokemon revival has a metric boatload of licensed games. It's was the companion release platform for many titles that also made it to PS1.

 

[krae_man]

Can't wait until Gameboy Color Gex. That's Dec 98 so it will be soon.

 

[Deleted member 48897]

Gameboy Color because of the Pokemon revival has a metric boatload of licensed games. It's was the companion release platform for many titles that also made it to PS1.

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Reminds me that I'm really looking forward to coverage of Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy

 

[Nerdkiller]

Wario Land II retrospective: Colour my WAAAAAHrld | Game Boy Works Color #003

For Nintendo's third portable system (allowing for a very loose definition of "portable" where Virtual Boy is concerned), we once again have another platformer in the Super Mario Land family to help kick things off. But while Wario Land II may technically be a sequel to Super Mario Land, it has almost nothing to do with that game besides being a platform game inspired by Super Mario Bros. It drops the "Mario" title altogether, focusing entirely on antagonistic protagonist Wario, who finally distinguishes himself from his do-gooding rival by being completely immortal. There are no health pick-ups here, no 1UPs, none of that frail nonsense. Wario is indestructible, like all cartoon bad guys, and Wario Land II builds on that premise to create an exploratory puzzle-platform experience like nothing before it. It's a masterpiece, and a great launch title for Game Boy Color... even if it technically wasn't, originally.

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[Nerdkiller]

Virtual Boy retrospective: Aheadache of its time | Virtual Boy Works #00

Having explored the span of the Virtual Boy's librarly, let's now create a little context for its existence. There's more to this curious little system than the fact that it bombed at retail and Nintendo cut its life short. It represents designer Gunpei Yokoi's passion for interesting applications for affordable technology, prefigured some game industry design standards, and presented a remarkably solid library of software. Was Virtual Boy flawed? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean it's not worth experiencing, or remembering.

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[Nerdkiller]

Pocket Bowling retrospective: Picking up a Virtual spare | Game Boy Works Color #004

Virtual Boy Works ended on a slightly downbeat note with Virtual Bowling, a fine take on the 10-pin pastime by Athena that remains inaccessible to normal humans thanks to its alarming rarity and terrifyingly high price. Well, here's the happy twist coda: Pocket Bowling is a direct sequel to Virtual Bowling that carries forward many of the other game's core mechanics and design elements, but costs a LOT less and doesn't require a piece of fragile, hard-to-come-by equipment to enjoy. Sure, Game Boy Color can't support the immersive viewpoint and design of Virtual Bowling, but this captures the enjoyable core of the other game quite neatly. Let's hear it for small victories, eh?

PLUS: Japan-only release for this episode: Warashi's Honkaku Shougi: Shougi Ou.

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[krae_man]

In regards to Gameboy's competitors. I knew that the Watara Supervision was licensed out to many different companies worldwide and distributed under many different names depending on the country. Systems had different colored buttons, some D-pad differences, one was a slightly darker color of grey.

The other day I learned that one of them went "Fuck it, lets just straight up ripoff the Gameboy":

 

[Meatwad]

Ah yes that classic Watara seal of quality

 

[Nerdkiller]

Game & Watch Gallery 2 retrospective: Coda chrome | Game Boy Works Color #005

Another incremental release for Game Boy Color; like Wario Land II, Game & Watch Gallery 2 began life as a monochrome release in one territory (but not the rest). Quirky history aside, it's a fine recreation and distillation of some formative portable history. While it doesn't offer 100% verisimilitude to the source material, this is a loving recreation packed with tons of extra features and some remarkably involved unlockable content. Not bad for a collection of primitive pocket calculators.

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A Game Boy remake of a classic series presented alongside the original approximation, and Jeremy doesn't mention Heiankyo Alien? SHOCK!

 

[Nerdkiller]

Game Boy Wars 2 retrospective: Veterans of foreign wars | Game Boy Works Color #006

We look overseas this week to a notable Japan-only release for Game Boy Color: A chapter of the Intelligent Systems "Wars" series. Though not as sophisticated or charming as Advance Wars, there's still a lot to like about this import title... assuming you don't mind the significant step backward it represents from the later games that actually made their way to the U.S.

Also in this episode: Game Boy Color gets the first of many, many Pokémon clones to come in the fully tolerable but utterly unremarkable Sanrio Time Net, which comes in both Past and Future versions.

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[Knurek]

Not sure what game was that in the next episode preview, since there's no narration...
Can't be anything important, can it?

Spoiler

So, 45 minute video on Zelda 4 next week?

 

[Meatwad]

Not sure what game was that in the next episode preview, since there's no narration...
Can't be anything important, can it?

Spoiler

So, 45 minute video on Zelda 4 next week?

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Certainly not a game anybody would bother to remake

 

[Knurek]

Certainly not a game anybody would bother to remake

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Remake and remaster both.

 

[JeremyParish]

It's only 20 minutes, I'm afraid, and it's timed to hit the feed the week that the remake comes out (though it'll be up early on Patreon next week).

 

[Nerdkiller]

Go! Go! Tank & Aretha retrospective: R-E-S-P-E-C-T this R-P-G on the G-B | Game Boy Works #114

Next on the Game Boy agenda is an odd little puzzler with loads of personality, a great central hook, and some of the most frustrating gameplay imaginable. Go! Go! Tank flies a little too close to the sun, which maybe explains why you have to keep nudging your stupid little airplane down constantly.

Also in this episode: A frustrating, grind-intensive role-playing game in which it's entirely possible to lock yourself into an unwinnable state after dozens of hours of play. Fun!

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[Nerdkiller]

Spelunker & Sqoon retrospective: Mortality bytes | NES Works #051

Japanese arcade giant Irem makes its NES debut—or at least its debut as a publisher under its own steam. Spelunker and Sqoon make for interesting companion pieces to Lode Runner and Bungeling Bay, one being an Irem PC port published by Brøderbund and the other being a game published by Irem itself. Anyway, both are hilariously difficult.

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SQOON!

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Gonna save Nerdkiller some trouble here and post the new vid since it just came out and it's a biggun...

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX retrospective: A recurring dream | Game Boy Works Color #007

We have yet another early Game Boy Color release that got its start in monochrome—but this one's a little different. Rather than appearing as a late Game Boy release and hastily being reworked for color, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening debuted back in 1993 and was given a comprehensive overhaul for the new handheld. While largely the same game as the original release, with few visual or mechanical changes outside of a more vivid palette, Link's Awakening DX does add new material to Nintendo's handheld classic: A new bonus dungeon, some new gear, and Game Boy Printer support. It ultimately amounts to a minor upgrade, yes, but the base game was so strong that it didn't need much in the way of an overhaul. Here, as on Game Boy, it's a genuine classic.

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Also gotta thank JeremyParish for being the kind of completionist madman who'd give us Super Game Boy LADX footage. I recently popped in LADX on an old SGB to test it out after a cleaning, and saw this weird horizontal line cut through sprites whenever they were near the top of the screen (check 15:29 in the video to see what I'm talking about). It actually drove me slightly insane thinking it was possibly a problem with either my cart or system, but from this footage I can clearly see it's just an inherent glitch with this game on that system.

Also, kinda weird how OoT wasn't brought up in the vid at all, considering LADX launched within a month of it, and that proximity only serves to highlight how influential LA was on OoT and the rest of the games that followed (increased focus on story and characters, Straw Millionare quest, guide owl, Marin & Tarin clearly influencing Malon & Talon, etc.)