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

[Nerdkiller]

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





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.)

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[Nerdkiller]

YAY! N64 WORKS IS BACK...wait, no third part to Mario 64? GAAAAAAAH!

Pilotwings 64 retrospective: Jet tricks and chill | N64 Works #002

This series' Nintendo 64 launch retrospective wraps up with a look back at the, uh, second N64 launch title: Pilotwings 64. As with Super Mario 64, it builds on a Super NES launch title by expanding its design into proper 3D space while also making its overall design and progression a bit more bite-sized and approachable. Although it's quite dated all these years later, you can definitely see it as a leap forward from what had come before.

Also this episode: The Japan-exclusive third launch title, Saikyo Habu Shogi.

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[JeremyParish]

I'm extremely done with multiparters, sorry.

 

[Garlic]

Glad to see you're finally committing to 40 minute videos then! lol

 

[Knurek]

Glad to see you're finally committing to 40 minute videos then! lol

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If I was filthy rich, I'd just keep Jeremy on a retainer and have him make 2-3 hours of content daily.

 

[JeremyParish]

This is my personal favorite project, so start scratching those Lotto tickets, pal.

 

[krae_man]

My favorite part of Pilot Wings was the cannon shooting mode.

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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Hey, now that you've gotten to Pac Man NES, where's that revised version of the Game Boy review?

 

[JeremyParish]

It's in the Game Boy Works book.

 

[Replicant]

These videos deserve more views.

 

[Nerdkiller]

It's in the Game Boy Works book.

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I can only accept such a thing if the pictures move.

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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[Nerdkiller]

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?

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[Nerdkiller]

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....

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Surprised you didn't go about the boosted contrast because of the GBA's lack of backlight, Jeremy.

 

[JeremyParish]

Screen-related complaints have been quarantined into next week's episode. I mean...

 

[Meatwad]

This was a nice surprise. The GBA is my favorite of the Game Boy line

 

[hotcyder]

Jeremy, very excited for the Warioland 4 video when that happens

 

[JeremyParish]

GBA is a secondary project for the time being, but yeah, Wario Land 4 is gonna be rad once I finally get to it.

 

[Worthintendo]

You don't like to be bored do your Jeremy :P

As always amazing work

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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[silverhick]

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



Surprised you didn't go about the boosted contrast because of the GBA's lack of backlight, Jeremy.

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Just noticed the GbV reference. Hell Yea Jeremy!

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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[Proteus]

I am looking forward to Fire Pro GBA.

 

[Zero-Crescent]

Can't wait for JaguarWorks and JaguarCD(does not)Works

 

[Meatwad]

Man that is some luck, Those things go for absurd prices on ebay

 

[JeremyParish]

When she sent me that photo and asked if she should grab the systems, I just about freaked out.

 

[Fuzzy]

Something similar happened to someone I know and he was a bit of an ass and went back and left a printout in the person's mailbox of the value of the stuff the person tossed out. At least he included a "thank you". lol

 

[Nerdkiller]

That Bubsy image is pure fetish material.

At least with Jag Works, we'd see it finished within your lifetime. You gonna include the CD games too, right?

 

[JeremyParish]

If I can find an affordable CD unit...

 

[Nerdkiller]

...That's actually functional, in which case, you'd better hope for an FPGA based alternative to be made...

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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[Nerdkiller]

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.

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[Knurek]

JeremyParish If you still need a chronological list of handheld releases, feel free to use my spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uWwAEnKn1_FYA_SVM2WPNLGVvSx78cyLifN1z4SgK9c/edit
Should be complete up to 2006.10

 

[Meatwad]

I think I'm gonna grab that as well, Thanks

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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[JeremyParish]

Thanks, Knurek — your spreadsheets are actually one of about four different sources I cross-reference. Even so, there's often conflict about release dates. This is a messy biz.

 

[Knurek]

Yeah, release dates for anything predating GBA are a mess.
Not for Japan, because they keept their records straight, but USA and especially Eurozone are terrible.

 

[Nerdkiller]

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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[Varjet]

So about whether Maximum Velocity is the third or fourth F-Zero game...
*pushes up glasses*
Actually, Jeremy, you forgot to mention BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2.

 

[Meatwad]

We need F-Zero on Switch

 

[krae_man]

We need F-Zero on Switch

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SNES game is probably all you're going to get.

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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Next time:

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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[Deleted member 7883]

Hoping to see Crystalis get covered soon. I remember Jeremy praising it in the SNK 40th retronauts but outside of that I know nothing about the game 🧐

 

[JeremyParish]

Crystalis is many, many, many years away, I'm afraid.

 

[residentgrigo]

Edit: Sorry, I used the wrong Retronauts topic and moved the comment. Keep up the good work with the videos.

 

[residentgrigo]

I made a double post by mistake but I do have something to say about the latest NES Works #168 about Batman 1989.
Batman kills even in Post Crisis canon with frequent regularity. The comics glass over it and bends the rules but it does happen. Here is the "last" Scott Snyder Batman issues from last week who was THE Batman writer of the decade (I prefer Tom King):

Spoiler: None of this will make sense if you didn´t read the issue

He killed the Golden Age villain Doctor Death during Zero Year. He also killed himself and Mr. J in Endgame but both got better. Even comic Snyder is a blood thirsty man. I can do this with basically every long run. Killing with guns though, that is a bit much. Using guns is 100% ok on the other hand.

PS: Even Adam West killed a dude.

 

[Nerdkiller]

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.

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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.

 

[Nerdkiller]

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...

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[maximumzero]

I keep hovering over the "Purchase Now" button on Castlemania for that Metal Storm reprint.

Might get it by the end of the month if I sell a few more eBay things.