amphibious_ReViews

Before I get started, I want to make it clear that this is a review of Infidelity's SNES port of Metroid, not the NES original. As part of his long-running porting project, this version of the game takes advantage of the SNES's increased power to eliminate all slowdown and sprite flickering found in the original. In addition, thanks to the MSU-1 virtual coprocessor, you can select one of four soundtracks to play behind the game (I chose the Japanese Famicom Disk System version). However, my biggest reason for choosing Infidelity's port wasn't the smoother gameplay or the improved music. During the porting process, Infidelity will occasionally add optional quality-of-life improvements to his releases. These upgrades modernized the NES original Metroid just enough to make it fun to play without betraying its spirit. The save system from the Famicon Disk System release was re-implemented here, so you don't have to copy down passwords anymore. A new pause menu accessed ...

Dig Dug II is a very strange sequel. It has enough elements from its predecessor to obviously be a Dig Dug game, but the look and feel are almost entirely restructured. I'm not against experimentation in sequels, but it was still a little startling to me that Dig Dug  took the Zelda II  approach rather than that of Ms. PAC-MAN . Thankfully, I think the strangeness paid off. It's definitely not better than its predecessor, but Dig Dug II is still a fun time. Just like the original, your goal in each of the stages is to defeat all of the enemies. It's the same two varieties that you are familiar with from the first game, and you can still pump them full of air to pop them, but the game's new setting introduces a brand new option for achieving victory. Instead of taking place in intricate underground tunnels, Dig Dug II is entirely above-ground on various structurally unsound islands. Each island is marred by cracks and holes that you can use you damage the island even ...

I only seriously played Donkey Kong Jr. for the first time very recently. I have been returning to the original Donkey Kong  for years, and the idea of making Mario the antagonist in the sequel was definitely interesting, I just wasn't ever drawn to the climbing-style platforming. After giving it a real chance, I definitely think that it's fun, but it doesn't hold a candle to the series' progenitor. I can't help but think that  Nintendo made a serious gamble with this game. It probably would've been easier to follow up Donkey Kong by simply using the same skeleton and building new levels. Instead, they propelled the story by creating a new protagonist and implementing brand new platforming mechanics. While I personally would have enjoyed something that felt a little more like the first game, I appreciate the introduction of climbing as a way to shake up the formula, and I'm definitely not mad with how it turned out. Taking control of the titular Donkey K...

Back in August of 2021, I reviewed the arcade classic, Joust , essentially just by saying that it was just an inferior version of Balloon Fight . After replaying Balloon Fight to make sure I wasn't full of crap, I stand by what I said. The maps have more variety, the controls are more straightforward, and the additional modes mean there's even more to do. Though, even without the comparison to Joust , Balloon Fight  can stand on its own, whether you play alone or with a friend. The goal of  Balloon Fight  is to flap around, popping your opponents' balloons while keeping your own intact. However, its most impressive feat isn't the gameplay, but rather how remarkably responsive the whole experience feels. Thanks to the intuitive physics of flapping around while attached to a pair of balloons, I feel like I'm in full control of my character, despite not actually having perfect control. The system of building momentum combined with the collision and bouncing effects fe...

I used to watch my dad play Joust a lot when I was a kid, but a large majority of my gaming experience from that time in my life was Nintendo -centric. That trend continues even today, although to a much lesser degree, and those experiences really shape the lenses through which I view the games that I play. It's because of this that I had two prevailing thoughts while playing Joust . Those being, it's a lot like Balloon Fight , and Balloon Fight is better. This isn't to say that Joust is a bad game, just that I found the NES classic feels like a more refined iteration of the same formula. Both games provide you control over a character that can really only move by flapping through the air (although Joust does let you run while on the ground). Repeated button presses help you gain elevation, with steering requiring both patience and good timing while in flight. This system of navigation was a real sticking point for me in Joust , thanks to how floaty it is. In Balloon F...

Defender was another arcade game that snuck up on me. I had heard the name plenty of times, but I had never actually seen the game played, let alone actually played it myself. Based on the name, I was expecting something along the lines of Missile Command , but I was way off. With it being an earlier arcade release, I also wasn't sure what to expect in terms of the quality or the quantity of the game's content. Fortunately, while Defender doesn't offer much variety, it is a solid, well-polished alien-shooting experience. The game takes place close to the surface of a barren alien planet, requiring you to avoid crashing into the terrain as you evade enemy fire. Similar to other space shooters, Defender is broken into a series of increasingly difficult stages, and you progress between them by defeating every enemy in the given stage. However, the aliens know how to take advantage of their space, and aren't all going to be in firing range at once. Luckily, the mini-map ...

To be completely frank, fighting games aren't really my thing, so my interest in Yie Ar Kung Fu was almost purely for its historical value. Although not the first game in its genre, it was the progenitor of the health bar that would soon become a staple in series like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat . The feature is pretty simplistic in its debut here, broken into eight equal segments that detract one by one with a hit of any kind, but as an early title, I wasn't expecting something super advanced. That mindset was good to have going into this, as the rest of the game matches the health bar in complexity. In Yie Ar Kung Fu , you can jump, crouch, and walk as you would expect from a fighting game, but your actual combat potential is pretty limited. You can punch and kick, but the segmented health bars mean the only difference between the two is where they hit. There's no risk-reward balance for heavy and light attacks, there are no combos, and there are no other playable ...

Combining the gameplay of Namco 's Galaga with the perspective of Atar i's Tempest , Gyruss ends up feeling like a perfect evolution of both. Since most of my early-childhood arcade experience was actually through various iterations of Namco Museum , games like this didn't just pass me by, they virtually didn't exist. If this game wasn't on the list of 1001 Games to Play Before You Die , I probably wouldn't have ever played it, and that's a huge shame. With the Galaga series being some of my favorite arcade titles, Gyruss fits snuggly as a favorite as well. You've probably guessed already, but if you're familiar with Galaga , you'll likely be pretty comfortable with Gyruss . Practically everything is recreated here, from the way enemies fly on screen in formation, giving you a chance to take out a few before they fall in line with the rest of their crew, to the bonus stages that give you a chance to earn some extra points without threatening ...

When I first picked up Time Pilot , I wasn't sure what to expect. Most of Konami 's arcade games escaped my attention up until recently, so they tend to be a surprise every time I pick one up. Although the game's title kind of gave away its concept, I was only seconds in before I started geeking out over traveling through time and battling weaponized aircraft from five different decades. It's still just as basic of a story as any other arcade game, but the concept just did something for me that shooting aliens without an origin didn't. When you boil it all down, Time Pilot is a game about shooting and surviving. You are given what seems to be a horizontal view of the sky with 360 degrees of navigational capability in which you must maneuver to avoid enemies and incoming fire. However, you won't be able to win as a pacifist. The game requires you to take out a certain amount of opposing aircraft before it spawns the boss-like enemy that you must defeat in order ...

Scramble introduced the world to level-based side-scrolling shooters and inspired the development of legends like Gradius , but has since faded into relative obscurity. Like most firsts in the video game world, Scramble is impressive more because of what it started than because of what it is. Playing this game now, it's easy to see why it was a big deal when it released, but why nobody is really talking about it anymore. In Scramble , you are tasked with surviving as long as possible while your ship automatically flies to the right. You have free range of motion on the left half of the screen, which you absolutely have to take advantage of in order to avoid both enemies and the terrain. To help, your ship is also equipped with two types of weapons. A regular blaster that fires straight forward, and a bombs that arc towards the ground. The blaster is especially useful for clearing your path, but proficiency with the bombs is about the only way to keep your ship in the air. As you ...

It was a big deal for Nintendo to condense their flagship plumber's usual adventure onto their first cartridge-based handheld, and it would take them a bit before they understood the console enough to really get it right. However, their first attempt was just zany enough to be absolutely worth playing, despite its relatively archaic structure compared to its successors. Super Mario Land starts out like one would expect from a traditional Mario game, but slowly begins to feel like it came straight out of a parallel universe. It's still a platformer tasking you to get from point A to point B, you still jump under blocks to reveal hidden items, you still collect power-ups, and you still jump on top of enemies to defeat them. However, there are no more flagpoles, just a pair of exits, with the higher exit earning you a mini-game for extra lives. The fire flower is gone, replaced by a new premier power-up granting you the ability to throw unnaturally bouncy balls. On top of all of...

I'm cursed when it comes to arcade games. My experiences always follow the same cycle. I'll boot up the game, immediately appreciate the simple, yet intelligent, design that made it popular, lose a lot, become disenchanted, and decide to play something else instead. Ultimately, I'm just not very good at them, and I lack the patience to get good, so I move on. I thought that's how Centipede would go long before I realized I was cursed, so I never actually gave it a chance. I was right. However, I wasn't as right as I thought, and I actually surprised myself with how much fun I was having by blasting all of those darn bugs! It's pretty ambiguous what you actually play as in Centipede , and I never figured it out. What I do know, is that you can shoot projectiles that defeat enemies and break hazards. Based on that alone, I figured this would just be a clone of Space Invaders , shoot the enemies that move side-to-side while getting progressively lower, use shot-st...

  As an earlier arcade title, I sort of expected Missile Command to be more simplistic than its "newer" peers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it actually seemed to be quite complex. Instead of infinite ammo, resource management is a necessity. Instead of controlling one little character, you take command of three silos and protect cities throughout the whole bottom of the screen. Instead of comfortably picking off enemies one by one, you have to race to take out incoming missiles in groups before they spread too wide and overwhelm you. Perhaps the most impressive though was the fact that your failures stick with you as the game progresses; if you let an enemy rocket take out a city you were trying to protect, it won't magically return the next round. It's just gone. Missile Command has a simple objective. You are tasked with shooting down scores of enemy missiles before they destroy all of your cities. You have one aiming reticule, but three missile silos. ...

After my experience with Battlezone , I had a really tough time deciding how I felt about it. The game is technologically fascinating, and is truly a well-made tank simulation for being four decades old. However, it would have taken a miracle for me to survive more than a minute or two in my playthroughs, which is pretty disheartening. Battlezone puts you in the role of a tank with seemingly no allies and legions of enemies.  Without the ability to strafe, I could never really figure out how to balance dodging and shooting in order to be successful. However, that difficulty aided my suspension of disbelief; even though I have no idea what driving a tank feels like, this game made me think I do. Unfortunately, constantly seeing my screen crack after less than a minute of roaming this endless wasteland was pretty discouraging. I was usually able to take out a couple enemy tanks before I lost, so it wasn't all for nothing, but it still sort of felt like it was. Of all of the classic ...

  If the pictures didn't make it painfully obvious, I am bad at this game. Classic arcade games usually give me trouble (that's their quarter-eating job), but Frogger kicked it up a notch. Other arcade legends eased me into the intense difficulty by making simple adjustments every level. However, just the second level of Frogger added faster vehicles, more diving turtles, less frequent logs, and two kinds of alligators. There's no room for learning - this game is a trial by fire. Each level tasks you to escort five frogs across a street and over a river while avoiding obstacles and, optionally, grabbing some extras for bonus points. With nothing deliberately seeking to kill me, Frogger did end up being a more "zen-like" experience than I'm used to from the genre. Unfortunately for me, zen and simplicity are not synonymous. Frogger  wrecked me, and like most other arcade games, I lack the dedication to improve. If you have a chance to play this game, by all m...

  Galaga is an absolute classic. Upgrading the formula and gameplay from its predecessor Galaxian , this space-shooter has an almost perfect feeling of simplicity to tie its more complex mechanics together. I always leaned towards Galaxian amongst the two, mostly because I was the most familiar with it. However, it is clear that Galaga is an improvement in almost every way. Although the main gameplay mechanics of this title were popularized by the legendary  Space Invaders , I believe that this is the definitive alien-blasting arcade experience. Galaga tasks you with taking down as many fleets of bug-like aliens as possible, while dodging them as they fly by and avoiding any of their return fire. This title also introduces the possibility of losing a ship to an enemy tractor beam. If you get caught, you'll lose a life, but rescuing the lost ally let's you pilot the two ships together and wreak serious havok. Galaga also introduces bonus rounds that test your ability to hi...

  While franchises born on the NES , like Mario , Zelda , and Metroid , continued on to have highly successful careers, Kid Icarus only got a sequel on the Gameboy before being abandoned for decades. If you just play the first ten minutes of each original game, that decision seems to make sense. Kid Icarus starts slower than it's peers, and begins at a higher difficulty, so it doesn't quite hook you in the same way. However, playing through the whole game reveals that it actually combines some of the best aspects of Nintendo's NES -era lineup and deserves far more recognition. In Kid Icarus , you'll find character growth and platforming reminiscent of Metroid , an adventure and menacing enemies that rival The Legend of Zelda , and linearity directed by clever variety similar to the likes of Super Mario Bros. Playing as Pit, an angel with wings too weak to fly and a bow that can't shoot very far, you attempt to climb out of the depths of the underworld, cross the...

  Tempest is a unique alien-fighting arcade game due to the fact that the enemies are actually in front of you, rather than floating on the top of the screen. When other companies were having you fight invaders with 2D sprites, Atari used 3D vector graphics that allowed you to face your opponents head on. Because of it's unique design, and the enjoyable variety in level structure and enemies, this game had a lot going for it when it came out. Unfortunately, what made it good then causes it to suffer now. Thanks to it's use of unconventional controls, Tempest is fantastic on the original arcade cabinets, and rather disappointing in it's rereleases. The arcade machine is designed with an analog dial for movement, allowing players to navigate with extreme precision. Needless to say, modern consoles don't really have dials, so ports of this game have to settle for d-pads or joysticks. Unfortunately, neither of those options offer the kind of precision that this game was ...

I'll spare you the often-repeated history of The Lost Levels , as I've heard it myself at least three dozen times. Diving right in, I feel like this game acts more as an expansion to the original , rather than a full new game. The difficulty of the first world in this game picks up right after the eighth world of it's predecessor, and it just grows from there. The only thing that really makes this feel like a full new entry in the series is the updated background sprites and the addition of new mechanics, like the poison mushroom and wind. As they share an engine, The Lost Levels is identical to the original in terms of gameplay. Thus, it can easily be assumed that the platforming is pristine. Unfortunately, the developers seemed to be grasping for new ways to increase the difficulty, and leaned a bit too much on tactics that people like myself consider "unfair." When my jump needs to be timed to the fraction of a second in order to cross a pit, or hidden blocks ...

  Robotron 2084 places the player in the middle of arena-like battlefields surrounded by dozens of evil robots and a few helpless humans. Your job is to protect the last survivors and destroy the waves of robots for as long as possible. Like all arcade games, Robotron is designed to give you a taste of glory, and then kick your butt for your quarters. To keep a long story short, it does it's job well. When I first picked the game up, I was immediately reminded of my childhood favorite, Smash TV . Both share a similar hard-as-nails, arena-focused, run-and-gun style, and, although it is more basic, I had fun playing Robotron . However, I did find myself wishing for something more. Fortunately, I have options, just not from this title. Playing Robotron 2084 was a fun few minutes, but that's all it really took for me to get what this game had to offer. I appreciated that it contributed to the genre that birthed games like Smash TV, but it's no longer the best option. It...