Parteibuch Aggregator Feed - Items from date 2010-07-21

Destructoid: Ufouria is that new-old NES game you've been looking for

Destructoid — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:00:00 +0000

The NES is a big deal again. For some, it's all about nostalgia. For others, it's all about preference for a simpler, stranger era in gaming's history. No matter what the reason, NES games, and NES "culture", are hitting it big right now; in movies, games, music, fashion, and just about everything else.

That works for recognizable series like Mario and Mega Man, but will it work for an oddball like Ufouria? This super-rare NES title called Hebereke in Japan, which means 'drunk' or 'untrustworthy' in Japanese was never even released in the United States. The game did well in Japan, but was released in small quantities late in the NES's life cycle in Europe, and as such, an original boxed copy of the game goes for a pretty penny on eBay. Part of that is due to rarity, and part of it is due to rad-ity. The game plays like a half-mad cross between Blaster Master and Kirby. Oh yes, it is fun.

I wonder if the game's eBay-worth will decrease now that it's coming to the Wii's Virtual Console? More importantly, I wonder if any interested parties will buy the game instead of illegally emulating it on the Mac/PC?

Personally, I'm buying this game day one. It's one thing to emulate a game that's not available in your country, but it's just sleazy to play Ufouria for free while the good people at Sunsoft are actively trying to survive off of providing us with fun.

Ufouria: Official Site [Sunsoft]

Summertime Retro Recollection: Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II

Summertime Retro Recollection — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:43:00 +0000

Ah, summer. When the days are endless and warm, the crickets converse at night "a/s/l?" "a/s/l?" , and I reminisce about the school-free afternoons that afforded me hours of guiltless video gaming.

I've been talking a little bit about the games I shared with--and swiped from--other friends. But summertime socializing can turn dramatic and sour thanks to awkward love triangles, petty rages over badly-coached ball games, or a water balloon assault. So with summer comes the need to separate from your companions to cool down and game alone.

In the summer that followed my grade six career, I played the heck out of the second Wizards & Warriors title, "Ironsword." Like its predecessor, Ironsword is an NES action/adventure title starring Kuros, a knight who--

Wait. It's required by law to analyze the box art for Ironsword when reminiscing about the game, so let's get that out of the way.

The Ironsword cover is still celebrated as a prime example of box art that's simultaneously epic and cringe-inducing. And given the fact Fabio is standing under the word "Ironsword" and fixing the outside world with a sultry look, it can be argued that Ironsword also boasts the industry's most misleading box art.

Truth is, when you pop Ironsword into your NES, you don't control a half-naked Fabio on his quest to disrobe fully before a busty wench and find some brass polish for his WWE championship belt. You take charge of Kuros, whose character sprite is literally covered from head to toe in impermeable armor. Even when he's helmetless, Kuros appears to have some kind of grey substance grafted onto his skin, and only his eyes peer out at the rugged fantasy world. The guy's so intense about his modesty that Queen Victoria would probably tell tell him to chill out and loosen his top a little.

On the other hand, Kuros's enemies are relentless. He needs all the protection he can get. Ironsword was developed at the tail end of the '80s by Zippo Games, but it still bears the mark of Rare. Like most of Rare's NES-era handiwork, you can count on Ironsword for some solid adventuring before the game gets itself mired a bog of frustration. I adored the game as a girl and I'm not beyond admitting that maybe, maybe I had a crush on the box art , but I never finished it. I never came close.

You don't have to look far beyond footage of the first level to see why I got stuck. The enemies in Ironsword just never let up. The game brings back the evil wizard Malkil for a second go at Kuros, and the old fart obviously means business.

Much like the original Wizards & Warriors, Ironsword's levels are sprawling and aimless, perfect for exploring--if you can stay alive long enough. More often than not, Kuros has to climb like the dickens to reach his goal. There are four realms to conquer, and each one is divided into two halves. The first half of each level usually involves finding a trinket belonging to that level's animal guardian. The appeased guardian will then let Kuros pass to the second half of the level, which involves taking down some pretty goofy-looking bosses that are based on the four elements Wind, Water, Earth, Fire. What, you thought Rare was going to bother deviating from the four basics? . When Kuros beats an Elemental, he can access a piece of the Ironsword, the weapon needed to put Malkil back to bed on IceFire Mountain.

Alas, Malkil was not mine to beat, though I did get quite far into the fourth realm--Earth. What stopped me? I had no idea what that level's animal guardian was asking me for. The guardian of the Air realm was an eagle who wanted her egg back. The guardian of the Forest realm was a frog whose palette demanded a golden fly. The guardian of the Fire realm was a dragon who wanted a crown. And the guardian of the fourth realm was a badger--or a bear, I never could tell--who apparently wanted a tankard of booze. I never found it.

But I persisted, at least until the game had to go back home to the video store. For one thing, the soundtrack is pretty remarkable. Back then, we had to suffer for our listening enjoyment; we couldn't just jump on YouTube shakes fist . And I really liked the animal guardians, as well as the Pachinko-style game Kuros could play in any of the stores scattered throughout the four realms. Kuros would guess which cup a skull was destined to bounce into. More often than not, it was a waste of gems, but victory was glorious.

In fact, even if you're inspired to fire up Ironsword and it proves too intense, at least stop by one of the shops and blow your stash of gems. Once you're tapped out, the merchant will scruff Kuros and throw him out physically. Hey, Kuros trying to save the world, you penny-pinching ingrate! At least let him nibble on one of those chickens that you harvest from the mountain's bedrock.

And even if Ironsword just doesn't grab you at all, at least experience it through its commercial. If a testosterone-driven warrior comes screaming into your bedroom from another dimension, you should thank God if all he wants is to hand you a video game.

Screenshots from SydLexia and Gamewad

DOS Month Day 21: Jazz Jack Rabbit

DOS Month Day 21 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:56:00 +0000

Another popular game that deserves to get a word out is Jazz Jack Rabbit. This game had a lot of geeks in the early 90s crazy about some nice good spanking side scrolling action. I remember trying out the game and just coming back for more. This game is everything you can ask for which is great because that's mainly why it's so popular or was so popular so to speak. The game is really challenging later on but still remains fun. Sadly, I never finished the game as I only had the shareware like many of us and wasn't easy on sending money in an envelope to some building that may not even exist anymore. Either way, there should be a full version out there somewhere.

DOS Month Day 20: Cyber Dogs

DOS Month Day 20 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:51:00 +0000

Do any of you ever remember this one? It's a very interesting game with lots of stuff to wish for. You have yourself shooting at monsters and such. This game really teased me back in the days as I have gotten a disc with a bunch of shareware games but when I got to try to install this one, the files were missing! Back then 1997 or so very few people had internet and connections were slow. Luckily I was one of them that had internet and was able to look for it. Sadly, I came up empty handed until a year or two ago when I decided to search for it again. I have a copy of the game somewhere in my over two thousand discs that I will eventually get to and play.

DOS Month Day 19: Zeliard

DOS Month Day 19 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:45:00 +0000

Another great game that has long been forgotten, Zeilard was an amazing game with little recognition. The game plays like a side scrolling adventure game with RPG elements. To make things simpler I will refer it as a game that plays like Zelda 2. The game is very challenging at times and keeps you interested in the storyline. Your mission is to turn the princess back to normal as she is a statue for the time being. The game plays amazingly well and very responsive for a hack and slash adventure title. The music either PC speaker or sound blaster is incredible. This game is one of the hidden gems for the old PC systems and it's highly recommended at least by me.

Brian Ashcraft: Resident Evil Does The Cancan [Resident Evil]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:30:00 +0000

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There are words to describe this. I, however, am at a loss for them. More »