Retro Game Challenge - Journal of my playthru

[Brian Moy]

I bought this game new yesterday and I'm really impressed!  See the preview article - http://www.specialtygamer.com/features/previews/retro-game-adventure-is-a/

In the game, you are yourself and you are transported to the 80's by the evil Game Master Arino.  Arino is someone in current time that gets beaten by everyone in all the current generation multiplayer games (sounds like me) and he is so determined to be a game master that a virtual version of himself is made in the DS and Arino transports you back to the 80's to play games with Arino as a kid in the 80's on a Famicom (J version of the NES).  As kids, you do what kids in the 80's did - sit on floor and play cartridge games, marveling at games you can play on a home system that you see at the arcades, crawl around to read the Powers to get the latest codes for the games, have your mom pop in to tell you to do your homework and/or embarass you while you're with your friends...

The game feels very true to my life growing up in the 80's - the NES was the first home video game system bought for me, and I sat on the floor playing games after school with my friends and other kids in the neighborhood.  The buttons are set to be like a regular 2 button controller with A & B buttons and the start/pause button.  The R shoulder button is used to Reset the system - very accurate, as often you'd be playing a game where you weren't able to get to where you needed, so you just had to reset the game and start again.  Another button combination brings you back in front of the TV with Arino, where you can look up game magazines for tips or chat with Arino while you are playing - then you can go back to the game.  You can hear Arino say things like "all right!" or "whoa!" at exciting parts of the game or other things when you die or something.  Just like we did when playing games as kids.  The game screen is the top portion, and you can see the cahracter for yourself, and Arino sitting in front of the TV playing on the bottom screen.  So cool!!   

A lot of added bits in the game are reflection on 80's culture growing up - such as at one point, the game won't start when you turn on the system, so you have to blow in the cart.  And chatting with Arino shows the difference between culture today compared to in the 80's.  In the 80's, the arcade was the place to go to play games and it was cool to have a game based on a game at the arcade, but it was basically a simplified version of the arcade original.  Having a home system was somewhat more of luxury as generally it was just the cooler kids that could afford to have a home system - compared to almost everyone having SOME kind of home system nowadays, and the arcade basically being DEAD  in this generation. 

I think anyone in mid-20's or older really HAS to see this game.  Younger people I'm sure will enjoy it too, but the references in the game are more reflective of growing up in the 80's and when home video game systems and video game culture were just STARTing to head towards the mainstream.

[Jared Patton]

This game sounds very interesting. I'm defintaly gonna pick this up. Is it like Warioware you you only play little snipits or are they full fledged games? Also are these made up games that are similar or are they real games

[Brian Moy]

This game sounds very interesting. I'm defintaly gonna pick this up. Is it like Warioware you you only play little snipits or are they full fledged games? Also are these made up games that are similar or are they real games

I haven't played Warioware so I can't really comment on that.  If you read the preview I did, I think that'll answer much of what you ask.      http://www.specialtygamer.com/features/previews/retro-game-adventure-is-a/

The way it works is that the Arino's evil virtual alias, the Game Master gives you a set of challenges for each game.  Like say, "kill 2 enemies with one jump" for example.  You play to beat those challenges at first, but the COOL PART is that when you beat those challenges, it unlocks the game in Freeplay mode, and the game gives you a new option (titled... Freeplay) that allows you to play the entire game so each in-game game is an entire game in itself!!! 

The games are all original, but look to be based on NES era games - and growing up on the NES, I can see them on a NES.  The graphics, sound, look and even the details feel very true to the culture.  The game is made by - so I believe just saying THAT, tells you of its quality - as were the ones that did all the classic arcade games I grew up with.

If you read the in game magazines, the games often have  -like controller codes, like for example to press up, up, A, A, B, B and you get your character fully powered up in one of the games.

So far, I played the shooter game which has a Galaga feel.  The arcade action game is like Mappyland/Burgertime, sort of platform survival - kill all the enemies to go to the next stage.  There's an RPG in the game, which I haven't gotten to yet, but that interests me very much - as you'd probably guess of me.  Screenshots of it on their website give it a Dragon Warrior type of look.

I can tell you this - Retro Game Challenge feels like an accurate cultural reflection of kids growing up in the 80's.  The game is very much about the setting - and yet the in-game games (that I've played so far - I just got it yesterday!) feel to me like they would stand on their own.  The ninja game I like enough that if it was a NES cart, I would be interested to just buy it.  I'm telling you I was genuinely impressed by this - and that's coming from someone that is used to all these "retro" games coming out lately so I do tend to be critical on games that I view as more contrived or marketing than accurate.  Retro Game Expo feels very well thought out, without being  over-done.

I'm trying to get thru these reply posts here actually to give myself a mid-day game break to play it again!

[Brian Moy]

Basically ANYone who grew up in the 80's as a kid and got a NES, Genesis or as their first home video game system given to them by their parents and was the "best" gift (when getting a home video game system was still considered a wonder of technology and a REALLY big deal - not more for granted like it is today), you really HAVE to see Retro Game Challenge.

The in-game games are good - but really its about the way its PRESENTED as starting a game, you crawl over to a bookshelf, pop the cart in the system and turn on the system.  All the games have manuals you can look at, you can get game magazines which have tips, reviews, reader Q&A's (the reader names are like "I.P Freely" and "Mike Rotch"), editor page, chat with Arino as a kid, you hear Arino's mom offer him and his friend juice and cookies.  The level of cultural detail is impressive.  Since the game was originally Japanese, the system is a Famicom.  Would have been even better if they could update the graphics to play on a USA NES, but still that's cool.

[Jared Patton]

I get it now. That actually sounds cooler than I tought. How many games are in it?

Wareware has you play a ton of these 4 second micro-game. You keep playing till you mess up. The speed and difficulty ramp up the more you keep playing. All the Warioware games have a portion were the micro games are all based on games. Those were always my favorite to do and Retro Game Challenge reminded me of that.

[Brian Moy]

I get it now. That actually sounds cooler than I tought. How many games are in it?

I don't know, just got it and started playing yesterday.  Would have played it longer if my dinner didn't kick in and put me to sleep for the night.

Wareware has you play a ton of these 4 second micro-game. You keep playing till you mess up. The speed and difficulty ramp up the more you keep playing. All the Warioware games have a portion were the micro games are all based on games. Those were always my favorite to do and Retro Game Challenge reminded me of that.

Retro Game Challenge isn't really micro-games.  None of them I've done so far were set at 4 seconds - dang, that's short!  Arino's evil alias gives you a set challenge to beat, but you play the game from the start, not just a snippet to do the specific task - if that's what you mean.  And sometimes, you might play and "mess up" what you were supposed to do in the challenge.  Like in the ninja game, one of the challenges was to get to level 3 without using throwing stars.  Well, I accidently hit the button and threw a ninja star and it hit one of the enemies, so I got past level 3 to level 4 without completing the task.  When you DO complete the set task, the game immediately ends with a "COMPLETE!" and you can go to the next task.  So if you play and mess up, getting past the area from doing what you were supposed to do, you CAN just keep on playing if you like, otherwise you'd have to press the R button with X to soft-reset the system to start again.

I have a Wario game on  that I should check out then.  I never played it.

[Brian Moy]

I beat the first boss in level 8 of Robot Ninja Haggle Man and it says "You Saved The Princess....  But Your Adventure Has Not End"

[Brian Moy]

So cool, Arino bought a rapid fire controller!

And there is 2 different space shooters (so far) in the game!  One is a Galaga style, all enemies above, defeat them all to advance.  Other is Raiden style, vertical scrolling (with side to side panning) with powerups and lots of onscreen bullets.

And... Arino won a game tournament so won a special not-for-sale promo cart version of Rally King sponsored by GameFan (the in game magazine) and Chicken Noodle Cup!  This one called Rally King SP, which is a slight variation of Rally King.

I got to the sequel of Robot Ninja Haggle Man, Robot Ninja Haggle Man 2.

I was reading about the RPG that I thought would be the next playable game, but according to GameFan the release date was pushed back...   

[dante]

This game is featured over at Wired

[Brian Moy]

I beat Robot Ninja Haggle Man this morning.

Also, last night I did get to the RPG, Gaudia Quest.  Very good quality like Dragon Warrior games.  And its not just super easy.  I've put about 5 hours or so into the Gaudia Quest.

Got to Robot Ninja Haggle Man 3, and the game is unexpectedly good!  Huge upgrade and departure from the first 2 Robot Ninja Haggle Man games (in a good way) with kind of a Ninja Gaiden/Shinobi feel to it.

[Brian Moy]

I've since completed Guadia Quest - approximately a bit over 10 hours and characters at level 42.  Also completed Rally King, Rally King SP, and also Cosmic Gate - but I admit I used the cheat code from GameFan to beat Cosmic Gate, which when you find out about the cheat takes you like three minutes to beat Cosmic Gate if you use it.

Gaudia Quest is a very good dungeon hacking, level grinding NES era medieval themed RPG much like Dragon Warrior 1 and 2 or Breath of Fire (yeah, I know BoF was SNES but seriously it was only NES quality).  The way it turns out in the end is sort of a surprise (at least it was to me) and it sort of leaves things unresolved ultimately, so I'd hope maybe it means there will be a Gaudia Quest 2. 

I have been reading opinions of other people on the internet criticizing Gaudia Quest (saying its boring or hard) and Retro Game Challenge, many people very opinionated that I can clearly tell (from how much I've played the game) that they haven't played thru the entire game and are basing their opinions on speculation. 

I've unlocked all the individual games in Retro Game Challenge and beaten all the individual challenges.  There is one last challenge to complete all the games and I'm crazy enough to do it.

[Brian Moy]

Completed Star Prince and Haggle Man 3.  I cheated and used the invincibility code for Star Prince - I'm not that good at shooters and I just wanted to beat the game.  Haggle Man 3 gets tough on the last level.  I had to keep continuing.  I'd consider the ending for Haggle Man 3 to be bittersweet.

Now the only game left I haven't beaten in Retro Game Challenge is Haggle Man 2.