Star Wars got NES'd up

My recent post about the NES game Kung Fu stirred memories of another game I saw being played out on the NES: Star Wars.

Original video located here. Accessed 8th August 2016

In the years since I first saw this game in action, I became aware that this game has built up a rancid reputation as being one of the worst Star Wars games ever made. So how does it some twenty years later?
Well, I am somewhat baffled by the hate this game gets. At first glance the game certainly looks impressive and certainly better than a lot of other NES games at the time.
My research has revealed that a lot of the hate seems to be directed at the gameplay: What, with falling damage, fiddly controls, and a lot of 'blind faith' jumping (that being jumping into uncertainty and hoping you land on something on solid). Those are legitimate points but nothing that differentiates this game from the tough difficulty that was so commonplace in games of the NES era.
One could say that this game still suffers from the 'curse of movie tie-in' but it does a solid job of both following the plot of the movie and adding some new additions on top. And hey, I welcome any creativity when following a movie tie-in - after all, Super Star Wars on the SNES had the Sarlacc from Return of the Jedi as the first level boss.

My recollections of playing this game weren't really that spectacular: I didn't get very far largely due to the difficult nature of the game. And years later, I tried the adore-mentioned Super Star wars and I found that just as, if not more, frustrating.

So at the end of the day, this game may look impressive but the hatred it gets is still baffling to me. Granted it's not best Star Wars game but it certainly isn't the worst.
But if the hate of this game is down to the difficult nature, it must look odd now when people are getting beaten down by Dark Souls.

It took ten years to get here

It is well documented in this blog that whilst I have had an interest in gaming over the years, it is only since late 2005 that it really took off and entrenched itself like it has now.
What really triggered this interest was tumbling across a list by IGN on the 100 Greatest Games of all Time. Curious, I sat down and read through all of it. As i did so, i found myself recognizing games I was familiar with, games I knew of and games that were completely new to me. In any case, it became clear to me that I had been missing out on a lot. So I made it my goal to track down all of these games and give them a shot.

That was a full decade ago.

 So where are we now?

Well I am pleased to say that, out of the hundred games listed, I have managed to obtain all but five.
Not a bad effort if I say so myself. Many of these games have been obtained as physical copies whilst others as digital downloads (through the Virtual Console and later GoG).

So which are the five that eluded my grasp? Well:

• Star Wars Arcade (no idea how I'm going to obtain that game)
• Pokemon Red/Blue (Pokemon has a massive fanbase. It scared me off)
• Advance Wars (truly worth getting a GBA for?)
• Super Smash Bros Melee (Somehow owning Brawl made owning Melee redundant)
• and Panzer Dragoon Saga (and good luck finding a copy of that).

And after ten years invested in this project what can I say at this point in time?

This project of obtaining the (then) Hundred Greatest Games of All Time has really been my stepping stone into the wonderful world of gaming.
What originally started out as a goal of hundred games has ballooned into (according a Raptr) a collection of just under three hundred games (!).
I have played, and enjoyed, games I have originally missed out on.
I have found much to love within games I originally never thought possible.
I have got off my arse and got my true first console the PS2 - and later, the Wii and 360.
I have stepped into the world of gaming and have made many friends through doing so 
And I have started this blog and have been rambling on it ever since.

They say that it often pays to acknowledge one's roots and to never forget where you've come from. And I acknowledge that this list sent me down a path that was bewildering but at the same time lot's of fun. In fact, now that I think of it, the original list pretty much functioned, to me at least, as a way to acknowledge gaming's past and to salute the pioneers that brought us all here to then then present state of 2005. And that's what I've done with this collection process: I have collected games, many of which I've never played before, and I've seen how they've managed to shape and inspire those which have followed in their wake. I've found material that have been completely new to me and it's interesting to see where certain ideas have originated from.

So where do we go from here?

Through obtaining, and playing, these games I have gained a sense of history and, like any gamer, built up some treasured memories to call my own. Indeed, one could say that I have forged my own identity as a gamer and have seen many more new places emerge before me. But that wouldn't have happened it it not been for those magical 95 games.
Okay so yeah a fair number of those 95 games have gone unplayed but i reiterate: It's important to know where you've come from. Why, recently IGN has released a new list of the 100 Greatest Games of all Time. And I found this new list places a lot of emphasis on more recent titles - but it means little to me as it seems more a celebration of the previous generation than a salute to the pioneers that the 2005 list was. Maybe it's a generational thing?

But no matter: This post marks the endpoint of a ten year journey so where do we go from here?
I have no idea but I tell you: It's going to be a lot of fun :)

This is not Halloween

It's Halloween and do you know what that means? Aside from many little girls dressing up as Anna and Elsa from Frozen?
That's right: it's the beginning of winter! But This is meaningless to me as I live in Australia and am currently in the middle of Spring. Still, at time of writing, the weather has been schizophrenic to say the least.

Anywho, I was in my local EB games recently and noticed, in amongst the PC games, a whole rack of unsold Angry Birds Star Wars games.
I suppose that's what you get for selling out.

But, to save this post from being a exercise in complete cynicism, hopefully the recent publisher deal LucasArts have with GoG will make people realize there are more substantial Star Wars games available and within easy reach.

A New Hope

Well it happened: The new publisher that GoG has been teasing turned out to be LucasArts.

I was doubtful of this but it would appear any doubts are confounded. I don't know what kind of deal the GoG legal team did with Disney but it would seem they (the legal team) aren't being paid enough.

Not much else I can say except: Bring on TIE Fighter!

Radical Dreamers

Saw this ages agao and was delighted to find it still online.
Mind you it's still funny looking at this in the wake of Disney closing LucasArts

Join the DotTs

Hey: 12/12/12

Anyway, Simon the Sorcerer wasn't the only game I beat last weekend: Another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shame in the form of the adventuring classic Day of the Tentacle.

I mentioned earlier this week in that the graphic adventuring games have always been something that has constantly eluded me: In particular, the LucasArts games that have been held in constantly high regard during the nineties (and still do). So, in the name of tracking things down that may have escaped my notice first time around, I was fortunate enough to pick up several titles for a really cheap price. These titles were The Dig, Sam and Max Hit the Road, Grim Fandango and Curse of Monkey Island. As these titles are hard to track down nowadays you wouldn't think that I got these games, in 2006 may I add, for a really good price. And you certainly wouldn't think that I got these games at my local Post Office.
Yet it is only now that I've been able to finally get them working. Needless to say, as this is my first time encountering these games (with the exception of The Dig) it would be interesting to see how these games hold up. Plus, it is always reassuring to know that LucasArts made something that didn't have the Star Wars brand attached to it.

So about Day of the Tentacle. I was fortunate to pick this up online based around the understanding that it was one of, if not THE, finest game of it's genre. Looking back I feel compelled to agree: There is certainly a lot going for Day of the Tentacle: The graphics are nice to look at, the animation is great, there's a lot of hilarious jokes and some real inventive solutions to the many puzzles throughout this game. The time travel element is used to great effect and the voice acting, the first of it's kind may I add, is remarkably stellar. Throw in a surprisingly threatening villain and

All in all, there's not a lot I can add about Day of the Tentacle that hasn't already been said before. The game has endured the passage of time remarkably well and still looks great nineteen years on.
Guess it goes to show that, once again, if it's well regarded it's often for good reason.

Signing up

During my travels on the net i came across this: A petition to remake Panzer Dragoon Saga in HD.

I have little faith in web-petitions. I'm am uncertain whether or not they get heeded and make a difference - unless of course they're signed by Star Wars fans. Still this is a cause I'm all for so I signed it. It may not make a difference but at least I get my voice heard.

Additions to the Virtual Console

Some Virtual Console titles I recently added to my ever-growing library.

Adventures of Lolo 2
I downloaded the first one last year and I thoroughly enjoyed the mind-bending puzzles that make up this game (not to mention the irritatingly catchy theme tune). Sure the second may be more of the same but not that I'm complaining.

Ogre Battle 64
More of a curiosity: I know nothing of it apart from it being ace (apparently) so it would interesting to see what it can do.

Street Gangs
Or River City Ransom to those of you on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. I remember in the early nineties beat-em-ups were quite popular in arcades. So seeing this one, with RPG elements and a charmingly cartoonish presentation makes for a different, and indeed entertaining, romp.

Super Star Wars
Whilst movie-tie ins are nowadays looked down upon, this gem stands out, mostly because the amount of creativity and effort the developers put into it. Creative liberties may have been a puzzling move on paper but here it works wonders. There have been many Star Wars games made but this definitely stands tall as one of the best.

Super Empire Strikes Back
And if you're going to download Super Star Wars you may as well download Super Empire Strikes Back as well.

Seems a bit strange that I'm acquiring new titles when I have so many games unfinished but whatever....