Retro Review - Baluba-Louk No Densetsu (Arcade)

The original Tomb Raider

Ok, arcade fans! I am here once again to bring you another obscure coin-op gem that deserves your attention. This time it's the turn of the catchily titled Japanese game Baluba-Louk No Densetsu (just rolls off the tongue doesn't it!). Released way back in 1986, Baluba was another colourful 2d platform, collect-em-up, in a very similar vein to the Tehkan classic, Bomb Jack - one of my all time favourite games! Playing as a cute little explorer dude, your aim is to move around the small underground stages grabbing every single treasure chest, while avoiding the brightly-coloured beasties that patrol the stages. 

Retro Review - Sega Rally Championship (Arcade, Saturn, PS2, PC)

Sega doing what Sega do best!

There have been many, many arcade racing games over the years, but some stand the test of time better than others. For every amazing and instantly gratifying title that can still be enjoyed 10 or more years after its original release, there are a hundred other bland, generic and instantly forgettable games out there. While racers on home consoles have evolved over time to offer more depth, more cars, more customisation, more tracks and more content in general, it's the simpler, less complicated arcade racers that hold up in the all important fun and replayability stakes. Each Gran Turismo or Forza game automatically renders its predecessor void as they focus heavily on realistic visuals while games such as Daytona USA and Outrun 2006 never lose their appeal. It's no coincidence that I use two Sega games as examples, as they are truly the masters of the genre. Almost every racer they have released has set the bar for the time, provided more thrill and spills than anything else out there, and provided a template for others to imitate, yet never better. The aforementioned Daytona USA and Outrun 2006 are two of the best games in their genre, but it is Sega Rally Championship that gets my vote for, not only best arcade racing game of all time, but racing game overall.

Retro Review - Jackal (Arcade / NES)

4 Wheel Shmup Action

Jackal (or Top Gunner as it was known in North America) is a classic Konami arcade shoot-em-up that often gets unfairly overlooked. Not only does it feature the developer's wonderful, and instantly recognisable, style of visuals and sound of the time, but it also offers some great blasting action and some original ideas in a genre usually swamped in predictability. Essentially a vertical scrolling shmup, Jackal has one significant difference that separates it from your standard Fireshark, 1943, or Raiden affairs - the ability to explore the stage at your own pace. After being dropped via parachute onto a beach, your two man team set off in their military jeep and, as you move vertically upwards, the screen scrolls with you. You can stop and move around at your leisure, with the screen following you to the left and right for a short distance should you move off the central path, and even backtrack a little way.

Retro Review - Elevator Action Returns (Arcade)

A sequel done right!

The original Elevator Action from 1983 is often hailed as a coin-op classic, up there with the likes of Dig Dug, Galaga, and Donkey Kong, but personally I have never really cared for it. With bland visuals, a slow pace, and incredibly repetitive gameplay, I have always found it a bit, y'know, boring. This is certainly something that I can't level at Taito's 1994 sequel, which took the basic template set in the original and enhanced and improved upon everything to a huge degree. It may have taken over a decade for it to appear, but Elevator Action Returns is bigger, badder and much, much better.

Coin-Op Classics - Three Wonders (Capcom - 1991)

Capcom Threesome!

Three Wonders is an arcade game by Capcom that lives up to its moniker by featuring not one. Not two. Not three. No, wait. Three (sorry). Three games for the price of one. For your shiny quarter / twenty pence you could choose from either Midnight Wanderers, Chariots or, the bizarrely named, Don't Pull, each one offering a very different gaming experience, and - unlike many other x-in-1 games - each one could easily have been released as its own arcade cabinet. 

Retro Review - Crime City (Arcade)

Do you feel lucky? Punk!

As a huge fan of Taito's arcade games of the 80's and 90's, not to mention the platform run & gun genre in general, I was delighted, yet also surprised, to discover Crime City only recently. Released at the end of the 1980's, Crime City puts you in the non-regulation shoes of a plainclothes detective on a mission to rescue the city's major and put an end to the huge crime spree sweeping the city. A cliched plot devoid of any originality whatsoever, this theme carries over into the game itself, which plagiarises  pretty much every platform action game that came before it, as well as many popular movies of the 1980's, most notably the Lethal Weapon series - the two main characters are a black and white detective named Tony Gibson and Raymond Brody respectively.

Coin-Op Classics Special - Mr. Do (Arcade)

Get down with the clown!

Forget Digger, put aside your love of Dig Dug and wipe away those memories of The Pit, for Mr Do is where it's at for all your retro subterranean arcade maze adventures. Mr Do on Super Nintendo is a port of the classic coin-op by Universal that was released way back in 1982 - the time of early character based arcade games like Donkey Kong, Pac Man, and Dig Dug. 

Retro Classic - Lunar Rescue (Arcade)

One small step for man...

Lunar Rescue holds the honour of being the oldest game I have reviewed on Retro Spirit Games. It is also one of the few games I can stomach playing that was created before I was even born. Coming from the era of Space Invaders, where graphics were in their infancy, Lunar Rescue is another 'space' game - the go-to genre of choice back in those days, probably due to the fact the background could comprise of a little more than a black screen with a few white dots. Indeed, the visuals on offer here are incredibly basic but at least colourful, with a garish selection of colours for the games sprites. It actually resembles a ZX Spectrum game, due mainly to the fact that your ship changes to the colour of whatever enemy sprite inhabits the same horizontal area - this is the first arcade game I have seen with colour clash! With such crappy visuals you would hope that the game is fun, right? Well, thankfully your hopes are rewarded, as Lunar Rescue is extremely enjoyable and rewarding to play. It certainly must be doing something right when it can still be played and enjoyed some 34 years after its initial release!

Classic Coin-Op - Rastan (Taito) 1987

Another day, another fantastic Taito Arcade Classic

Ever since Arnie donned a set of over sized wristbands, fluffy boots and an animal hide codpiece for the 1982 movie Conan The Barbarian, the muscle-bound, sword wielding warrior has been a staple hero for videogames. Barbarian 1 and 2 on the 8 and 16-bit home micros pitted you against other foes in a 2d gladiatorial battle to the death, while titles such as Myth, Black Tiger and the PC Engine series, Legendary Axe were side scrolling affairs that pitted you against a legion of mystical monsters. Arcade classic Gauntlet, as well as pretty much every RPG game every made, has a class of character (often dubbed Warrior or Fighter) that adheres to the barbarian stereotype. More recently, the Xbox 360 and PS3 title Conan, brought the Barbarian protagonist back into fashion, but it is Taito's 1987 coin-op Rastan Saga (or simply Rastan on Western shores), that is the best game involving a broadsword swinging gym-freak in a thong.

Coin-Op Classics - Cameltry (Taito - 1989)

The oddly monikered Cameltry is an arcade puzzler from Taito. Released at the tail end of the 1980's, the game tasks you with simply guiding a ball to the end of each of its scrolling, maze-like stages. This is achieved, not by controlling the ball itself, but by rotating the world around the ball and letting gravity do the work. It is an incredibly simple concept that is executed very well, resulting in an addictive and enjoyable title. It can also be viewed as an early example of the casual game genre that is incredibly popular on today’s mobile platforms.

Video Game Box Art From Hell - 01 : Wonder Boy (Master System)

As I have just finished writing about the classic arcade game Wonder Boy, as well as its many home console ports, I was unfortunately exposed to something that has haunted me since I first laid eyes on it back in 1990. I am, of course, talking about the European box art for Wonder Boy.

I intended to include the following discussion (or rant) in the Wonder Boy article, but I felt it deserved its own page. Plus it is a theme I wish to return to in a recurring series. So, before I start frothing at the mouth and tearing into the artwork in question, let's take a look at what other countries were given instead.

Coin-Op Classics - Bomb Jack series (Tecmo 1985 - 1993)

Bomb Jack (Tecmo, 1984)

Bomb Jack has always been one of my favourite arcade games of the 1980's. With its bright, colourful graphics, jaunty tunes and simple, yet addictive gameplay, it is a game I can come back to again and again. Join me, as I take a look back at a classic 1980's coin-op, the many home conversions it received and the sequels that followed.

Original arcade flyer for Bomb Jack

The original Bomb Jack coin-op was released in 1984 by Tehkan, which would later become Tecmo. It was a fast paced, single screen platform game that enticed players with its bright and colourful visuals and quirky tunes. What awaited  gamers willing to part with their coins was a highly addictive and extremely challenging game that defied its cutesy veneer.

REVIEW - Capcom Arcade Cabinet (Xbox 360 / PS3)

1980's Arcade Deju Vu

After the unfortunate failure of the underrated Game Room service, the release of half hearted compilations such as Midway Arcade Origins and the total lack of anything from Taito (boo!), retro arcade games have had a bad run this generation. The exception to this might be the excellent Namco Museum - Virtual Arcade compilation, but even this had flaws. So, while still excited about the prospect of playing old Capcom arcade games on my 360 or PS3, I remained sceptical about what would actually be delivered. Unfortunately it would appear my scepticism was well founded, as what we have here is the most uninspiring selection of 1980's 'classics' I have yet seen.

Capcom have the ability to release wonderful retro compilations, as seen in their collections on PS2, Xbox and PSP. The Capcom Classics packages contained all the arcade games you would expect, with several you wouldn't, and provided excellent value for money. I had hoped that here, Capcom would re-release all those titles again, with the added bonus of HD visuals and online leaderboards. However, 'twas not to be, and instead we are left with an extremely watered down version of those packs.

Gaming Memories - The New Zealand Story

A Look back at a classic arcade game and one of it's Memorable Bosses

Since the beginning of video games, end of level bosses have been a staple part of the gaming experience. There have been many memorable boss characters over the years, some even earning the same level of recognition and popularity as the main protagonist. Where would Mario be without Bowser? Sonic without Dr Robotnik... sorry, Eggman (groan)? From the many robot masters of the Mega Man series, to the giant mountain sized behemoths you must defeat in Shadow of the Colossus, bosses have always been there to challenge, and infuriate us. They are the final obstacle between the player and the next level, or indeed the end of the game, and without them a game feels unfinished. The player needs closure in the form of an epic battle that takes many tries to win.

Tecmo Classic Arcade (Xbox) - Works on Xbox 360!

Tecmo Classic Arcade is a compilation of old Tecmo coin-op games from the 80's and early 90's. Before you get excited, no this isn't a new release on Xbox 360 like the recent Midway Arcade Origins. It was released on the original Xbox back in 2005. 

So why am I reviewing it now? Well I missed it first time around, and it holds the dubious honour of being one of the only retro compilations that will work on your nice shiny Xbox 360. It is a real bummer that none of the excellent Xbox arcade compilations by Taito, Midway, or Capcom will work on an Xbox 360. Midway have rectified the situation with Origins (complete with online leaderboards!) but for Capcom and Taito fans, of which I count myself as one, we will have to wait and see if they get around to blessing us with a new 360 edition.

In the meantime for a few pounds (or dollars) you can grab Tecmo Classic Arcade. Sure it's cheap, but is it any good?

REVIEW - Midway Arcade Origins (Xbox 360 / PS3)

Another generation of consoles, another repackaged collection of the same retro 'delights' that kept 80's kids enthralled in arcades everywhere. So how do these coin guzzling arcade games stand up today?

I should start by admitting that I never experienced the early 80's arcade boom, my first experiences of video games starting in 1989 when I was hooked on coin-ops such as Final Fight, Bomb Jack, Ghosts N Goblins and Bubble Bobble. Even then, games such as Defender and Arkanoid seemed dated to my young eyes. I have always had a soft spot for retro arcade games, though, and still play classics such as the aforementioned titles, as well as brilliant games like Mr Do, Rush N Attack, Galaga, Shinobi and many more. It was this love of simple, yet addictive, arcade games that made buying Midway Arcade Origins a no-brainer, especially at such a low price 

point.

COIN-OP CLASSICS - Volfied (Taito) 1991

Volfied is the strangely titled follow up to Taito's earlier arcade titles, Qix, and Super Qix. Released back in 1991 Volfied took the line drawing aspect of its predecessors and set it in a futuristic theme not too dissimilar from their later Space Invaders sequels and spin-offs.

Whereas Qix has a very minimalist approach to its graphics, with basic sprites and geometric shapes as enemies, Volfied looks more like the space shoot-em-ups from that era of arcade gaming. Backgrounds consist of planet surfaces and space installations, while enemies are mostly mechanised or robotic in some way or another, this is especially true of the bosses that inhabit each single screen level. These behemoths are usually very striking, from huge robot hands and skulls, to centipede like creatures that snake their way around the screen. The smaller enemies that accompany them are either generic space ships, many of them looking quite similar to your own craft, or a smaller clone of the boss.

The sound is functional, with only title screen music, and a short riff that plays as you enter a stage, and sound effects consist of humming and basic sfx for the ship movement. To be honest, presentation is not Volfied's strong point, though it gets the job done and feels fitting to the basic nature of the gameplay.

GAME ROOM on Xbox 360 - Why it is still Great!

So here we are, 2 and a half years after the launch of Microsoft and Krome's GAME ROOM. A service that promised retro gamers their very own arcade. An arcade they could fill with all their favourite arcade games and relive the glory days of dingy, smoke filled rooms (smoke and dinginess not supplied) awash with the sounds of coin-op gaming. But alas, twas not to be, and as the Atari 2600 and Intellivision games started flooding in so did the doubts. The disappointment began to set in, and then Venician Blinds was delivered to the service. It was like a slap round the face to all the people who had been supporting it and they began to flee like rats from a sinking ship.

So what has GAME ROOM got to offer now. The answer is plenty, but you have to overlook the fact it will not be updated, and avoid all the dross clogging up the store. You could even have a group of chain smoking teenagers stand behind you while you play, shouting instructions like a back seat driver. Thus perfectly recreating the arcades of our youth. Maybe your mother could come in half way through and drag you away from the game, complaining about 'wasting money' and 'bad influences'.