2024 - II

 2024 also the year of shooting games appreciation:

 

Two notable games actually came out that year. One is Devil Blade Reboot was a completely unexpected surprise. A remake of an obscure 30 year old doujin game it came revived with great presentation. A vertical shmup with straightforward controls (just wide and narrow shot) and very interesting set pieces. Many difficulty modes are provided and the thrill of pushing up the ranks is the meat of the game. Also included is the original piece, which was at it happens already very neatly done. The other is Utopia Must Fall, still an Early Access game. This one is also a revivalist, somewhat of a mix between Missile Command and Akka Arrh. Very addictive to play and it plays very well indeed, mouse only, allowing for super smooth controls (have not tried it with a trackball).

But it wasn't just new games as I delved deep into old favourites and rediscovered some new ones that had been on the waiting list for a while. Ray'z Arcade Chronology is one that I had been postponing for a long time. A wonderful, M2 certified arcade conversion of Rayforce, Raystorm and Raycrisis, along with their HD versions, it has to be the definitive version of this series. The trick with this one is the multilayer battlefield, allowing you to hit above and below, like Xevious, with all the modern conveniences of M2 emulation. My favourite was Rayforce. There's something to simple and so satisfying about it. Taito were true masters of the game, a mastery that while alive in name, is now gone.

Another venerable series is Raiden and the game, specifically Raiden IV x Mikado remix. Comparing it to Rayforce, it is similar but, to my taste, not as good. This series has long lived aboard its impressive lightning effects but other key areas like enemy and stage design are not as inspired. There is the rush of power but it didn't leave a memorable impression like the best shmups. The ones you relive in your mind, again and again.

Guardian Force - Saturn Tribute is one that is a bit different. Here, we have a remake not of the arcade board but of the Saturn release. Nothing inherently bad about it. Instead of the usual spaceship we have a sort of turbocharged tank. This, of course, affects gameplay as you can move turrets in various directions. Stage design is very offbeat. In all, strange, different but enjoyable! As someone who is quite jaded of guns, I would have preferred a less militaristic model, but what's here still feels very fresh.

Finally, this was also the year of Toaplan. Where to start? Perhaps with the generalities as I played many, but not all (if I'm not forgetting some): Slap Fight, Hellfire, Out Zone, Fixeight, Batsugun, Vimana, Grind Stormer, Truxton and Truxton II. They share the same blood. Even the most different out of them, Out Zone and Slap Fight, have something that ties them together. Some are as old school as having checkpoints, to which your booted when you (inevitably) die, while others allow continuing on the spot. The reeditions are lovely with incredible CRT recreations and an amazing atmosphere. I'll go into the ones I most enjoyed. The Truxtons are indeed something else. So nihilistic, reeking of adrenaline they're deservedly two of the most advanced specimens of the evolutionary scale of arcade games. It's all juice! The setting might not be to everyone's taste but as usually happens in these games, it's all an excuse for perfect gameplay: evading and striking, avoiding death and erasing everything you can. This taps into our prime instincts as few others do. I would also highlight Batsugun. Playing the Saturn version, this one's more advanced but also more forgiving than the Truxtons. Yet the setting is just right on. Here you can rightly see the primordials of danmaku, right down to visual cues and smattering of bonuses. So enthusing to play and one of the best examples of marrying style and substance in these games. It's definitely one of the best. Finally, I'd highlight Slap Fight which, surprisingly ended up being my favourite. What makes it so endearing? It's one of their earliest titles but it's a jump above even earlier gems of the genre, like Xevious, 1942 or Terra Cresta. The way it is so simple, with a Gradius type powerup bar, along with devilish enemy placement makes it much more strategic in trying to survive. Somewhat like a fast chess game where you are forced to make split second decisions as you look at the entire board and weigh whether to go for that powerup that will allow you to get the wings, or play it safe and take out that turret top left, who is going to fire at you in about 4 seconds. Marvelous!

Finally, just three more highlights. This year I went deeper into the Metal Slug series, in particular the first, X (2), 3 and 4. It's no surprise that the first and X are the most memorable. These games are, for me, tough to grade. The experience as an arcade game is fantastic, its thousands of fans aren't wrong. But as in any other run 'n' gun, shooting fatigue sets in. And there are things which are gruesome just for the sake of being gruesome. Senseless violence is senseless. While fun in the context of a videogame I found it less appealing the more I played. Top Hunter, which I also got into it, happened to suffer from the same effect, although also, technically, a brilliant and inventive piece. I missed In The Hunt quite a bit. With depersonalized submarines, planes, machines, it's never as gruesome. When all else fails Truxton! Moose Life! This late Jeff Minter gem has been a constant companion. It's hard to explain but it fills the niche like few others can and I think I now enjoy it more than Tempest 3000. A truly wonderful game that can be played and replayed. The Solitaire of shooters!

Moving one, I'd like to address some retro re-releases from various genres I came up to. Perhaps starting Llamasoft the Jeff Minter Story is more than appropriate. Part documentary part collection, it's laudable that so much effort was put into rereleasing such a wealth of earlier games by Jeff Minter, still one of the most original developers out there. While certainly interesting from a documental standpoint, I could not stand to delve deep into much of the collection. They are truly of a different time, for different machines. The Castlevania Dominus Collection also feels like a weird one. Not having played them when they came out I remember how adored they were. Perhaps concessions were made for being handheld games, as well as the popularity of the series. I have never been an inveterate fun and I could not find enjoyment here. Nonetheless there is a wealth of excellent handheld games that should be rereleased for computers and that is praiseworthy by itself.

The aptly named Sunsoft is Back is one of those completely unexpected releases. Three now obscure early Sunsoft games, including an adventure game, all translated in English. There is a treasure trove of decades of unreleased Japanese games. I hope there are many more to come. A company that has been doing its fair share regarding this aspect is Mindware, which have re-released and remade all of these previously lost Japanese computer games: Space Mouse 2, Alien Field, Hover Attack, Denshi Life 2, Heiankyo Alien. My favourite was far and away Heiankyo. A mix of Pac-man and Dig Dug (Mappy?) it's quite addictive and at the same time original. Space Mouse 2 as well is incredibly fun and well made as you race for high scores like a top down Flicky meets Druaga (if you can imagine it). Denshi Life is a very simple one but very endearing. This one almost deserved Tetsuya Mizoguchi gave it a remake like only he can. Colourful and trippy it soon puts you in the zone. The others are, to my sensibilities, more hit and miss but, as before, I have nothing but praise for the companies putting out these games in 2024.

Moving on, two more Japanese games with slightly more produced reissues, namely Pocky & Rocky Reshrined and Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle. I would say the first is a note for note recreation not of how the original looks but how we imagined in ours minds that it looked. It looks fantastic and it's also very well animated. The only problem is the crushing difficulty which will stop much progress. As a re-release there are unfortunately not enough emulation options that would help less patient players (like me) move on quicker. But perhaps it would lose its appeal otherwise. JaJamaru on the other hand is immediately endearing as it assumes some rogue-like features, allowing for many upgrades and unlocks, the more you play. Gameplay as well is rightly addictive, some of the best single screen action games. Perhaps as before with Metal Slug there is action fatigue because it's so relentless. But in small bursts it's a delight and despite its action, there's still strategy to be had. Fantastic presentation.

Finally, switching gears away from Japan and action, I'd like to finish with Star Command. This is almost a one of a kind game although you can see traces of other early space-based role playing games in it and, perhaps, maybe later games like Star Control also took something from it. What is endearing about it? These games were from a different age, when genre conventions were not so set in stone. There is a sense of anything being possible, with a lot of different systems present, from flying all over the galaxy, fighting, trading, managing your crew. As simple as it is, there is an instilled sense of camaraderie in your crew, much like the best dungeon crawlers. No one is expendable!...

Until next time we continue to go over 2024, finishing up the games so we can move on to music and books.