Podcast: Jukebox Hero
In 2005 a new gaming fad descended upon home consoles that resulted in lots of rock and roll appreciation, a great fusion of music and games, and lots of wasted real estate with plastic instruments both on store shelves and in homes. That phenomenon was developer Harmonix and accessory manufacturer Red Octane’s Guitar Hero. Taking from Konami’s Bemani series of games the rock/rhythm title had you playing lead guitar for influential rock bands over the decades. From there it grew into one of the biggest selling franchises (and even a second franchise, Rock Band) that helped define the last generation of consoles.
Podcast: Pixelated Pints Episode 26 – Wait, There’s News?
Pixelated Pints is a new podcast started just over half a year ago with Fred and his old friend from high school Heffe. The topic of the show is news and industry discussions for video games and other forms of entertainment, but side tangents and memories of the past always creep their way in. Please note that this show is a bit more vulgar and involves two guys drinking as part of the concept, so it’s a bit more adult than the random moments of content found on the Gaming History 101 podcast. This week there was a lot of discussion on mobile gaming, GDC, Oculus Rift and other VR/AR devices, and more. Feel free to check it out.
Know This Developer: WayForward
Yesterday I saw a tweet from WayForward, a games developer that specializes in a retro feel and hand drawn animation, that it was celebrating 25 years. That’s impressive, especially when you consider that 1990 predates the Super NES and also because the 16-bit style has been around now for two and half decades. If you fancy yourself a fan of that era, long for the days of gorgeous hand drawn animation with large sprite-based characters on screen, and a 2D plane then WayForward is just the developer for you. Oh yeah, and its strongest titles are typically tough as nails so just like back in the 90s you’re going to have to die a lot and restart before you ever think about beating one. It should also be noted that WayForward is of the few studios that can really get a licensed game right and with the amount of care and detail afforded to this company’s many licensed outings it is akin to the Capcom Disney games. All of these reasons and the fantastic original series Shantae make WayForward a developer that retro enthusiasts should definitely know.
Special Announcement
We have a launched a new campaign that will get the community more involved, push more content, and give away more games. Please give our 1 minute audio a quick listen or click the link under the “Help Keep Gaming History 101 Going” section on the right sidebar. Thanks again from Fred and Jam.
Dragon’s Lair Video Review
Platform: Sega CD (originally in arcades and released on almost every console ever, seriously)
Released: 1983 (arcade), 1993 (Sega CD version)
Developer: Advanced Microcomputer Systems
Publisher: Cinematronics
Digital Release? Yes, far too many to count
Price (Sega CD Version): $7.10 (disc only), $14.95 (complete), $19.95 (sealed)
Policenauts Review
Platform: PC-9821, 3DO, Playstation, Saturn (Japan Only)
Released: 1994-1996 (depending on platform, Japan Only)
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Digital Release? No
Price: Unavailable, game never sold in US or UK
Fred’s Take
Building off of what Kojima had started in Snatcher, I feel that Policenauts is an attempt to revise the mistakes and setbacks of that original attempt and create a spiritual successor that flows more like a game. Technically, I guess that’s what Policenauts is, unfortunately the solution appears to be making it a point-and-click adventure and adding in more (and more frustrating) shooting sequences. While I have to commend the efforts by having a more genuine story – although the similarities to the first two Lethal Weapon films is undeniable – that flows naturally and keeps you intrigued, this game has so many walls to break through to get to that story that it’s best read in a walkthrough or watched on YouTube. For this reason, and the countless other reasons that prevent most of us outside of a Japanese speaking region, I can’t recommend Policenauts as a coveted loss treasure we never got.
Snatcher Review
Platform: Sega/Mega CD (only this platform for US/Europe); PC-8801, MSX2, PC-Engine CD, Mega CD, Playstation, and Saturn releases in Japan
Released: 1988-1996 depending on platform (Japan), 1994 (US/Europe)
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Digital Release? No
Price: $256 (disc only), $300 (complete), $1500 (sealed) according to Price Charting (US only prices)
Fred’s Take
I’m an avid fan of cyberpunk as am I an avid fan of the only series I’ve ever played by Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear (both Solid and the MSX titles), so you would think naturally I would love this game. Granted, being an adventure game that is slower in pace was somewhat of a setback for a player like me that doesn’t care for the genre, but the “annoying” light gun sequences helped sweeten the deal. I will confess to having my light gun not hold up to the shooting sequences and since playing through this title I’m fairly certain my Justifier light gun no longer works, but I can safely proclaim that it wasn’t Snatcher that broke it. Anyway, put it altogether in a Blade Runner type game and I’m sold from start to finish, even if the pacing of this title is its biggest weakness.
Podcast: Snatcher and Policenauts Game Club
Hideo Kojima, best known for the quirky stealth series Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid has also delved into the world of visual novels and point-and-click adventure games. If you aren’t aware of them, it’s probably because Snatcher released on the Sega CD only and didn’t clear 10,000 units sold in the US and Policenauts has never released outside of Japan. Thanks to Fred’s lucky ownership of a super rare game and emulation/fan translations for all other instances, the GH101 crew delves deeply into a nearly 3 hour podcast on Kojima’s futuristic adventures with some of the worst shooting sequences in all of gaming.
Partial Longplay: Policenauts (English Translation on PS1)
No one likes to release something that is half finished. It’s even more embarrassing when you know there’s no way to complete something you started. This is one of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn with the world of hacked consoles, fan translations, and promising things before you’ve completed them here on Gaming History 101. With a perfectly working copy of Policenauts, the English fan translation that released for PS1, I set out to do a longplay for tonight’s game club just as I had with Snatcher. Unfortunately the game seems to break in several parts of disc 2’s translation despite disc 1 working perfectly (more than half the game as well) and the same disc 2 that broke on my PS1 and PS2 doesn’t have problems playing on my PC through the ePSXe emulator. While I have no idea why this is happening – I can’t seem to find anyone who played on console and the other YouTube videos are clearly from emulation – it rendered my longplay unable to be finished. Rest assured I beat Policenauts on Sunday night and am ready to discuss it in full for tonight’s game club, but I only have the first 2 acts captured on video before the game began to break in Act 3. I used various save data to load parts of Acts 4 and 5, which loaded fine and played fine until certain moments of scripted events that occur within 15-30 minutes of loading a save (same place, has nothing to do with the save point, load point, or amount of time played). Fortunately out of the 12 hours of length that is Policenauts, 7 or so of those hours is Acts 1 & 2, leaving the other 5 hours for Acts 3-7 and the epilogue, oh Kojima. With all that said, I was debating on whether or not to release the videos, but I haven’t released much video content in the last two weeks and I’ve been cranking out videos so I figured you should see where half of this hard work went. Here is the official playlist of the first six videos of my longplay in full upscaled 720p HD with commentary. You won’t get to see me complete the game, but you can get a great feel for what the game as a whole was like. Additionally this playlist is available openly on YouTube, but I’ve put it as “unlisted”, which means it will only be accessed by direct link or searches, not on the main channel page proper. Be sure to listen to our game club for complete coverage on this never released in the US title. We also will have reviews going live on Thursday. Below is the first video of the series, enjoy!
The Order 1886 Review
Wait, what? A modern review?!? Yes, it’s true, we will from time to time be reviewing new games. It’s not because we got review copies, because we didn’t in this case, and it’s not because we’re changing focus from retro gaming either. We just wanted an outlet to write reviews on the modern games that we play and frankly, some of the games that were releasing when GH101 started might now be considered retro. Keep in mind that the site, articles, podcast, and videos will remain focused largely on retro gaming.
The Order 1886 is that vapid leggy blonde at the bar. It’s gorgeous to look at and consistently takes your mind off of any other gripes you may have, but as time goes on you find yourself less and less tolerant of its flaws – keep in mind I’m referring to the game and not the blonde as “it”. Not only that, but I’m not particularly fond of the game that The Order 1886 is, which is a cover-based shooter, and it seemed to me that Sony went aggressively out of its way to not describe the game as any more than a cinematic experience. After its brief campaign that seems like a half-finished story you’re left not really wanting more, just hoping that the game evolves in its planned sequel, if we ever get one. That’s not to say there aren’t aspects to like about the game, but at its core The Order 1886 can’t remain consistent in gameplay type or quality.
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