A New Obsession: Retro Gaming Achievements
Please Note: All screenshots in this post are taken from retroachievements.org and were not created nor are they the property of Gaming History 101. I only used them to demonstrate the wonderful project and site that has been created. Please visit Retro Achievements to take advantage of the software and see for yourself the world described in this blog post. – Fred
retroachievements.org logo
I think the argument over the value of achievements/trophies/accomplishments/arbitrary rewards is all but required to occur at least once a week in video game enthusiast circles. It’s one of the least interesting and most divided discussions happening. At its core, however, it all boils down to one factor: do you or don’t you like achievements. Just because you like them doesn’t mean you’re a so-called “achievement whore” and I’m not saying that those who ignore them completely are getting any less out of their games than others, but it’s always a hotbed topic. I like achievements. I would say I like achievements more than most, especially when it comes to retro games. That’s like the one thing that few developers take the time to integrate into many ports – not remastered editions, but ports – most likely because the games weren’t built for those kind of triggers so retrofitting them must be a pain. It’s for this reason that when I stumbled upon the site retroachievements.org and found a series of emulators that have achievements built into them that I instantly fell in love. Retro gaming achievements just got “real”.
Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) Review
Platform: Xbox, Playstation 2, PC (both the original and the just released Remastered Edition)
Released: 2005 (worldwide)
Developer: Quantic Dream
Publisher: Atari
Digital Release? Yes – Available on Xbox 360 as an Xbox Original and Remastered is on Steam ($9.99 for all versions)
Price: $8.00 (disc only), $10.99 (complete), and $46.97 (new/sealed) per Price Charting (prices are for PS2 version, Xbox/PC versions a bit lower due to re-release)
Jam’s Take
Fahrenheit (aka Indigo Prophecy in America) is one of those games that attempted to create a interactive film experience. Some excepted this concept with open arms, some people frowned on it proclaiming it technically wasn’t a game. Well several years has passed since that fateful release in 2005 so lets see if Fahrenheit is still worth investing in.
Fahrenheit’s story has you following three character Lucas Kane a 9-to-5 IT worker who has a fondness for reading Shakespeare in diners, Carla Valenti a young cop who is claustrophobic and Tyler Miles, Carla’s police partner and your typical comic relief in a cop duo but he likes basketball, which is ok in my book. Essentially New York as well as the world is starting to get cold, really cold and bizarre murders are occurring round the city where normal folk are killing innocent people then themselves. I won’t spoil the story too much as it is the games strongest draw. What I will say is the game is filled with a fair few twists and turns playing out very much like a film, if it hooks you from the beginning it is very likely you will play through to the end.
Podcast: Being So Difficult
This week Fred and Jam discuss the concept of game difficulty, what makes it balanced or unbalanced, and then jump down a deep hole of what games are notable for being very difficult or easy and why this does or doesn’t work. Also please note that Gaming History 101 will be at the Midwest Gaming Classic for a panel and meetup on April 11 & 12 in Milwaukee, WI. Visit midwestgamingclassic.com to get your passes today.
Woah Dave! Review
I first experienced Woah Dave! At EGX 2014. It was being demoed on the 3DS at the time and it was one of the few games that didn’t have a crazy long que. I enjoyed what I played but like a lot of the smaller indie games at the show I just forgot about it. Fast forward to today and we are given the game for free through Playstation plus. It’s surprising that this has released on the Playstaion Network before the Nintendo eshop. [Woah Dave! was released on the eshop in the US back in October 2014 – ed.]
Woah Dave! takes its inspiration from the original arcade classics like Mario Bros and Joust. You play a small pixel man and your objective is to collect as many pennies as you can, which then act as your overall score. To find the pennies you have to defeat enemies that start out as little eggs but soon hatch into alien looking baddies. To kill these enemies you have to pick up eggs or skulls and throw them at the target. But you have to be quick as the skulls explode after a short time and the eggs hatch. If this happens while your holding it you will loose a life. If the enemy manages to reach the lava below it will evolve into a stronger enemy. Each time the enemies reach the bottom they change into a faster and more difficult enemy until they become a flying eye ball which will literally pursue your character unless you defeat it. There is a lot of risk reward with the game. You can play it safe and destroy the eggs as soon as they drop but you will receive a minimum score. But, if you wait for the enemies to get stronger, they will drop more coins. You have to collect the coins to bank them into your score, so unless you play carefully your coins could end up in the lava and be useless. There is a single powerup which resembles the power block from Mario Bros (except it says Woah on it) that occasionally falls from the heavens. Picking this up and flinging it will destroy everything on the screen in a satisfying shower of coins.
Resident Evil HD Remaster Under 3 Hour Speedrun
Completing a longer game in a speedrun can be not only an accomplishment but also quite rewarding. In the case of Resident Evil, completing the game in a speedrun is literally built into the programming with the expectation that after you’ve explored the game a couple of times you will jump right into it. The recent Resident Evil HD Remaster came out and while I found the game quite difficult in my recent playthrough and it took me over 11 hours to complete, I dared leap into an under 3 hour speedrun (albeit with the gracious help of a guide from GameFAQs). I also decided to capture it and offer voiceover so that you can not only enjoy watching a speedrun, but see what is done and why to somewhat bend the timeline of the game to be as short as it is. I’ve embedded the first video below and you can see the entire playlist here.
Mini Podcast: The Legacy of Shinobi
For this week’s mini podcast Fred tackles the Sega franchise Shinobi, and more specifically the Joe Musashi games from the earliest years of the franchise.
Psychic World Review
Platform: Game Gear (there is a European Master System version) – For the hardcore, the Japanese MSX version is worth looking up.
Released: 1991 (worldwide)
Developer: Hertz
Publisher: Sega
Digital Release? No
Price: $3.75 (cart only), $15.00 (complete), and $15.00 (new/sealed) per Price Charting
Psychic World is one of those old Sega games that just seemed to get lost in time. Originally called Psycho World, in Japan on the MSX computer, the game was brought over to Europe in 1991 and renamed the more suitable Psychic World. The game was released on the Master System and Game Gear, for this review well be delving into the Game Gear version (which did come out in the US). This was probably one of the first Game Gear games I ever played next to the original Wonder Boy.
Psychic World is set in the year 19XX. which no matter how you write that on paper now sounds like it’s in the past, even though the setting of this game feels far into the future. I guess the game developers thought we would enjoy the 20th century so much we wouldn’t want to leave it so they started sticking Roman Numerals at the end.
Podcast: Who Hasn’t Pirated? Come On
This week Fred and Jam are tackling the tricky subject of video game piracy. It’s older than you would guess. In fact, ever since there were video games it appears there were ways to pirate them. They discuss the history behind piracy, ethical and practical considerations, and all of the best piracy and anti-piracy methods used.
Retro Game Challenge: Shinobi (PS2), Part 2
More than a year ago, Fred featured the Playstation 2 game Shinobi on Retro Game Night. I was told that this is a brutally hard title that will test my skills. He put it to the back burner, but after recent feedback we’re returning to these games to take up the challenge. In his own words, here’s Fred’s reflection:
I remember playing it at first and didn’t understand what the big deal was. Shinobi’s battle mechanics are pretty basic, not even coming close to the skills required of games like Ninja Gaiden on the original Xbox. While the two games may be compared based on premise, time of release, and challenge, they couldn’t be more different. Shinobi is not hard at the beginning, it’s barely a challenge, while I know plenty who haven’t completed the first level (and specifically boss) of Ninja Gaiden. All of that changed with part 2 of this Retro Game Challenge. Shinobi ramps up fast and despite beating the level at the end, it made my blood boil and wasn’t worth the effort I put in. My conquest felt cheap, possibly even cheating. I’m not done with this title, but my skepticism on it’s fairness and ability to provide a proper challenge that I enjoy in gaming, is raised. I guess we’ll see. In the meantime, enjoy a video that starts very positive and ends with a nearly embarrassing response from me. As you may have already guessed beware of crass adult language near the end.
Mini Podcast: The Pages of Myst
For this special episode Fred flies solo to discuss Myst, it’s concept, and it’s rightful place as one of the “killer apps” for the CD-ROM format. Logic puzzles not included.
Gaming History 101 