Forgotten Old Games – HARD DRIVIN’

Hello and welcome to another FOG!
Today I’m not gonna bring you another hidden treasure from the golden era of gaming. Instead I’ll show you a bad port. Yeah, a bad driving simulator game, called HARD DRIVIN’ for the SEGA GENESIS.

Released in  1991 by TENGEN this was originally an arcade game with 3D Polygon graphics. The reason why it got released for the Genesis? No idea!

Straight from the manual:

“Sure, driving a real high performance car can be quite a blast. But where can you go to do vertical loops, high-speed races and high flying jumps? In Hard Drivin’, that’s where! Hard Drivin’ is so real you’ll feel like you’re burning up the road in a high-powered car. Two tracks provide plenty of challenge – put the pedal to the metal on the Speed Track or get airborne on the radical Stunt Track! Jump a drawbridge! Do a 360 loop! The true 3D screen display will have you hanging on for dear life! If you lose it, you get to see an instant replay of your accident. Like the incredible arcade hit, this Hard Drivin’ is looking for a few hard drivers. No license – or cars – required!”

Unfortunately these are all lies. The arcade game had it’s merit. But this horrible port is far away from all those promises.

The first hint that shows you're playing a bad port...

Graphics: Awful. I mean there’s plenty of good 2D racing games for the Genesis, this one features really bad ‘3D’ graphics running very slowly compared to the original arcade game.

Slow game + Time attack = FAIL

Sound: Not so different from the original (which wasn’t great by the way). But it’s not as bad as the graphics

Gameplay: This is one of the main reasons why this game shouldn’t have been released for Genesis. The main reason you would play this game back then, was to get the feeling of driving a real car, which you could barely achieve by playing the original arcade. Even if Genesis had a Steering Wheel and Pedals it would still suck, because the controls lack response and precision. And since the game feels like you’re playing in slow motion, you’d have to steer slowly as well. Cool huh?
There’s another thing I should mention, despite they having said the game features TWO TRACKS, you have only one, divided in two: Speed and Stunt.

As for the default controls:
D-Pad LEFT/RIGHT – Steers car
D-Pad UP/DOWN – Gear change (manual mode only)
A – Accelerate
B – Brakes
C – Clutch (hold and press UP or DOWN to change gears)

It doesn't matter if you were hit on the back, your windshield will always get damaged.

Just don't ask me...!

 

But I’m gonna tell you something. I knew the game was terrible, but I played it quite a few times when I had a Genesis. The reason? THE REPLAYS! Everytime you crashed an instant replay starts, showing you from a far camera, what happened to your car. And seriously, I found that quite hillarious. I could spend hours, just crashing, watching the replays and laughing. Yeah I know, silly me…

This is one game to keep very away from you. Unless for completeness of your collection, of course. A true “FORGOTTEN OLD GAME” with lots of reasons for that.
And as always, a video for your delight. This time I’ll show you videos from both versions. See you next time!

GENESIS Version:

ARCADE Version:

Forgotten Old Game – Robocop vs Terminator

Hello and welcome to another FORGOTTEN OLD GAME!
I hope you fellas had an awesome holiday! We’re gonna start 2012 with some violence straight from the last century! It’s ROBOCOP vs TERMINATOR for the Sega Genesis!

Released in 1994 by Virgin Interactive, this game features our favorite action movie characters against each other. For those who don’t know Robocop, he were once a Detroit City policeman called Murphy. After being tortured and almost killed by drug dealers, they somehow fused his consciousness and organic parts with a robotic body. I think I don’t need to explain Terminator, do I? Since they made a new movie not long ago…

Just like the Robocop movie, this game has lots of violence and gore. When shoot, the enemies explode in a pulp of flesh and blood, which is very nice! The graphics are good, but the characters animation leaves to desire. Especially Robocop. I mean, he was really kind of stiff while moving, but in game he looks ridiculous. Some of the enemies are pretty generic as well.

As for the gameplay. I’ll resume it using a few words. It’s Contra with worse gameplay and a health bar. In Contra you could precisely control where you wanted to shoot. You can’t exactly do the same here, and since Robocop’s hitbox is kinda huge, you’re gonna get hit…a lot…

A funny fact. The health item is… baby food. It’s just like in the movie, where they had to fed him that so the organic parts could survive.

The basic controls are:

D-Pad – Moves Robocop, crouchs, climbs.
A Button – Changes weapon
B Button – Shoots
C Button – Jumps

Notice that the weapon inventory looks exactly like the one in Contra games. You can have 2 weapons, by pressing A, you switch between them. If you get another weapon, the one you’re not equipping will be replaced.

Not the best soundtrack around, but they’re good action songs that goes well with the levels. When I was a kid I even managed to create dirty lyrics for some of them hahaha.

Featuring 10 stages, you’ll go from the streets of Detroid to the heart of Skynet. As you progress through the game, as expected, it gets harder, with lots of enemies firing at you at the same time, which can be very frustrating, so save up as much lives as you can!

Overall, Robocop vs Terminator is the kind of game you should play when you want lots of blood, fast action and some frustration. I didn’t try to finish it while writing this post, but I remember that when I was a kid I only managed to do so by using a 3rd party Turbo controller, which raised the firerate making Robocop’s handgun fire like a machinegun! Sweet good’n old hardware cheats :P

 

Forgotten Old Games – Garfield: Caught in the Act

Hello and welcome to another FORGOTTEN OLD GAME!
Today I’m gonna show you a game from a very famous strip comics character: Garfield!

Released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis, Garfield: Caught in the Act is a Platform/Adventure game featuring Garfield and his friends.
Lazy as always, Garfield was lying on the sofa watching some tv, when suddenly Odie scared him by letting out a really loud bark, making Garfield fall on the tv, breaking it. In an attempt to fix it, he put it altogether somehow…except for some “extra parts” as he said. But as soon as he turns the TV on, a bizarre monster that looks like some sort of ant with ac plugs instead of hands appears and zaps him with some sort of ray. Garfield then found himself trapped inside the TV, and it’s up to you to help him escape while travelling through different tv shows.

The game features 6 levels, subdivided in several stages. Each stage is a “movie” in wich you start inside the tv circuits, then proceeds to the main “movie” and you face a boss at the end of the level. There is also a bonus level, called “commercial break” if you get the item for it. The game offers a brief explanation about the items just as seen on the next image.

If coffee really granted invincibility, I'd be a GOD!

The “pizza” and the “burger” replenishs energy. The Ammunition is a throwable item that you can use to hit enemies. The “way marker” is a checkpoint, the “tv remote” is the end of the stage and the “mallet key” is the item you must get in order to play the bonus stage.
Now I’m gonna explain the game screen.

That must hurt!

The “TV” represents your HP, in other words, how many times you can be hit before you die. The Garfield face is the number of lives you have. The “fish” there is the number of throwable items you have. As for the basic commands:

D Pad- Moves character
A- Throws item
B- Attacks
C- Jumps

Remember, DC electricity kills!

The graphics are just decent. I say that because even if Garfield and the enemies are well drawn and animated, the background is poor in terms of color and details. The level design is not good as well, just take the second level as an example, it’s an straight run. As for the game music and sound effects, they are OK, nothing exceptional, but they’re not bad.

Garfield’s appearance (as well as the other characters) changes depending on the level you’re playing. At the first level Garfield looks like a vampire hunter, while Odie is like Dracula haha! There is a level where Garfield looks like a Sabretooth, and even a Pharaoh.

YOU ARE A PIRATE!

I hate pyramid levels, period.

The "Catsablanca" level is a tribute to "Casablanca"

Garfield: Caught in the Act may not be exactly a pearl from it’s time. But for sure is a game worth playing, specially if you’re a Garfield fan. If you happen to like him and like Genesis as well, give it a try!

 

 

Forgotten Old Games – Marsupilami

Howdy fellas!
Today is a special day. It’s Children’s Day here in Brazil. But also it’s day for another FORGOTTEN OLD GAME!
So in order to celebrate the day, I’ll be talking about a game aimed at children. We’re gonna take a look at Marsupilami for the Sega Genesis.

Released in 1995 by SEGA Enterprises, Marsupilami is a platform game, based on the popular french comics of the same name. Marsupilami is a black-spotted yellow monkey-like creature who have an incredibly long, strong, flexible and prehensile tail which can be used for almost anything. Having first appeared as a secondary character on Spirou comics in 1952, it eventually gained his own comic book,  first published in 1987.

As soon as you start, there is a small slideshow telling us the game’s plot. Marsupilami and his friend the elephant Bonelli were carelessly playing in the jungle until they suddenly got captured by the hunter Bring M. Backalive (LOLWUT), who sold them to a circus. Being forced to do performances twice a day while living in poor conditions, Marsupilami managed to steal the keys from a sleeping guard. Now it’s up to YOU to help them travel the world back home.

SEGA always liked to play with their logo.

In order to complete a level both Marsu and Bonelli must reach the end of it before the timer reaches zero. The problem is, not only Bonelli is slow, but everything, from boxes to enemies, makes him change direction and head backwards. You must use Marsu’s tail, transforming it into different objects to help him cross the level. Let’s take a look at the basic controls.

D-Pad – Moves character
A – Attacks
B – Jumps
C – Tranforms Tail (must have at least one Tail Icon)
X and Z – Navigates through Tail Icons (If you have a 3-button pad, you must pause in order to navigate them)

By changing the tails in steps, you can help Bonelli climb objects.

You must use the right kind of tail in the right situation, for example, if you want Bonelli to ram into something, you should use the mouse in front of him, scaring and making him run in the opposite direction. Like below:

If you want him to stay still at some place, you need something for him to eat. That’s what the fruits you collect are for. To place a fruit, hold Down and press A once. Bonelli will stop and start eating as much fruits as you place, so beware, if you put too much into one place, he will not leave there until he has consumed all of them.

Some Tail Icons can only be used if Bonelli is still, like the Hook.

The tail rope can be used anywhere there's a cliff with a pole. It's not a Tail Icon.

The graphics were average for that time, with plenty of different levels, since you literally travel the world to come back home. Character design kinda fails for the enemies, but it’s OK since it’s a children’s game. As for the soundtrack, I find it quite good, most of the songs fits the levels well. The second level one is my favorite, hehe!

First boss is easy. Just jump him and attack.

Even being aimed at children, I personally don’t find this game easy. It took me a while to finish it on Normal difficult level back then, specially because of the goddamn timer… If you’re a child, or a fan of platform games, I truly recommend you to take a look at this one. Even better if you happen to like the our furry friend Marsupilami. See you next time!

HOUBA!!!

Forgotten Old Games – Fire Shark & Truxton

Howdy fellas! It’s me again bringing you another FOG! I must say I’m sincerely sorry about last week. I couldn’t post because of a goddamn renal calculus. As if I didn’t hate math enough! But now I’m okay so let’s get to the game!
This week I bring to you TWO Sega Genesis games. Fire Shark and Truxton.
Whoa? Two games you must be thinking. Yeah, there are 2 reasons for that (lol). First one is that I want to redeem myself for not posting last week. Second one…well THEY’RE PRETTY SIMILAR AHAHAHA!
Actually there’s a third reason. I like scrolling shooter games. Mainly because they don’t have any complex elements. And both games are exactly that. Simple and fun.

Made by Toaplan, this scrolling space shooter was originally released for the arcades  in 1988. The Sega Genesis version got out in 1989 and is pretty much the same game.
You are Tom, planet Borogo’s ace pilot. And right now you’re the only one able to stop an attack from an alien race called Gidan. They have already destroyed your planet’s cargo bay and are now getting closer. It’s time to board your Super Fighter and shoot the crap out of the alien scum.

Pew Pew Pew! Good'n old fun with the basic weapon!

The graphics are ok. Of course you can’t compare it to the arcade version. The Genesis port lost many of the details and colors. Even the background, full of animations from the arcade version, gave place to a simple static one. What a shame!

Once fully powered, the blue laser sweeps almost the entire screen.

The gameplay is simple and solid. There isn’t even an OPTIONS menu. When you press START you just get the option to choose difficulty. Commands are as following:

D-Pad: Moves Spaceship
A: Shoot
B: Bomb
C: Shoot (faster fire rate)

The green laser concentrates in a small point, but it's more powerful.

Just as any other space shooters. You have powerups. They can change your weapon to one of the three available, or raise the power of your current one. You can also pick up extra lives and extra bombs.

This is the bomb. I can't think of a more cool looking explosion than this one!

That’s it for Truxton. Now let’s talk about Fire Shark.

Released in 1990 for the arcades and Sega Genesis, this is also a Toaplan scrolling shooter. But this time we’re not quite in space are we?

Taking off!

The year is 19X9 (love those X’s). The S Corps, a corporation specialized in creating heavy weaponry, began attacking several countries. A phantom pilot flying a modified super-plane called Fire Shark is the only hope to save the world from domination.

Have we seen ths before? Nah!

As you can see, not even the cheesy plot is able to spoil the fun. Fire Shark is like a clone of Truxton, without aliens, or spaceships. Just a hell of a plane which have the same weapons from Truxton Super Ship. Coincidence? Haha!

The green lase...ok it's the SAME as in Truxton!

Nothing much to add about the gameplay. Almost the same as in Truxton. The only difference is that you can chose RAPID FIRE in the Options Menu (yes there is one here) but it’s easy just to press faster the A button since the “Rapid Fire” rate is horrible.

Something I would like to say is that I really enjoy Fire Shark tunes. Specially the first one, seriously. Many people may say that the Yamaha YM2612 is a bad sounding chip. Well screw you. You just can’t win against the guitar sound on a Sega Genesis. I Simply love it!

That’s it for the two games. Wish I could have said more, but I leave that for you to find out. I leave you with a video from each game, and see you next time!

Forgotten Old Games – Assault Suits Leynos (Target Earth)

Hi everyone! This week I´m gonna talk about Assault Suits Leynos for Sega Genesis.

Leynos in the Assault Suits series timeline  is a sequel to Valken but this game was release before Valken for SNES. To be more specific, three years before in 1990.

The plot is set in 2201 and engulf a war between earth federation versus a cyborg army. This cyborg army came from the deepest space and becomes a threat for the humans. When I first readed this plot, Detonator Orgun came to my head so if you like this kind of story with mechs and cyborgs I strongly recommend this anime OVA.

Now let´s get back to Leynos.

Leynos´s gameplay is very similar to Valken, you can walk, jump, change weapons and even move in different directions in low gravity stages. There´s just one problem with this game´s gameplay and it´s called AIMING MODE. Holly crap you can choose between two aiming modes and both of the sucks hard! At least in my opinion,  the controls are very clumsy and not so responsive as Valken, so be ready to spend some extra time practicing you’re aiming.

One thing that I really like in this game is that you can choose what weapons you´ll carry at the beginning of each stages, so you can choose at least six weapons to carry.

The main weapons like  LG-GUN and HG-GUN have infinite ammunition but the rest has limited ammo and there´s no punch ability or shields.

To unlock more weapons you´ll need lots of points at the end of each stage, so you better kill lots of enemies in order to assure that.

Leynos has three different difficulty levels they´re: NORMAL, HARD and HYPER. Take into account that this game pretty hard and even in normal setting it´s very challenging. Also, there are no saving or even password features and the continues are limited.

Graphics are pretty decent for a 1990 Sega Genesis´s game but they´re aren´t even close to be good as Valken´s graphics everything it´s very simple but well good to look, the only real complain that I have about the graphics it that the animations are very simple with just few frames so everything fells really choppy.

Music and Sound effects are pretty good and the introduction track is very epic as you can check it out:

In closing comments, Assault Suits Leynos was the first of the Assault Suits Series and was a really impressive game for it´s time featuring a nice experience much more complex that the Gundam games of that time could reproduce. For this reason I consider Assault Suits Leynos one of the foundations of the mecha platform games so it´s a game that deserve to be remembered.

clumsy