Great Dungeon in the Sky

Developer: LordTim
Release: 2010
Platform: Browser
Genre: Action

Almost 20 years into the 21st century terms like “rogue”, “random”, “collectible” or “unlockable” can range from eye-rolling to cringe-worthy to some hardcore gamers, especially those with a soft spot for indies. But 10 years ago the indie scene was bursting with nouveau concepts derived from these very words, not necessarily because they brought something quite new to the table, but often for the apparent more feasible prospect they imbued a project with.

So we’ve come a long way until reaching Spelunky, and—groundbreakers like Braid and World of Goo aside—chances are we owe a good deal to Kongregate and Newgrounds Flash pioneers. Great Dungeon in the Sky falls into that category; it may not be a masterpiece of its time, but it sure packs a punch in every front it decides to show up.

Random dungeons aren’t as important here as random enemies, the meat of the collection/unlocking mechanic: kill anything and it becomes playable the next round. No lucky number, no dice rolling, no microtransaction (it was a bit early for that), no strings attached. Hundreds of characters—each with its own traits, moves, specials—lurk deep inside the dungeons waiting to be found, slain and then controlled.

Yup, IP break is also available.

Seeking out powerful avatars to inhabit could be, as far as gameplay goes, compelling per se; but here the “gotta catch ‘em all” appeal reaches higher levels mostly because of the terrific minimalist pixel work by ORYX—later featured in the more acknowledged Realm of the Mad God. Through that GDitS becomes more an interactive sticker album than simply an action game, and that’s for the best: bosses and weaklings (or even blatantly derivative characters) are loveable all the same.

A mobile expandable update could do the developer’s pocket wonders, but maybe we shouldn’t ask for that and just leave it where it is.

The Legend of Kage 2

Developer: Taito
Publisher: Square Enix, Ubisoft, Taito
Release: 2008
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Action

The original Legend of Kage felt weird in the mid-80s when it was released. Truth to be told it wouldn’t make any sense to Westerners until 2000, when Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon swept audiences and the Oscars alike by properly portraying Eastern warriors not only fighting each other with their usual slickness but also flying gracefully while at it.

Of course, it was too late for the game. But giving it another shot under that light may raise an entirely new interpretation of the game’s so-called flaws: those awkward physics were actually faithful wuxia implementation; the simple palette swap represented seasons flying by.

All that makes the overlooked sequel even more significant to play today. Being a 20+ years later NDS-exclusive following a non-cult classic The Legend of Kage 2 would surely go under the radar, but a bit of context could have gone a long way in garnering the game more interest.

Modern as it is, it never loses sight of the original one: the sword-and-shuriken meat of the action is still here, coupled with several unlockable techniques; power orbs—which appeared in the Famicom port of the original arcade—are back as collectibles, not only raising the game’s replay value but also serving as customizable ninpo magic fodder; and the quirky vertical action sported in the first game here benefits from dual screens like almost no other retro title in the system.

Portraits are cheesy but still beautiful.

Unfortunately The Legend of Kage 2 never excels in any front to be considered a Ninja Gaiden of sorts. But it still makes for some decent tribute, decent action and decent NDS library. And as far as Nintendo players go it’s as close to a portable Muramasa one could get.

Pac-Attack

Developer: Namco, Now Production
Publisher: Namco
Release: 1993
Platform: Genesis, SNES, Game Gear, Game Boy (played), several late compilations
Genre: Puzzle


When Namco decided to reskin their arcade title Cosmo Gang the Puzzle and sell it as a multiplatform, worldwide Pac-Man release they weren’t just being lazy; they were being downright insidious. Milking started taking roots by the 90s and such releases could easily get away with it because consumers weren’t as aware as they are today—aren’t they?

There’s a game behind market decisions anyways, and that game is… well, average. But let me take the mediocre part out of the way before getting to the point.

Pac-Attack had a shot at finding the next Tetris Holy Grail, but it failed like everyone else since mid-80s. (Even master Alexey Pajitnov—Tetris’ father—himself wasn’t up to the task, but some of his’ breed were quirky enough and may appear at Magnificent 7s at some point.) Falling pieces here may come with ghosts or a Pac alongside the regular blocks, and that’s the twist: using it to clear ghosts and rack points down the way. Eventually a special bar fills up, a fairy purges the screen from enemies, and that’s it.

But things (good or bad) often come from where they’re less expected, and Pac-Attack is a 7 game due to some fortuitous production outcome. Whoever decided to raise the game’s value by crafting a Puzzle Mode has breathed life into it.

In Puzzle Mode a new mechanic (inexplicably absent from the main game) raises the strategy bar a good notch; the ability to change the direction Pac is facing before landing alone make up for smarter moves and optimizing pieces placement to work better. But the real deal lies within an area usually despised in puzzle games of this kind: level design.

These surprisingly elegant handcrafted creations offer a bit of everything: levels with room for improvising as strict, one-way-out ones; some have plenty of resources, some are airtight; overcoming hair-pulling levels often is rewarded with a few breezy, palate cleanser ones; and so on. The one hundred levels coupled with a simple password system lend the mode as much immediacy or depth as the player desires.

In times of procedural generation seizing level design for good—be it by the developer’s decision, be it for budget restraints—is nice to be reminded of how human brains can be put to decent use.

de Blob

Developer: Blue Tongue Entertainment
Publisher: THQ
Release: 2008
Platform: Wii
Genre: Platform

de Blob was criticized by its release time for the unruly camera it casts and the tricky jumps that follow. But what 3D platformer doesn’t have those? If even the modern pinnacle of 3D exploration, Super Mario Galaxy, still has some… Well, maybe having jumping mapped to a shake of the Wii Remote instead of a button has really made it worse after all.

Criticism was even higher on the “lack of checkpoints” issue, since the levels are behemoths which can take more than 2 hours to complete when you’re tackling them for OCD awards. (Now that’s a real problem.) But how could such a game keep track of each and every tree, light post or bench you have painted—and with which color—when the Wii is already suffering with drawing distances and such?

Joking aside, no wholehearted love for de Blob could let its flaws go overlooked—and they were actually game breaking for some. But de Blob is so unique in its premise and that same premise is so vividly realized that anyone who enters its world put a smile in their face right off the bat.

Art direction is slick throughout the entire game, from the Pixar-esque terrific CGI vignettes, to the loading screens disguised as interactive comics, to the world full of character begging to be explored. Or putting it better, “the world that bursts with character the more you mess with it”, since the place only truly blossoms through player agency.

Reviving places is not as cinematic as in Ōkami but doing so still packs a punch

Yes, it has some “challenges”, “objectives” and other stuff that make for calling it a “proper” game; but those are entirely optional and gladly they don’t necessarily get in the way of the real meat: wandering around splashing the city with colorful stains and being a jazzy soloist while at it—each color is tied to a musical instrument and “painting” also means messing with the terrific live band soundtrack, turning de Blob into a real synesthetic experience.

de Blob is a modern, more laid-back Ōkami; its death-and-resurrection tale is painted—literally—in less epic fashion than in its Eastern counterpart, sure, but that is for the better here. Perhaps it’s the case that very feel-good mood has kept a well-deserved cult following from rising since not even the game takes itself too seriously.

Solar Striker

Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Publisher: Nintendo
Release: 1990
Platform: Game Boy
Genre: Shoot 'em-up

Solar Striker could easily be—as it was at the time—dismissed as just an average, anachronistic vertical shooter. But producer—and creator of the very Game Boy hardware—Gunpei Yokoi had much more in store for the title: alongside the game itself Yokoi laid guidelines for his peers on how to properly develop for the new hardware. Unfortunately his message never quite reached the audience it was intended for and the platform suffered with the console being downright misunderstood in its early years.

Developing for the Game Boy brought up two complementary (or “detrimentary”) issues that were first ignored altogether and then struggled with by old-timers from the industry: graphics and gameplay.

It was the classic form/content conundrum art always have faced, but worse: technically one stood in the way of the other here.

Of course, the initial problem was the 4-shades-of-grey/green color palette limitation; but that gets even darker (no pun intended) under the small dot matrix display’s resolution.  Initially titles suffered from the “flea syndrome” resulted from the straight-forward big screen modus operandi being crammed into the system; afterwards slowdown became more frequent as bigger sprites were hard to handle.

Evolution from first to second installments of Super Mario Land and Batman

Yokoi solved both problems with Solar Striker. First, by making a sharp distinction between the actual playfield and the background through the use of good contrast and clear tiles, both together helping the sprites to pop-out naturally; and most importantly, allowing the game to manage big sprites without hampering the action speed by NOT showing the entire playable area at once. Despite being a vertical shooter Solar Striker has some spare screen on the sides where you can go as the “camera” follows smoothly, and without the need to “render” the entire scene it has got some extra flops to burn with the action.

Solar Striker next to contemporary shooters: Galaga, Nemesis and Sagaia.

Still, there’s more to it. People back then—and even nowadays—regard Solar Striker as cheap due to its lack of continues. The game per se is not that hard, but getting to its end within some 3-misses limit could be challenging indeed. But that perception falls apart when you realize the intricate risk/reward system behind the so-called artificial toughness. You can earn extra lives at a decent pace by scoring high; but doing so demands a more aggressive stance on tackling enemies’ formations. So, the way to go here is not to simply avoid losing lives altogether; is to raise the risk bar when in need of the very same lives.

Solar Striker remains one of the best shooters to ever grace Game Boy, aside being a living lecture on game design.