Game Club 199X #6: Landstalker
Apr 2, 2012 20:35:48 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2012 20:35:48 GMT -5
The podcast is up! GC9X #6: Landstalker
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
April 2012 has Landstalker (aka isometric Zelda) as its game du jour. Here's what the Wiki says:
Here be a gameplay video of a bit of the overworld and the first cave you explore: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOUP1Y_h2AQ
As always, absolutely no FAQs allowed, nor can savestates be used for cheating (though they can be used if you can't get to a save point soon enough). Landstalker is reasonably easy to figure out how to play, but admittedly, its odd approach to handling diagonal control can be a bit off-putting, as well as the dreaded platforming that naturally becomes a bit of a problem in isometric games (though it's not too bad at first). Still, I feel anyone who tries at this game will be able to get far, though the last dungeon IS a real doozy.
For anyone who wishes to play the game, Landstalker works fine on several Genesis emulators, with Kega Fusion being my personal pick. However, if you don't want to hunt down the actual game cart, it is at least available on the Wii's Virtual Console for $8. Happy Landstalking with Nigel and Friday, several years before Link got a fairy companion!
And for posterity, here's the original post:
Game Club 199X #1 - Snake's Revenge (NES)
Game Club 199X #2 - Wasteland (PC-DOS, C64, Apple II)
Game Club 199X #3 - Dai Ma Shikyou Galious (NES)
Game Club 199X #4 - Vagrant Story (PS1)
Game Club 199X #5 - King's Quest V (PC, NES)
And of course, a reminder of the IRC channel:
Server: irc.psigenix.net
Channel: #gc9x
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
April 2012 has Landstalker (aka isometric Zelda) as its game du jour. Here's what the Wiki says:
The player, as Nigel the treasure hunter, is tasked with searching for clues that lead to the treasure of King Nole. This is accomplished primarily by travelling through both outdoor areas and dungeons. All gameplay takes place in an isometric view, including plot-advancing scenes.
From the outset of the game, Nigel may walk, jump, swing his sword, climb ropes and ladders, talk to various non-player characters, and pick up and throw various objects. With very few exceptions, these basic actions do not change throughout the game, although Nigel's weapons and armor may be replaced with better versions thereof. There are a variety of items throughout the game, most of which are either increase or restore health and attacking power or important to advancing the plot or solving puzzles.
The game's dungeons are filled with monsters, traps, and puzzles that require the player to jump from platform to platform press switches and move blocks to climb on. Locked doors inhibit the player's progress, the player must find keys or beat enemies or puzzles to unlock them and progress further. Many dungeons and areas have a boss to defeat at the end. The monsters, puzzles and dungeons increase in difficulty as the game progresses. The player has health which is kept track of by hearts; health and the maximum health limit may be increased with items purchased in towns or found in dungeons. The player is not prevented from revisiting old towns and dungeons, and is frequently required to do so to advance the plot.
There are several optional side quests found in the game involving helping out the non-player characters. Nigel can complete these tasks for benefits, like increased attacking power and use of shortcut warps to travel across the overworld quicker. These can help the player but are not necessary to complete the game.
From the outset of the game, Nigel may walk, jump, swing his sword, climb ropes and ladders, talk to various non-player characters, and pick up and throw various objects. With very few exceptions, these basic actions do not change throughout the game, although Nigel's weapons and armor may be replaced with better versions thereof. There are a variety of items throughout the game, most of which are either increase or restore health and attacking power or important to advancing the plot or solving puzzles.
The game's dungeons are filled with monsters, traps, and puzzles that require the player to jump from platform to platform press switches and move blocks to climb on. Locked doors inhibit the player's progress, the player must find keys or beat enemies or puzzles to unlock them and progress further. Many dungeons and areas have a boss to defeat at the end. The monsters, puzzles and dungeons increase in difficulty as the game progresses. The player has health which is kept track of by hearts; health and the maximum health limit may be increased with items purchased in towns or found in dungeons. The player is not prevented from revisiting old towns and dungeons, and is frequently required to do so to advance the plot.
There are several optional side quests found in the game involving helping out the non-player characters. Nigel can complete these tasks for benefits, like increased attacking power and use of shortcut warps to travel across the overworld quicker. These can help the player but are not necessary to complete the game.
Here be a gameplay video of a bit of the overworld and the first cave you explore: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOUP1Y_h2AQ
As always, absolutely no FAQs allowed, nor can savestates be used for cheating (though they can be used if you can't get to a save point soon enough). Landstalker is reasonably easy to figure out how to play, but admittedly, its odd approach to handling diagonal control can be a bit off-putting, as well as the dreaded platforming that naturally becomes a bit of a problem in isometric games (though it's not too bad at first). Still, I feel anyone who tries at this game will be able to get far, though the last dungeon IS a real doozy.
For anyone who wishes to play the game, Landstalker works fine on several Genesis emulators, with Kega Fusion being my personal pick. However, if you don't want to hunt down the actual game cart, it is at least available on the Wii's Virtual Console for $8. Happy Landstalking with Nigel and Friday, several years before Link got a fairy companion!
And for posterity, here's the original post:
Alrighty then! After a belated day of prankage, it's time to put up the actual choices for this month, and we've got an interesting lot from which to choose:
Landstalker (Genesis)
Dungeon Explorer (Turbografx-16)
Blaster Master/Fester's Quest (NES)
Yes, this time, we have an ACTUAL double bill. Whereas Cyclodine is bogus, this is for real: Since Blaster Master and Fester's Quest are two Sunsoft games released somewhat close to each other (and share a bit of parity with the overhead gameplay), it was decided to pair the two games together, as both are rather short on their own.
I'll also post this here again because I can't stress it enough: If you're going to vote in this thread, ambiguous votes are not allowed. There was a bit of confusion last time as to what a few posters picked for their game, and to avoid any potential holdups in the voting process, you must pick only one choice and make it absolutely 100% clear that's the game you want. No takesie-backsies either; once your vote is cast, that's it!
I'll also give a more definitive time: The polls will close 10:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 4th, effectively giving you all two days to vote.
ACTUAL happy voting, all! Here are the previous podcasts threads for your archival enjoyment:
Landstalker (Genesis)
Dungeon Explorer (Turbografx-16)
Blaster Master/Fester's Quest (NES)
Yes, this time, we have an ACTUAL double bill. Whereas Cyclodine is bogus, this is for real: Since Blaster Master and Fester's Quest are two Sunsoft games released somewhat close to each other (and share a bit of parity with the overhead gameplay), it was decided to pair the two games together, as both are rather short on their own.
I'll also post this here again because I can't stress it enough: If you're going to vote in this thread, ambiguous votes are not allowed. There was a bit of confusion last time as to what a few posters picked for their game, and to avoid any potential holdups in the voting process, you must pick only one choice and make it absolutely 100% clear that's the game you want. No takesie-backsies either; once your vote is cast, that's it!
I'll also give a more definitive time: The polls will close 10:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 4th, effectively giving you all two days to vote.
ACTUAL happy voting, all! Here are the previous podcasts threads for your archival enjoyment:
Game Club 199X #1 - Snake's Revenge (NES)
Game Club 199X #2 - Wasteland (PC-DOS, C64, Apple II)
Game Club 199X #3 - Dai Ma Shikyou Galious (NES)
Game Club 199X #4 - Vagrant Story (PS1)
Game Club 199X #5 - King's Quest V (PC, NES)
And of course, a reminder of the IRC channel:
Server: irc.psigenix.net
Channel: #gc9x