So y'all had to know I was going to be all over this topic, right? I mean, it was inevitable. I just had to have some time to collect my thoughts. Heheh.
I know when you say "will run on old hardware platforms," the MSX probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind -- especially in North America, where the MSX basically didn't exist -- but it is still an old hardware platform, and HOLY CRAP are there ever some amazing games being made for it every single freaking year.
Some of them are projects that have been in the works for years by dedicated MSX enthusiasts, and others were created in short order as entries for the yearly "MSXdev" contest, which is... exactly what you probably think it is. And even though MSXdev games tend to be shorter and simpler, they can oftentimes be just as amazing as the long-term projects.
One such project from this year's MSXdev contest -- which has since been produced in cartridge form for sale at
www.matranet.net, and I'm REALLY looking forward to getting my copy any day now -- is an absolutely original and frankly... just kind of incredible game called "Buddhagillie." It's impossible to really describe it -- it's a shmup, I guess, but it plays nothing like any other shmup out there, because... well, it's also basically interactive Buddhist meditation. Like, for real.
If ever there were a candidate to bring up in the "games as art" discussion, I think Buddhagillie would absolutely be the one, as it just somehow meshes together Buddhist teachings with addictive and challenging shmup gameplay in a bizarrely natural way. Like, it FEELS like meditation when you're playing it -- it's really amazing.
Here's the official trailer for it. Note that if the English seems a bit off, it's because this is, in fact, a product of a Japanese homebrew developer -- and considering that, I think the English is actually quite good!
Another recent MSX homebrew game that's extremely impressive -- an MSX2 homebrew game, actually -- is "Sword of IANNA." I think I've mentioned this one on here before, but basically, it's a Prince of Persia-style cinematic platformer (possibly the only one on the MSX2? I certainly don't know of any others), with a world and characters very reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian. It's notable for being one of the best-looking games on the entire platform, I'd say, with some absolutely smooth animation -- and it's also a VERY LONG GAME, with 9 stages that will each take at LEAST a half-hour apiece to beat your first time through (probably considerably longer), plus a hidden stage on top of that. They're all very well-designed, too, and each has a very distinctive look and feel to it, with distinct enemies and puzzles and unique music (well, mostly; there are a couple reused tracks as you approach the end).
Speaking of the music, the developers at RetroWorks somehow managed to recruit Alberto Jose Gonzalez to compose for this game -- one of the best chiptune musicians of the 8-bit era, renowned for his Tim Follin-inspired Game Boy compositions that pushed the GB hardware to its absolute limits (as well as some really great NES tunes). If you're not familiar with him, I urge you to look up the soundtracks to Metal Masters on the GB, Turok 2 and 3 on the GBC, and The Smurfs Nightmare (no, seriously), as well as any number of Asterix games. Dude is LEGIT.
One of the coolest things about Sword of IANNA is that if you just want to download the rom and play it via emulator, you totally can: RetroWorks themselves are totally cool with it, and even offer the rom to download on their website.
It's totally worth picking up a boxed copy, though, as it comes in an absolutely gorgeous box with a full-color comic book (Spanish-language, but still) that covers some of the game's backstory.
...Oh, also, the game is available on ZX Spectrum 128, too, believe it or not. It obviously doesn't look as good as the MSX2 version, but it plays identically, and sounds just as good, which is... pretty damned impressive!
Here's a little bit of the MSX2 version in action (in Spanish, but you can set the language to English on the title screen before you begin, and the English text is very well-translated), complete with the amazingly moody first stage music. It really is an incredibly impressive effort for the system, and a really great game in its own right as well. I think I put about 12 hours into it before completing it, and was completely satisfied with the experience in the end.
Also, here's the official trailer for the game, which shows off some of the later areas:
Next up is "Children of the Night," which was also released just last year for the MSX1 and is easily one of the best Zelda-likes on the entire system. I mean, it's a Zelda-like where you play as Count Vlad Drakul and team up with Van Helsing and his computer AI sidekick Athraia, as well as Cthulhu, the wolfman, and a number of other famous monsters, to defeat the Egyptian god Sutekh -- the premise alone is enough to make it worth playing, but the execution makes it even better! It's got a really large and complex world with great puzzles, cool and unique locations, tons of NPCs and side-quests, LOTS of lore (which is all surprisingly well-written and engaging, and features a number of decent plot twists), and most importantly of all for a Zelda-like: tons of really fun, cool new abilities you can learn and mix together to do awesome, incredibly satisfying things. The only real downside to the game is its complete lack of bosses, but it more than makes up for that with just really tight, well-designed gameplay and great pacing.
As with Sword of IANNA, Children of the Night is also multi-platform, with the other platform this time being Colecovision! Yes, there's actually a Colecovision version of this game you can pick up, though it DOES require the system's (apparently rather rare?) memory expansion thingy, and it's not quite as fully featured as the MSX version (which has a few added visual upgrades if you play it on an MSX2 or higher system). Still! If you own either an MSX *or* a Colecovision and you're looking for a fun Zelda-like experience that'll easily last you at least 6-8 hours, give this one a try. You won't regret it!
Trailers:
And finally, one more game to talk about: "Ghost." Are you familiar with Unepic? How about its sci-fi followup, Ghost 1.0? Well, that same guy created a prequel to Ghost 1.0... for the MSX. And it's basically one of the best Metroidvanias on the entire system, hands down. It's absolutely SUPERB, with literally its only flaw being that it's super-duper short (you can likely beat it in about 2 hours, and 100% it in under 4). But man, even if it doesn't last you long, you'll replay the hell out of this game, because it's just FUN. It's one of those games that just FEELS right when you're playing it -- it controls perfectly, and every challenge feels natural and satisfying.
What's cool about this game is that if you own an MSX, you can buy it on cartridge (again, from http://www.matranet.net)... but if you don't own an MSX, not to worry: you can buy it on Steam for two bucks! It goes by the name "Mini Ghost" on Steam, and is actually an expanded version of the game, with the addition of a hospital room, sub-weapons, and both a level editor and a sprite editor!
So, yeah. Play Ghost! It's freaking awesome -- like everything Francisco Tellez de Meneses makes! (Speaking of which, he's got a Metal Gear clone he's developing for MSX now called "Prisoner of War" that looks super-duper good, and should be coming out in a month or two; really excited for it!)
Ghost trailer:
Whew! I think that'll be it from me for now. But yeah! Hope I've managed to sell you on at least one of these games.
-Tom