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Post by dsparil on Nov 25, 2022 6:03:14 GMT -5
ImpossamoleDeveloper Core Designs*, Gremlin Graphics Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) October 1991
* Core is sometimes listed as the only developer, but most of the staff appears to be from Gremlin based on their credits.
The final game in Gremlin’s Monty Mole series was also the first to officially reach America. Perhaps spurred by the Dizzy series’s US console releases, Impossamole’s release was a regional console exclusive unlike the panoply of computer systems every game received in the UK. The game is essentially a soft reboot with a move to action oriented gameplay. Monty is depicted as a caped superhero although his only attacks are a kick with weirdly long range that turns most enemies into blocks that can be thrown. Four scrolls need to be found in each level before finding the sometimes hidden exit. A boss is also faced at the end of each level set. The game itself is simply not particular fun. Level design tends to focus on trial and error rather than challenges that can be completed as they are encountered. Monty can at least take a large number of hits, but this still creates a frustrating experience. There is also a slight bugginess to the game with exits sometimes not properly triggering. Since the series did not continue, it seems safe to say that existing fans did not take a liking to the new direction while also not gaining new fans. The few occurrences of flocks of origami birds in the Oriental levels do look nice in motion. The jungle set levels featuring flashes from lightning that are frequent enough to be a legitimate seizure risk.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 28, 2022 8:07:06 GMT -5
The Addams FamilyDeveloper ICOM Simulations Publisher NEC Format TurboGrafx-CD Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) November 1991 As a tie in to the movie, The Addams Family is an odd game. Rather than a member of the Addams, the main character is family lawyer Alfred Tully. The general goal of the game is that same, Alfred wants the treasure in the family’s vault, but it is presented as a challenge from Gomez rather than a scheme. There are some recognizable elements from the movie such as Gomez’s golfing, but the game is more or less independent. Although there are some live action stills, none of the movie’s cast do any of the game’s voice acting. The structure of the game is potentially interesting but dull in practice. The main portion of the game finds Alfred exploring the Addams’s mansion and collecting color-coded keys to open doors. There are about twenty doors, but the majority are either small rooms with bonus points or empty. The actual number of levels is quite small with none of them being particular large either leading to a fairly short game. Superficially, this structure is similar to Ocean’s more well known adaptation, but that one is both lengthier and more obviously based on the movie. ICOM’s game did manage to have a simultaneous release with the movie unlike Ocean’s game. Perhaps this along with the tiny staff points to a quickly thrown together cash grab on NEC’s part. One of the game's few direct references happens right at the beginning. You get turned into a werewolf towards the end, but this only functions as an extra set of health.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 1, 2022 13:02:12 GMT -5
TurricanDeveloper The Code Monkeys Publisher Accolade Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) November 1991 The only American exclusive not released by NEC or the affiliated TTI, Manfred Tenz’s classic C64 action-platformer made an appearance on TG16 courtesy of Accolade. Featuring the large levels typical of European side scrollers, Turrican thankfully does not have any collection elements and focuses on action above all else. Two main guns are available (spread shot and laser) along with the rotating Lightning Whip and a selection of special weapons. These are mapped somewhat awkwardly due to the system’s lack of buttons, but it is not a major issue. What did not translate is the content. The game is highly limited by being on a 2Mb card, the second smallest. A sizable section of the game was removed, and the number of musical tracks was substantially cut down. Perhaps this was a late change based on sales of the Genesis port from earlier in the year or a lack of confidence in the platform. Regardless of why, this makes the TG16 port the least preferable of the three console ports. The Genesis version has harsher music but is complete with no cuts. In some ways, the Game Boy port is the best one. While it has the same cut content as the TG16 game, some beneficial tweaks were made to the gameplay and bosses. The lack of a background in the opening levels seems like a poor omen, but every port is like this. The color blackens as the player goes downward and is an effect that originated in the 16bit computer ports. The Laser Whip speeds up gameplay quite a bit.
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Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Dec 1, 2022 17:42:40 GMT -5
Appreciate the top list and continued posting
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Post by Snake on Dec 1, 2022 20:31:07 GMT -5
Appreciate the top list and continued posting Ditto. All this work deserves to be compiled into a book.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 2, 2022 7:41:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments! This has been interesting for me since the PCE was such a huge blindspot in my experiences.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 3, 2022 10:43:45 GMT -5
It Came from the DesertDeveloper Cinemaware Publisher NEC Format TurboGrafx-CD Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) December 1991 Throughout its relatively short life, Cinemaware was one of the premier developers of games for the Amiga, and that success led to their proliferation across computer platforms with some excursions into the console space. It Came from the Desert was the company’s homage to 50s B-movies taking the title from It Came from Outer Space and the general concept from Them!. Originally starring a scientist trying to stop an invasion of giant ants, the TG16 game is completely new and replaces the hero with a high school biker named Buzz working with a scientist to stop a similar attack. As in the original, the game is largely made up of dialogue scenes interspersed with occasional action. Three formats are featured with the most common, an overhead mode, taken from the original. New are a poorly controlling side scrolling mode and shooting gallery gameplay where a defenseless person must be protected from ravenous ants trying to eat them. The live action dialogues are the highlight as they both parody the cheesiness of old monster movies and create plenty of their own unintentionally. There is a significant amount of replay value too as the overall structure is similar to a choice-based visual novel, and not every event can be seen in a single playthrough. Sadly, the FMV implementation leaves much to be desired both due to the TG16’s color limitations and simply from poor adaptation to the platform. It Came from the Desert almost had an earlier Genesis port which was canceled despite being near completion. This take was radically different as it was a pure overhead shooter. This version was the origin of a teen named Buzz teaming up with a scientist but little else. The visual quality of the FMV is not great and the green screen occasionally bleeds in. The port of ICOM's Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective from mid '91 had a better visual quality but at the cost of a very small video size. The side scrolling controls are finicky, and you can only take a single hit. It's impossible to lose the game for the most part unless you take too many game days to finish. The overhead mode is basically the only thing that's taken directly from the original.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 6, 2022 9:49:16 GMT -5
André Panza Kick BoxingDeveloper Futura Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased (on HuCard) July 31, 1992 (Super CD-ROM²) Release (US) December 1991 André Panza has never been a household name in the US, but he did manage to get enough recognition in his native France to see a kickboxing game bear his name. The result is a highly technical game where a feel for each attack’s reach is paramount. Initially released on a variety of computer platforms in 1990, it saw a console port in late 1991 and was only released on TurboChip in the US. Japan later saw a CD port titled The Kick Boxing that is identical aside from some small CD flourishes. The game is quite easy to pick up and play due to its simple controls. Thirteen attacks are available at any time, and used by pressing either a direction or the I button plus a direction. The computer versions allow for a free selection of attacks, but the TG16 game only allows for a preset selection of 8 combinations. Unlike modern fighting games, attacks have a distance minimum and using them when too close will have them harmless go through the opponent. This luckily also affects the AI so the player is at least not at a disadvantage. The game saw a later update under a variety of titles but perhaps most well known as Best of the Best: Championship Karate on SNES. While it was panned in its computer form due to it being a minor update, the SNES game did bring the original full move selection to consoles. That specific port was reportedly a favorite of actual martial artists. Regardless of version, André Panza Kick Boxing was one of the last fighting games before Street Fighter II codified the modern incarnation and shows some of what was lost when the genre embraced combos and complex inputs even for relatively realistic games. One of the main elements of the single player is increasing your three stats through training. André Panza unsurprisingly has max stats. Matches start out in what looks like the world's highest capacity community center before moving on to a fancier venue.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 9, 2022 8:17:31 GMT -5
Darkwing DuckDeveloper Interactive Designs, Radiance Software Publisher Turbo Technologies Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) February 1992 The unholy combination of Interactive Designs and Radiance returns for their second and final collaboration and Interactive Design’s last game before becoming part of Sega. Darkwing Duck is an improvement over TaleSpin in some ways, but it is largely a regression. The graphics are better and the general design is a better conceptual fit with the show. In each level, eleven puzzle pieces must be collected before exiting the level and fighting the boss. These pieces are not difficult to find, and once the main levels are completed an image must be reconstructed from the pieces before the final one is unlocked. The problem with the game is that there are a mere four levels. Each is fairly small leading to a short game length. There are also plenty of bugs including especially troublesome hit detection. The poor quality points to a game quickly rushed out to meet a Christmas deadline only to miss it anyway. Either that or TTI decided to cut their losses and bury the game in the post-Christmas doldrums Like TaleSpin and ID’s later Bonkers game for Sega, Capcom had their take on the property with the only other game based on the series. It is unsurprisingly an NES and GameBoy platformer but one with a slight Mega Man feel minus the permanently acquired weapons. Just like those two games, it does seem like Capcom threw together a competing game that happens to be superior simply due to their higher skill. Shooting enemies is frought as they sometimes run off screen only to return as if nothing happened. It's safer to jump on them which must be done while holding down in a move that copies DuckTales for no reason. The bosses look good enough at least.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 12, 2022 11:11:19 GMT -5
Davis Cup TennisDeveloper Loricel Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased (on HuCard) April 1, 1992 (CD-ROM²) Release (US) April 1, 1992 Like the originally Loricel published André Panza Kick Boxing, Davis Cup Tennis originated on European computers as Tennis Cup before receiving a US TurboChip and lightly embellished Japanese CD release. Like its sibling, the game also features a slightly more technical approach to the sport. However, it is less successful in this regard. A large amount of control is offered, but directed shots require holding the shot button well in advance unlike other games in the genre making them difficult to perform. The game does have a unique feature in adjustable player stats e.g. forehand ability, but it largely does not go far enough to differentiate itself from other tennis titles on the platform especially 1988’s World Court Tennis and its bizarre Quest Mode. Davis Cup Tennis also received remakes for the Genesis and SNES with the former keeping the license and name while the latter turned into International Tennis Tour. The overall feature set is similar to the original game but with more traditional controls and proper difficulty levels. The lowest, Beginner, also removes movement from the equation much like tennis in Wii Sports. The Genesis game has the fancier graphics from its pseudo-3D court, but the game speed is too high making the SNES game much more playable. More of a minor feature, but the game's "camera" is lower than in contemporaneous tennis games. The split view is also unique for the platform.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 15, 2022 9:36:19 GMT -5
Night CreaturesDeveloper Manley & Associates Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) May 1992 Night Creatures has some good ideas, but it is ultimately a failure. The seemingly unnamed main character has been turned into a vampire by the evil Hecate and must defeat her before sunrise. This quest takes the form of a non-linear side scroller. Progression mainly comes in collecting new weapons as some enemies and bosses can only be defeated by specific ones. After each major boss, an animal transformation is gained which opens up additional areas. Execution is everything, and the game has many design and technical failings. The game world is very small causing the transformations to have extremely limited usage. Some weapons also have limited shots with no way of replenishing their ammo. There’s also no indication of whether an enemy is immune to weapon, and hints towards what to use are limited. Bugs are somewhat plentiful with the most perplexing being the implementation of Castlevania style stairs. It’s possible to end up “halfway” on them and able to walk up partway only to eventually fall through. These issues point to a game that only got the barest amount of testing. Developer Manley & Associates may be familiar to people of a certain age as they did eventually make a classic game with the animal simulation Wolf and its sequel Lion. It may be telling that the staff of Wolf and Lion was almost entirely made up of new employees. Shortly thereafter, they were bought out by EA and primarily worked on the Need for Speed series as EA Seattle before being closed in 2002. These skull cyclones are immune to punches, but they fly back and get some immunity after being punched as if they weren't. Perhaps the only instance of a badger fighting a dinosaur-headed zombie.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 19, 2022 11:38:54 GMT -5
GunboatDeveloper The Code Monkeys Publisher NEC Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) June 1992 Accolade’s Gunboat is a river patrol boat simulation initially set during the Vietnam War before shifting to other regions. Three different positions are offered, pilot and two gunners, with the other positions controlled by the AI when not used by the player. In the original DOS incarnation, the “realism” of having to use an array of keys to manually turn on ship systems and toggle functions that could be automatic only exist to complicate a game that is a very simple shooter otherwise. The TG16 received the game’s sole console port interestingly not published by Accolade despite their small presence on the platform. It provides numerous simplifications e.g. automatic target identification that do not impact the core gameplay and would have been beneficial as a mode in the original. The controls interestingly use the turbo switches to modify button functions, fire rate for II and new station for I, but this also makes the game difficult to properly emulate. Sadly, the console is simply not up to the task of running the game. The graphics are both substantially worse and slow to draw leading to frustrating gameplay despite the streamlining. For reference, here is what should be the same location on TG16 and DOS. Aside from the lack of the bridge and simplified geometry (missing the hill on the left), the frame rate is in the single digits at best and sometimes feels fractional. The DOS game on the other hand is smooth and more detailed even on modest hardware.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 22, 2022 14:29:21 GMT -5
FalconDeveloper Spectrum HoloByte Publisher Turbo Technologies Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) July 1992 (estimated) In 1991, Spectrum Holobyte released Falcon 3.0, the most significant game in their marquee series. A new benchmark was set for the simulation genre resulting in high sales, numerous add-ons featuring new fighters and the creation of a cottage industry of supplemental guides due to its realistic flight model. 1992’s Falcon on TG-16 did not similarly set the world alight. Like Gunboat, the problem is that the system is not powerful enough to host even a simplified simulation. In some ways, the game performs even worse than the Master System port of F-16 Fighting Falcon, the “Falcon 0” of the series. The SNES and Genesis were just barely able to handle what Falcon attempts to be leaving the TG16 with a bland looking and jerky mess. A representative screenshot. Maybe if the SuperGrafx had been more successful, the added power might have made a game like this seem less foolhardy to release.
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Post by dsparil on Dec 27, 2022 18:39:49 GMT -5
Order of the GriffonDeveloper Westwood Publisher Turbo Technologies Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) September 1992 After producing several D&D computer games for SSI, Westwood got a chance to develop two console exclusive D&D RPGs. Both were released in 1992 and utilize the Basic ruleset which had seen an update the previous year. The first and better known of the two is Warriors of the Eternal Sun for Genesis which mixes an Ultima VI/VII style viewpoint with tactical overworld combat and Eye of the Beholder derived realtime combat in dungeons. On the other hand, Order of the Griffon is more or less an unofficial entry in SSI’s “Gold Box” series of AD&D RPGs. The general gameplay is identical with first person exploration in a grid-based environment and tactical combat that mainly occurs in fixed locations. Encounters may also be short snippets of text overlaid on the screen or longer prose that switches to a full screen presentation. Towns and dungeons contain both types of encounters with the balance switched between the two. The main difference from the Gold Box games is in the use of the Basic rules, a continuation of the original D&D. Advanced made many changes to the rules, and one of the major differences is in Basic’s continued treatment of demihuman races as distinct classes with humans occupying the roles of cleric, fighter, magic-user/mage and thief. Dwarves, elves and halflings are fighter variants and have various enhancements in the full rules to make up for their slower leveling and low level cap. Sadly, the game suffers from underimplementation in many areas. This is evident right from the start as character creation is not supported. Three choices are given per class with some having slightly strange attributes. The Basic rules include a simple process for tweaking a character’s attributes—lowering an attribute by two to increase a class’s key attribute by one with some caveats—and including this would have been beneficial. The bigger issue is that very few character abilities are included. Anything other than basic equipment restrictions, spell use, the cleric’s Turn Undead and the dwarf’s slight magic resistance is simply not included. Thieves are described in the manual as “a mediocre fighter” because thief skills were not implemented in any way. Elves are the only useful demihuman since even without their other abilities, they are a true fighter/mage multiclass in this game. Dwarves end up being nearly basic fighters with a 10% higher experience requirement, and halflings become lower HP fighters without any advantages. Tying into the lack of abilities is the dungeon design. The overall layouts are fairly complex and can include teleporter mazes, but they lack things like traps, hidden doors and locked chests. This would explain the exclusion of some abilities, but it is a failure of design to not include these common elements. On rare occasions, dungeons do have minor gimmicks, but they are largely basic affairs aside from their layout. Combat is the game’s strong suit, but it still has some issues. Unlike the Gold Box games, combat areas are not based on the level layout and instead draw from a selection of pregenerated areas with randomized party and enemy start positions. This leads the difficulty and length of combat to greatly depend on the start positions. Common battles mainly vary by length, but tougher battles may already be lost before they’re even begun if the positioning favors the enemy. It also does not help that the random number generator seems to be broken. In her slightly contentious review of Baldur’s Gate, Scorpia noted that the game had the worst attack rolls she had ever seen. She clearly never played this game as no one in this game can hit the broad side of a barn. This affects enemies just as much as the party so everyone is on equal footing, but it excessively drags out combat. To top this all off, a real Gold Box experience was already available on consoles. The first and bestselling game in the series, Pool of Radiance, had seen a release on Famicom in mid-1991 and a US release in April 1992. It makes some changes such as rebalancing the difficulty around a party with one less member available, but it is largely an equivalent experience. To add insult to injury, it also shipped on a large cart. With all the limitations Order of the Griffon has, the most puzzling thing is that many of them do not apply to Warriors of the Eternal Sun. It includes a very friendly character generator, some of the missing abilities and even more spells. It’s difficult to ascertain who worked on OotG, but Westwood may simply have had too many projects going on at once in 1992 and decided to focus on the game with the larger potential audience. There's a lack of care that even extends to the manual which has several embarrassing mistakes like saying CON[stitution] is short for Configuration. You get brief descriptions of the characters, but there's frequently a choice that's clearly worse than the others. The only stats that matter for a fighter in this game are Strength, Dexterity (hypothetically) and Constitution. Rurik has 15/14/18, but the other choices have 17/17/16 (Garon) and 18/14/17 (Keir). His standout attribute isn't that great of a bonus compared to the others. Having longer texts is a nice addition, but there isn't really any dialogue aside from a handful appearing on these types of screens. Most battles only have a handful of different enemies, but there are some with greater variation. Saving can be done anywhere with a backup or CD attachment, but password saving can only be done at the world map and produces these comically complicated passwords.
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Post by dsparil on Jan 3, 2023 11:39:24 GMT -5
Ghost ManorDeveloper ICOM Simulations Publisher Turbo Technologies Format TurboChip Release (JP) Unreleased Release (US) October 1992 ICOM’s Ghost Manor is somewhat superior to competing spooky game Night Creatures on a technical level, but it is much less ambitious in design. It trades open exploration for a series of large European style levels in which a key must usually be found to progress. The title manor is also only about the second quarter of the game with most of it being standard haunted towns and caves. Aside from its generic nature, the game really does nothing well of note and has many design failings. Levels are filled with slopes that must be traversed, and the smallest lack of momentum causes unrecoverable sliding. Not every level requires a key, and exits that require one are indistinguishable from ones that don’t and even nonfunctional doors. The largest issue is that the player’s sole attack, a standard projectile, has limited ammo with pickups rare enough that being defenseless is fairly common. Avoiding enemies is also not a foolproof strategy as sometimes an enemy holds a required key. The enemy design is less weird than Night Creatures which isn't completely a good thing. It's hard to tell if the left side is graphical corruption or a poor attempt at making a decaying wall. The European influence is explicit as this callout in the Special Thanks portion of the credits shows.
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