Super FamiComplete #55: Thunder Spirits (Redux)

 

Title: Thunder Spirits

Release Date: 12/27/1991

Developer: Toshiba EMI

Publisher: Seika Corp.

Here we have another side-scrolling schmup. This is one of those genres that will continually haunt this blog; though I suppose there are some really good ones as well. 

Background

This game is an installment of the Thunder Force series by Technosoft. Now this isn't a true sequel because where this falls in that series is actually a bit convoluted. When one normally thinks of old-school SCHMUPS, they tend to think of them as starting in the arcades (at least I do, but then again I am relatively new to the genre). In this case, though, this series started on old PC consoles, before moving to be a primarily Sega property. Thunder Force was originally released for a series of computer consoles, while Thunder Force II was released for the X68000 (with a port for Genesis later entitled Thunder Force II MD), and then Thunder Force III was released for the Genesis. Well, the arcades couldn't NOT wet their beak on such a hit property, so they then released a port of Thunder Force III for the arcades called Thunder Force AC, which held a lot of differences from the core game in that it incorporated assets from Thunder Force II. Now this game, Thunder Spirits, is actually an SNES port of THAT arcade port, but in fact even more changed from that original title (we'll get into those details in a minute). The Thunder Force series is considered a classic, and Thunder Force III is considered really damn good, only overshadowed by the next sequel Lightening Force (which honestly has one of the best OSTs of any video game); is this the case for Thunder Spirits as well? 

Technosoft, as a developer, was really only known for this series (and the little known Herzog), and they did not survive the transition from this generation unto the next, with their last game coming out in 1999. 

The story of the game is relatively simple fare for shoot-em-ups: the human "Galaxy Federation" is fighting against the evil ORN Empire and their mega weapon called the Cerberus. It's up to your pilot to destroy this mega-weapon and save the galaxy. 

Gameplay

The learning curve for this shooter is not too bad, and the game is fairly forgiving as far as time lost if you game over. If you die, you pick up right where you left off with no break in the action. Power-ups are plentiful and frequent, and there is an upgrade system that is like a curtailed Gradius system. I was able to beat the game relatively quickly without having to rely on Game Genie or cheats. 

The aesthetic of the game is pretty neat, as well. They put a lot of effort into the backgrounds; some are dynamic and shifting, and the colors are continually bright and vibrant. Many of the enemies have a biomechanical sort of feel to them, which also translates into the levels themselves. You never plumb into just a starbase or corridor, but instead are traveling through verdant forests, lava planets, or what seem to be best described as "space tombs." Some of the bosses have an interesting design too; one of the final bosses of the game does something rather unique for a shooter, which is fight you within a closed room. The boss is a simple snake creature that travels from hole in the wall to hole in the wall, but for a horizontal shooter this is a rather novel concept. 

Compared to the glory that is this game's sequel, and how good the Genesis and Arcade version of this game is...this game is just kid of lackluster. It doesn't do much to stand out; the music is okay, the action is relatively slow, and it isn't that challenging of a shoot-em-up. 

Ads, Art, and Music

Just a few magazine ads this time. 

Music

The music actually isn't too bad. Check it out!

Verdict

There are other much better shoot-em-ups out there for collectors. I am starting to really hope that there is a break from SCHMUPS for a while on this blog. 

Super FamiComplete #54: Spanky's Quest (Redux)

 

Title: Spanky's Quest (NA), Hansei Zaru: Jirō-kun no Daibouken (JP) (Translated to "Monkey Reflections: the Adventures of Mr. Jiro)

Release Date: December 27th, 1991 (JP), July 1992 (NA)

Developer: Natsume

Publisher: Natsume

One of the things that I love about this blog is that sometimes it delves into the strange and the obscure. This period of video games led to some very innovative game play, as developers were looking to explore new genres, styles, and stories as hardware limitations eased. Spanky's Quest, like many Natsume games, is definitely one of the stranger ones. Natsume, as a company, was known for some truly bizarre games during this era: Pocky and Rocky was a platforming SCHMUP set in the folklore of Japan, Wild Guns was an excellent shooting gallery set in a futuristic wild west, and Ninja Warriors being a single plane beat-em-up. Spanky's Quest fills another weird genre mash-up: the puzzle platformer. I have had very little experience with this game before now, but it has received a little internet acclaim from popular youtubers such as The Completionist and the Game Grumps. 

Background

The game's story is a little bizarre. Mr. Jiro, in Japan, or "Spanky" in the United States, is an ape who has been cursed by the evil witch Morticia, and who has done a series of bad things. One of those bad things is to make fruit sentient! Her fruit minions now plague poor Spanky on his journey, and they must be defeated before Morticia can be challenged.

The game, as mentioned before, was developed by Natsume, who is probably best known for the original Japanese farming sim, Harvest Moon, which has spawned a ton of life-style and agriculture sims. 

Gameplay
The game-play, to say the least, is a bit bizarre. It plays as a mixture of Bubble Bobble, Arkanoid, Buster Bros, and Solomon's Key. In each stage, there is an exit door locked behind a certain number of padlocks. Keys for these padlocks are spread around the stage, either carried by enemies or just strewn about in difficult to reach places. Once you have gathered all the keys, you can head to the exit.

To defeat enemies, Spanky blows bubbles out of his mouth, which shoot upwards in a lazy arc. Now if a bubble hits an enemy, it just stuns them for a couple of seconds; to actually defeat them, Spanky must pop the bubble by pressing A, which will release a ball from a different sport. These balls are able to actually destroy enemies upon contact. The more times you bounce your bubble off your head, the larger it gets, and it will create a different type of ball when you pop your bubble. The different types of balls, as well, move in different patterns and arrangements, which work better for different types of enemies. Basketballs, for example, are the largest and most powerful of your weapons, as they are huge and fall in an umbrella like pattern. Like I said, this game is weird.

There are over 50 levels to play, and every 10th level has a boss fight against a giant fruit. The game also offers bonus exits so that skipping levels is a possibility, which makes this game a decent speedrun game. All in all, you can beat the game in about an hour.

For an early SNES game, it is really rather unique. It has one of those strange premises that just kind sticks with you. I don't know whether this strangeness was intentional though, a la Katamari Damacy, or whether it was just a happy accident of the development. This game is just...odd. I can't really tell what the developers were going for with this game. I feel like they wanted to make a unique game and genre piece with a puzzle backbone, but instead just made something that was odd for the sake of oddity. It sits more in the NES and early Arcade side of video games, in that story and narrative isn't as important as gameplay and theming. There are still games of this vintage nowadays (such as Pix the Cat or Tetris Effect), but they are fewer and farther between. Even gameplay heavy games have some cogent narrative thread to them these days. 

But...it is fun though! Inoffensive fun, but still fun. This will be one of those games that people will remember like "Hey remember that weird Monkey game where it is sports vs. fruit? No? That's okay." The gameplay alone is really fun, and the aesthetic is very charming. It is a nice deep cut for a collector to have from this era. 

How are them tunes?

They are pretty good! 

Ads and Art

No commercials and just a little bit of art.

 Verdict

I recommend this game wholeheartedly. It is an easy recommendation for both collectors and as a fun game to pass an afternoon.