Retro Game Challenge
Score: 95% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: XSEED Games Developer: BANDAI NAMCO Games America, Inc. Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 Genre: Arcade/ Action
Graphics & Sound: Of all the new "innovations" introduced with this generation of games/ consoles, the most interesting to me is the Achievement or Trophy. The idea was lampooned when it was first introduced by Microsoft as one of the 360's new "features," but has quickly become a big deal in the industry, even spawning a new type of gamer, the point-hungry "Achievement Whore." What does this have to do with Retro Game Challenge, a game on a system without a trophy-based achievement system? Everything. With the words "Retro Game" in the title, it's a fair bet that the game won't feature whizz-bang, top-notch visuals, and Retro Game Challenge doesn't disappoint. Each of the eight games follows the visual history of the 80's perfectly. Early games, like Cosmic Gate, are single-screen affairs featuring limited color palettes and character made up of a handful of pixels. As you progress through each era, you'll see the evolution of graphics, ending in something that looks similar to late 80's action games. The only traces of 3D found in the game are the taunting head of Arino, the game master and the image of you and a young Arino playing the games on the bottom screen. These scenes are the only time you'll hear audio that isn't a bleep, bloop or some sort of midi soundtrack. Young Arino will occasionally comment on your play style, which is a bit unsettling. The younger Arino sounds like a 20-something year-old guy. Not a major issue, but odd.
Gameplay: Retro Game Challenge is equal parts parody/ love letter to 80's gaming culture and history. From the outset, the game's sense of nostalgic humor is great - though only gamers who grew up in the 80's will probably get most of the jokes, or at least appreciate them. It all starts with a gamer, Arino, who becomes so disenchanted with games (he's just that good) that he is sucked into his DS and seeks out someone who is good enough to beat his challenges. That lucky person is you, and Arino transports you back in time to play games alongside his younger self, who oddly enough, becomes your biggest cheerleader. The game begins in the early 80's with a Galaga-style, fixed shooter game, Cosmic Gate, and goes through eight made-up games representing popular genres like bullet-hell shooters (Star Prince), racing games (Rally King, Rally King SP), action-platformers (Robot Ninja Haggleman 1 - 3) and RPGs (Guadia Quest). Each game is accompanied by a set of five challenges that you must complete in order to prove yourself to Game Master Arino and move on to the next game. Although the challenges lead to relatively short game experiences (usually 5 - 10 minutes, with the lone exception being Guadia Quest), all eight of the games are fully developed, stand-alone titles that are just as entertaining without Arino's challenges. Some are a bit loose mechanically, and the inclusion of two types of Rally King feels a little cheap, but I've actually found myself going back to games in Freeplay for fun. I'd even go so far as to say I would be interested in stand-alone versions of the Haggleman games and Star Prince.
Difficulty: Some of Arino's challenges require you to reach a certain level or perform a certain move. In other words, you're playing for Achievements. Most of the goals are easy to accomplish; I was usually able to complete them on my first attempt. However, the difficulty leap between goals is a little off. For example, the second challenge in Rally King asks you to complete a course under a certain time; a much harder feat to pull off than the third, which asks you to pull off a quick-start. If any of the challenges give you problems, you can always turn to the great equalizer, cheat codes. Every game has a set of cheat codes that will help you get through the game. Cheats are introduced every month in an issue of Gamefan magazine. In addition to offering cheat codes, Gamefan also drops hints at future titles and offers developer interviews. If you look closely, you may even see a few familiar faces from the gaming press like James Milke, Dan Hsu and John Davison.
Game Mechanics: Eight different games means eight different game mechanics. This sounds daunting, but the core mechanics of each game are incredibly simple to learn and by the time you're finished with Arino's initial four challenges (the last requires to you beat the game), you'll know all the ins and outs of each. All of the games are built on the core of real games; older gamers shouldn't have much of a hassle getting back in the saddle while younger players may have to make some adjustments. It also helps that several of the games feature some duplication. There's no difference between the two Rally Kings and the first two Haggleman games are mechanically identical. The only oddball in the collection is Guadia Quest, which is based more on earlier Dragon Quest games rather than the more familiar (to North American gamers anyway) Final Fantasy. It's mechanically sound, though the difficulty spike and awkward spell names causes it to be a little harder than it probably should be. This may be nostalgia talking, but Retro Game Challenge is easily one of the better DS games I've played in the last few months. Twenty and thirty-something gamers need to buy the game - it's your childhood, the game. Younger gamers who don't see 2D as a relic of the past and enjoy older games, or just want to get a sense of their hobby's history, will like what Retro Game Challenge offers.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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