Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

The long battle-filled journey has finally ended.

I'll be honest here - I continually mistake the Wonder Boy titles for Alex Kidd titles. It's probably because I grew up with the likes of Mario and these other games simply never got a look in, or, of course, it could be ignorance. I'm not going to say that's impossible.

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap isn't an Alex Kidd game, but a Wonder Boy game, which means we're playing as Tom-Tom out on his merry adventures to... cure himself of a curse (given to him by dragons) that turns him into different creatures. That's a video game plot if ever I've heard one.

But how does it play?

R-Type

Take that, you Bydo filth.

Source // Hardcore Gaming 101

We've all got genres that we've avoided, or else just left behind while we focus on our favourites. For me shooters were a prime example of that - they weren't bad, per se, but I never found myself attracted to them over racing games, for example. As such I am largely ignorant of the many titles there are when it comes to shoot 'em ups, though I know the odd name here and there.

R-Type is a shoot 'em up, that much I know. Beyond that, I don't have a clue what I'm in for. Perhaps strange to say when I've played so many shoot 'em ups from this 1001 list already, but it's true nonetheless.

I don't know why R-Type has got a place here. I don't know what it does differently, I don't know what it excels at. I do know that it has a legacy, so what better place to start exploring that legacy than at the very beginning.

Space Harrier

Welcome to the fantasy zone.

Source // Wikipedia

If I guessed that Thrust would involve air or spacecraft of some sort, then surely I've got to guess that Space Harrier involves aircraft in space. It does not, and once again I've been made to look a fool.

Space Harrier sees you pilot some sort of rocket (not a rocket enginged vehicle, a straight up rocket slung under your arm) around a fantasy landscape that screams into view, a la OutRun before it. As well as dodging around stage hazards in the form of trees and stone pillars, there are enemies that include alien craft, one-eyed mammoths and floating stone faces, and that's before mentioning the equally bizarre boss fights scattered throughout.

The 1001 entry explicitly says that we should play the arcade version, so let's see how we get on.

OutRun

The real driving simulator.

Source // Hardcore Gaming 101

Back in my childhood I had two racing games for the Game Boy, F1 Race and Race Days. They weren't played too much thanks to the likes of Super Mario Land, but I enjoyed how simple they were. The road ahead would bend and straighten out in front of you, and all you needed to do was keep your car in the middle and avoid whomever was in your way.

What I wasn't aware of until much later was that I hadn't got a clue about the racing game to popularise this gameplay - OutRun. Although it's not a racing game according to its designer, which makes sense seeing as you don't have any competitors out there on the road. 

So what do you have? A time limit, a death wish and a blonde to impress. Time to put the pedal to the metal.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World

Sega's first answer to Mario...

Alex Kidd in Miracle World is such an important title in gaming history that it came pre-installed on some Sega Master Systems. It was going head to head with the success of Super Mario Bros. in an attempt to bring the Nintendo empire down to its knees; crippled and unsuccessful when compared to the might of Sega.

I kid. Hah, punny. I jest. Alex Kidd was up against Mario but its place in history has fallen somewhat, largely thanks to Sega's other mascot-lead attempts to dethrone Nintendo. Still, Sonic isn't a thing yet, and we're going to see what Alex Kidd offers to the platform genre.

Is it better than Mario?

Marble Madnesss

Let's all lose our marbles!

Source // Wikipedia

I don't ever recall playing Marble Madness, but I get the feeling I might have. Maybe I'm confusing it for playing an actual marble maze game made of wood and marbles, I don't know. What I do know though is that I know of it. That was a mouthful, but then again it is hard to bargle nawdle zouss with all these marbles in my mouth.

Jesus, what's become of me? Get back in the game.

Choplifter

When piloted by yours truly, you don't want to get to this chopper...

Source // Wikipedia

With a title like Choplifter, there can't be too many things that I'll be tasked with, in what I assume will be my helicopter. For a simple concept though, I'm a little bit surprised to see it ported to so many home consoles after its initial release on the Apple II. I don't know why I am surprised though, because simple concepts do well seemingly anywhere.

It is a good job Choplifter was a success too, because I've got to dive into those ports to play it. The Apple II version looks like helicopters in space, which kind of defeats the point of using helicopters, rather than spaceships. The gameplay however is like Lunar Lander meets Defender, which is something I can get behind - providing the ports hold up against the original.