• Tag Archives Genesis

  • The Lion King (Sega Genesis)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/721373588036435968/segacity-elephant-graveyard-the-lion-king

    The Lion King is a 2D side-scrolling platform game based on the Disney movie of the same name that was released for various systems starting in 1994. The Super NES and Sega Genesis versions were the first versions released and are probably the best. This game was also ported to the Game Gear, NES, Sega Master System, Amiga, DOS and the Game Boy. I’m focusing on the Genesis version here but at least this version and the Super NES version were very similar.

    The game features ten levels that loosely follows the plot of the movie. Each level generally represents some key point in the movie. Players start off playing as young Simba who gets older throughout the game. Simba journeys through various stages such as the Pride Lands, Elephant Graveyard, Hakuna Matata, and others. The gameplay involves what you would generally expect in this type of game including puzzle-solving, combat with enemies (including hyenas), etc.

    Graphics and sound were excellent in this game. By this point, they had basically perfected 16-bit graphics and sound. Disney animators drawing the sprites and backgrounds probably helped. They do an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of the movie with both the graphics and the sound. The animation is fluid, graphics colorful and the soundtrack is basically an adaptation of the soundtrack from the movie and is very well done.

    Controls feature running and jumping of course and Simba’s main “weapon” is a roar that stuns enemies. Throughout the game, as Simba gets older, he acquires new and more powerful abilities such as a stronger roar and the ability to pounce. As with many platform games of this era, each level ends with a boss battle. The final boss battle features Scar.

    Gameplay is fairly balanced. It’s challenging enough to keep your interest but no so hard as to be frustrating (at least not too often anyway). It does get significantly harder as you progress through the game though so it isn’t necessarily for novice players. Younger kids could get frustrated with this game after a few levels and you would think that would be the target market here. On the other hand, they aren’t going to beat it in a day and there is a fair amount of replay value as there are plenty of secrets to uncover.

    In general, if you like Disney and or/platform games, then this is definitely one to have on your list. While licensed games are often terrible, Disney managed to do an excellent job in this era getting high quality games made. Of course, they were putting out some pretty good animated movies then as well. As to whether you play the Super NES version or The Genesis version probably comes down to personal system preference. You can find the original games on eBay of course or choose to emulate if you want. I don’t think this game has ever had a re-release and I doubt that it will. The other versions listed above are interesting to try as well but if you want to play the best version of the game, stick with one of these two 16-bit consoles.


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  • VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (February 1991)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: VideoGames & Computer Entertainment – February 1991

    VideoGames & Computer Entertainment was my favorite gaming magazine in the late 1980s to early 1990s. EGM was great then too but this one was my favorite. It was sort of the spiritual successor to the original Electronic Games as it had many of the same people involved though Electronic Games itself would make a return for a little while. The February 1991 issue of VG&CE includes:

    Features

    • Hot Circuits: The Arcade Museum – “Hot Circuits, A Video Arcade” was a traveling arcade museum created by the American Museum of the Moving Image in New York City. It included arcade machines dating back to 1971 all of which were playable by patrons.
    • Looking for the Light: A Player’s Guide to Final Fantasy, Part II – The second part of a strategy guide for Final Fantasy on the NES. Spoilers included.
    • VG&CE’s Best Games of 1990 – Winners and runners up in several categories as determined by the editors of VG&CE. Phantasy Star II for the Genesis won game of the year, Bonk’s Adventure for the TurboGrafx-16 won action game of the year, Whip Rush for the Sega Genesis won best science-fiction video games, Devil’s Crush won best simulation video game (as a pinball simulation), Herzog Zwei (Genesis) and Military Madness (TurboGrafx-16) tied for best military-strategy video game, It Came From the Desert won best computer game, Prince of Persia won best computer action game, Battles of Napoleon won best computer military-strategy game, and there are a number of other categories as well as honorable mentions in each category.

    • Super Glove Ball, Part I – The first part of a strategy guide to Super Glove Ball, a game designed for the Power Glove.
    • Giving Crime the Boot – A feature on crime related games. Some of the titles covered include The Punisher, Search for the King, Police Quest, The Colonel’s Bequest, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, Clue: Master Detective, David Wolf: Secret Agent, Countdown, Rise of the Dragon, and more.

    Reviews

    • Video-Game Reviews – Reviews of Bart Simpson vs. the Space Mutants (NES), Battle Squadron (Sega Genesis), The Punisher (NES), Shadow Dancer (Sega Genesis), Galaxy 5000 (NES), Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES), Krazy Kreatures (NES), Burning Force (Sega Genesis), Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (NES), Arrow Flash (Sega Genesis), and Pac-Mania (NES).

    • Computer-Game Reviews – Reviews of Wing Commander (DOS, Amiga), Spot (Commodore 64, DOS), Ishido (Amiga, DOS, Macintosh), It Came From the Desert II (Amiga), Altered Destiny (Amiga, DOS), Anarchy (Amiga, Atari ST), Unreal (Amiga), Stunt Driver (DOS), and Stormovik (DOS).
    • Computer-Game Strategies – Brief strategy guides for Brainblaster (Amiga, Atari ST, DOS) and Turbo Out Run (Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS).

    Departments

    • Editor’s Letter – Andy Eddy talks about his experience with an Activision event to promote F-14 Tomcat.
    • Reader Mail – Readers write in about alternate uses for the Game Boy and Atari Lynx, the used game market, Tecmo Bowl for the NES, Pit Fighter, and more.
    • Crash & Boom – A comic featuring taunting turtles.
    • Tip Sheet – Tips for Alien Syndrome on the Sega Master System, Snake’s Revenge on the NES, and Ninja Spirit on the TurboGrafx-16.
    • News Bits – Accolade sponsors golf course design contest for Jack Nicklaus’ Unlimited Golf; retailers increasingly carrying 16-bit systems and software; Commodore’s CDTV; Commodore reduces price of Amiga; new arcade game from Williams (Hit the Ice); and much more.
    • Easter Egg Hunt – Tips and tricks for Klax (TurboGrafx-16), Loopz (NES), Gilligan’s Island (NES), Super Star Soldier (TurboGrafx-16), Gargoyle’s Quest (Game Boy), Narc (NES), Devil’s Crush (TurboGrafx-16), Mondu’s Fight Palace (Genesis), and Chip’s Challenge (Lynx).
    • Fandango – Reviews of recent fanzines including Porta-Play #1 (covering the Game Boy and Lynx), Genesis Masters #2 (covering the Sega Genesis), Dan-Man’s Game Review #3 (covering the Sega Genesis), and The Subersive Sprite #5.
    • Destination Arcadia – A report from the 1990 Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) Expo. New games shown include Mad Dog McCree (American Laser Games), Bio-Ship Paladin (American Sammy), Double Dragon 3 (American Technos), Race Drivin’ (Atari), Pushman (American Sammy), Pit Fighter (Atari), Shuuz (Atari), Carrier Airwing (Capcom), Magic Sword (Capcom), The Adventures of Edward Randy (Data East), The Simpsons (Data East), Blood Brothers (Irem), Hammerin’ Harry (Irem), Cisco Heat (Jaleco), Earth Defense Force (Jaleco), Escape Kids (Konami), Over Drive (Konami), Punkshot (Konami), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Konami).
    • Inside Gaming – A look at the year past, including the awards process for the awards in this issue, and a look into the next year with predictions.
    • Game Doctor – Questions answered about the TurboGrafx-16’s technical capabilities, the future of NES software, Nintendo’s upcoming 16-bit system, state of the art PC games, programming video games, and more.

    …and more!


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  • ToeJam & Earl (Sega Genesis)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/705371872570769408

    “ToeJam and Earl” was developed by Jonson Voorsanger Productions and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis in 1991. Words such as “quirky” and “offbeat” are often used to describe it. In any case, this action adventure games is certainly unique and if you were looking for something a little different than the typical action/platform games common at the time then this would certainly fit the bill.

    The main characters of the game who serve as your avatars are two funky aliens from the planet Funkotron. As you may have guessed, their names are ToeJam and Earl. They have crash landed on Earth and you may control either ToeJam or Earl (or both in a two-player game) as they search for the missing pieces of their spaceship so that they may return home.

    Though it may not initially strike you as such, this game could be considered an example of a roguelike game. It was heavily influenced by the 1980 adventure game, Rogue. Those influences include things like random level and item generation.

    While ToeJam an Earl may have been influenced by Rogue, it certainly adds its own unique flavor. It was quite a unique game for the time it was released. The game is played from a 3/4 perspective and the random level generation means that it never looks quite the same. These levels are portrayed as sort of floating islands of Earth in space. To reach the next level, you must find an elevator to take you there. Not only are the graphics unique but they are quite good as well. The same can be said of the music with the soundtrack being as “funky” as the rest of the game.

    Gameplay revolves around exploration and item collection. The ultimate goal is to find the ten pieces of the ship and return home. Standing in your way are various hostile “Earthlings” such as giant hamsters, aggressive packs of nerds, chickens armed with tomatoes, and even Bogeymen. As you can probably tell, there is an emphasis on humor with this game. There are also a few characters that will help you along the way and you can also defend yourself by throwing tomatoes or by other equally absurd means.

    While this game gets mostly very good reviews there was the occasional complaint. For instance, the game emphasizes exploration in such a way that the pace can be slow. However, whether that is a bad thing or not depends more on personal preference. At times, ToeJam and Earl can also be relatively difficult.

    ToeJam and Earl was successful during its time but not quite as successful as many other big titles on the Genesis. There have been a couple of sequels. The first was ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron. However, in part because of pressure from Sega, it abandoned the style of the original game and was more of a generic platformer. It still received good reviews and was still a commercial success but somewhat disappointing to fans of the original. Another sequel was planned for the Dreamcast but was not released. A beta version found its way onto the internet in 2013. There was a ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth released on the Xbox in 2002 which returned more to the original style but received mixed reviews and garnered poor sales. Finally, there was ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove which was released in 2019. However, this was more of an enhanced remake of the original than a sequel.

    There’s a good chance that you missed the original ToeJam & Earl if you had a Genesis back in the day. If so, you should remedy that and find a way to play this one. The original is still probably the best. I don’t know of any re-releases so you would have to track down an original cartridge or make do with emulation. However, it is well worth it.


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