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No Polys, Guaranteed!
August 23, 2004 | 10:00 PM PSTby: Blake Leftwich
Time Pilot
In 1980, Yoshiko Okamoto, a graphic artist employed by Konami, was asked to design a racing game. However, he was so impressed by the game BOSCONIAN that he decided to secretly develop his own version of a Sci-Fi shooter forgoing the wishes of his boss. To cover his tracks, Okamoto even had his design team create a code for the "driving game" in case someone wanted to see his progress. Finally, when asked if the game was finished, Okamoto showed his project. And dispite his superior's disapproval, the game was well recieved in test locations and became a huge success. TIME PILOT (originally released in 1981 to arcades) is recreated on the Gameboy Advance with great accuracy. The game consists of five rounds all taking place in different time periods: 1910, 1940, 1970, 1982, and 2001. Each stage requires the player to shoot down the enemy, while dodging bullets, bombs, missiles and enemy aircraft. The difficulty increases as technology advances throughout history. After destroying a set number of enemies, a "mothership" appears (the boss character). When the mothership is destroyed, the board is complete. "Dock" with "parachutes" for bonus points while dogfighting enemies ranging from biplanes to U.F.O.s.
The control scheme allows eight directional movement that has a bit of lag caused by the turning animation, this gives the game its unique feel. The "A" button fires four shots per press allowing rapid fire with proper timing. In addition to the default game, two player and multiplayer modes are available through the link cable. Two Player Mode (requiring only one game pak) pits you against a friend racing to score the most points against squadrons of three in a 100-second match. Multi Game Pak VS (requiring two game paks) allows enemy squadrons of five to attack. The graphics, sound, and control capture the 1981 experience successfully here in 2004 ("The age of the U.F.O." according to TIME PILOT's original arcade manual).
Gyruss
Yoshiki Okamoto's gamble paid off and he went on to create his second and last game for Konami; GYRUSS, selection number four on ARCADE ADVANCED. GYRUSS (1983) is often described as a cross between Galaga (1981) and Tempest (1980) and is known for its synthesizer musical score of Bach's "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor". The game has you fly from the outer reaches of Neptune to Earth in a series of "warps" that alternate between space battles, and challenge levels for high scoring. At the beginning of each stage waves of ships will fly onto the screen and bonuses can be attained by destroying the ships before they join the formation at the center. One similarity in this game and TIME PILOT is a unique control scheme. All eight directions are used, but your ship circles the outside of the playfield on an invisible "track" as enemies swarm to the middle, creating a 3d effect of firing "into" the monitor ("A" button, can be powered up to a doubleshot), and different but quickly masterable movement. This near-perfect port is a one player game only and has no connectability features. GYRUSS is one of the more difficult games on this compilation, but many classics are, and with some practice, you can save the universe (or, at least beat your high score!). Yoshiki Okamoto's start at Konami was only the beginning of his influence on video game history. Later he joined Capcom and continued creating landmark titles such as 1942, FINAL FIGHT, and the STREET FIGHTER series (SHOURYUUKEN STEVE!).
Yie Ar Kung Fu
Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat officially defined the "fighting game", but one game of YIE AR KUNG FU (1985), the fifth game, will clearly show you that it is one of the genre's predecessors. As Oolong, you try (sorry Yoda) to "become a grand master of kung fu in honor of his father who died in the final match for his mastership," by defeating the five opponents of the "Hot Fighting History" followed by the six of the "Master Hand History". The control is comparable to modern fighters, Up directions jump, Left and Right moves the character closer to or further from your foe (there is no block), and "A" (punch) or "B" (kick) in combination with any of eight directions determine which attack you use. Additionally there are life meters which slowly drain with each hit, and even a "perfect" bonus for winning without taking damage! One of the most fun aspects of this game are seeing the techniques and look of each new fighter, which ranges from a flying monk to a dragonlady master of the "fan" (a projectile weapon). This selection includes an amazing bonus feature: Using a link cable, Two Player Mode allows you to fight head to head with a friend choosing from fourteen characters with one game pak! In Multi Game Pak VS Mode the background changes depending on the chosen character, a great extra!
Frogger
What can you say about FROGGER. It's here in all its glory. In FROGGER, the 1981 smash hit, players navigate their frog through a dangerous highway followed by a swamp to make it home safely. Dodge cars, trucks, snakes and gators and leap from lilypads to floating logs to guide five frogs home and clear the board. The 20+ year old favorite is 90% arcade perfect, slight variations in the music DO NOT detract from this great game!! The classic control scheme: UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, and no buttons. FOREVER FUN! Extra modes include the TWO PLAYER MODE which requires a link cable and one cartridge. In this mode, two players race to score the most points. The game ends when all the frogs' homes are filled. A MULTI GAME PAK VS game allows this same game to be played on the first two levels of the game(alternating).
In 1980, Yoshiko Okamoto, a graphic artist employed by Konami, was asked to design a racing game. However, he was so impressed by the game BOSCONIAN that he decided to secretly develop his own version of a Sci-Fi shooter forgoing the wishes of his boss. To cover his tracks, Okamoto even had his design team create a code for the "driving game" in case someone wanted to see his progress. Finally, when asked if the game was finished, Okamoto showed his project. And dispite his superior's disapproval, the game was well recieved in test locations and became a huge success. TIME PILOT (originally released in 1981 to arcades) is recreated on the Gameboy Advance with great accuracy. The game consists of five rounds all taking place in different time periods: 1910, 1940, 1970, 1982, and 2001. Each stage requires the player to shoot down the enemy, while dodging bullets, bombs, missiles and enemy aircraft. The difficulty increases as technology advances throughout history. After destroying a set number of enemies, a "mothership" appears (the boss character). When the mothership is destroyed, the board is complete. "Dock" with "parachutes" for bonus points while dogfighting enemies ranging from biplanes to U.F.O.s.
The control scheme allows eight directional movement that has a bit of lag caused by the turning animation, this gives the game its unique feel. The "A" button fires four shots per press allowing rapid fire with proper timing. In addition to the default game, two player and multiplayer modes are available through the link cable. Two Player Mode (requiring only one game pak) pits you against a friend racing to score the most points against squadrons of three in a 100-second match. Multi Game Pak VS (requiring two game paks) allows enemy squadrons of five to attack. The graphics, sound, and control capture the 1981 experience successfully here in 2004 ("The age of the U.F.O." according to TIME PILOT's original arcade manual).
Gyruss
Yoshiki Okamoto's gamble paid off and he went on to create his second and last game for Konami; GYRUSS, selection number four on ARCADE ADVANCED. GYRUSS (1983) is often described as a cross between Galaga (1981) and Tempest (1980) and is known for its synthesizer musical score of Bach's "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor". The game has you fly from the outer reaches of Neptune to Earth in a series of "warps" that alternate between space battles, and challenge levels for high scoring. At the beginning of each stage waves of ships will fly onto the screen and bonuses can be attained by destroying the ships before they join the formation at the center. One similarity in this game and TIME PILOT is a unique control scheme. All eight directions are used, but your ship circles the outside of the playfield on an invisible "track" as enemies swarm to the middle, creating a 3d effect of firing "into" the monitor ("A" button, can be powered up to a doubleshot), and different but quickly masterable movement. This near-perfect port is a one player game only and has no connectability features. GYRUSS is one of the more difficult games on this compilation, but many classics are, and with some practice, you can save the universe (or, at least beat your high score!). Yoshiki Okamoto's start at Konami was only the beginning of his influence on video game history. Later he joined Capcom and continued creating landmark titles such as 1942, FINAL FIGHT, and the STREET FIGHTER series (SHOURYUUKEN STEVE!).
Yie Ar Kung Fu
Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat officially defined the "fighting game", but one game of YIE AR KUNG FU (1985), the fifth game, will clearly show you that it is one of the genre's predecessors. As Oolong, you try (sorry Yoda) to "become a grand master of kung fu in honor of his father who died in the final match for his mastership," by defeating the five opponents of the "Hot Fighting History" followed by the six of the "Master Hand History". The control is comparable to modern fighters, Up directions jump, Left and Right moves the character closer to or further from your foe (there is no block), and "A" (punch) or "B" (kick) in combination with any of eight directions determine which attack you use. Additionally there are life meters which slowly drain with each hit, and even a "perfect" bonus for winning without taking damage! One of the most fun aspects of this game are seeing the techniques and look of each new fighter, which ranges from a flying monk to a dragonlady master of the "fan" (a projectile weapon). This selection includes an amazing bonus feature: Using a link cable, Two Player Mode allows you to fight head to head with a friend choosing from fourteen characters with one game pak! In Multi Game Pak VS Mode the background changes depending on the chosen character, a great extra!
Frogger
What can you say about FROGGER. It's here in all its glory. In FROGGER, the 1981 smash hit, players navigate their frog through a dangerous highway followed by a swamp to make it home safely. Dodge cars, trucks, snakes and gators and leap from lilypads to floating logs to guide five frogs home and clear the board. The 20+ year old favorite is 90% arcade perfect, slight variations in the music DO NOT detract from this great game!! The classic control scheme: UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, and no buttons. FOREVER FUN! Extra modes include the TWO PLAYER MODE which requires a link cable and one cartridge. In this mode, two players race to score the most points. The game ends when all the frogs' homes are filled. A MULTI GAME PAK VS game allows this same game to be played on the first two levels of the game(alternating).
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