Gunstar Heroes: 1HN Overrated Mess

Back in my college days in the 90s, I bought a game about which I had read a few very favorable reviews: Gunstar Heroes. This rock 'em, sock 'em shoot-em-up side-scroller was hailed as one of the finest games of its genre for the Sega Genesis or any game system at the time. Initially, the game was fun and amusing with the main characters and their abilities to combine gun types, punch and kick villains, climb across platforms, and even throw foes or each other. At the time, it seemed to be like Contra, but wrapped up in a slightly cutesy, Japanese anime-like look. However (and this should say something about the game), a few months after I bought it, I remember selling Gunstar Heroes so that I could buy some EA Sports game.

Why? Because the game is a farce. Amidst all the explosions, throwing robot bad guys, blowing the tar out of foes, and comically animated bravado, you begin to realize that the game is all about blowing up stuff. Imagine playing a game in which, suddenly, you're mobbed by bad guys. Then, you throw these bad guys here and there, blowing away a bunch more with explosion after explosion happening. After a while, it ceases to be amusing and becomes tedious; no strategy, but just mashing buttons as quickly as you can to wreak aimless havoc. The only amount of strategy you need is when fighting the various end-stage bosses, but after learning the trick that beats each boss, anyone could beat this game and move on.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't have patience for this game so I got rid of it; but, if I had held onto that game, I could've sold the cartridge for close to its purchase price now. Years later (actually, a few months ago), I read about this game again and decided that I wanted to give it another chance. I played it again, and I felt the same way: explosions, bodies thrown, ugh. So, once and for all, I turned my back on Gunstar Heroes. My advice: avoid this cartoonishly violent game, even if it is just throwing robots, and play Super Mario 3 or something more worthwhile like that.

Quackshot: 1HN Underrated Classic

When I was in high school, I remember hanging out with my friend Ed, who owned a Sega Genesis (before I eventually got mine in college). One of his brothers had rented a game called Quackshot, which was a side-scrolling adventure game starring Donald Duck. I remember playing the game and being impressed by the cartoonish graphics, the quirky background music, and, most importantly, the amusing and unique gameplay. Nineteen years later, I decided to buy the game used and include it as a retrogaming Christmas gift for my two sons, along with a Gen-X Dual Station and some other NES and Genesis games. Upon opening the gift, both of my sons were taken by the game and wanted to play it. Needless to say, like I was 19 years ago, they were impressed by the game.

Quackshot is one of those underrated classics that many gamers do not recognize, except for those Genesis gamers that are now active retrogamers. However, in what other game does the protagonist shoot a plunger gun that becomes more versatile as one acquires power-ups? Or, in what other game does a Disney character, vaguely dressed like Indiana Jones, travel from Duckburg to Mexico to Egypt to Transylvania to a haunted Viking ship? Not many other games but Quackshot. The unique gameplay not only involves using your plunger gun to stun foes, climb walls, and hitch rides attached to flying bird, but also involves the ability to slide as well as jump and duck -- most games did not have such versatility of control 19 years ago.

If you can, look for Quackshot on eBay or (if it's available) on Wii's Virtual Console. Because Donald wields a plunger gun and the game has that Saturday Disney cartoon look, it's a relatively innocuous game for young children, and it's a hoot for older kids who aren't averse to a good ol'-fashioned side-scroller that doesn't feature blood, guts, and explosions.

Christian Retrogamer? You Must Be Joking!

Okay.

I was thinking about it today, and it struck me that a "Christian retrogaming" blog is, frankly, an inane concept. Don't followers of Jesus have better things to do than pontificate and/or reminisce about the vagaries of 20-year-old games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras? Definitely...

But, the reality is that retrogaming is a hobby and we all have hobbies. Christians watch movies, play sports, enjoy eating food, and enjoy other ancillary aspects of the world without idolizing those things; within reason, why not videogames? Sadly, the content of videogame-related blogs and fansites range from civilly amoral to downright profane and disgusting. Really, outside of professional review sites like IGN and GameSpot (which are worldly, as well -- I mean, some of the games they "have to review" are not edifying at all), it's hard to go to a website and read and comment about videogames and NOT have to contend with cursing, nasty talk, and ugly bickering.

My goal is to provide a platform upon which enthusiasts can feel safe to comment on old videogames in a thought-provoking way WITHOUT having to deal with knuckleheads. That's what Retrobeliever is all about. There are Christian movie sites, Christian book sites, and Christian music sites... why can't there be Christian gaming sites?

More than simply talking and sharing about old videogames, I want this blog to provide a platform for encouragement. After all, videogame playing is just a hobby -- Christ should, and must be, the center of our lives.

Super Metroid: 3HN Adventure

Today, I turn my sights on to Super Metroid. Now, there's not much that can be said about this game that hasn't been said on thousands of websites and in thousands of review articles -- it's one of the finest games ever devised for home video game consoles. Having poured a couple of hours into it, I can honestly agree with those reviews, though I imagine I'd be incredibly frustrated if I didn't have access to walkthroughs. With a walkthrough or player's guide, Super Metroid is difficult enough with having to master wall-jumping, mid-air ball morphing, and so on; but, without a guide, this game would take ten times as long to go anywhere. That's what I think...

Anyway, Super Metroid is a fine example of third-hand nostalgia, which is to say that I neither experienced nor knew about the game when it was truly relevant, but am just now playing it and feeling those nostalgic feelings associated with something from the past (i.e. the 90s). Since I swapped the sadly faulty Gen-X for a Retro Duo, I had been reading as much as I could about Super Metroid. But now, I get to play it, albeit only when my family, work, and school schedules allow it.

In almost every way, Super Metroid has lived up to the hype, but I have to ask the question I posed a few months back: how violent is this game? In a nutshell, Super Metroid is a game about exploration and discovery that involves the inevitable shootings and boss battles. On the planet Zebes, almost every creature is either apathetic to your presence or downright hospitable (seeing how some of the baddies are space pirates, after all), so blasting alien creatures is sometimes necessary. However, this is not the primary intent of the game; for the most part, you explore Zebes' extensive underworld to find things, get to other places, and find more things until you find the Metroid hatchling and eventually Mother Brain.

But, is the game violent? Yes, it is. You're shooting aliens, you're blowing up blocks with bombs and missiles, and you fight massive bosses that are ugly and evil. Is it appropriate for kids? Well, I would ask this: is Lord of the Rings appropriate for kids? Are many books of the Old Testament appropriate for kids? Does anyone remember that David actually beheads the felled Goliath with a big sword? Or that Samson kicked one thousand Philistines' butts with the jawbone of an ass? My point is that Super Metroid does not focus on violence, and I do not believe that it promotes violence, but you do have to defend yourself in that game... and you do get nifty upgrades to your arm cannon.

In any case, this is not a game for kids, and the violence must be considered in context: you are Samus Aran on a strange planet with creatures either trying to hurt you or doing nothing to keep themselves from hurting you. Oh, and creatures generally disappear with a PFFT, leaving behind missiles and life orbs to restore lost energy. How do alien creatures die and leave missile refills behind?

Ciao.

Coming Together

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20)

Just a random thought: video games have the benefit of potentially drawing people together. However, just being together is not enough; there has to be the intent to interact and cultivate friendship. In this way, certain video game sessions may be a great way to draw together fellow Jesus believers...

Every so often, a few Christian friends of mine and I get together for what we lamely call "man-dates." Ugh, what a terrible phrase to have in the American English lexicon... Anyway, we get together, play some Wii Sports or whatever, and then have some prayer time. Okay, maybe it's also "lame" that we play Wii and THEN pray, but at least these man gatherings draw guys together. If it results in some prayer, then I say that the time spent hanging out takes on deeper significance.

Video games can draw people together, especially men who stereotypically engage in profound conversation and emotive reflection only when coerced or bribed. Video games, like sports, provide a platform for exploring deeper issues man-to-man.

Okay, I'm belaboring the point. Time to stop.

Ciao!

To a Friend from Long Ago

This post is a little different from my other posts. On March 3rd, Mark Welsh passed away. The cause was a severe asthma attack.

Mark was a friend of mine from back in my high school days. We were both on swim team together, but we became friends during the two summers after high school when he, two other friends, and I would go bowling until late at night. When I think back, I wouldn't have imagined that I would have connected with Mark through bowling. After those two summers, though, I drifted away and lost contact with Mark.

I found out this news today and was shocked, not just because we had just reconnected only a few months ago through Facebook, but also because death by asthma really hits home with me. You see, my youngest son has asthma, and his condition can degrade rapidly if untreated. In that sense, Mark's death affected me today in ways I would not have imagined.

Why do I mention Mark's passing on this blog? Because it was on the basis of Genesis games that he and I reconnected a few months ago. I had posted on Facebook that I was looking for old Genesis games, and he let me know that he had some old ones. Then, we chatted online and reminisced about those times bowling and hanging out. My greatest regret is that I didn't just meet up with him in person once -- to hang out, bowl, or even shake hands.

My condolences to Mark's fiancee, family, and loved ones. You are indeed missed.

First-hand vs. Second-hand Nostalgia

Howdy!

I was pondering the concept of nostalgia vis-a-vis retrogaming, and I realized that there are two kinds of nostalgia: first-hand nostalgia and second-hand nostalgia. "First-hand nostalgia" (1HN) refers to that positive feeling that emerges when remembering something one directly encountered; for example, my remembrances of Super Mario Bros. and any positive feelings associated with it would comprise first-hand nostalgia. Conversely, in my estimation, "second-hand nostalgia" (2HN) refers to remembering what one experienced about something that was indirectly related to a first-hand nostalgia item; for instance, I never played Kid Icarus, but reading about that NES game and thinking about my experiences with that gaming system would comprise second-hand nostalgia.

From this point on, I will consistently refer to FHN and SHN when talking about games. Why? Because as I explore old games that I never got to play when those games were released (i.e. 15 years ago), I am finding that any positive memories that surface are mostly second-hand, or 2HN. An applicable example of this would be thinking about a movie from the 80s that I had heard about during the 80s, but never got a chance to see; yet, when I think about that movie (at least, any spurious information I have about that movie), I am reminded of the rad aspects of that decade.

Actually, I should then address third-hand nostalgia (3HN): positive feelings experienced with something with which one neither had direct nor indirect contact. A good example of this is that joyous feeling I get when I think about games like Super Metroid, Goof Troop, Mega Man, and other SNES games because I didn't own that system, and I never knew those games existed in the 90s, but when I look at those games now I am reminded of the decade during which I was in college and then in Japan.

Okay, so we have 1HN, 2HN, and 3HN. Confused yet? Here's the breakdown:

• 1HN: Nostalgia related to something directly experienced in the time period during which that thing was relevant or contemporaneous.
• 2HN: Nostalgia related to something that was not directly experienced, but known about during the time period that thing was relevant or contemporaneous.
• 3HN: Nostalgia related to something that was neither directly experienced nor known about during its time of relevance, but has recently emerged because of current knowledge of that thing, which in turns stokes positive feelings about the time period or other items connected to that thing.

I hope that clears things up.

Ciao!