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Oldies but Goodies – Titus the Fox

Genre:  Platformer
Platform:  PC

Titus the Fox was a platformer from way back in 1991.  We had it on our Windows 3.1 computer when I was a kid and I think this was my sisters’ favorite.  At least, I hope so, because when I tried to copy it for a friend and rendered the disk useless due to some copyright code, they almost killed me.  Let’s discuss why.

Titus was a cute game and took place somewhere in the middle east where magic carpets are the norm.  You play as the fox and are trying to get to the end of each level in search of your female counterpart.  But she’s always in another castle somewhere else and you need to keep running through a gauntlet of baddies.  If I recall, your primary mode of attack is picking things up and throwing them – including the bad guys.  If you could approach them from behind, you could throw them.  There was usually some sort of stacking puzzle in the level as well.

It was a fairly standard platformer, but the graphics were pretty good for a 1991 computer game running on 3.1.  The soundtrack was cutesy as well.  I can see why my younger sisters liked the game and I would like to formally apologize for destroying it.  I’m glad you’ve grown up without too much mental scarring as a result of my technical ignorance.

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Oldies but Goodies – Summer Games

Genre:  Sports
Platform:  Commodore 64

It’s that time again!  The Olympics started this weekend and I thought it a good idea to showcase one of my favorite Olympic video games – Summer Games on the Commodore 64.  This was a decent compilation and looks pretty good considering it was released in 1984.  My cousin had a Commodore and we used to play this there.

You have a decent selection of events to play.  There’s pole vault, running relay, running single event, swimming relay, swimming single, diving, skeet shooting, gymnastics and rowing.  My favorite was pole vault and I remember it being quite challenging.

You had maybe 8 countries to choose from.  I always picked Brazil because my 8 year-old self thought they had the coolest flag.  There were opening ceremonies to watch and medal ceremonies.  Each country had its national anthem represented.  For its time, it was a comprehensive game and the graphics were quite good.  If you’re looking for an Olympic game to play, look this one up!

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Oldies but Goodies – Slalom

Genre:  Sports
Platform:  NES

I am heading on vacation for a few days in Colorado, so I thought a fitting last post for a few days to be Slalom for the NES.  I’m not going to be skiing, of course, but it’s the first mountain-themed game I thought of. There are a lot of new things to talk about in the video game world and I’ll discuss them when I get back.

I played this at a friend’s house in middle school and thought it was a lot of fun.  The idea is pretty simple – you are a skiier going down the slopes in the mountains.  You need to fly down the hill and weave your way between poles, trees, other skiiers and sledders. Whoever keeps these tracks should be fired because there are so many things that get in your way.  When you finish, your guy gives a victorious, although somewhat pained-looking celebration.

The thing I remember most about this game is that it was HARD, just like so many old games.  There weren’t any continues, so you just had to start over each time.  The graphics were pretty good but static.  The background never moves, but that’s probably good here because you really need to focus on the course.  There was no story or anything, you are just a dude skiing down a hill.

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Oldies but Goodies – Frog Bog

Genre:  Arcade
Platform:  Intellivision

I know this game is called Frog Bog, but for some reason, it’s called Frogs and Flies in my mind.  We had this game for the Intellivision when I was a kid and I thought it was one of the funniest games I had ever seen.  I remember playing it with my parents and laughing a lot.  The premise is simple – you play against another person and try to catch flies with your frog.  It’s a very easy game – easy enough for my 7 year-old self to master.

There is a mode, however, which allows your frogs a bit more freedom.  This means that they can jump off the screen, change direction mid-air and fall into the water.  This was the mode that entertained me for so many hours.  As you can see in the picture above, the frogs look pretty silly when they jump.  I remember my aunts and I playing the as well when they would babysit and we had so much fun as well.

I do have this one in my collection now, but I haven’t plugged in the Intellivision yet to play it.  I’m sure it won’t be near as much fun, but it will always make me smile to think of it.

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Oldies but Goodies – Bust-a-Move

Genre:  Puzzle
Platform:  SNES

Bust-a-Move has been released, in some form or another, on pretty much every console since SNES.  I had actually played this one first on an arcade machine and immediately had to have it.  To my surprise, I found that it was available for the SNES, which I had.  I still have this game on my SNES and do actually play it.  There have been many clones of this game since, one of my favorites being Phlinx on pogo.com.

This version of the game stars Bub and Bob, of Bubble Bobble fame on the NES.  You are helping them clear a board of balls by matching three or more.  If you’re good, you’ll become skilled at bouncing them off of the walls to make tough shots and have large groups fall at once.

My favorite mode is the multiplayer battle mode.  I played through the story, but this is where the fun is.  You go through rivals until you reach the boss.  You can set how many wins you need per match before you move on to the next foe.  I have played through this many, many times and it’s still fun.

The graphics are just ok, but the soundtrack is great. I was humming it just thinking about it. The sound effects are also cute and add to the game. If you like simple puzzlers without a lot of story in your way, check this out!

 

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Oldies but Goodies – 3D World Runner

Genre:  Arcade
Platform:  NES

We had this game when I was a kid.  It was a really quirky game which had you running.  That was the premise, as far as I knew.  You were running through a world.  Toward what, I don’t know and never did find out.  Here’s what Wikipedia says:

“In the game, the player assumes the role of Jack the WorldRunner, a wild “space cowboy” on a mission to save various planets overrun by serpent-like beasts. The game takes place in Solar System #517, which is being overrun by a race of aliens known as Serpentbeasts, who are led by the evil Grax.  As WorldRunner, the player must battle through eight planets to destroy Grax.”

Yeah, the game never mentions a word of this when you’re playing.  As far as I know, you were just a kid late for school or something.  You don’t control when the runner runs – he does that automatically.  You do control his direction.  There are barriers you need to run through and mobs to avoid.  There are power ups to collect and you can jump as well.  You can jump pretty high.  In fact, there are parts of the levels that require careful timing of your jumps to pass.

This was a commonly played game in our house.  As soon as I heard the music in the video below, I smiled and immediately started humming along. It’s pretty catchy. We would never really get farther than maybe the fifth level, but we sure tried.  Check it out if you get the chance.

 

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Oldies but Goodies – Yo! Noid

Genre:  Platformer
Platform:  NES

So apparently, between McKids, the Cool Spot game, and this game, I was a sucker for advertisements when I was a kid.  Both this and McKids were pretty good, though.  Despite it’s massive advertising, it really was a fun game.

You are playing as the Noid, who was always the bad guy in the commercials.  Anyway, you are trying to help him get through a city and eat pizza.  He is armed with a yo-yo and you boink the baddies out of your way as you collect inexplicably floating scrolls, which give you power in the mini-game at the end of each level.  Pretty much every level is the same, with very few variations.  Some of the mobs and scenery may change, but the game play does not.  The graphics are just ok, but the music was catchy!

Yo! Noid Play 2

At the end of each level, you got to play a mini game against the anti-Noid (?).  You picked  and bet how many pizzas you could eat.  It could get ugly as you could be devious and spice his pizza, and vice versa.  I don’t really remember what you got for it, but I remember it as being fun.  I don’t know that I’ve played this since I was a kid, so if I played it now, it might be no fun at all.  It’s good enough in my brain to be an oldie but goodie, though!

 

 

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Oldies but Goodies – Neverhood

Genre:  Puzzle
Platform:  PC

Once upon a time, I moved out of my parents’ house and into the world.  I had a decent paying job, so one of the first things I bought was a shiny new Packard Bell computer (I didn’t know any better yet!).  And the first game I bought for that computer was The Neverhood.

This game was made entirely from stop-motion using clay.  It was beautiful, funny and HARD.  Back then, we didn’t have much of an internet to look up help files or forums.  We had to figure things out for ourselves.  This is why a lot of us didn’t finish many games back then, and this was one of those for me.  It was a puzzler through and through.  There were always levers and buttons that did some unknown thing.  Your next step usually wasn’t obvious and you would get all frustrated and AAAAHHH.

Neverhood play 2

I’ve pushed this damn button 15 times and NOTHING HAPPENS!

I digress.  This was actually a fun game.  I haven’t played it since way back then (1997ish).  I don’t think I would play it again as I want this one to remain a happy memory.  Sometimes, when you play old games, they are just not as good as you remember.

 

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