My favorite move of the trilogy and my favorite SW game of the era. I was very good at it. I loved how the levels changed depending on the difficult level.
I really liked this game - the cartoon graphics were cute and that soundtrack is groovy. I used to play it when I skived off school. It was quite fiddly to play, requiring quite a lot of precision, and you don't really have a lot of room to see what's coming up on the screen.
Nice stuff as ever Sticks. Thought it looked a little jerky for my liking - Goldrunner on the Atari ST is proper fast, smooth scrolling! However, looked like it played well. Regarding other reviews I'd go for racers or puzzlers. E-Motion was (and still is) one of my all time favourite puzzlers on ST. You can take your pick from racers - Vroom, Lotus etc. you have plenty to choose from. Keep up the great work. Always a joy to watch.
+pomegran Thanks pomegran! Goldrunner is buttery smooth, but I always struggle to spot the higher terrain in that game, with explosive results. E-motion is a very unique game, I remember it being quite stressful due to the time limit and sound effects, I should give it another go. I've played Vroom and all the Lotus games on the channel already, here's a playlist of the ST racers I've played: czcams.com/play/PLZA77Kj5uRb8dKDglA-qrS7-C62Q5SZtw.html but thanks all the same for the suggestions, and thanks for the kind words.
Any requests? Well... I would love to see a proper multiplayer session of Midi Maze^^ But that's probably something none of us will ever be able to do at home. I could get maybe 3 or 4 STs running, but it's hard to find that many people who want to play this. Have you ever played that game with several STs connected via the midi ports? I like the idea of being able to have those huge multiplayer games. Just the idea of using the midi interface for that is brilliant! I would have loved that back in the days. I only played with 2 Amigas connected together with a null-modem cable. And that was already totally awesome. I remember playing populous with a mate for hours and hours.
+Theshadowsnose Aah, man. So would I! :D I've only ever seen LAN ST multiplayer games twice. Once with Populous, another with Stunt Car Racer. Both times seemed like some kind of voodoo. :) It was ingenious of them to come up with the idea of daisy-chained STs through midi for a multiplayer game. It's that kind if ingenuity that really propels a young industry. I wonder if there is a way to connect STs via the internet to play these games? Probably not, but maybe emulators like Steem might be able to add that kind of functionality... hmm...
Great review! And a funky send-off to the Star Wars reviews lol. I actually didn't know this game existed as an arcade or 16 bit conversion, I was more familiar with the Super NES game which interestingly enough features the suggestions that one magazine made IIRC. I discovered this particular game in your favourite game music countdown and it has stuck with me lol - have you ever heard the semi-official I think disco remix of the Star Wars score by Meco? Quite unforgettable... :-)
Those Super NES Star Wars games are very good, but so hard! I can't even get off the first level in Empire Strikes Back. I went through a mad couple of weeks where I bought a load of Star Wars games for lots of different machines. I have it in mind that I might do a Star Wars games themed bunch of videos. I do remember that song, thanks for putting a name to it. Now I might be able to find it again!
Nice one. Looks like quite a decent game for the ST. The music was very nice. That second song was from the end of ROTJ in the Ewok village. Have you reviewed "Rockstar Ate my Hamster" yet? ;)
+interghost The reason it didn't twig was that I have grown up watching the 'special' editions and almost completely forgot the original celebration song. I know, poor me. I haven't played RAmH yet, though I've read a little about it. Seems like an intriguing premise for a game, for sure. I'll add it to the list, thanks for the suggestion.
This was actually a very good conversion, loved the music just like you, that funk version is very original, considering this being converted some 3 years later from the arcade original, all in all great video will a close arcade conversion, great work fella and love the throw back magazine review concept, I might just have to rob that lol.
+DDGreyfox Thanks for the kind words, and the feedback is always useful! The music reminds me of a disco Star Wars remix I heard around 15 years or so ago... wish I could find that again, it was amazing. Imagine Star Wars was in the Buck Rogers TV show and they all go clubbing together. It was remarkable.
+Nomadski Ha ha! Well said. See, if you've made a masterpiece, why would you go back and change things? It's like Da Vinci going back and making Mona Lisa more pouty, or painting in some unicorns in the background.
+The Joy of Sticks They all do that though... it's like when they rereleased the original Star Trek series with ALL CGI special effects!! Not only is it a slap in the face of the modelists who worked so hard back then to create all these effects, but they also replaced them with CGI that actually looks dreadful and straight out of a PS2 game.... Grrr. :-)
+Adrien T. I didn't know that they'd done it with Star Trek too. That's even worse in a way, as the make-up and effects are a huge part of what makes up the show's unique style. I that we are starting to realise that something can be both 'of its time' and timeless, and that any attempt to update it can spoil both.
I have to admit I do like Jedi on the ST (and in the arcade, much pocket money lost to this one in Barry Island). As you point out this would have lent itself nicely to vector gfx but I kinda like the quirkiness of the isometric viewpoint. Even if the walker seems to be jogging on the spot. Great vid as always mate. Now Star wars us done what next? ;-)
+timediavideo Stay tuned! Coming soon! Sorry it's been so long, but I haven't had much time to record recently. Can't wait to get stuck in to it, though.
Ah, I've been looking forward to this. I played this game alot back in the day. Used to play in short rounds though as it does get repetetive quite fast. I like the action in this game too. As you mentioned, blowing things up here feels good. I love the music and I'll probably get lynched for saying this, but I never liked John Williams bombastic soundtracks. I think one reason why I like this ST music so much is because, in a way, it's like flipping old man Williams the bird ;)
+kablurg That's the thing. Back in the day you might have been annoyed to pay full whack for a game for it to turn out to be repetitive, but personally John Williams certainly has a style, and is probably the most distinctive of all the great 20th century film score composers. When you hear a Williams, you instantly know it's him. That will either make you appreciate him all the more, or despise him depending on your viewpoint! Still, he knew how to make a memorable theme and weave it throughout a soundtrack, that's for sure. Some of his less famous work may be more to your taste. The way he sprinkles Jewish folk style melodies into the Schindler's List theme is a great example.
+The Joy of Sticks I guess I just don't like his typical spielburgian compositions. It's been so long since I saw Schindler's List, I can't remember the music. I do like what he did with Deerhunter though, for example.
Yes, he is a good match for Spielberg. They both seem to belong to the school of thought that movies are roller coaster rides, where the audience should be led through and told what to feel by the tone of the movie and its music. Personally, I prefer a more post-structuralist, open-to-interpretation approach to film making, but can appreciate the incredible skill in composing works like Spielberg's.
+Ian Jones I can get quite far when I shut my mouth and concentrate! :D It's actually a lot more fun in the later stages when the enemies/trees/mines/barriers start coming thick and fast.
Another game that I played heaps back in the day, not an original copy though, don't actually remember ever seeing a physical copy. Did quite enjoy it, but it does get a bit samey after a while I think.
Absolutely. It's the kind of game that stands up well today. Quick ten minute blast in between doing something more grown up and 'productive' and you're well happy. Paying full price and being part of your limited library of games with a ton of time on your hands? Probably not so good from that perspective.
Absolutely. It's the kind of game that stands up well today. Quick ten minute blast in between doing something more grown up and 'productive' and you're well happy. Paying full price and being part of your limited library of games with a ton of time on your hands? Probably not so good from that perspective.
+The Joy of Sticks It's funny you should say that! Lots of ST games are great for quick ten, fifteen minute breaks because you pop in the disk, flick the switch and most often in ten seconds you're playing. PC and console gaming quickly became more time-consuming when you really had to sit down for a whole saved level, a quest etc. That's definitely a reason why our ST remained in use for so long I think. :-)
+Adrien T. Even modern games more suited to quick 'pick up and play' sessions are packed full of incentives to play for longer. Arena shooters, ,for example, where you have to 'level up' to unlock more features. I think we've lost the art of the 'ten minute blast' arcade games of old. Thing is, mainstream commercial games have big budgets and price tags and have to justify that with "XX hours completion time". Thankfully, we have a vibrant indie scene that can fill these gaps.
+The Joy of Sticks Yes it's true when you pay today 60 to 80$ for a commercial release you hope it's going to last a while. But it's become like the arms race there, games have crazy budgets, all the bells and whistles but are less and less accessible. Take Tomb Raider I LOVE that game but you need to sit down at least three hours to achieve anything. I can also literally spend an entire afternoon chasing my high score in Asteroids so maybe it works both ways hehe... :-)
+puressenceuk35 I have a natural tendency to avoid puzzle and adventure games on the channel because I'm terrified of looking like an idiot when I can't figure something out! :D They also tend to be a lot longer and slower than other games. Maybe I could record one and try to edit it down to highlights. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it some thought.
Failing that would love to hear your take on some not as yet covered classics, Speedball, Xenon 2, or maybe even some flight sims - F29 Retaliator was always my fave.
It's a nice game as it completes the trilogy, but even at the arcade I was not that impressed by the gameplay. I remember playing a few credits and then wandering off to go play the star wars sit down cab instead. It just isn't as immersive or as tolerant as the two vector games. I do like the ST port though, its good!
+GadgetUK164 Absolutely. If the Star Wars sit down cab and this were side by side, I wouldn't even see Jedi. As an experience, it can't compete. That said, I do think it offers some interesting things and a little unique flavour to the shoot 'em up genre.
I thought you already done a video showing ROTJ... but now when i think of it so was it from an episode where you presented your favourite game music :) I have no comment about the game other than the colours choosen for the graphics really suck... at least for the forest levels.
+Stefan Lindberg Not a fan of beige on brown? :D That's right, I have proselytised about this music before, but it was time for the game to be showcased. Shame their's no other Star Wars games, now I have to have a think about what to play next.
I think that the original Star Wars has a higher replay value, but this one is alright. I think they could have done better than a isometric shooter, something like Galaxy Force 2 or those tunnel sequences in Stardust.
+Village Monk's Gaming Memories I think you're about right on that. I prefer the first as well. The sequel seemed like a cash-in, and this one is a little too generic and shows its age a bit. When you mentioned Galaxy Force 2, I was instantly reminded of Eliminator by Hewson. You could do a great speeder bike scene in that style! Good call, sir!
Any chance you'll be doing a stream again some time? I enjoyed the last one you did. Hopefully you'd have a decent audience next time if there's an announcement video letting people know ahead of time.
+JimPlaysGames I would love to. Some people have requested some longer form games, and I think a livestream might be the best way to do those games justice. The problem is finding a time to do it. I can do a short one on Tuesday afternoons when the kids are at their nanny's, or a late night one. The problem with doing it late at night is that the kids are asleep, so it will need to be fairly low key.
Ha ha! That's very true. Though I might take on a Twitch.tv superstar persona for my livestreams, snort a couple of Monster energy drinks beforehand and let rip. ;)
Yes the graphics are nice and the music is quite good but I've always found this to be the weakest of the trilogy games for me. I felt that way about the game at the arcades as well. ST version is a nice one tbh and I really couldn't tell it apart from the Amiga. Still think Star Wars is the best, even given the vector graphics. BTW, has your views on Empire Strikes Back changed given our conversation? EDIT The music playing at the end of the speeder bike stage is from the Ewok celebration at the end of the film but only in the original release of the film, as a brand new theme was composed for the special edition and all subsequent releases.
+Ronnie Bradley My views did change. I still think it is my least favourite of the three, but I had previously dismissed it as a poorer version of Star Wars. Thanks to your insight, I have at least an understanding of what they were trying to achieve with the design in order to reflect the helpless mood of the film. Aah, that's why I recognised the music but couldn't place it. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the films the first time round (too young) and only really experienced them through the 'special' editions. My friend still has his VHS copies of the originals, so I might ask him if I can borrow them. The other games have the vector graphics quirkiness in their favour, but as a sprite based game, this one wears its age on its sleeve a little more. Still, I think it's a decent game, if a little limited and repetitive. I'm with you. Star Wars is the best one.
I remember that I played this on the Amiga and I hated it. I found it incredibly jerky. Maybe I'll make a Let's compare when the next movie comes out ;-)
I don't think our opinions could be wider apart on the music at least - I didn't mind Whittaker's covers for Star Wars and Empire, but these ones here? Not a fan at all (especially on the C64 port). Generally, said C64 port was kind of pants by comparison - it should have handled it nicely, but it was ugly, rough and did not play well at all :( Certainly looks a lot more playable over in ST land! Even if I think the transitions between the ground and space battles could have been handled better (I almost thought it crashed when it was doing it the first time!) :)
+hellfire64 Aww, man. Just imagine Vader in a glittery sith suit doing the Saturday Night Fever dance and you can't help but love it! :D I haven't seen any other ports yet, so I'll have a little look around these here 'tubes. Yes, those transitions happen far too often, and those pauses don't help things. Still, I think it's an interesting idea, and certainly gives the impression that those two events are happening at the same time. I can't remember another game at the time doing anything similar.
The Joy of Sticks It certainly is an interesting way to show the scope of what's happening. I guess it's more the limits of the hardware compared to the arcade hardware (I really need to try that with Rebel Strike on the Gamecube, because my MAME experience with it wasn't that crash hot). :) Maybe I'm a tad biased against the music from the SID instrumentation (FWIW, I covered the whole C64 trilogy at the end of last year - me, be opportunistic? Never). Might have to give the ST or Amiga ones a whirl at some point and see if I can adjust to it :)
I have Rebel Strike on GC, but I've never played it. I went through a mad rush of buying every Star Wars game I could get my hands on. I think I was entertaining the idea of making a Star Wars game channel. Then I woke up, smelled the coffee and realised I don't have enough time to dedicate to one channel, never mind two! :D My delusions of grandeur put Lando to shame. I'll have a look at your C64 Star Wars videos tomorrow, thanks for the tip off.
I know your a big Star Wars but I hate Star Wars. I love SI-FI and I love fantasy but for me the two should never be mixed. I hate how they never explain how anything works with scientific explanations (like the force for example) like all good SI-FI films should do in my book. Also making any vehicle walk on legs may look very cool but it is so impartible thing to do as that vehicle become really easy to topple over and so makes a very easy target for the enemy to aim at and take out. No army no matter where they are from in this huge universe will never design any vehicle to walk on legs. I best stop now as I know you like Star Wars (and that's cool) but for me, Hell no.
+MrStephen182 Actually they tried to come up with an explanation for the Force in the prequels which I hated because I liked the notion of it being mystical. As for vehicles on legs? why not, its science fiction not science fact. Its space opera not hard sci-fi. Given your specific needs for sci-fi there must be an awful lot of sci-fi out there that you despise as very few of the great sci-fi films actually explain everything in scientific terms.
+MrStephen182 I can completely understand where you are coming from. For me, I don't see Star Wars as science fiction at all. It is purely fantasy, albeit one that is set in space with lasers, spaceships etc. I grew up reading Arthur C. Clarke, so your notion of science fiction well grounded in real science is shared with me. I think if you judge Star Wars as sci-fi it stands up very poorly, but as a work of fantasy, it is a ton of fun. When they tried to ground the fantasy in some sort of pseudo science in the prequel trilogy it fell flat. Some things are just best left unexplained. The way I look at it is that the Star Wars mythos is inspired by Eastern mythology rather than Western rationale. And don't apologise! It's great to discuss these things with people of a different persuasion! :D
+Ronnie Bradley Midiclorians! That was an abomination. It is important to draw a distinction between hard science fiction and fantasy. No reason why a fantasy can't be set in a futuristic world rather than a dragons and magic setting. There are a lot of Sci-Fi films that do not spend precious screen time explaining the science to the audience, but nevertheless are well grounded in their own logic, or even real world science. Star Wars is pretty illogical, but no less fun for it, whereas something like Blade Runner doesn't sit you down and lecture you on robotics and social science, but it still grounded in that stuff.
+The Joy of Sticks to me sci-fi is less about having a technical explanation of how the transporter works or something and more about posing questions about our existence by showing how things change when new ideas and technologies arise. That's why Star Wars isn't sci-fi. Not because it doesn't explain light sabers, but because it's not about posing questions. It doesn't even really try to show the societal impact of the technologies in the setting. The people in Star Wars are no different from us despite how different their world is and the fact that they have a completely different history. Even if they explained how all the tech and the force worked it still wouldn't be science fiction. The fact that they have lasers and spaceships has nothing to do with the essence of science fiction. Now I really want to start a sci-fi rambling channel and make videos about this.
+The Joy of Sticks Yeah I despised that about the prequels. I like the Force as mystical. Personally I don't have a problem with genres being combined. Without it we would never have had "Alien" or "Event Horizon". We would never have had "Galaxy Quest". Splicing genres has been going for decades. heck even now at the cinema someone has spliced a historical romance novel with a zombie apocalypse to apparently great effect. It is true that something like Blade Runner didn't bang people over the head with tech speak and explanations, like the Godawful borefest that is 2001. But I still see it very much as Science Fiction, rather than science fact. I agree with JimPlaysGames that what sci-fi and fantasy do best, even within the realms of space opera, is look at our civilization and question our humanity and outlook.
+John Cove if you dislike (hate) the music blame the hardware in the Atari ST this is the audio (sound) chip it had en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Instrument_AY-3-8910
That music. In my head all night, I just know it.
+thinkbolt Ha ha! You are most welcome. ;)
My favorite move of the trilogy and my favorite SW game of the era.
I was very good at it. I loved how the levels changed depending on the difficult level.
+Trusteft It's really interesting. Lots of design choices you don't see in other games of the time. Have you played it on your channel yet?
The Joy of Sticks Yes and yes. :)
Aah the memories.. 😊
I really liked this game - the cartoon graphics were cute and that soundtrack is groovy. I used to play it when I skived off school. It was quite fiddly to play, requiring quite a lot of precision, and you don't really have a lot of room to see what's coming up on the screen.
+Mark Hopwood It certainly added it's own little bit of flavour into the Star Wars canon, didn't it?
Nice stuff as ever Sticks. Thought it looked a little jerky for my liking - Goldrunner on the Atari ST is proper fast, smooth scrolling! However, looked like it played well.
Regarding other reviews I'd go for racers or puzzlers. E-Motion was (and still is) one of my all time favourite puzzlers on ST. You can take your pick from racers - Vroom, Lotus etc. you have plenty to choose from.
Keep up the great work. Always a joy to watch.
+pomegran Thanks pomegran! Goldrunner is buttery smooth, but I always struggle to spot the higher terrain in that game, with explosive results. E-motion is a very unique game, I remember it being quite stressful due to the time limit and sound effects, I should give it another go. I've played Vroom and all the Lotus games on the channel already, here's a playlist of the ST racers I've played: czcams.com/play/PLZA77Kj5uRb8dKDglA-qrS7-C62Q5SZtw.html but thanks all the same for the suggestions, and thanks for the kind words.
Any requests?
Well... I would love to see a proper multiplayer session of Midi Maze^^
But that's probably something none of us will ever be able to do at home.
I could get maybe 3 or 4 STs running, but it's hard to find that many people who want to play this.
Have you ever played that game with several STs connected via the midi ports?
I like the idea of being able to have those huge multiplayer games. Just the idea of using the midi interface for that is brilliant!
I would have loved that back in the days. I only played with 2 Amigas connected together with a null-modem cable. And that was already totally awesome.
I remember playing populous with a mate for hours and hours.
+Theshadowsnose Aah, man. So would I! :D I've only ever seen LAN ST multiplayer games twice. Once with Populous, another with Stunt Car Racer. Both times seemed like some kind of voodoo. :) It was ingenious of them to come up with the idea of daisy-chained STs through midi for a multiplayer game. It's that kind if ingenuity that really propels a young industry. I wonder if there is a way to connect STs via the internet to play these games? Probably not, but maybe emulators like Steem might be able to add that kind of functionality... hmm...
Lets be honest, Deathchase on the spectrum was the ultimate video game version of ROTJ!
+Ste Foster Good call Ste! Somebody needs to hack that to make it more Star Wars-y. :D
Great review! And a funky send-off to the Star Wars reviews lol. I actually didn't know this game existed as an arcade or 16 bit conversion, I was more familiar with the Super NES game which interestingly enough features the suggestions that one magazine made IIRC. I discovered this particular game in your favourite game music countdown and it has stuck with me lol - have you ever heard the semi-official I think disco remix of the Star Wars score by Meco? Quite unforgettable... :-)
Those Super NES Star Wars games are very good, but so hard! I can't even get off the first level in Empire Strikes Back. I went through a mad couple of weeks where I bought a load of Star Wars games for lots of different machines. I have it in mind that I might do a Star Wars games themed bunch of videos. I do remember that song, thanks for putting a name to it. Now I might be able to find it again!
I remember really enjoying this game and thinking the graphics were pretty cool :)
+John Cove I think they might even be better than the arcade. The graphics on that machine are a little dicey...
Nice one. Looks like quite a decent game for the ST. The music was very nice. That second song was from the end of ROTJ in the Ewok village.
Have you reviewed "Rockstar Ate my Hamster" yet? ;)
+interghost The reason it didn't twig was that I have grown up watching the 'special' editions and almost completely forgot the original celebration song. I know, poor me.
I haven't played RAmH yet, though I've read a little about it. Seems like an intriguing premise for a game, for sure. I'll add it to the list, thanks for the suggestion.
This was actually a very good conversion, loved the music just like you, that funk version is very original, considering this being converted some 3 years later from the arcade original, all in all great video will a close arcade conversion, great work fella and love the throw back magazine review concept, I might just have to rob that lol.
+DDGreyfox Thanks for the kind words, and the feedback is always useful! The music reminds me of a disco Star Wars remix I heard around 15 years or so ago... wish I could find that again, it was amazing. Imagine Star Wars was in the Buck Rogers TV show and they all go clubbing together. It was remarkable.
The music when you complete the first section! You can't wipe THAT George Lucas!
+Nomadski Ha ha! Well said. See, if you've made a masterpiece, why would you go back and change things? It's like Da Vinci going back and making Mona Lisa more pouty, or painting in some unicorns in the background.
+The Joy of Sticks They all do that though... it's like when they rereleased the original Star Trek series with ALL CGI special effects!! Not only is it a slap in the face of the modelists who worked so hard back then to create all these effects, but they also replaced them with CGI that actually looks dreadful and straight out of a PS2 game.... Grrr. :-)
+Adrien T. I didn't know that they'd done it with Star Trek too. That's even worse in a way, as the make-up and effects are a huge part of what makes up the show's unique style. I that we are starting to realise that something can be both 'of its time' and timeless, and that any attempt to update it can spoil both.
Oh and suggestion wise? Hunter!! :-)
I have to admit I do like Jedi on the ST (and in the arcade, much pocket money lost to this one in Barry Island). As you point out this would have lent itself nicely to vector gfx but I kinda like the quirkiness of the isometric viewpoint. Even if the walker seems to be jogging on the spot. Great vid as always mate. Now Star wars us done what next? ;-)
+ataristaffroom How do you think the ST version matches up to the arcade? I was a little surprised by the CZcams videos of it that I was watching.
Hi! Haha! Searching for game requests? I still hope so much to see a ANARCHO Ride Video one day on your great channel! ;)
+timediavideo Stay tuned! Coming soon! Sorry it's been so long, but I haven't had much time to record recently. Can't wait to get stuck in to it, though.
I've seen gameplay from the other platform somewhere. Yeah, it's somewhat interesting.
+LastofAvari Interesting? Yes. Great? Not quite. Still, good fun for a quick nostalgic blast.
Ah, I've been looking forward to this. I played this game alot back in the day. Used to play in short rounds though as it does get repetetive quite fast. I like the action in this game too. As you mentioned, blowing things up here feels good.
I love the music and I'll probably get lynched for saying this, but I never liked John Williams bombastic soundtracks. I think one reason why I like this ST music so much is because, in a way, it's like flipping old man Williams the bird ;)
+kablurg That's the thing. Back in the day you might have been annoyed to pay full whack for a game for it to turn out to be repetitive, but personally
John Williams certainly has a style, and is probably the most distinctive of all the great 20th century film score composers. When you hear a Williams, you instantly know it's him. That will either make you appreciate him all the more, or despise him depending on your viewpoint! Still, he knew how to make a memorable theme and weave it throughout a soundtrack, that's for sure. Some of his less famous work may be more to your taste. The way he sprinkles Jewish folk style melodies into the Schindler's List theme is a great example.
+The Joy of Sticks I guess I just don't like his typical spielburgian compositions. It's been so long since I saw Schindler's List, I can't remember the music. I do like what he did with Deerhunter though, for example.
Yes, he is a good match for Spielberg. They both seem to belong to the school of thought that movies are roller coaster rides, where the audience should be led through and told what to feel by the tone of the movie and its music. Personally, I prefer a more post-structuralist, open-to-interpretation approach to film making, but can appreciate the incredible skill in composing works like Spielberg's.
I put plenty of hours into this but can't recall how far i got. Think the difficulty really ramps up quickly.
+Ian Jones I can get quite far when I shut my mouth and concentrate! :D It's actually a lot more fun in the later stages when the enemies/trees/mines/barriers start coming thick and fast.
Another game that I played heaps back in the day, not an original copy though, don't actually remember ever seeing a physical copy.
Did quite enjoy it, but it does get a bit samey after a while I think.
Absolutely. It's the kind of game that stands up well today. Quick ten minute blast in between doing something more grown up and 'productive' and you're well happy. Paying full price and being part of your limited library of games with a ton of time on your hands? Probably not so good from that perspective.
Absolutely. It's the kind of game that stands up well today. Quick ten minute blast in between doing something more grown up and 'productive' and you're well happy. Paying full price and being part of your limited library of games with a ton of time on your hands? Probably not so good from that perspective.
+The Joy of Sticks It's funny you should say that! Lots of ST games are great for quick ten, fifteen minute breaks because you pop in the disk, flick the switch and most often in ten seconds you're playing. PC and console gaming quickly became more time-consuming when you really had to sit down for a whole saved level, a quest etc. That's definitely a reason why our ST remained in use for so long I think. :-)
+Adrien T. Even modern games more suited to quick 'pick up and play' sessions are packed full of incentives to play for longer. Arena shooters, ,for example, where you have to 'level up' to unlock more features. I think we've lost the art of the 'ten minute blast' arcade games of old. Thing is, mainstream commercial games have big budgets and price tags and have to justify that with "XX hours completion time". Thankfully, we have a vibrant indie scene that can fill these gaps.
+The Joy of Sticks Yes it's true when you pay today 60 to 80$ for a commercial release you hope it's going to last a while. But it's become like the arms race there, games have crazy budgets, all the bells and whistles but are less and less accessible. Take Tomb Raider I LOVE that game but you need to sit down at least three hours to achieve anything. I can also literally spend an entire afternoon chasing my high score in Asteroids so maybe it works both ways hehe... :-)
"A sentient log following me" LOL! Reminds me of Mr Poo from South Park. XD
+GadgetUK164 Highdy ho!
LOL
Be nice to see you having a look at some of the graphic adventure games, don't think it's a genre you have covered so far
+puressenceuk35 I have a natural tendency to avoid puzzle and adventure games on the channel because I'm terrified of looking like an idiot when I can't figure something out! :D They also tend to be a lot longer and slower than other games. Maybe I could record one and try to edit it down to highlights. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it some thought.
Failing that would love to hear your take on some not as yet covered classics, Speedball, Xenon 2, or maybe even some flight sims - F29 Retaliator was always my fave.
Thanks for the suggestions, all added to the list! Seems ridiculous that I haven't done Speedball or Xenon 2 yet.
It's a nice game as it completes the trilogy, but even at the arcade I was not that impressed by the gameplay. I remember playing a few credits and then wandering off to go play the star wars sit down cab instead. It just isn't as immersive or as tolerant as the two vector games. I do like the ST port though, its good!
+GadgetUK164 Absolutely. If the Star Wars sit down cab and this were side by side, I wouldn't even see Jedi. As an experience, it can't compete. That said, I do think it offers some interesting things and a little unique flavour to the shoot 'em up genre.
I thought you already done a video showing ROTJ... but now when i think of it so was it from an episode where you presented your favourite game music :)
I have no comment about the game other than the colours choosen for the graphics really suck... at least for the forest levels.
+Stefan Lindberg Not a fan of beige on brown? :D That's right, I have proselytised about this music before, but it was time for the game to be showcased. Shame their's no other Star Wars games, now I have to have a think about what to play next.
I think that the original Star Wars has a higher replay value, but this one is alright. I think they could have done better than a isometric shooter, something like Galaxy Force 2 or those tunnel sequences in Stardust.
+Village Monk's Gaming Memories I think you're about right on that. I prefer the first as well. The sequel seemed like a cash-in, and this one is a little too generic and shows its age a bit. When you mentioned Galaxy Force 2, I was instantly reminded of Eliminator by Hewson. You could do a great speeder bike scene in that style! Good call, sir!
Any chance you'll be doing a stream again some time? I enjoyed the last one you did. Hopefully you'd have a decent audience next time if there's an announcement video letting people know ahead of time.
+JimPlaysGames I would love to. Some people have requested some longer form games, and I think a livestream might be the best way to do those games justice. The problem is finding a time to do it. I can do a short one on Tuesday afternoons when the kids are at their nanny's, or a late night one. The problem with doing it late at night is that the kids are asleep, so it will need to be fairly low key.
+The Joy of Sticks well it's not like you're screaming into the mic as it is anyway XD
Ha ha! That's very true. Though I might take on a Twitch.tv superstar persona for my livestreams, snort a couple of Monster energy drinks beforehand and let rip. ;)
How about showing us STOS and then some games made with it?
+South Coast Biker That's an interesting idea. It would be interesting to see how much of the code I can remember too. Not a lot, I'd wager. :D
Yes the graphics are nice and the music is quite good but I've always found this to be the weakest of the trilogy games for me. I felt that way about the game at the arcades as well.
ST version is a nice one tbh and I really couldn't tell it apart from the Amiga. Still think Star Wars is the best, even given the vector graphics.
BTW, has your views on Empire Strikes Back changed given our conversation?
EDIT The music playing at the end of the speeder bike stage is from the Ewok celebration at the end of the film but only in the original release of the film, as a brand new theme was composed for the special edition and all subsequent releases.
+Ronnie Bradley My views did change. I still think it is my least favourite of the three, but I had previously dismissed it as a poorer version of Star Wars. Thanks to your insight, I have at least an understanding of what they were trying to achieve with the design in order to reflect the helpless mood of the film.
Aah, that's why I recognised the music but couldn't place it. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the films the first time round (too young) and only really experienced them through the 'special' editions. My friend still has his VHS copies of the originals, so I might ask him if I can borrow them.
The other games have the vector graphics quirkiness in their favour, but as a sprite based game, this one wears its age on its sleeve a little more. Still, I think it's a decent game, if a little limited and repetitive. I'm with you. Star Wars is the best one.
I remember that I played this on the Amiga and I hated it.
I found it incredibly jerky. Maybe I'll make a Let's compare when the next movie comes out ;-)
+Theshadowsnose btw... is seems that the ST version has much more sampled speech than the Amiga one. I can't remember it being this 'talky'
+Theshadowsnose I'll look forward to that. It's rare that the ST gets a win! :D
+Theshadowsnose Huh... and the arcade is even more verbose, though the quality of the samples is questionable.
I don't think our opinions could be wider apart on the music at least - I didn't mind Whittaker's covers for Star Wars and Empire, but these ones here? Not a fan at all (especially on the C64 port).
Generally, said C64 port was kind of pants by comparison - it should have handled it nicely, but it was ugly, rough and did not play well at all :(
Certainly looks a lot more playable over in ST land! Even if I think the transitions between the ground and space battles could have been handled better (I almost thought it crashed when it was doing it the first time!) :)
+hellfire64 Aww, man. Just imagine Vader in a glittery sith suit doing the Saturday Night Fever dance and you can't help but love it! :D I haven't seen any other ports yet, so I'll have a little look around these here 'tubes. Yes, those transitions happen far too often, and those pauses don't help things. Still, I think it's an interesting idea, and certainly gives the impression that those two events are happening at the same time. I can't remember another game at the time doing anything similar.
The Joy of Sticks It certainly is an interesting way to show the scope of what's happening. I guess it's more the limits of the hardware compared to the arcade hardware (I really need to try that with Rebel Strike on the Gamecube, because my MAME experience with it wasn't that crash hot). :)
Maybe I'm a tad biased against the music from the SID instrumentation (FWIW, I covered the whole C64 trilogy at the end of last year - me, be opportunistic? Never).
Might have to give the ST or Amiga ones a whirl at some point and see if I can adjust to it :)
I have Rebel Strike on GC, but I've never played it. I went through a mad rush of buying every Star Wars game I could get my hands on. I think I was entertaining the idea of making a Star Wars game channel. Then I woke up, smelled the coffee and realised I don't have enough time to dedicate to one channel, never mind two! :D My delusions of grandeur put Lando to shame. I'll have a look at your C64 Star Wars videos tomorrow, thanks for the tip off.
I know your a big Star Wars but I hate Star Wars. I love SI-FI and I love fantasy but for me the two should never be mixed. I hate how they never explain how anything works with scientific explanations (like the force for example) like all good SI-FI films should do in my book. Also making any vehicle walk on legs may look very cool but it is so impartible thing to do as that vehicle become really easy to topple over and so makes a very easy target for the enemy to aim at and take out. No army no matter where they are from in this huge universe will never design any vehicle to walk on legs. I best stop now as I know you like Star Wars (and that's cool) but for me, Hell no.
+MrStephen182 Actually they tried to come up with an explanation for the Force in the prequels which I hated because I liked the notion of it being mystical. As for vehicles on legs? why not, its science fiction not science fact. Its space opera not hard sci-fi.
Given your specific needs for sci-fi there must be an awful lot of sci-fi out there that you despise as very few of the great sci-fi films actually explain everything in scientific terms.
+MrStephen182 I can completely understand where you are coming from. For me, I don't see Star Wars as science fiction at all. It is purely fantasy, albeit one that is set in space with lasers, spaceships etc. I grew up reading Arthur C. Clarke, so your notion of science fiction well grounded in real science is shared with me. I think if you judge Star Wars as sci-fi it stands up very poorly, but as a work of fantasy, it is a ton of fun. When they tried to ground the fantasy in some sort of pseudo science in the prequel trilogy it fell flat. Some things are just best left unexplained. The way I look at it is that the Star Wars mythos is inspired by Eastern mythology rather than Western rationale. And don't apologise! It's great to discuss these things with people of a different persuasion! :D
+Ronnie Bradley Midiclorians! That was an abomination. It is important to draw a distinction between hard science fiction and fantasy. No reason why a fantasy can't be set in a futuristic world rather than a dragons and magic setting.
There are a lot of Sci-Fi films that do not spend precious screen time explaining the science to the audience, but nevertheless are well grounded in their own logic, or even real world science. Star Wars is pretty illogical, but no less fun for it, whereas something like Blade Runner doesn't sit you down and lecture you on robotics and social science, but it still grounded in that stuff.
+The Joy of Sticks to me sci-fi is less about having a technical explanation of how the transporter works or something and more about posing questions about our existence by showing how things change when new ideas and technologies arise. That's why Star Wars isn't sci-fi. Not because it doesn't explain light sabers, but because it's not about posing questions. It doesn't even really try to show the societal impact of the technologies in the setting. The people in Star Wars are no different from us despite how different their world is and the fact that they have a completely different history. Even if they explained how all the tech and the force worked it still wouldn't be science fiction. The fact that they have lasers and spaceships has nothing to do with the essence of science fiction. Now I really want to start a sci-fi rambling channel and make videos about this.
+The Joy of Sticks Yeah I despised that about the prequels. I like the Force as mystical.
Personally I don't have a problem with genres being combined. Without it we would never have had "Alien" or "Event Horizon". We would never have had "Galaxy Quest". Splicing genres has been going for decades. heck even now at the cinema someone has spliced a historical romance novel with a zombie apocalypse to apparently great effect.
It is true that something like Blade Runner didn't bang people over the head with tech speak and explanations, like the Godawful borefest that is 2001. But I still see it very much as Science Fiction, rather than science fact. I agree with JimPlaysGames that what sci-fi and fantasy do best, even within the realms of space opera, is look at our civilization and question our humanity and outlook.
Terrible music! ;)
+John Cove :D I'm sensing a theme here!
+John Cove if you dislike (hate) the music blame the hardware in the Atari ST this is the audio (sound) chip it had en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Instrument_AY-3-8910