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The Fairyland Story (Evercade): COMPLETED!

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This is one of the games on the recent Taito cartridge for the Evercade. I’m not 100% on the timings, but it feels very much like a precursor to Bubble Bobble – loads of single screen platforming, baddies to destroy, a particularly nasty baddie that appears if you take too long, and so on. It isn’t anywhere near as much fun as Bubble Bobble though.

The main issue I had is that often, especially on later levels, some of the baddies are really difficult to reach, especially without accidentally colliding with them and dying. There’s a level right near the end – level 95, I think – where the screen is sort of split in two and if you’re playing single player (like I was) then you can’t physically get from the left side of the screen to the right side. I can demonstrate with this screenshot from StrategyWiki:

You’re the witchy looking woman in red. The issue is that there’s no way to do a “small” jump to get over the four blocks at the bottom without jumping too high and ending up on the platform above. Except… there is. Thanks to a web search and a very old post on GameFAQs, I found that if you tap jump and then immediately tap right, then providing you’re standing in the right place, you can do a tiny jump. Get the timings or length of tap wrong and you don’t, so even if you know how it’s still nearly impossible. Literally nowhere in the game does it say this either directly or indirectly. Nowhere else in the game is it necessary. How arcade gamers in the 1980s without GameFAQs managed this I have no idea.

You can also see in that screenshot that neither of the baddies are actually reachable even if you do this. You have to coax them out by climbing higher up the screen than them. Which is a pain.

So, it’s not a great game. I completed it mainly because I’d started so I had to finish, but there are far better single screen arcade games like this out there. Still, if it wasn’t for the mistakes of The Fairyland Story maybe we wouldn’t have Bubble Bobble.

The Sword of Stone (Evercade): COMPLETED!

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Searching for this online is a pain because Google thinks you’re talking about the animated film “The Sword in the Stone”, which this Game Gear game, hidden in the Evercade’s firmware, has nothing to do with. Instead of being related to that, the game is essentially a visual novel, albeit one that plays out more like an RPG.

You pick one of three characters, and then have a quest given to you. The world you all inhabit is, well, here’s the blurb:

The world of Mindevil is in danger! Begin a journey as one of the three heroes in order to put an end to the conflict between the four kingdoms. Complete all 7 chapters revealing a complex story with many branches and save the world… with a twist at the end!

So your quest plays out differently depending on which character you choose. You’re initially limited to different areas of the map each, as you have different skills that allow you to fight different types of monster blocking each route. Once you complete it with one character, you’re encouraged to do it with the other two, and you’ll see how their stories link. After completing all three, three further quests are possible by making different choices eventually unlocking a final quest where all three characters work together.

I found it a little frustrating to play, with lots of repetition and backtracking, and so much repeated dialogue it really slowed down progression. If you can get past that, though, there’s a decent little game here with some really clever gating and interwoven storylines.

Metal Slug 2 (Evercade): COMPLETED!

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Another SNK cartridge (actually, two) arrived for the Evercade and since my daughter and I enjoyed playing the first Metal Slug in co-op recently, we did the same with the sequel.

Naturally, it’s more of the same. Only now you can ride camels as well as tanks, and after a few levels it becomes clear that Definitely Not Any Real Middle Eastern Military Dictator is in cahoots with actual aliens.

It still has the slowdown issues of the first game, but it’s silly fun regardless.

Roguecraft DX (Evercade): COMPLETED!

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This is an isometric Amiga-based little roguelike on the Evercade, which is an update to the Commodore 64-based Rogue64, which was a free hidden game on the Evercade. There’s nothing especially new or special about it, but it’s polished and looks really nice. It’s simple enough – randomised dungeons with baddies that generally get harder as you do deeper in, potions (most of them with random-for-that-run effects), health to maintain, and so on.

You can start with one of three classes – Warrior, Rogue and Wizard, which also act as the difficulty levels. I’ve completed it as a Warrior, but not managed it with the other two yet. And I very much enjoyed it.

Oh, and the “craft” in Roguecraft is referencing Lovecraft, not crafting. Of which there is none.

Rohga: Armor Force (Evercade): COMPLETED!

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This is a bit of weird one. It’s mainly a side-scrolling shooter, only your big mech (or mecha? I can never remember the difference) can’t fly and at times you can move in and out of the screen which has a similar effect to flying because it’s all on a 2D plane. That’s not the only unusual thing though, as you can “build” your own robot from various parts for different weapons and legs and stuff before you play, and then you collect people (?!) which act as sort of drones. Then there’s the thing where if you get hit too many times you lose your robot for a bit and have to hoof it mech-less.

I played it in co-op which mainly caused the screen to be filled to an also chaotic level, but we had a good time. A bit of an oddity.