As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, let me tell you that UFO 50 is nothing short of a treasure trove for those of us who yearn for the quirky, the innovative, and the downright bizarre in video games. I’ve seen my fair share of gaming trends come and go, but this collection has managed to stir something within me that hasn’t been stirred in years – the excitement of discovery.
Over the past 40 years, exploration in video games has evolved significantly. Even though we’re currently experiencing an era of incredible creativity and innovation within gaming, it’s a different kind of creativity compared to when games were first emerging – learning to crawl, striving for new concepts, and making educated guesses about best practices. Modern games have become more standardized, which generally benefits the industry. However, when we reminisce about vintage game collections like the NES Classic or Digital Eclipse compilations, we’re usually recalling pioneers rather than oddities. That’s what makes UFO 50 unique – it captures the spirit of wild experimentation and unpredictability that characterized a diverse range of early video games.
The pitch is simple: UFO 50 is a compilation of fictional retro games made throughout the 1980s by a prolific developer called UFO Soft. They range from 1982 to 1989, and span across the entire gamut of retro genres. The presentation leans into this, as selecting a game for the first time has you blowing the dust off of it. You get the sense that you discovered these forgotten gems in an attic or garage sale. And for the most part, the games carry the design and story aesthetic that was common in ’80s games, which I would describe as “sci-fi pulp as reimagined by early computer programmers.”
In essence, it was a team of contemporary video game creators, headed by Derek Yu from Spelunky, who developed these games. To create not just one retro game, but 50, is an incredibly bold move. Normally, a project this large might yield only minigames, but that’s not what happened here. Instead, these games are almost always the size and complexity of full-scale 1980s video games—smaller than today’s standards, but not diminished in any way to fit their fictional era.
Although UFO 50 doesn’t follow a traditional storyline, there is an abundance of depth to discover within the metafictional universe of UFO Soft. As you progress through time, you notice the logo evolving. The games become increasingly complex and polished, showing improvement in art direction and quality-of-life aspects over the fictitious timeline. The games often contain developmental notes, allowing you to weave together intricate plots revolving around the studio’s characters and management. Occasionally, sequels emerge, demonstrating an early form of iterative development that may lead to vastly different gameplay styles stemming from the same fundamental ideas. One such game—a point-and-click adventure titled Night Manor—offers hints of cinematic excellence that could potentially shape the world’s fictional narrative.
As a gamer, I often find myself learning a game as I go along because of its straightforward controls. This can be a bit annoying at times, especially when a game delves into intricate, board-game style mechanics, such as Devilition. On the flip side, games like Mooncat have controls that are strange and counterintuitive, making it tough to get a handle on them. It’s realistic, considering many early video games aimed to replicate board-game complexity or experiment with control schemes. However, the abundance of other games out there makes it challenging to stay patient with those more cryptic ones.
Even though they revolve around classic video games, these particular ones boast unique elements or features that set them apart from other games within the same genre. You can tag a game as a favorite for quick access later, and as I ventured deeper into the collection, finding more and more titles to mark, I grew eager to revisit each one thoroughly. Interestingly, UFO 50 offers flexibility in playing the games at your own pace, but there’s a bonus: delving deeply into each game rewards you with items for your garden as an achievement, plus a golden cartridge for completion.
To give a taste, here are mini-reviews of some of my favorites in the compilation:
Mortol
In this puzzle-platformer game, you have a group of characters ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the common good, sharing both resources and lives from a single, extensive reserve. Each character has the ability to perform rituals that allow them to cling to walls, transform into stone blocks, or create explosions to clear paths. You advance through each level by strategically deciding when and how to utilize these sacrifices to continue your journey deeper. The original concept is simple yet captivating, which was later refined in the sequel, Mortol II, featuring a more complex class-based system for using your selfless allies.
Bushido Ball
A game that combines dodgeball and martial arts, offering a variety of samurai figures to select. In this game, you deflect incoming objects using your katana, sending them back towards your opponent. The game demands precise timing and each character has unique abilities, ensuring numerous playthroughs and opportunities for skill improvement.
Camouflage
In this game called Camouflage, you play as a chameleon trying to find your way home while blending in with your surroundings to avoid predators. Since chameleons can change their colors, navigating through each level becomes an exciting test of strategy and color coordination. To make things more interesting, there are collectibles hidden throughout the levels, such as a baby chameleon that follows you and learns to blend in just like you, adding an extra layer of complexity to your journey.
Party House
Among my top picks, Party House stands out as a clever puzzle game that shares traits with contemporary deck-building games. In this game, you’re limited by the number of turns to organize a sequence of parties, managing the guest list in the process. Each guest brings benefits such as increased wealth or popularity. The wealth helps expand your house, while popularity unlocks invitations for new guests. Certain guests have “Troublemaker” traits that could draw the cops, while others might trade popularity for cash or vice versa. Dancers boost popularity multiplicatively. One guest even brings an uninvited friend who may cause the party to exceed capacity and bring in the fire marshal to eject someone.
The gathering starts, an assortment of guests from your list of social acquaintances arrive, and you manage your funds and influence to plan the next event. Meanwhile, you aim to achieve a specific goal such as getting four extraterrestrial beings at a single party. It’s remarkably addictive, making it hard to stop the festivities even just for one more round deep into the night.
The Big Bell Race
Among all the games in the collection, The Big Bell Race is one of the briefest yet incredibly tailored for multiplayer action. This game boils down to pure mechanics: You pilot a spaceship maneuvering through an intricate maze-like racetrack filled with obstacles, bouncing off other competitors’ ships and collecting power-ups that hinder your rivals’ progress. A full tournament consists of eight swift races, but the rivalry can be intense; for an even more thrilling experience, challenge a friend to two-player mode where friendly competition turns into elbowing each other!
Warptank
Initially, Warptank seems like a typical version of Blaster Master’s tank levels, but the “warp” feature makes it unique. This ability allows your tank to switch between floors, ceilings, and even walls at any given moment. Traversing a stage requires careful maneuvering to dodge hazards and defeat enemies by constantly seeking out new strategic positions. The game offers an intense action-packed experience that also stimulates your mind.
Vainger
In this game that resembles Metroidvania, there’s a mechanic reminiscent of Warptank, but it gives a unique twist to the genre. As an extraterrestrial soldier, you can switch gravity by double-tapping the jump key, which means the levels are filled with traps and foes designed for stages that could be right-side-up or upside-down at any moment. Essentially, it’s like playing the second quest of Symphony of the Night in a castle flipped on its head, but you decide when the flip happens.
Pingolf
Many early games attempted to mimic sports such as golf, but Pingolf offers a more contemporary perspective with a futuristic design. The side-scrolling levels are structured similarly to platform stages, incorporating aspects of pinball, featuring tight corners and bounce pads. It doesn’t quite resemble anything else you might have played before, although the game most similar in concept could be the recent release, Cursed to Golf.
Fist Hell
A vintage-inspired collection isn’t complete without a nod to River City Ransom, but Fist Hell distinguishes itself through superb pixel art and an enticing premise: zombies! You fight waves of the undead using just your bare fists and scavenged items, creating amusing twists such as decapitating one zombie and hurling its head at another. This is the type of early ’80s gory humor that seemed daring, and with four characters to select, there’s plenty of reason to replay it.
Valbrace
A captivating find from an unfamiliar genre for me is Valbrace, a role-playing game (RPG) that delves into first-person dungeon exploration, reminiscent of Dungeon Master or Wizardry 2. The graphics are impressive in recreating the distinctive pixelated style of these classic dungeon crawlers. When you come across enemies, combat shifts to a more dynamic real-time third-person mode. What truly sets it apart, however, is its magic system, where spells are assigned to specific patterns drawn on the D-pad. As you progress through the dungeon, you uncover these spells, but even if you perish, the spell pattern remains active for your next attempt. This implies that if you can recall or diagram the spells, each subsequent playthrough will be slightly simpler.
Rakshasa
In this game reminiscent of Ghosts & Goblins, you’ll face waves of demons using a distinctive resuscitation system. Your character is exceptionally susceptible to attacks, ensuring numerous deaths. However, death isn’t the end! You can resurrect by maneuvering through the demons of the spirit world. With each passing, more spirits join the fray, making it progressively challenging, but never insurmountable, to reclaim your physical form.
Star Waspir
This game doesn’t just revamp the classic bullet hell style; instead, it offers a unique blend of modern and old-school elements. While many shoot ’em up games were popular on consoles like the NES, Star Waspir stands out with its intricate risk-reward system that strategically places power-ups near enemy fire. This creates an intense, challenging gameplay experience that has long been a hallmark of the genre, but is presented in a fresh way by using retro visuals and mechanics.
Grimstone
A classic JRPG game with a unique twist, Grimstone transports you to an enchanted Old West. You start off as an angel saving a group of adventurers from a blazing saloon, who subsequently band together as a posse to track downlawless outlaws. Its visual style harks back to the first Final Fantasy games, but its innovative setting and turn-based combat system infuse it with a fresh, contemporary feel.
Lords of Diskonia
Imagining a unique blend, what if a strategy game incorporated elements of air hockey? In “Lords of Diskonia”, you manage income from villages, amass an army consisting of knights, archers, champions, and more, then engage in combat. However, instead of the usual battlefield setting, your troops here are circular disks of varying sizes, propelled into and colliding with enemy units to inflict damage. This innovative twist on the strategy genre offers a fresh blend of tactical depth and dynamic gameplay.
Cyber Owls
The last game in this collection is not only intelligent and witty, but also offers a commentary on the craze surrounding Turtle-mania during the late ’80s, with almost every cartoon studio and video game developer trying to create their own animal characters with attitude for their franchises. Cyber Owls resembles the games of that era, featuring an elite group of owl soldiers, each having unique stages tailored to their specialties – from brawling to stealth missions. This game is likely the most diverse in the collection and one of the most cinematic, serving as a fitting conclusion to the fictional story of game development during that decade.
In essence, UFO 50 represents an audacious achievement that’s nothing short of remarkable. Many titles within this collection are captivating enough to warrant a complete playthrough, and even the less successful attempts offer intriguing aspects or innovative ideas that keep you engaged. The best part? It’s thrilling to explore such a wealth of unusual, creative video game experiences. This isn’t just nostalgia in the traditional sense, like revisiting old memories; it’s about recapturing the excitement of discovering something novel.
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2024-09-18 22:09