Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Category: Retro

Nostalgia With Mega Drive

Posted on by Viljami

I found a good way to feel some nostalgia with Mega Drive. I bought this game collection that has over 50 Mega Drive games. It cost me something around 20 to 30 euros. It is actually a “code-in-a-box” game this time. You can probably very easily tell if this collection is available as a digital copy. I don’t have a clue about that. I actually accidentally bought this version of this collection. Anyways this product is available also for other modern gaming devices. I have seen recently this available for Xbox Series X for 20 euros for a used and physical copy.

This seems to me like a bargain. I mean in the same package you get three Phantasy Star games, several Sonic titles and some games like Golden Axe and Streets of Rage not forgetting to mention a game like Kid Chameleon. There are so many good games in this collection. Even if you are just barely familiar with Mega Drive I can still recommend this collection for you.

If you think that you would buy each of these over 50 games separately I think many of us video game hobbyists would end up in bankruptcy. Phantasy Star II alone costs over 100 euros. The price tag for this collection would probably have four numerals. So, the point here is, they haven’t scant with this one a bit. These are definitely all good games. It would be hard to try to figure what game would be missing. Well, I did just come up with one game that’s missing and that game is Splatterhouse II. Splatterhouse III is also a good game and its not included in this collection.

The way I feel nostalgia while playing this game collections games is very clear. I did own a Mega Drive back in the first half of 1990s. Sonic The Hedgehog was the first game I played on this system. There is something so magical when I hear the music of this game. Take also for example the music of Streets of Rage II. What 16-bit game does have a better soundtrack? I think you are going to have hard time figuring that out.

What is so interesting about the audio side of the technology of Mega Drive gaming console seems to me the fact that it was actually a sound that was not CD quality. Sony achieved CD quality later but Mega Drive did this with its hardware and set the bar for Nintendo that also released a 16-bit console Super Nintendo. I think for a while Mega Drive was the leader when it comes to audio side of video games. We are talking about real history here. CD quality audio might seem as constant but you have to think hoe the technology was back then. Even PC didn’t have such a good audio quality back then. Of course Mega Drive gave some hard time for Nintendo that had to compete for several years with its 8-bit system NES.

I do recommend this Mega Drive collection for you. The price is very cheap. Also you get to see this cool virtual environment inside the menu of this collection. This is very cool feature. Some games, like for example, Phantasy Star II, that has already been mentioned in this blog post, might be games that you wouldn’t want to spend several tens of hours playing. These are retro games after all. I think if you totally hate retro games you have to consider if you really want to buy this. Modern games do have usually an overall better game design. This is because the industry has been developing several tens of years since we witnessed Mega Drive or anything like it.

 

Herra 47 – Midsummer Festival

Posted on by Viljami

Herra 47 – Midsummer Festival is an adventure game inspired very much by Leisure Suit Larry. It is released for C64. You might be surprised about a new game getting released for such an old, or maybe “retro”, type of platform. The game is a new release after all. If you are interested should head to this address for more information and instructions on how to buy the game.

I got interested in this game just last Friday when I got my hands on the new Pelit magazine that is published here in my home country Finland. The magazine is released monthly. Herra 47 is produced by Vector 5 Games. The team consists of just a few people. The game takes strong influences from a comedy show from Finland from late 1980s and early 1990s. This show, called “Pulttibois”, featured this character named Herra 47. It is a character created by actor Pirkka-Pekka Petelius. You can actually find the picture of Herra 47 from this blog posts featured image. The featured image is actually a photo that I took from Pelit magazine just one moment ago.

Pirkka-Pekka Petelius is a funny Finnish and well-known comedian. He played a big role in Finnish television comedy scene and was actually one of the pioneers of Finnish television comedy scene. There was also another actor that played in this comedy series (“Pulttibois”) and his name is Aake Kalliala. Herra 47 – Midsummer Festival takes strong influences from Petelius’s character in this game.

The game is available for a price of about 7 dollars. As the platform is Commodore 64 there weren’t actually no adventure games originally released for C64 back in the day by Sierra. These adventure games that were very popular in the 1980s were based on this particular game creation engine that makes all these Sierra games feel and look like they are developed in this certain and very recognizable way. You can notice this if you have ever played games like Larry, Police Quest, King’s Quest or/and Space Quest. Since all these games used this game engine they all look a bit like each other. There was an update to this engine and it was utilized later to make more advanced adventure games by Sierra.

The idea of a game placed somewhere in fictional Finland (at least I think the game takes place in here) is totally hilarious. My imagination starts running when I think about Petelius’s character, Herra 47, running around during  mid-summer, and trying to get some female company. It is funny because mid-summer is a big happening here and almost everyone has a vacation then. So, there are lots of parties and partying going on. If you don’t head to countryside to your summer cottage you can spend your mid-summer also in the city. It is very quiet here then. It is actually a pretty calm period. Thinking about Herra 47 spending his summer days this way is very very funny.

While the game is a good game there are some considerations. The humor might be a bit rough for today’s audience. Also Pelit magazine mentioned that the storyline and all of the puzzles could have been designed a bit better. There might be a sequel coming some time and fans are of course waiting this to be something wild. I think you can enjoy the game if you like old Sierra games and especially Leisure Suit Larry. Technically the game is a definite master piece. Vector 5 Games has done a good job.

Since I am not so much into Commodore 64 and I don’t have a real C64 console this isn’t although a game that I would actually play. The game is interesting. If you are into C64 you should definitely invest a bit of your money and time to this game. I think it really deserves it. The game received a grade of 6 out of 9 (a funny joke also, knowers will know).

Resident Evil 2 Is The Most Significant PS1 Game for Me

Posted on by Viljami

What a game Resident Evil 2 was and still remains to be. It was released in 1998 for Sony PlayStation 1. My first game for this system was Gran Turismo. So, I cannot tell you that Resident Evil 2 would have been my first PS1 game. I did have a demo disc that featured this survival horror game. I remember playing the demo. Resident Evil 2 had a time limit. I don’t remember how long you could play the game. I think it was maybe fifteen minutes or something like that. That was enough to get me hooked to this game. I had to buy the game.

PS1 had been released already some years ago and game developers were already comfortable to design games for this console. This wasn’t among the first games that were released for PS1. Actually the first game in the horror game series was available for players back in 1996. Resident Evil 2 continued and expanded the story line. It actually represents the view of happenings from the perspective of two different characters that belong to the police department of Racoon City.

I can still clearly remember how the game starts. I remember more clearer the beginning with playing as Leon (Leon S. Kennedy). You can choose the character that you play in the start of the game. The other option is Claire (Claire Redfield). Leon starts his journey after a car collision. He is surrounded with zombies. There are burning flames all around. The best option seems to be to run away and maybe try to kill some zombies that are trying to bite Leon. The story progresses and Leon heads over to the police station trying avoid attacks of zombies.

I think the plot is a good one. So, I am not going to spoil it for you in case you want to play this game. I think Resident Evil 2 is still today something that a gamer that’s interested in retro games can pick up and play. You do have to consider that it is almost 30 years old as a video game. The graphics aren’t as sharp as with some modern video games. I especially recommend it for someone that likes horror games as it is a pioneer in this field. I also recommend it to someone that wants to get an idea of what kind of games there have been made for the Sony PlayStation 1.

For me this was a very significant game. It hit me even harder than Gran Turismo or a game like Metal Gear Solid. It was so good that I wanted to play the first Resident Evil game also. Of course I played also the third game in this survival horror game series. I enjoyed the grim environment and the limitations of ammo, saving points and camera angels which were causing me an interesting mix of anxiety and a deep interest in the world that was presented through this game. There have been some more scarier games released later but Resident Evil 2 was a true pioneer in the field of survival horror. All this was introduced to video game hobbyists already in 1998.

There were actually three games released in the main series for PlayStation 1. There were also a light gun supported spin-off, Resident Evil – Survivor. You can also count the first games release with “Director’s Cut” added to the title but I think the point is clear here. There were many sequels because these games were popular. The game series went on to get many new games for many newer systems.

You can actually see some more recent episodes for this series in some recent games like Resident Evil 7 or 8 and there is also a new game coming that is titled as Resident Evil 9. It is currently in development and it might get released in 2026 which isn’t so sure because it would be a huge release. For me it is actually something very big like GTA VI or something. We are dealing with a major video game release that is continuing the series that Resident Evil 2 is a part of.