Innsmouth Mansion - All Virtual Boy Games

[Jonnas]

Yeah, Star Soldier (which I played on the NSO last year) is what this reminds me of! Same developers, I take it?

That game definitely needed a way to make obstacles and environment more obvious to the player.

[Cube]

V-Tetris

• JP release: 25th August 1995
• NA release: N/A
• Developer: Locomotive
• Publisher: Bullet-Proof Software

Like other Tetris games published by Bullet-Proof Software (until recent collections), this was a Japanese exclusive Virtual Boy game, although entirely in English. Your first game of Tetris through this will look immensely bland, with pretty much no stereoscopic 3D. There’s not even any difference to any of the blocks, which isn’t a fault of the red/black display. That said, it’s a solid version of Tetris.

The second graphic option for the main mode and the other modes do have backgrounds that make use of layers, yet the game never comes close to looking as nice as Panic Bomber, which shows how lovely flat puzzle games could look using the Virtual Boy’s features. V-Tetris does have one unique mode of Tetris.

In Mode C – also called Loop Tetris, you can use the shoulder buttons to move the plating area around, which loops like a cylinder. It’s similar to the “3D” mode in Pokémon Puzzle League, yet it does a terrible job at visually showing what is happening. The strangest thing is that this is on the Virtual Boy, they didn’t need to use curves to sell the effect – put the middle two colours on the “top” layer and have the blocks to the side further back. This mode essentially gives you areas in the side to dump stuff in (you score lines that are made in the visible area) and is much easier.

Fun

Remake or remaster?

This seems like a good version of Tetris to recreate in Tetris Effect, especially for the Loop Mode.

[Dcubed]

It’s a shame that this version of Tetris isn’t included in Tetris Forever (given that it’s primarily a Bullet Proof Software collection); but I suppose writing a brand new VB emulator for the sake of a single game is outside the scope of the project for Digital Eclipse.

Edited Wednesday at 11:41 AM by Dcubed

[Cube]

Mario Clash

• JP release: 28th September 1995
• NA release: 1st October 1995
• Developer: Nintendo
• Publisher: Nintendo

If there was a game that should have been a pack-in title instead of Mario’s Tennis, then Mario Clash is definitely the perfect title for the job. It shows off the Virtual Boy’s 3D really well (even starting with a lovely cutscene with many layers of clouds), is short and sweet and repayable. It would have been a far better first impression than Mario’s Tennis.

Mario Clash is a sequel to the original Mario Bros. arcade game, where you have to use koopa shells to eliminate all memories on each level. The levels are small boxes, so you can see everything happening at once, with two floors at the front and two at the back. The layout changes slightly for each level, with more enemies being introduced as the game goes on.

Some enemies need to be attacked from the side, but most can only be attacked from the opposing platform, aiming towards or away from the camera. The 3D works well to help you judge the timing of your throw, and it’s nice to come up with new tactics for each enemy. That said, the game starts adding loads of enemies and it’s very difficult, although you can start from any level you want to practice. It’s a really fun game.

Fun

Quote

This is really Miyamoto’s Mario Bros vs. game with Mario beset on all sides by zipping Koopas. Besides moving from platform to platform, you can step back into the screen to dodge flying shells and other turtle-derived shrapnel.

Super Play #33

Remake or remaster?

It’s surprising that a port or remake of this was never a minigame in a 3DS Mario game or released on the eShop. A WarioWare Microgame was based on it in the first WarioWare and WarioWare Gold.

[Dcubed]

I have actually played this one briefly when I was in Japan.  It's a fun little sequel of sorts to the original arcade Mario Bros that gets a bit of a bum rap for being exactly that.

It's essentially a 1980s Golden Age score-attack focused arcade game released for the Virtual Boy in 1995.  Not hard to see why it wouldn't catch on.  Still fun though, and an interesting look at a timeline where Super Mario Bros never happened; where Nintendo carried on with the original Mario Bros lineage instead.

Edited Thursday at 01:50 PM by Dcubed

[Ashley]

9 hours ago, Cube said:

where you have to use koopa shells to eliminate all memories on each level.

 

[Cube]

Jack Bros.

• JP release: 29th September 1995
• NA release: October 1995
• Developer: Atlus
• Publisher: Atlus

Jack Bros. is a game that is part of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, and the first game in the entire franchise to make its way to North America (Europe would have to wait another decade for its first Shin Megami Tensei game). It stars Jack Frost, Jack Lantern and Jack Skelton (who was originally Jack the Ripper) as they try to make their way back to the fairy world before Halloween runs over.

The game plays like a twin stick shooter, with the left D-pad moving and the right D-pad shooting in four directions. It’s very smooth and plays really nicely. Your aim is to make your way through mazes, with each world consisting of multiple floors. There’s a very strict time limit so you’ll need to complete all floors of each world quickly. You also have no health in the game, instead, getting hit will take away precious time.

As there are puzzles to solve and lots of wrong routes – the game likes to play tricks on you, especially late on – you’ll run out of time a lot. Each world is a case of working out things as you go and committing it to memory for your next run. It gets very difficult, but is always enjoyable.

The 3D effects are really night, with the walls of the maze sticking out and the maze below visible underneath. Their depth effects aren’t vital to playing, but are an example of how they can make a game look nice. As the game uses textures, each world still gets a unique look despite only having red and black. Jack Bros is one of the highlights of the Virtual Boy.

Fun

Quote

Most of the early releases are simple games, but not Jack Bros. After choosing one of three characters you set off to find the keys to escape from 60 levels of dungeons complexes, all peopled by enemies and spiked with traps. Could be a goody.

Super Play #34

Remake or remaster?

This would make for a great downloadable title. It doesn’t need the 3D so some colour and some depth of field effects for the below mazes would look great.

[Glen-i]

This is such a confusing game. Out of all the ways they could've introduced Shin Megami Tensei to the west, they went with a spin-off game for the Virtual Boy!?

And people wonder why that series struggles over here.

[Cube]

Space Squash
 

• JP release: 29th September 1995
• NA release: N/A
• Developer: Tomcat System
• Publisher: Coconuts Japan Entertainment

Space Squash is a Japanese only Virtual Boy that is essentially a fancy 3D pong. It is, however, done really well. While I had trouble figuring out depth in Mario’s Tennis, I had zero issues following the ball in Space Squash. The addition of a textured floor and a shadow certainly help things out. In Space Squash, you move your character on a 2D plane, getting in position to hit the ball back (the right D-Pad provides different shots). It’s really good fun.

Throughout the campaign, you’ll encounter various robotic opponents and the courses will have different obstacles and sometimes even be different sizes, which helps somewhat with adding some variety. The campaign (which is the only mode, due to no multiplayer) has you play a colossal amount of matches, with branching paths so you have different matches on different playthroughs .

The problem is, it’s far longer than anyone would want to play in one sitting, and there’s no save or password system, so on the Virtual Boy you had no choice but to do it in one go. With the emulator on 3DS, you can get around this with save states. At the end of each stage is a boss, all of which have far too much health so the battles last ages – especially as they regain their health if you miss the ball once. Still, the main matches are enjoyable.

Fun

Remake or remaster?

This would have been fun on the 3DS, especially with multiplayer.

 

[Cube]

Virtual Fishing
 

• JP release: 6th October 1995
• NA release: N/A
• Developer: Locomotive
• Publisher: Pack-In-Video

Due to the colour scheme, a lot of games on the Virtual Boy went for a more sci-fi theme, and Virtual Fishing is a good example as to why. The lovely river and lake views just look really odd in the Virtual Boy colour scheme, and it’s not a look that the Virtual Boy can salvage. This fishing game is also quite simple: cast your line, reel it in then press R when it bends to hook a fish.

Then it’s just a case of reeling it in when it’s not swimming away from you. Once you figure it out, you’ll have no issues caching fish. Functionally, it’s fine, but Virtual Fishing really feels like a minigame that should be part of something else.

Poor

Remake or remaster?

Not for this one.

[Cube]

Innsmouth Mansion

• JP release: 13th October 1995
• NA release: N/A
• Developer: Be Top
• Publisher: I’MAX

A Virtual Boy horror game based on the works of HP Lovecraft and released on Friday the 13th is certainly an interesting novelty. Sadly, that’s really all Innsmouth Mansion is. In early PC gaming, one popular format was “3D” maze games, where pressing left would instantaneously turn you 90 degrees while going forward would move you one block forward. Innsmouth Mansion is that kind of maze game, with a bit of shooting involved.

While the left stick moves in this way, the right stick moves crosshairs on the screen to shoot enemies. You have a maximum of six bullets at any one time and will have to flee from most enemies. You’re on a strict time limit as well, so you’ll have to explore a level multiple times to work out how to beat it, and then have to complete it in a stricter, hidden, time limit to move towards the “best” route. Luckily, there is a password after every level.

You have to be extremely persistent to make it through Innsmouth Mansion, as both the timer and enemies (which can easily box you in as you can’t run past them) make for a frustrating play. You also need to find a key and the exit, so it’s a lot of trial and error, and that’s if you don’t get turned around (although you can look at a map with select). It’ a nice idea, just not all that nice to play.

Fine

Remake or remaster?

Not really needed. The genre was quite plentiful and the main unique aspect of this is that it’s on the Virtual Boy.

[Dcubed]

I always thought that Innsmouth Mansion looked neat.  Certainly, the Virtual Boy could've been home to some killer horror games; so much so that even Gunpei Yokoi agrees!

Quote

Yokoi: But there's also an experience you can only have by yourself, and that is the sense of immersion when you get when you're playing alone in a room with the lights all out. During the Virtual Boy development, I did an experiment to see if that was something we could use. For the test we prepared a scary scene to be played back on the Virtual Boy. When you're in a pitch black room, and you can't see anything, it really feels like you're sucked into that world. I tested it out on my daughter and she turned pale. (laughs) With a TV, no matter how frightening the scene is on-screen, there's still light being emitted, and your friends are there around you… you're safe, because everything is happening in "that" world on the screen. But when you peer into the Virtual Boy, it feels like what you're seeing is a part of you, inside you. If we can make some software to capitalize on this, I think it could be really interesting.

Shame it never panned out.  I bet a Famicom Detective Club game for VB would've been killer!

Edited 11 hours ago by Dcubed