A new edition of Retro Arena is up and once again we have the battle of the Zelda clones. As you already know I am a avid fan of the adventure genre judging by my reviews from Zelda and others of its kind. That brings us to this face off between Capcom’s Willow for the NES and Hudson’s Neutopia for the TurboGrafx. As the saying goes imitation is a form of flattery as Capcom and Hudson show this in spades towards Nintendo. Both companies are never known for their Zelda clones but mostly for other established titles. Capcom has its Mega Mans, Street Fighters and Resident Evils that's based off the action genres. Hudson, on the other hand, had their Bombermans and Adventure Islands as part of their little niche they always targeted. However, the 80s were a time when Capcom produce many action platformers akin to Mega Man II and Bionic Commando. Willow was the sole exception from them during the 80s and the only license game they ever took part of from Lucas Films. Now some of you are wondering why I am comparing an 8-bit game to a “16-bit” adventure title. It's because one, both technically came out in 1989 and two, they represent part of the same genre. Of course, Willow pushed the NES’s graphics while Neutopia gave us Golden Age Gamers the 16-bit version of the Original Zelda. I think it makes sense to compare two games from different eras in this instant. The reason for such a thought is because Willow’s broad graphics nearly matched Neutopia's own due to Hudson’s clone having launch window visuals. We all know when a new console gets released on the market no game in the first two years never showcases what the system could do. So, which of these clones will stand tall when the dust settles? Willow (NES) vs Neutopia (TurboGrafx)
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I have an update today regarding the Pony Central section and finally, I was able to put together a new banner. Some of you instantly noticed the name change as Pony Central didn't sound unique. The section will now be called Alicorn Enchantment as Pony Central and the Home banner of the site's name wasn't doing it. I wanted a magical design for the font mixed with a magic starry night sky. The banner demanded something that came across as different to the 80s retro design. Implementing this style for the third time was a little repetitive for an area related mostly to the current gen of MLP. Of course, MLP started in 1984 and the series is really considered retro by its history. My content for this area is mostly based on the current gens of four and the upcoming five in a couple of years. For a while I wanted to have a pony vector of Retro Gamer as the website's mascot. You already witness her as a human and now you get to see Retro Gamer get ponified.
There additionally have been a few changes done in this section as Grimdark Tales got removed. As much as I love reading those MLP Grimdark fan fictions, but it's hard to keep up with reviewing them. The only story ever to get reviewed was My Little Pony SNES and Horror Gaming wasn't doing any favors. Any reviews for Grimdark tales in the future will be in Pony Media. It's a section dedicated to other pony themed stuff that isn't related to the main MLP content. The generations of the canon shows and comics are now being renamed Alicorn Reviews. Friendship is Magic and Equestria Girls will however, be called what they are for its reviews. However, the other Generations (when I get to them) will get listed by their number as Hasbro never named them. Alicorn Enchantment A new edition of Retro Corner is up, and we come to the last Mega Man title on the NES. MMVI along with Wario's Woods and Star Tropics II are among the last games to hit this system in 1994. That's right; the NES still got games released in 1994, despite the 16-bit consoles were out in stores. I honestly marvel at the idea such an ancient machine had been available with new good games coming out at the time. It's typically by the fifth year that a company starts to wane its support for a system even when it had a great to amazing userbase. I'm still amazed by the fact the NES was on the market from 1983 to 1994, literally a decade of 8-bit classic gaming. The NES will be among the few consoles to ever last this long in a console cycle. The only ones that come to mind are the Game Boy and the PlayStation One and Two.
For Mega Man VI, Capcom are genuinely among the few that releases this many sequels to one series. They also do this with Devil May Cry, Street Fighter and Resident Evil especially when we are going for the 11th Mega Man game. Technically MM11 is the 12th in the series as Mega Man and Bass should be included. Just so you all are wondering Mega Man and Bass got released on the Super NES in 1998 (as the last title just like MMVI). The sixth game is about a tournament being held as eight robot masters from around the world enter. A mysterious Man named Mr. X hosts the tournament as he holds a strong interest in the event. However, his ambitions to conquer the world couldn't be ignored, so he reprograms the robot masters to do his bidding. Mega Man and Rush head out on another quest to thwart another threat like many times previously. Mega Man VI (NES) Review A new edition of Horror Gaming is up as this time we have a double header of two old Mario Creepypastas. These are MaRIo and MaRIo II which are Super Mario Bros 1 and 2 Creepypastas. Both of these short stories originated on Creepypasta Wiki back in the early 2010s. It was a time when gaming CPs started to appear on the internet just as original horror stories began gaining popularity. Unfortunately, there was also a time when gaming CPs literally came off as the definition of crappy writing. They got written so badly that you would start thinking the Twilight books and movies were actually amazing. Yeah, it's been a while since anyone has used a Twilight joke but it's all I could think of that was better than both stories. A matter of fact, you can't find most of these Creepypastas as either the authors deleted them or Creepypasta Wiki did for the writers. As for both of these tales, the first one titled MaRIo is about a young guy clearing out his father attic after he died. Upon searching the attic, he stumbles upon a box of old NES games that his father collected. Inside the box, an odd copy of Super Mario Bros for the NES was at the bottom. When he tried it out, strange things start to happen and causing him to guess whether this was even his Dad's. For MaRIo II, the plot continues from the last one as the guy from first story hands his older sibling their father's games. The new character wondered why his younger brother handed down their father's collection. Upon looking through the box of NES titles, an odd copy of Super Mario Bros 2 was found. The cover art had a grotesque version with Mario having a Toad's head while holding Birdo's own. So, what strange and creepy stuff will these person encounter from their father's odd collection? Come in and find out... MaRIo and MaRIo II (Creepypastas) Review A new edition of Retro Corner is up as I check out a Lucas Film game titled Willow for the NES. As many you know, Lucas Films is always known for its Star Wars and Indiana Jones series. However, you will find this surprising they produced a fantasy adventure akin to Lord of the Rings one time. The movie was called Willow released in 1988 during a time where only a few of its kinds existed during the 80s. With the exception of Labyrinth and Dark Crystal was really the only options available during that time. The story is about Willow Ufgood a Nelwyn (people of short height) and a knight from the Daikini Clan named Madmartigan who try to stop Queen Bavmorda. They become tasked with helping Elora Danan fulfill the prophecy by bringing Bavmorda's reign over the land to an end. The story wasn't anything ground breaking but a classic set up for fantasy adventure film.
Originally, Willow did get an arcade game that got released in July 1989 and was an action platformer. The NES game is not a port of the Arcade title in any way as it was an action adventure game akin to Zelda. The NES title got released a month after the arcade title and saw development from Capcom. It was truly odd for Capcom to develop this as a Zelda clone since usually they made action style games. The company is also known for producing Disney license games like Duck Tales during that era as well. To pick up the license rights to a Lucas Film movie (especially one that wasn't Star Wars) was a strange occurrence to see. Of course, Capcom obviously wanted to take advantage of the popularity the NES Zelda titles were getting. Willow is one of the few occasions where the studio would try to create something from the Adventure and RPG genres. Willow (NES) Review |
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