Preliminary: So I usually am an awful flyer--anxious, motion sick, restless, can't focus on reading or gaming or movie watching cuz of a mix of these issues. I finally had a decent flight. My husband's and my first trip alone together. First I pulled up NES for Super Mario Bros, because I know I love it. But I forgot that when not plugged in, I can't seem to get my laptop to properly do its 60hz refresh rate, which causes serious issues with Retroarch. I should figure out how to change that setting some time... Anyway, I was quite disappointed, but figured I'd try out some MSX games--they couldn't compare to Super Mario Bros right?? Welp, starting with King's Valley was a good choice. Sure, the Look is unremarkable, but there's a set ending/goal, a sort of world map you follow along with, a feeling of adventure elements, and more. Yay!

Look: 8/10 Nothing remarkable, though it definitely fits the pyramid theme. The items you can pick up are pretty clear what they are. The "world map"/"level select screen" is the main part of the Look that stands out.

On retrospect, plus with the nighttime Congratulations screen, I do appreciate this Look more than I gave it credit for. The tiled sprite look, the changes in colors as you traverse deeper, and the different colored mummies. I'm probly overrating this with an 8 but whatevs.

Sound: 7/10 As tacky as the jingle is, it's fitting I suppose. And the sound effects are mostly effective, I especially like the death one.

Play: 8/10 It was fun timing the jumps over enemies, and most of all, having the ability to fight back. I love the boomerang/projectile emphasis in early platformers. And it's cute how in this one your enemy falls to the ground (so not quite a boomerang) for you to re-collect and use again ha. It'd be amazing if you could jump mid-stair (while those darn enemies can legit SCOOT up and down the stairs lol) which would add a lot of fun game mechanics and opportunities for level design, but I am grateful you can at least fall from great heights. Certainly some clunkiness and illogical controls (especially with jumping precisely, I wish the jump mechanic had more flexibility and accuracy), but like Manic Miner and other early platformers I grew to love, you engage with it, grow with it, and figure it out over time.

Pro-tip: Use a joystick, easier to communicate when you want to go up or down steps, etc.

On future plays, as this spread out over many days during and after vacation, the most clunky and frustrating mechanic was definitely communicating up/down steps and walking past stairs etc. Resulted in some tacky deaths for sure. Another annoying mechanic is the action-adventure element of potentially going backward/getting lost. It's quite easy to solve but can be real annoying and really brings to light that the gameplay isn't that amazing even as I obsessively play through it, in usual action-adventure platformer fashion for me, the desire to replay levels is real low. And after one time it's enough... let alone 2+ when accidentally go backward. (And mind you, yes it's as simple as remembering where the entrance door spawned vs the other door that spawns, which goes to show how poor my game memory is and why I always had to rely on guides for games like Resident Evil and JRPGs when young, tho I'm trying to work on that and believe these harder guide-less retro games are helping me work on it).

Feel: 8/10 There is a sense of adventure to this as you solve the puzzles of the screens (many of the levels even having multiple screens you have to solve a puzzle for)--use the hammer to get to break a block to get to a certain platform, use the weapon to get past an enemy etc. I really really like how the weapon is thrown and lands to the ground for you to pick up again if you wish, I dunno what it is about it. A bit annoying that you can't also jump with an item, and that you always pick up any item you run into, but still.

Attachment: 8/10 Certainly difficult and a bit frustrating, as to be expected with this era of video games. And getting on/off the stairs got frustrating after a while (plus my usual airplane nausea starting kicking in) so it was time for a break, but I will definitely be finishing this one.

After vacation perspective: Oooo I was so proud of myself when I finally solved Pyramid 08. To think they allegedly made a 60-level version for a Konami compilation. That would be too much for me, because even as it is, it feels juuuust a bit too long for the gameplay quality (as much as I can't help but love it). I got super annoyed when I was at the end of Pyramid 09 and got stuck and apparently no way to kill self or run out of time.... wtf. Hm to give up completely... I don't want to start all over (which is not a good sign for the attachment of the game)... watching a video that showed how simple some of the solutions can be (while I was always doing convoluted many-steps solutions because I'm not clever like that ha) shows how this really does have stronger puzzle elements than I gave it credit for... But worth doing those 8 pyramids again??? even with a video that shows faster solutions?? Ahhh decisions. I wish the blue enemy would just come kill me.

Oh phew, thank goodness for uploads of manuals. Good ol Konami--of course they accounted for this! Even after having this feature, Pyramid 09 just kept getting more and more annoying. At last I got through that irritating level, and only 6 levels left I believe, but time to take a break for the night! Ha.

And upon returning, I continued pushing through further and further--surprisingly never once having to turn to the video since most the mechanics could be solved within a reasonable amount of trial and error. More and more, the inability to jump and throw weapons mid-stairs proved to be the most glaring fault in the game. A lot of opportunities for exciting moments lost there. And well so many unnecessary frustrating features, like how easy it would be to mix up the door to Pyramid 12 from 11, the clunkiness of going up down stairs as mentioned but that can cause some serious issues..., and the clunkiness of the direction-facing in general which can get you trapped if you use your last pickaxe the wrong direction.. Definitely got repetitive level structures by Pyramid 14, almost felt like re-cycling, I can only imagine the 60 level version. Still, great and addictive and I kept pushing through--even if quite frustrating, clunky, and eventually repetitive. I like that I could commit to tons of points by just killing spawning Mummies over and over, or just focus on flying through the game. I don't think I would appreciate the 60 Level version, tho the Level Editor it comes with would be nice, but this is an excellent game--and a great way to transition to 2023!

Kinda disappointed to see a Congratulations screen at "the end" that simply gives bonus points then re-cycles you through. Nonetheless I did really like the Look of the Congratulations screen. At least the Pyramid numbers continue to climb, and the fact I pushed through Pyramid 16 (the re-cycled first level with more of the hard Mummies) shows that I can't help but love these early platformers. This'll forever be in my memories, due to the vacation... playing it on an airplane and in an airport and at the start of 2023.

Completion: All 15 unique Pyramids, 94,400 Score Playtime: ~3 hours