StarTropics (1990)

Preliminary: Very interesting. Never had heard of this before but seems very peculiar and loved. First thoughts: super cute music and Look, slowwwww movement as per usual, definitely going to need a guide and/or maps to reference, and not as similar to Zelda as I expected/read (so far).

Ok I'm in the first dungeon. The Look is better and more interesting here, and the movement is less obnoxiously sluggish so that's good. But it's super uh slippery? Hard to explain, just feels weird. I got used to it quickly though, and the yoyo weapon is cute as is the Pause sign when you pause. A lot of it screams Mother though. Sort of a "Simpsons did it" but "Mother did it"

As cute as it is, it just feels like it's missing something. Decent tunes, decent Look, neat idea, genre I usually like. But just feeling blah about it. Maybe cuz it feels so derivative of Zelda and Mother, but also, like so what? I dunno. I'll return to it tomorrow.

Early Game

Welp already done with the first dungeon, first boss, and "Chapter 1." Again, it just seems to be lacking something but this dolphin plotline seems potentially cute. And it's nice how manageable it is (so far). I see they didn't think North Americans can handle the usual Nintendohard :-p

The Chapter 2 Dolphins Overworld segment is cute, I like how the hints make sense, and I found the Bottle and Heart on my own without needing a guide etc. Well darn I was really enjoying not using a guide at all and feeling proud of myself, and yes I still got to the end of Dungeon 2, but out of curiosity read up about it and see that the boss could've been much easier with a certain special attack :-p So it goes. I think I'm getting into this more? It's really hard for me to tell, can't describe why I'm so ambivalent toward this.

I really was questioning whether to finish this, but I realized I'm halfway through Chapter 3, there are only 7 chapters, and I really am managing this without a guide which (despite the dullness of this game's impact) gets me excited for 90s games where I can actually just manage them on my own.

It's too bad that the jump-on-switch gameplay mechanic is really just used as a tedious time consumer rather than an opportunity for clever gameplay. With how slow the movement and jumping in, it really bogs it down.

Welp nah, when I took a "wrong exit" out of one of the Chapter 3 dungeons and would have to redo most the dungeon--as manageable as that would be with most action-adventures--this one just lacks an oomph to push through. Maybe if the Sound or Look were better. Not sure. But moving on.

Look: 7/10 Cute enough. I do like the "tropical" overworld and space concept. Tho somehow that felt derivative and not as special as I would expect

Sound: 7.5/10 Some good tunes for sure but lacked something. And used too much.

Play: 7.5/10 This has everything to make an action-adventure I would love: upgradable weapons including projectiles, top-down overworlds but with dungeons too, adventure elements in an action game, potential for straightforward switch puzzles. Instead the switches were mostly just tedious time consumers, you lost your weapon upgrades at the end of dungeons, and there was a severe lack of item retrieval/item exchange adventure segments. Sad

Feel: 7.5/10 One of those games I wanted to like more than I actually liked, like the early CRPGs.

Attachment: 7.5/10 The fact I kept pushing through despite questioning it says something, and that I still feel like I was missing some crucial element and I should give it another shot, is why this is a 7.5 rather than 7. But most likely just moving on and not looking back. If you played this when young, I definitely can see its allure and longevity. And if you want to have played all NES action-adventures. Otherwise, quite passable.

Overall: 7.4/10

Completion: Partway through Chapter 3/Overworld 3

Playtime: ~45 mins

(This is the 31st game in my challenge to go through many known games in chronological order starting in 1990. The spreadsheet is in my bio.)

You'll see many people compare StarTropics to The Legend of Zelda, and while I never played the first two Zelda's released in 86/87, I too can see the resemblance slash inspiration. Another game I would compare this to is something like Crystalis, a JRPG from earlier in 1990 that too had some unique mechanics similar to this game that was half-fun, half-detrimental to the gameplay and we'll get over that later on in the review. A big similarity my ears noticed when playing this however was the soundtrack and late-game level design. I was wondering if the game's had the same composer but nope, doesn't look like it. Either way, listen to some of the late game songs of StarTropics and the early game overworld track of Crystalis and you probably will hear the similarities as well. In addition, in both games you find yourself in a futuristic dungeon late-game.

Of course, StarTropics has none of the RPG mechanics, as it's an Action Adventure game, and ... did you know that this is a rare Japanese developed game that only released in the West? Yes, seriously. In NA in December 1990, and in EU in August 1992.

I'm not sure what the idea behind that was, because apart from calling every town something-something-cola, giving characters generic American names, mentioning 1492 and 1776 as ID codes and referencing Indiana Jones (?), nothing really screams "lots of appeal in the West". The game has a tropical island theme, your character literally has no recognizability (Mike, brown hair, blue shirt, your average kiddo) and, while I actually appreciated how the storytelling was more geared towards children (NPCs ask you if they should repeat "complicated" story parts, so that you can read them over and over again to get the story), the gameplay on the other hand is so difficult that I'm not sure who their target audience was exactly.

Let's take a step back. What do you do in StarTropics? You play Mike, an average kid who arrives at C-Land (shaped like a C, you see. And each village name ends with cola) in a damn helicopter. Village people say that you're an "ace pitcher", a reference made at the start twice and never again, and you find out that your scientist uncle has gone missing. In 8 chapters, you gotta try to find him and figure out what happened. Each chapter has a dungeon and potentially some overworld puzzles in it. All told, you'll probably spent around 10 hours with this game if you don't use any save states. If you use save states like me to "adjust" the checkpoint system in this game, you'll probably beat it in the time I did, which was around 6 hours.

There are two parts in this game, the overworld and the dungeons. In the overworld, you walk around the bland island and enter villages to talk to NPCs. Sometimes villages are harder to get to and you have to find secret passages to get there. You get a submarine later on to travel on water and get a robot buddy as well.

In the dungeons, there is a unique mechanic in this game, which is that there are special green tiles that you have to step on to either activate buttons that open doors, or you have to jump on them in a specific order to avoid falling into water or other liquids that lead to your death. It's a neat puzzle mechanic when used right and not an issue in itself, but the controls in this game are annoying and require some getting used to. When more enemies appear at once later in the game, it also becomes clear that the controls/mechanics weren't properly balanced with the enemies, because it becomes near-impossible to avoid getting hit.

Basically, to turn somewhere, you first press the button to look that way. Only by pressing it once more or holding down the button for a second longer does your character start walking that way. With the green tiles, you can actually chain jumps better, but it gets really repetitive after a while to jump, jump, jump, unlock a button, jump, jump over to the button, jump on it to press it and jump all the way back to the now-open door. Plus you have to jump one by one, but many enemies can simply walk over them, so it often happens that they outpace you and touch you to deal damage. Finally, there are a few awful sections where these tiles disappear for a second and then reappear for a second. That itself is OK, having to time your jumps is a nice challenge. But in these instances, three back to back tiles disappear, and the only way to jump through all of them is by PERFECTLY timing your first jump and mashing the jump button as fast as you can. Chances are, you'll fail your first 10 attempts anyway because it's that unforgiving.

Combat itself, if enemies are not so aplenty that they get on your nerves, is actually fine. You start off with a yo-yo, but get access to guns, ninja stars, reflecting shields and so on later on. There are also roller-skaters that attack every enemy on screen at the same time and illuminating staffs that reveal hiding ghosts. Lots of cool stuff that loses some of its magic due to the game's odd desire to be more challenging than it should be.

The story has a satisfying conclusion but is very simple otherwise. Something a kid will definitely enjoy as it's more fleshed out than many similar games and less prone to filler-talk. The soundtrack is solid. Graphics are too repetitive and bland in the overworld especially, but don't look bad.

Between the 8 dungeons, there are multiple that look unique (like the ghost town and final dungeon) and there is a tiny bit of reward for exploration, which is nice, in the form of health potions and permanent health rewards.

OVERALL

If you're into this sort of game and the old school look doesn't bother you, StarTropics is definitely a 2D Action Adventure worth adding to your play-list. It not being an RPG is great because with the stories these games had back in the day, those complicated RPG-features often drag games down for these retro-playthroughs. StarTropics is much more efficient in its gameplay as a result, even if being repetitive and unnecessarily difficult (especially late game) are flaws that pop up here.

WHAT THEY SAID AT THE TIME

Couldn't find anything apart from a Walkthrough/Guide by Nintendo Power

(This was retro game club game #1 on the Grouvee forum.)

StarTropics is a decent adventure romp that stands out for its setting and tone, or perhaps more generally, its charm. Gameplay-wise it's a lot like the NES's much more famous offering in this genre, The Legend of Zelda (perhaps you've heard of it). But for me personally, I found StarTropics much easier to get into. Maybe I just prefer playing as some kid on a tropical island, fighting off goofy skull ostriches with a yo-yo, searching for an evil alien space ship, saving my uncle (yes, my uncle from Nintendo), and--for whatever reason--sticking bananas in my ears. The more generic fantasy adventure plots just doesn't capture my attention anymore these days.

I already compared this game to Zelda, but perhaps I can compare it to Earthbound too while I'm at it. This is a lighthearted modern-day adventure full of quirky characters. And for that, I think StarTropics will remain one of my more enjoyable experiences for NES-era RPG-type games. It's cute, it's funny, and it's pretty damn weird. I like it.

Now, the game does have its flaws. Its controls are stiff, locking you into tiles basically. So you don't always stop right away when you stop--you'll stop into the next tile you're walking into. Pressing another direction will have your character turn to face that way, but not move him--so if you want to move him, you'll have to continue holding that direction a bit longer. It takes some getting used to. What becomes a bigger problem is the game's difficulty. It's understandable for the last levels to be harder, but the game asks you to dodge a whole lot of enemies and projectiles rather quickly, when you just can't move that quickly or smoothly. Also, the way you use items--and the menus in general--weren't what I'd call intuitive (product of its time, I'm sure). Aaaaaaand you're bound to suffer more than a few cheap deaths, thanks to traps laid out in many of the levels.

Overall I'd say I probably won't care to play this one again, but I am interested enough to check out the sequel one day. If you're curious to check out one of Nintendo's "forgotten" IPs, StarTropics should be worth your while. (The rewind feature on the Switch's NES Online makes the game a lot easier to get through, cool tip!)

This is a very cute, fun, charming old game. And since it came out in 1990, this is officially the oldest game I have completed and the only one I've completed that came out before I was born.

The thing I love about a lot of older games is their simplicity. Of course there are plenty of older games that came out in the 80s or early 90s that are fairly complex, and some newer games that are delightfully simple, but in most of the older games I've played I've felt a sense of relief from the overstimulation of the infiniteness (for lack of a better word) of many newer games where you feel like there aren't enough hours in a lifetime to explore, look at, collect and achieve everything.

I probably wouldn't have minded a little more variety in enemies, weapons and NPC interactions in StarTropics, but I'd say in general it had the right amount of simplicity to tickle my fancy. There was a fairly good balance of puzzles, combat, platforming and exploring that didn't feel too repetitive. The storyline isn't anything Pulitzer Prize winning but fits in as a classic "plucky boy going on his first big adventure" tale. The ending was a little wtf but as they say it's the journey and not the destination that counts.

This game is available to buy on the Nintendo Switch but alas I do not have one, so I used an in-browser emulator (which was really glitchy but that's a whole other story). I don't usually do that, I prefer to have official versions of games and not feel like a pirate but I really wanted to play it along with some other people discussing retro games on the forums so I made an exception.

The good thing about the emulator for me is I could save whenever I wanted instead of only saving at the designated save points and checkpoints, which likely saved me countless hours of being tossed back to the beginning of dungeons every time I died, which I did a lot (not sure if there is a similar save feature on the Switch because as I said I am a Switch-less peasant). This made me realize how spoiled I am with most modern games typically being more generous with save points, autosaves or manual save functions, and that I'd never make it as an 70s or 80s kid playing this game when it actually came out. If I'd had to play it like mom and pop did back in the good old days (after they walked to and from school uphill in the snow) I'd probably be writing this review in October complaining about the lack of save points. So I guess I have to say thank god I'm a piece of mid-90s-born millennial trash.

Having not played a whole lot of games that are this old (30 years or older) I don't know if I can review it fairly in the context of when it came out, but overall I enjoyed it. My biggest gripe is probably the face-punch of a difficulty spike in just the last two stages of the game, during which I died probably more times than in the rest of the game combined. Difficulty-wise the rest of the game averaged about a 3 or 4 on a scale from 1 to 10, including the boss battles, then suddenly dialed up to about a 9 that I was wholly unprepared for. I don't mind games being difficult, just wish the transition was a little smoother.

If you have a Switch and want to try out some retro games, I'd recommend this one (don't use a glitchy browser emulator! I don't recommend that!) or if you have some other console that can play it like the (discontinued) NES Classic or an actual NES (have no idea about the logistics of getting your hands on an original cartridge though). I'm hoping to try out some more retro games from this time period in the future so hopefully my future reviews will be fairer and more informed.

P.S. If you do play this on the Switch, as some others in the forums mentioned, there is a clue you need that originally appeared in the physical manual for the game which the digital version obviously doesn't have and apparently they dropped the ball on including the clue anywhere in the Switch version. Just be sure to Google "StarTropics missing clue" or something when you play it so you're not stuck at that part scratching your head lol.

StarTropics is an odd game. Odd in being a NA-exclusive Japanese Action RPG (JARPG). Odd in coming with Nintendo's high expectations and anticipation in having hopes to sell an average game at best that has banaal character interaction and dialogue, and is despite being released four years ahead of The Legend of Zelda, feels slightly behind in terms of gameplay.

That's not to say it's a bad game by all means. It plays a little like a overhead shooter with limited range as you crawl through the 8 dungeons (slightly like sunsoft classics like Fester's Quest or Blaster Master.) This component is neither as stimulating, gratuitous or flashy as any sunsoft title however, and movement is restrictive and far more herky jerky.

Small island villages are totally what Americans want.

The overworld sequences and towns are a bit aesthetically similar to Dragon Warrior but much more simple and straightforward, by being confined to certain island geographical 'scenes' in which you can only go so far rather than dump the whole overworld onto the player at once.

But the 8 or so dungeons are where most of the game is spent and its a lot of jumping and dungeon enemies in poorly timed, limited, high-difficulty fashion. You don't have much mobility to do this effectively. You can jump up to dodge and not move or turn as you do it. thus trapping you on the hex you are on. That's the big problem with StarTropics, you move and are confined to a grid.

Compare this sort of grid based movement to something like... Dragon Slayer (any of them) where you just bump about into enemies to attack and you have a more simplified and free roaming JARPG. StarTropics it would seem went into a very different direction.

At times the awkward movement as you crawl through rooms feels a bit like Goof Troop but far less creative in terms of puzzles or environments. And unlike goof troop, the enemies move quite quickly. The movement is what really holds gameplay back.

As the game progress, enemies get faster, move around more and shoot more often and have more range to hit you. They also respawn every chance they get now (Literally, all the things which really suck! XD) It's as if the development of this game tried to shoe-horn in the shooting element into it further along as the game progressed, but the lack of freedom of movement doesn't lend itself well to that idea. By the end of it, the amalgamation becomes the stuff of nightmares.

StarTropics Nintendo's first and only NA-exclusive JARPG-STG.

Still, despite it's flaws, it does pace quite nicely for a JARPG. The world is gated in small ways that don't get wandery or overly ambitious. So it's 'lite' However the final few dungeons are incredibly difficult and feature teleportation and mazes and all sorts of enemy spawners that spike difficulty through the roof.

The game's best feature is probably its aesthetic and style. It's very consistent and thematically unique with the island/tropical adventure aspect. This redeems the game to be playable if you are curious-minded. But it simply doesn't excel in terms of gameplay. And In no way is it deserving of being 'a top 100 game of all time' (despite what Nintendo would want you to believe!)

The game plays like a 2D Zelda game when you're in dungeons, but instead of continuing the action outside of the dungeons, the world map is more akin to 8 and 16 bit RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

I managed to finish this game. Unlike some of the other NES games I've been playing, its not insanely difficult. There are some dungeons that require some practice to complete, but the game is very playable and enjoyable today in 2015. I did have to use a walk-through for some parts since there are hidden passages in the dungeons that you need to go through in order to progress through the game. The last few dungeons do have some parts that require some luck in order to get through unscathed. Despite a few tedious quirks, its a fun game and I'm glad I played through it to the end.

History:
Another game I've never heard of before. Certainly never played.

Expectations:
When I saw the screenshot for this game I thought I was going to be playing a sea-based schmup, which I was completely okay with as I love the genre. Turns out I'm way off base and am in for something closer to a Zelda affair. I guess I don't really know what to expect now, but I'm at least intrigued.

Night 1:

I install recognize I'm playing an adventure game after getting passed the title screen, and I'm pretty excited about it actually! I quickly make it to the village and start talking to the natives who inform me I'm a "master pitcher" and that they love Dr. Jones... I find the Chief, who has been looking for me I'm told...

I don't like where this is going... Or do I?

Oh god...

Oh! Okay... I was taking that in a completely different direction... Anyway, with that I'm given my trusty combat-grade yo-yo, find my uncle's hut and head down into the tunnels where I'm surprised by...

...Art change!!! Actually I'm pretty down with it. One thing I'm already impressed by, having played so many 80's titles thus far, is the control scheme. We take things for granted now a days, but having controls that make sense seems to be rare with the 8-bit generation. A jumps, B attacks, Select changes weapon, and Start pauses, and allows you to access your on-use menu. What I don't quite care for is the movement. It's a minor complaint, but the game is set up so that pressing Up doesn't just move you up. The first press only turns your character, then a split second later you actually start moving, thus allowing you to turn in place if so desired. This is okay, but it really makes avoiding fast enemies and obstacles fairly difficult.

Again, it is just a minor complaint and something I'll have to live with, and I can. We move on.

The game is VERY Zelda-y. Every room has a sealed door which must be opened by completing certain tasks. So far these have simply been killing all the monsters or finding a switch, which is fine. What's nice about this title as opposed to Zelda is that some rooms are larger than others, and actually scroll, allowing for some fun puzzles and exploration opportunities.

Early on I've found a couple different items, including a health potion and what are either torches, dynamite sticks, or Molotov cocktails... Whatever they are, they allow me to shoot short range fireballs, which is slick. Let's talk about the combat real quick: It's good. Attacks are responsive and both dealing and receiving damage feels satisfying. This is a good thing.

I work my way through the tunnels to find Dr. Jones, only to encounter my first boss fight.

The encounter was set up pretty well for the of the game. I learned I could only hurt the snake when it's mouth was open, and his mouth only opens when he's about to spit fire at me, usually. Sometimes he bluffed, and if I caught it fast enough I could get in a few extra hits. It's that mechanic that caused my first death, after I got a little greedy, then a little crispy. I played the second attempt a little better, and made it out of the tunnels.

Upon reaching the world map again, the game saved my progress. A few steps later.. it crashed.

Time to get my tools...

Later...

With a clean cartridge I decide to pick up the game again!

3 hours later...

Yeah, whoops, time kinda got away from me with this one! Guess that's a good thing though. What's not a good thing is how little progress I made. Out of I believe seven chapters I'm at the end of Chapter 3. I guess that's actually not so bad. I am enjoying the game, a lot actually, but not in the same way I was earlier. In the beginning I was having fun with this lighthearted casual romp through tropical caverns, happily killing slugs and rats with my yo-yo.

Now it's this...

Game's not hard enough, let's disappear the floor! StarTropics quickly went from joyful adventure game to inescapable nightmare of Dark Souls proportions! Still, I'm okay with that. Yes, I've had to bust out the strategy guide, but I'm still having fun! Like many other games thus far, progressing through this game seems highly based on memorization. Every room functions the same way, and enemy routes are usually the same. So, every death means I can progress through the dungeon even faster.

Looking forward to playing more tomorrow.

Night 2:

I was up all night with The Sick, so today I'm staying home and getting some quality game time in while I'm at it.

Last night I spent a pretty good amount of time dying in the ghost village dungeon. Today, after much trial and error, I finally got my crystal ball!

The game's difficulty curve is STEEP. It's like, every time I time I finally clear a dungeon and try to feel good about it, the next one just stomps me into the ground! Case in point...

The light colored blocks drop as soon as I land on them, and you can't see it in the screen but the "inner" green blocks between the light blocks and the out green blocks are constantly phasing in and out... Unforgiving.

After some gender-swapping magic, a trip up a volcano, getting eaten by a whale, playing hot & cold in a submarine and tripping over a giant alien space rock, I finally found my missing Uncle Steve.

Ha! Until they finally settled in the kingdom of Tamriel...

Like I said above, after the horrible dungeons I had to traverse to get to this point, nothing really compares to what I'm failing at now.

Yep, spaceship...

Later...

I came out of the bathroom to see someone had turned the game on for me... how nice. I pick up where I left off and after several attempts I finally secure the final super space cube and set off on the final battle!

Fighting Zoda's shade is easy enough, but the mini boss in the tunnel proves to be a giant pain. It's late, so I turn the game off, but shortly afterwards I read walkthrough for the tunnel and realize I'm making it harder on myself than I should be, and also that the final boss is just a room away!

Tomorrow I'll have another game in the bag!

Night 3:

It's late, I have work tomorrow, but I really need to give this game one shot before bed. My wife tells me I need to go to sleep so I jam bananas in my ears...

I clear out the final hallway with no issues, well some issues, but I don't die! I make it to the final boss and ready my ray gun...

A whip crack with his whippy tail, and the beast was done...

Conclusion:
Wow, can't believe I saw this one through, what a game! I actually had a lot of fun playing this despite nearly eating my controller several times. Every dungeon, no matter how initially challenging or seemingly unfair had a solution, even if I had to sleep on it before I could actually execute. Playing this game, or at least finding that I could play it to completion, is actually making me not dread playing The Legend of Zelda later on this list.

This game did so many things right for its time. I'm very glad to have played it.

Play it Again?
Haha! No, probably not. I beat it, I'm done. No reason to do that to myself again for a while.I'll definitely recommend it though.

Personal Score: