Preliminary: Wow, how exciting. I already know I like the quality, look, and tight controls of MSX games thanks to my pre-Chronology Project playthroughs. And then, I checked out a video, thinking it'd be another Manic Miner-esque failure like the many C64 games I've been playing lately. Instead, it was absolutely fascinating right from the start. Ahead of its time for microcomputer Look (looked more like an arcade game, or heck, a later Super Mario game, not like an '84 much-ignored microcomputer platformer...), amazing pre-Mario catchy Sound, and seemingly tight also ahead-of-its-time platformer gameplay (even involving "getting a banana" and backtracking! Giving me Tomba feels with that). Oh, and of course I like that there seems to be a set ending, or at least a logical place for me to stop (it even ended with gameover on the other video I watched, which served as a walkthrough). Very excited, I hope I didn't overdo it which often results in disappointment with the reality heh. Here's the video I watched before trying it out

Look: 9/10 Cute little graphic when you land on the ground after a jump. Everything about it felt cute, and tho none of it was striking or my favorite kind of Look, it gave very pre-Mario feel, especially Mario 2. The bridge, the grass platforms, the colors--wow. Felt like I had nostalgia for it even tho I've never seen it before heh. Can only imagine for people who had the privilege of playing it (Japan-only release, afaik). Kinda silly there's room for 100,000+ in the Energy numbers, but it seems to cap out at 50,000. (See here for how it has room for 100,000 place numbers:

Sound: 8/10 I mean, the jingle did get pretty old by the third level, but still ahead-of-its-time for mircocomputer games, catchy, well-done and fitting for the vibe, makes for a nostalgic feel, and is probly perfect in segments (I had quite a long 2 hour first play session, I usually don't play games that long at a time). Oh, the ending of the levels' jingle had a very Mario feel, I almost feel like the upcoming Mario Bros games kinda ripped that jingle off (tho it is, indeed, different). I swear the beeping sound for when your Energy is going up in the Apple Houses is in a classic/well-known platformer, hmm. Great jingle at the end too lol.

Play: 9/10 I love how fast-paced it is and how tight the controls are (and simple). Thankfully, the jump mechanic is forgiving, fluid, and easy to get used to (unlike almost every other platformer I've played from this year heh). I'm also grateful that you don't arbitrarily die when falling or jumping from every platform, like Lode Runner allowing fluidity and faster-paced fun. No clue why so many early platformers programmed that feature in except as some show-off aspect of challenging games, instead of enjoyable games. Because I was enjoying it enough, it seemed straightforward enough, I decided I would not use a guide or walkthrough video; would not abuse savestates about allow saving at the start of each level for time's sake; and would allow the use of the map available here only when needed or running out of lives. Oh, and as usual, no cheats. Pro-tip: the little houses can rejuvenate your energy, even tho they're typically harder to reach than they're worth (I spent so long just trying to reach one to figure out what they do lol). Only thing I can think of that could make the gameplay better is, like always with platformers, the ability to fight/shoot back at enemies. Especially with how crowded the enemies get sometimes, even early in the game! Oh, and kinda tacky the enemies--even from the beginning--are able to move so freely on staircases/walls/etc. making for difficult escapes! Thank goodness, again, for the ability to drop off platforms in a flee! Another pro-tip: it's faster to jump at the stairs then press up than walking up to the stairs and pressing up to start climbing (you can start climbing mid-air, I love that fluidity), because jumping is faster than climbing. That helps when in a bind! You have far more control over jumping than most the early platformers from '84: you can stop mid-flight and start to fall there, bordering on the fluidity of changing directions mid-air that I've only seen so far in arcade games this early.

Feel: 10/10 With the fluid gameplay, I actually wanted to explore and not just rely on a guide. Probly the first game so far in the Chronology Project where I just wandered to wander, to see if I can make certain jumps, or whether can enter certain spaces. The kind of feeling I haven't had since games I played as a kid like Jak and Daxter, GTA 3, and Crash 3 where I would explore the edges of levels and shoddy early 3d graphics heh. I love love love how the apple houses serve as basically inns/resting spots not only when having to wait for, say, the raft to come back across the level after a failed attempt or when low on energy. It also kinda felt like a save spot that's safe, like you could just take a breather there since the Energy is your only "time limit" involved which thus can always be renewed at an apple house. I love love love that, allows for breaks and opportunities to step away--but most importantly for the Feel, the ability to wander despite the existence of an Energy/time limit/"oxygen"/"feel"/etc type feature. The raft going back and forth at the bottom of the screen, of course, and its mechanics gave Mario feels too, like the skull rafts on the lava etc.

Attachment: 9/10 Well, despite many deaths, I got to "Level 4" on my first playthrough. There's still so much more to go! And from what I read, you have to return back to the beginning, to boot. This feels like a particularly long game for the time, tho perhaps it tricks you with the backtracking part (clever way to avoid my usual disliked "re-cycling" feature of early microcomputer and arcade games where they just cycle back to the first level again with faster/harder enemies). It truly feels like a journey/adventure a la Tomba and Klonoa, later platformers I love. The Look, jingle, and Feel contribute to an overall attachment and nostalgia already on my first playthrough: I am 100% sure I will return to this tomorrow, it's time to watch my husband's and my show together is the only reason I quit this first night! I hope I have time tomorrow to play after work and seeing a friend! It's a nice feeling to be so eager to play a game, and wondering when I can next--I didn't even peek at OSRS at all during this playthrough, not even afk mining or something. I felt something like this during the beginning of the Chronology Project with the PLATO RPGs. All that being said, it probly helps that I took it in sections (despite no save function in the game itself, which is a fault of course), which helped with the jingle's repetition and the length of the game. Undeniable that I will play this again, and indeed did, and that it's a game I will usually be eager to finish when I start it; it has a Look and Feel that makes me instantly attached to it like with Tomba and Klonoa; and it's a game I could have as pick-up-and-play at get-togethers/is palatable to others, even non-gamers. I feel like, unlike most of '84, there are these few gems that stand out as preceding the upcoming Mario console era I love so much; the lengthier games of the NES/SNES era especially with RPGs but also later platformers that are involved and complex and adventure-infused; and the catchy jingles that go beyond just the smallest portion of data being set aside for the need for sound effects, rather than devoting as much as needed for a Feeling to be created through the Sound. ...

... Ok wow yea, I just got sucked in to trying to hurry Level 4 as fast as possible before my husband gets home: truly a sign of an amazing game, and one right up my alley. Gosh I love adventure-feeling platformers heh.

2nd Play Session: Wow, I flew through the remaining levels. It's great to finally have a game with that Feel and fluid/well-done Play that I've only really seen in arcade games this early, not microcomputer--that Feel and Play of Crash 3, Super Mario World, Klonoa, etc. where I learn the quirks of the gameplay and it's logical/learnable/fluid enough that you get in a nice groove. I don't consider myself good at gaming in general: these are the kind of platformers I can learn and feel like I excel at--feel proud and happy playing. Jumping up to stairs and quickly going up them, learning other little quirks about jump distances, leaping over enemy after enemy on my rush back to the start not dying because I got used to the jump mechanic distancing and timing, knowing I can always refill at an Apple House (tho final pro-tip: you can still get hit by enemies while in them, they're otherwise safe). Felt like how I always like to run on Super Mario World, even to my death, or how I like to try to beat the developers' times on Crash 3: things I haven't been able to really do in these early games cuz I'm simply not good at their mechanics. These mechanics, however, are my kind of mechanic :) I thought I was going to burn out due to the "back track through all the levels at the end" feature, but it's done just right. Your only concern now is dodging enemies, not collecting pineapples or worrying about when the raft is going in what direction--just get to the opposite side! (Oh and keep track of your energy of course, which I had an excess of after testing the maximum Energy you can have at a time, so I didn't have to worry about it). It's cool and essentially open-world in that you could have gone backwards at any point, even tho there's no use till you're bringing the giant pineapple. It allowed me to show off (to myself, mind you, lol) all the mechanics I've learned, rushing non-stop like I do with my all-time favorite games like Super Mario World, and having fun revisiting old level designs that already, absurdly, felt nostalgic and overly familiar (maybe due to the nature of the gameplay, where you go back and forth on each level collecting pineapples, building that familiarity and coziness like in Spyro and other nostalgic PS1 platformers I didn't even own--but have nostalgia for, oh, and Mario 64 would be another good example of that nostalgia-building through doing a lot within a single level.)

Now I know why they made the very first Apple House such a hassle to get to: it's where you return with the Giant Pineapple to end the game! After all, I didn't even need Energy yet when I tried getting to that first Apple House (and, ironically, I remarked how the next couple were so convenient/easy to get to), I only went for the first Apple House because I wanted to explore--that great wandering feeling that makes for an amazing videogame. No wonder the jump was difficult and enemies were attacking at me: I wasn't really supposed to access that till later! Instead of hiding it behind an upgrade like Double Jump, etc., (which for the record, I love platformers that do that a la Crash 3, Kingdom Hearts, etc.), it simply took a knowledge of the jump mechanics/timing and enemy pathfinding. It certainly was easier getting to it that 2nd time when ending the game ha. What a great game design though: the challenge and knowledge of game mechanics grow together in a symbiotic, enjoyable, addictive way. I love this game!! Here I was at last, jamming out to the great ending jingle:

One of the main complaints is, unlike Manic Miner, but nevertheless like most games from this era--what an anticlimactic ending (besides the jingle, that is)!

And technically no official replay value in that there aren't secrets I missed or challenges to go for. But it's one I will be showing others, is pick-up-and-play-able, and is just downright fun--so I know I will replay it and have others play it, simply because the straight-up game itself is that good and fun!

Completion: 100% Playtime: ~3 hours