3-D WorldRunner (1987)

Preliminary: If it weren't for the great Look and Sound of the first world, I probly wouldn't have pushed through it. I'm never a fan of early 3d games like this where depth perception is the challenge. Luckily I got used to pressing up for moving faster and slowing down quickly when needed with a sudden 2-gap situation. The first world boss was intuitive and mostly fun. I just beat Subnautica, otherwise I would have had more time tonight, debating whether this is worth a full playthrough even tho I don't love the gameplay. Maybe the Look and Sound will nudge me through! (and the intuitive, tho not beloved, gameplay... and that it's only 8 worlds and I already got through 1)

Look: 8/10 I was basically seeing it as a less fun, more tedious Antarctic Adventure (much like that game's own sequel), yet again almost quitting, but then saw the amazing Look of the 3rd world.

I guess I'm a sucker for pink themed worlds cuz the next screenshot I took was apparently very similar looking lol, but world 6

Sound: 7/10 Cool to see so many integral Final Fantasy people's names involved, namely Uematsu

Play: 6/10 Indeed, much like the best parts of Antarctic Adventure, I just wanted to hold up for the most part to go as fast as possible and just enjoy chaotically jumping/dodging. And was grateful for the usual NES tight and responsive controls. Very tight collision masks too, as expected from an NES game, but that proved frustrating when trying to hit those frog trampoline things heh. Turns out there are power-ups? I guess I need to consult the StrategyWiki, it's not as intuitive as I expected. The parts I enjoy are when I can just go fast and avoid/jump over enemies. Not a big fan of the convoluting aspects and the tedious surprises.

What's funny is up until World 4 I had been hoping for a way to shoot at enemies..... turns out there is one >.< I knew I should've read the StrategyWiki more lol. Pro-tip: purposefully run into the beam pole thingies that look like obstacles to dodge >.< Still, even with this knowledge, I preferred just running n gunning! Especially since the shooting really only harms a few enemies, not the annoying gloves etc., and I like running games to feel a sense of urgency and rushing time, not bumping into beams on purpose for potentially useful items (and sometimes deadly items). Also, disappointing you can't shoot while in the air. (annnnd the power-ups don't carry over between levels). Regardless, I need to start using the item poles because lives are very limited without them.

Feel: 7/10 But here I was, on to World 4 nonetheless. Again, the Look is great (huge positive for the Feel). And the World 3 boss was pretty cool where you had to use its shadow to know where it is, or the occasional lightning strike. I was disappointed it was the same jingle again, so that was losing its special Feel, but it was still catchy enough (after all, it's Uematsu) that I was enjoying it still and reminded me of how arcade repeated jingles can still be good. NES really was an impressive new console, changed the game for at-home gaming imo. Just seemed to bring the arcade home, indeed. Gotta wrap up for tonight, but I think that'll help keep the song fresh anyway and I am just about halfway through! Maybe I will finish it after all'

Attachment: 6/10 The tedious gameplay antics continued into World 4 (the hand enemies over the gaps). Buuuuut I did quickly get in the groove after consulting the StrategyWiki for a tip on how to dodge them. Ok, the bosses are definitely getting old now... same basic mechanics again, except this time I guess I have to do it 3 times instead of twice? Tedious indeed. Who ever thought that the same exact boss done 3 times in a row is some sort of meaningful challenge, rather than purely tedious?

Welp, Boss 5 done... same exact mechanics just faster... had to do it 3 times again. Why do I push through games ha. It's some sort of addictive thing where I feel I need to finish to cross it off my backlog (when it's engaged me to this point). Why drop when I only have 3 worlds left.... but also sheesh, 3 more of those tacky bosses left... if they start making me do the same boss 4 or 5 times in a row I might finally drop it heh. Wowwwwwww 4 times for the next boss and 6 timers for the final boss.... What in the world were they thinking

Welp I got to World 7-2 and then ran out of lives and couldn't even savestate my way out of the situation nor use tips on StrategyWiki and I realized, for real, why am I doing this lol. The depth mechanic is terrible for the bosses which you have to fight over and over in one battle, as if that's a form of difficulty. And suddenly I didn't have as much control over the speed in the normal levels? I dunno. If I liked the game more, I would figure out what was going on there, but no way I'm starting back at 1-1 and doing all those repeated bosses over again. Technically a quite terrible game, essentially a worse Space Harrier, but some really great Looks and the good-at-first Sound got me to push longer than I should have.

Completion: To 7-2, ran out of lives Playtime: 55 mins

Half of this game, like up to world 5 is pure fun. There are new ways to move around the levels and more ways to progress. the platforming the fun, and ending the level with a shoot'em up boss fight felt quite fresh for some reason.

Unfortunately while the tips of how to maneuver around and move is straight forward, yet somehow you can mess up the entire platform by One Pixel. This Sh!t again. and the enemies coming from every corner of the screen idea can be very annoying that some of them leave the pattern they're going on and aim for YOU on purpose.

There are a lot of cheap stuff in here like the rest of the NES games but it's a solid game nonetheless.

I don’t particularly enjoy watching films in 3D because I think that a well-shot and well-projected film has a very three-dimensional quality to it, so I’m somewhat sceptical of the technology.”
-Christopher Nolan

Have you heard of this game? Why didn’t I hear about it sooner?!

Before PlayStation VR, before Square merged with Enix, before the worlds of Final Fantasy, before Hironobu Sakaguchi created them and Nobuo Uematsu scored them, there was The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner, or 3D WorldRunner for short. Known in Japan as Operation: Jump Out, this obscure game was a third-person, forward-scrolling rail shooter platformer developed by Square (the first one to reach America) and published by Acclaim for the NES. And it is one of the most wonderful personal discoveries I’ve made from the 8-bit era.

A discovery? Let me explain.My wife and I were watching a vid of 749 NES games in 15 minutes (which I highly recommend enjoying for yourself) when she suddenly exclaimed: “Hey! I remember that one!” We had to look it up. Turns out it was fathered by a pre-Final Fantasy Sakaguchi as designer, Gebelli as programmer, and Nobuo Uematsu as composer for a then struggling Square. She somehow remembered WorldRunner from her childhood, so we had this moment of sudden realization that her and I were playing games made by Sakaguchi and Uematsu when we were children separated by miles of the Pacific ocean.

The surprise didn’t stop there. WorldRunner isn’t truly three-dimensional, despite it’s title. It is however stereoscopic. There’s a perception of depth since the game’s character runs forward and the ground scrolls beneath him while objects and enemies appear in the distance and then get larger as he passes them. Pressing select would even trigger a special anaglyph 3D mode that required red/cyan glasses (“free” glasses included with the purchase of the original game).

I made a pair of these from scratch the other night with some clear plastic and colored sharpies, and the imagery is a little crude but it works nonetheless. What’s most amazing to me is that this is 1987 we’re talking about here. The scrolling background is impressive enough for the NES but adding a special 3D filter on top of that is incredible.

3D WorldRunner is about the adventures of Jack the WorldRunner space cowboy.

Click here for the full review: https://thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2016/11/06/th...