If you ever frequented a pawn shop in the late nineties, one game bafflingly always seemed to be a staple; Sunsoft’s MD Batman - specifically the import.
The game’s wall-made nature, the lack of an abundance of great software in the early years of the MD, and the year-long gap between the game’s Japanese and North American releases meant that a lot of people paid the hefty price to import this one instead of waiting. It’s a a perfectly fine game, but it’s not very hard, and it’s over in less than an hour. That’s not a knock against the game so much as it is a truth about how games were back then - arcade like experiences to be played over and over again in order to master them and challenge your high score.
This copy of the game also came with the original purchase receipt, which outlines the 1991 90 dollar Canadian price tag (170 in today’s money) and the two games he or she traded in.
What is notable about this game is the superb pixel work, solid gameplay, and absolutely amazing music, which used no samples whatsoever for the drums and relied on FM synth for percussion. It’s probably one of the best examples of FM synth on the MD, period.
Enjoy these PVM CRT shots.
Enjoy these shots of an unmodded, un-recapped, probably-on-the-verge-of-dead Game Gear. The game being played is Face’s Ryu Kyu, which is known in the west as Solitaire Poker. Great game and perfectly suited to the Game Gear’s absolutely antiquated screen. If you have never played it, it’s a combination of poker and Tetris where you need to fill a five by five grid on your screen with cards that you arrange into poker suits. Point distribution is also based on the strength of your hand in that row, column, or diagonal. It’s totally worth playing today and is one of the better puzzle games of the era, IMO. The game can be difficult, but there is no time limit for when you need to drop your cards, so you can focus on building the best combination of hands possible. The scoring system is also forgiving - the basic rule is that you need to meet a certain score before you fill your five by five grid. Once the score is met, whatever points youve accumulated over the top, get carried over to your next board. It’s entirely possible to do so well, that you’ve met your minimum scores for the next board before you even star it.
Like any good puzzle game, it’s extremely easy to pick up and play, balances luck and skill, and is very addictive. It doesnt hurt that the Gear is a very comfortable system to use.
I’m assuming it would have been a bigger hit in the west had they used the same cover art as the Japanese version.
Also note that is my first game gear post.
Pictures taken via a6000 with a 35mm fixie.
More on the Wonermega Soon - but for now, here’s an extremely poorly optimized gif showing the drive door in good working order!
Massive thanks to Dane Olds on retrogameboards for making it happen. I have no idea how I will every thank this guy enough. Again, more soon, but for now, this will have to do.
