Bikkuriman World / Wonder Boy in Monster Land - PC Engine - 1987

The last game on my shortlist was Wonder Boy for the Sega Master System.  It left me somewhat underwhelmed so I wasn't really looking forward to this one.  Bikkuriman World is essentially a conversion of the arcade game Wonder Boy in Monster Land.  Some of the graphics have been redrawn to fit in with the Bikkuriman anime franchise, hence the title. Bikkuriman World was only released in Japan for the PC Engine, so any text is in Japanese.  Fortunately Wonder Boy in Monster Land was on my shortlist for the Sega Master System in 1988.  The SMS game didn't match up to the PC Engine in terms of sound and graphics (so didn't make the blog) but did help with the translation.

Bikkuriman World on the left. Wonder Boy in Monster Land arcade version (centre) and Master System version (right)

In Wonder Boy in Monster Land the plot involved killing monsters and demons that inhabit the land, then ultimately a dragon.  I'm guessing Bikkuriman World is much the same due to it's close similarity to the arcade original.

You start the game by collecting your sword and a potion (extra life) from an old man in a tree stump.  The sword is called a gradius, but I'm sure they must have meant gladius.  You can then set off through the twelve levels defeating monsters and bosses along the way.  When you defeat monsters they drop a coin or a money bag (or other sundry items for bonus points).  Coins can also be collected by jumping up and down in certain secret spots throughout the levels. This gold can be used in shops to purchase useful items such as boots, armour, shields, magic weapons and energy top ups.  

One of the many shops.

If you are hit by a monster your life meter starts decreasing which is depicted by a series of hearts.  When all the hearts turn black it's game over.  The first time your heart meter empties the potion you got at the beginning of the game gives you another life.  Each level also has quite a strict time limit.  The time limit is displayed by way of an hourglass to the left of the screen.  If this runs out your life meter decreases, although small hourglasses can be picked up to refill the timer.  There are also various bosses to defeat along the way, some easier than others. Some bosses need to be beaten to advance to the next level, others can be bypassed but may drop a useful item if killed - such as a broadsword from a boss in the caves early on.

This boss leaps around spawning toadstools and is a bugger to beat.

Overall Bikkuriman World is a neat little game.  The graphics, though simple, are bright, well animated and well drawn.  The levels are also nicely varied and the scrolling is very smooth.  The music is good and changes for different levels while the sound effects suit the game well.  I think the learning curve is just about right, except where it spikes for certain bosses (such as the one above). Also bear in mind that this is an arcade conversion and as such games can be quite short as there is no saving.  You can, however, use continue to start again from the level where you last died.

 

Wizball - Commodore Amiga, Commodore 64 & Atari ST - 1987

Atari ST and Commodore Amiga ports share the same programmer and are virtually identical.

Wizball was initially released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 with other conversions quickly following.  Zzapp!64 magazine gave it a score of 96% and later awarded it the Game of the Decade accolade.  I gave it about five minutes of my time and never bothered with it again.  I never bought it so must have played it at a friend's house and had been put off by the frustrating controls, high difficulty level and the fact that your character looks like an anthropomorphic Brussels sprout.  Trying it again, the first issue can be overcome by purchasing upgrades and the second by playing one of the 16-bit ports. The third?  Well, two out of three ain't bad.

The story goes that Wiz and his cat happily lived in the brightly coloured Wizworld.  For some untold reason the evil Zark came along and removed all the colour, leaving the landscape in various shades of grey.  It is your task to control Wiz in his bouncy green transporter and return Wizworld to it's former glory.

Wizball on the Spectrum and Amstrad are left in the shadow of the C64 original.

In spite of its name the Spectrum does not handle colour very well so was immediately discounted.  The Amstrad game has more colour than the Speccy version but loses the scrolling. Neither have very good sound. Wizball on the Commodore 64 is in a different league compared to the other 8-bits.  Graphically it's as near as it can be to the 16-bit versions and aurally it is actually superior.  My main issue is with the controls - I don't know if it's because I played the 16-bit conversions first but the controls feel a tad 'sloppy' next them.  Maybe if I'd have played the game on the C64 first it might have been a different story so I'm still recommending it here.  This leaves the better balanced and graphically identical Amiga and ST as the top dogs. While the Commodore machine edges out the Atari with marginally (and I do mean marginally) better sound effects, it is not so superior that the latter can be discounted.  The difficulty level has also been slightly tweaked allowing only a single wave of enemies to appear at once compared to more on the C64.

Commodore 64 almost matches the 16-bit conversions.

 
You start the game semi-controlling your Wizball which bounces up and down at a fixed height.  Initially you can only adjust the rotation speed making just getting around both difficult and frustrating.  The first enemy sprites you come across are thankfully static and when shot drop a green bubble.  These bubbles (or pearls as they are described in the instructions) allow you to choose upgrades from a Gradius-style power-up meter.  The first two power-ups you will need are Thrust and Anti-Grav after which the game plays more like a regular shoot 'em up.  Other power-ups include shields, weapon upgrades, a smart bomb and the essential Catelite.  Lose a life and you lose your power-ups.

The Catelite acts as a drone following the Wizball around.  By holding down the fire button it can be controlled independently (or by a second player in two player mode).  The Catelite is needed to collect droplets of colour that are released when Red, Green and Blue enemies are destroyed.  Each of these enemies occupy a different level so you will need to move between the levels using pipes and holes in the ground. Initially three levels are available but more open up as the game progresses.  The droplets are collected in three cauldrons displayed on the screen.  You need to collect enough of these to fill a fourth cauldron which shows a target colour.  Completely filling the fourth cauldron brings up a bonus stage.

Two colours complete and the third is coming along nicely.

 
The bonus stage involves destroying as many enemies as possible to increase your score.  After this you enter the 'Wiz-Lab' where you can choose a power up which will be automatically assigned to any lives you have left.  From here you return to the game with one shade of colour restored on one level.  In all there are eight levels with three shades to restore on each.

In the 'Wiz-Lab'.  Here you can choose a upgrade that stays for the rest of the game.

I'm glad I didn't dismiss this game as easily as I did twenty-odd years ago. The Commodore 64 version is a revelation and is easily one of the best games to appear on the machine.  Until now I haven't been impressed by the much vaunted SID chip, but Wizball makes good use of it, surpassing even it's younger stablemate.  Naturally, though,  the Amiga and ST conversions have more colourful, detailed and higher resolution graphics.  As I mentioned earlier I also found the controls to be a little sharper than on the 8-bit C64, but that's just my preference.  Get past the bouncy ball stage of Wizball and you'll find a fun and challenging (read difficult) shoot 'em up.


Commodore Amiga gameplay....

 

The Way Of The Exploding Fist - Commodore 64 - 1985

Ah, a fighting game from simpler times.  Times before health bars, fatalities, combos, special moves and umpteen buttons.  The Way Of The Exploding Fist is unashamedly based on the 1984 arcade game Karate Champ but makes do with a joystick and a single fire button.  The game was released in 1985 for various 8-bit computers with the Commodore 64 version being the best.  I used to play it on the Spectrum a lot with my brother until he discovered there is no defence against the leg sweep.

The Way Of The Exploding Fist is a 2D fighting game using a side on view.  There are a total of 18 different moves available including blocks, kicks, punches and somersaults. Although there are a lot of moves the controls are very intuitive. Kicks are achieved by pressing the fire button and moving the joystick in the appropriate direction, giving 8 kicks. All other moves just require you to move the joystick.  Some manoeuvres require two moves of the joystick - to perform the low punch, for example, you need to pull back on the joystick to crouch then move it the direction you're facing to punch.

Rather than a health bar each bout is fought for points (like a real Karate tournament).  If you hit your opponent with a perfectly executed move you will score one full point.  You can still down your opponent with a less that perfect hit but will only obtain a half point.  Points are represented by yin-yang symbols at the top of the screen and the first person to gain two full symbols wins the round.

The game can be played as single player against the computer where you progress from Novice to Tenth Dan by beating progressively tougher adversaries. Apparently there is a bonus round where you have to take down a bull with a single punch but I've yet to see that.  Where the game really comes into its own is when played against a human opponent.  The game is not so fast that button mashing works and games can become quite tactical against an evenly matched player.

As I said, the Commodore 64 boasts the best version of the game.  Although the graphics are blockier, the game runs a tad faster than on the Spectrum or the Amstrad.  The sound is also better comprising a suitably oriental tune and some (very) primitive digitised spot effects.  It’s still a fun game when played against another person and can prove a tough challenge in the single player mode.