So here we are with part one of a series where I'll be playing games from the DSiWare catalogue and writing a short review.
First, a quick recap: To facilitate this exercise I played every game made available on the DSiWare service and, after first weeding out the mountains of complete rubbish, I'm play the rest alphabetically, doing a short write up on each, and will be assigning them to one of these four categories:
Hidden Gems: Games you've probably never heard of that are utterly brilliant
Well known & worthwhile: I'm not in love with this name, so it may change in the future. This is for those games that are still gems, still potentially brilliant, but perhaps not quite so 'hidden'
Honourable Mentions: Those games that are good, but lack the real spark required to fit into one of the top two categories
Also Rans: Not bad enough to be completely ignored, but probably not quite good enough to warrant higher status
Two caveats: Firstly, I don't enjoy RPGs. Like, at all. So you won't see any of those at any point. And secondly it's very hard to define 'Hidden Gem' and 'Well known' on DSiWare, as the service itself was never hugely popular, so please excuse a few potential miss-categorisations along the way!
So lets get cracking with part one: Numbers.
The idea behind the 'Go Series' was to bring games that had previously been exclusive to Japan to a wider audience. The fact that the games selected in this 'Numbers' bracket are dominated by titles in this series is entirely coincidental, there just happens to a fair few that are numerically labelled.
10 Second Run is a very 2010s game. This was the era that gave rise to the likes of Super Meat Boy; games that were designed with very small, very fast, very difficult levels. As you might imagine, 10 Second Run is built around the concept of completing each of it's fifty levels in just 10 seconds - and it has a minimalist audio/visual design to go with the minimalist gameplay. This is a purist platforming affair with a stark white aesthetic and the simplest possible representation for every block, hazard, or character you see. It may be too basic for some, but to me the commitment to this design makes it very stylish, much along the lines of Nintendo's own BoxBoxBoy series.
As with all games of this type, it's success is born of the balance between fiendish difficulty and an ultra fast turn-around between your inevitable failures. As the difficulty increases so does the compulsion to overcome the challenge, and thus, this quickly becomes a game that will happily eat up several hours of your life, 10 seconds at a time.
I don’t think EnjoyUp games, were you able to ask them, would even try to deny that the three “99” prefixed games they released on DSiWare were heavily inspired by the adventures of Commander Video in Gaijun’s excellent Bit.Trip series. You'll read more about 99 Seconds and 99 Moves later on, but 99 Bullets is the best of the three and the only one I feel worthy of the 'Hidden Gem' accolade.
99 Bullets may look like it was compiled using assets built in 3D Paint, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying its stripped back vertical shooter x puzzle game action.
As you may expect, each stage must be completed using no more than 99 bullets, which is a nice twist in itself, but add to this the ability to fire in any of four directions, with each assigned to the corresponding face button, and you have a bit of a low-fi winner on your hands.
Well known and worthwhile:
Later in the alphabet I may regret not listing this under it's US or Japanese name, both which are references to the fact that this is a belated sequel. The original ‘X’ was the Gameboy game (hence the title of X-Scape and X Returns in various territories) that first brought Argonaut Software, who went on to develop Star Fox, to the attention of Nintendo, so it’s no real surprise that this sequel has similarities to both that game and it's N64 follow up.
Played from first person view, there are both on rail shooter and ‘all range’ style levels, with each coming in a new and vibrant colour palette. The Space Tank itself can also fly for long periods, which adds a more dynamic nature to proceedings than merely trundling about at ground level.
As you may expect there’s a high level of polish here, with challenging and addictive gameplay that belies the limitations of DSiWare. The involvement of Nintendo has prompted me to not award 'Hidden Gem' status, but I think to a lot of people, this game would be an excellent example of exactly that.
Honourable mentions:
99 Moves (Go Series)
Whereas 99 Bullets was a vertical shooter, 99 Moves is a maze game that never quite elevates itself above that status. The 'moves' in question are the changes of direction required to navigate the labyrinthine levels. Your avatar flies forwards automatically with player input only required at a junction or to avoid an enemy. There really isn't anything more to it than that, which is why it's down here among the honourable mentions.
99 Seconds (Go Series)
Also not really bringing enough to the table is 99 Seconds. This time the game has you in full avoid-em-up mode, again travelling up the screen while avoiding patterns and shapes through the use of a time slowing/reversing gimmick. The visuals are even more minimalist than the other two '99' games, and much like 99 Moves, it hangs it's hat on a single concept. You must reach the end of the level in 99 Seconds, but to avoid being crushed between malevolent shapes you will have to slow, or even reverse time. Had the game taken this idea and gradually developed and evolved it over it's course then it could have been so much more. As it is, the concept works well, and there's some fun to be had, but it won't hold your attention for long.
Also rans:
3 Heroes: Crystal Soul is not a very good game, but it's at least decently made and, while simple, it has a good hook.
The game has you moving around a hex grid, with each move having both positive and negative effects on the surrounding tiles and therefore impeding or aiding your progression. I could go into more detail but that’s the hook of the gameplay that I found diverting enough to play for a few levels. It’s not going to rock your world, and it’s one of those games that you can’t help but see done on a mobile phone, but it might be worth a look nonetheless.
That's numbers done, next time we start the alphabet proper with games that begin with 'A'.
I hope to see you then!
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