Having looked at games where the title started with a number last time, we now begin the alphabet proper with games begin with an 'A'.
Hidden Gems: Games you've probably never heard of that are utterly brilliant
Well Known & Wonderful: 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' on DSiWare, as the service itself was never hugely popular, so please excuse a potential few miss-categorisations along the way!
So, with all that admin out of the way, we better get on with the games, because there are loads in this letter!
It's always fantastic when, after nearly 40 years of playing games, one discovers an entirely original gameplay concept in the most unusual of places - and let's face it, obscuring a great game behind that utterly awful name and the blandest character design in history is some kind of mad genius.
Ace Mathacian is a game wherein you must guide a cute bear to some fruit, yes, really. But hear me out. The bear and the fruit are on the top screen along with some large platforms that make up the level. A proportion of these blocks are outlined in red, which means they can be re-positioned to aide the bears traversal of the level and collection of all the fruit.
But it's the method of this platform re-positioning that is the genius of the game. On the lower screen are the elements of an algebraic equation. For example, the sum may be started already as 'y=' and you must add the other elements to this to affect the play area. Simply adding a 4, say, would raise all the red outlined bricks by 4 pixels. Solutions are rarely this simple, however, and often require several different arrangements of the same numbers and symbols to move the platforms to a variety of places so that the bear can reach all the fruit. In a very early level you need to raise the blocks by 4 initially, but then lower them afterwards by having the equation read 'y=1-9' to reach other goals.
These examples are among the earliest in the game, things get devilishly creative as you progress through the levels - and it's this that is the final piece of the games own equation, and the thing that makes it a stand-out puzzle game on a platform that has no shortage of them.
From the developers who went on to create Dead Cells, and beginning life as a free Flash game, AlphaBounce takes the humble brick-breaker to a brave new world of excess. With literally thousands of levels, dozens of brick types and at least twenty different power-ups (and power-downs, of course) this mantra of this game is clearly 'more is more' - and boy does it ever pay off.
The central conceit is that you are an prisoner who must make their escape by navigating across the game's map one square at a time - with each square being a level of the game. Both your bat and your balls are customisable, adding an interesting, almost RPGesque factor to proceedings.
But obviously the real fun is in the levels themselves, where success can litter the screen with power-ups by the bucketload, raining down the screens at an incredible rate, and in which, through use of the stylus, control is afforded in the most perfectly direct and accurate way possible. The bat - or 'Envelope' as they are called here - even warps to wherever you next touch should you lift it from the screen, meaning that it never, ever, lags behind your direction as I've seen in other games of this type.
AlphaBounce is one of those games where there's often so much going that you're not sure if you're winning or losing, but the chaos is so intoxicating that you don't really care. The Flash version is sadly no longer functional, as you might imagine, but thanks to the tightest possible controls and despite some limitations of the small screens, DSiWare was always the best way to play this game anyway.
This is an action platform game built around a single mechanic; the ability to reverse gravity for about two seconds at a time.
Armed with this ability, and a pistol of some kind, our hero, Johnny Hurricane, must make his way through the level, collecting three green coins on the way and, optionally, doing so under the set target time.
There are definitely echoes of VVVVVV in this, but Antipole's use of short bursts of the anti-grav ability for platforming and enemy manipulation set it apart. The soundtrack is another area where the game excels, as is the amount of content. The campaign is fun and varied, but very short. Luckily there are a great many challenge levels available from the start and more available to unlock as you play.
It's not a game that looks like much, the bare bones visuals don't have quite enough design flair to be considered minimalist, but Johnny himself has a basic kind of swagger and there are a few bosses along the way add that some character.
Antipole's singular focus on it's key mechanic is what makes it a stand-out game, everything else ensures it wears the badge of Hidden Gem with pride.
Well Known & Wonderful:
Whenever a game is part of a 'series' (of which there are many on DSiWare for some reason) I'll be listing it under the actual title, not that of the overarching banner; in this case, A is for Aquite, not Art Style. The whole Art Style brand was originally born from a GBA concept called Bit Generations. This was 6 games that were released at roughly the same time as the Game Boy Micro and later ported, and added to, as Art Style on WiiWare. They are all hyper stylised, stripped back, pure gameplay experiences that are usually, but not always, puzzle orientated. Aquite (AKA Aquia/Aquario) is very much of this ilk.
Ostensibly we're matching 3+ coloured blocks in time honoured fashion, but the here the colours are pushed in pairs into a central column, with the pair on the opposite side being ejected as a result (think of it like one of those executive ball-toys you see on desks in eighties movies). As usual for Bit Generations/Art Style games the sound design is a highlight, but the ever evolving gameplay is the real star, with the total lack of a built in guide really helping to lend a feeling of discovery to proceedings.
Horrible title sylisation aside, this is a fun and very playable flight racing game that became pretty well know due to the dearth of any kind decent racing game on the DS (let alone DSiWare). The limitations of the platform only really rear their head in the low track count and naff music. This notwithstanding, the courses on offer are varied and fun and the power ups, though basic, add an extra level of fun to proceedings.
And speaking of the power-ups, they're actually a pretty good encapsulation of the game as a whole. They aren't particularly original and lack a little in flair - but they are very satisfying. AiRace has the look of an early PlayStation game, a small number of circuits, and even fewer planes to choose form - but it's just so much fun to play that all of these flaws are easily forgiven.
The G.G. Series was pretty prominent on DSiWare by virtue of the sheer number of games released under it's banner (albeit only in the NA region). I've lumped these two together both for the sake of brevity and because they are both fantastic for similar reasons.
All Breaker is an action puzzle game where you control a girl called Rebecca who runs around typical platform levels trying to smash orange target blocks with her massive hammer, while additionally avoiding contact with deadly robots and environmental hazards. The game is a masterclass in how to introduce a simple concept and then gradually evolve both it and the core gameplay.
As the game advances new block types appear that can be manipulated in specific ways, or combined with others to present new platforming or robot-killing opportunities. Like most of the G.G. games it's pretty short, but it's beautifully presented and a ton of fun to play.
Honourable mentions:
Abyss
EnjoyUp Games are going to feature a few times as we work through this catalogue. They have a knack with very simple games nicely presented with decent personality. Abyss is one such game and if you, like me, have a fondness for 'Gravitar' or 'Thrust' style inertial controls, then this is well worth a few moments of your time. You guide a cycloptic creature around a cavern using the aforementioned control style and hunt for collectable orbs, and that's really all there is to it, but it has a nice style and a good level of challenge that will keep you entertained a fair while before the repetition eventually sets in.
Aura Aura Climber
Nintendo published this cheerful effort that, initially at least, puts one in mind of mobile classic Doodle Jump. Here you control a little sun-shaped being that latches onto grapple points and flings itself on the quest ever upwards in search of other glowing things to collect. What elevates the game out of 'Also ran' status is the simple mechanic that when a grapple point has been used it is then not able to be used again for a few seconds. This brings a risk vs reward element to the game that's essential for the 'just one more go' factor to creep in.
Art of Ink
I don't really agree with the concept of 'guilty pleasures', but if I did then Art of Ink would probably be the sort of game that would be classified as such. Reminiscent of WiiWare classic 'Bonsai Barber', Art of Ink has you take the role of a new artist in a tattoo studio where you first question a client to ascertain what design they want, and then apply the design using the touch screen. In each part of the play there are factors that will effect your eventual score/payout; such as how many guesses it takes you to choose the perfect design, or how much pain you cause the customer while applying it. It's fairly straightforward stuff, but is done with enough personality to earn it's place here.
Altered Weapon (G.G. Series)
Not quite up to the standard of the other two G.G. efforts listed above, Altered Weapon sees you controlling a mech that can transform into a speedy battle tank. The mech offers precision and directional shooting, the tank offers speed and the ability to pass under low ceilings. Through flipping between the two configurations you navigate left-to-right as you run and gun (technically walk and gun) through missions shooting enemies and traversing platforms. It's all good fun, but the level design is lacking and it doesn't have any real 'x' factor to make it worthy of stronger recommendation.
Also rans:
I had a bit of a soft spot for Alien Puzzle Adventure; a very simple mashup of Tempest controls with Puzzle Bobble gameplay - but I couldn't, in good conscience, recommend it because it doesn't do enough with either of those ideas. The same could be said, only moreso, in the case of Astro, which aims to update Asteroids, but somehow makes the simple concept worse in the process. Finally, Army Defender, is simple 'shoot the waves of enemies' effort, that has a neat Ikaruga colour swapping gimmick and effective use of 'book mode'. The core gameplay though, is a little too limited.
And that is that for the letter 'A' marathon. 6 games you definitely need to check out and six more that might tickle your fancy if you're in the mood.
'B', obviously, is up next time. I'll see you then!
Nice Post.
ReplyDeleteGreat Info.
VGS