Category: Editorials

April 9, 2015

Throwback Thursdays: Gargoyle’s Quest

I received Gargoyle's Quest for my birthday one year. My mom picked it out because she had been reading some MythAdventures books with me, involving a green reptilian man named Aahz, and she thought the guy on the cover looked like him. This is one case where the bad US box art worked in my favor. I guess the artists didn't know the Ghosts 'n' Goblins character was supposed to be red. I spied the "Capcom" name on the cover and felt my mom made a good choice: These were the same guys that did Mega Man II!

I popped the cartridge into my GameBoy, fiddled with the contrast, so I could make things out amidst the blurry scrolling the screen exhibited, and set off on my quest. With only two hit points and tons of enemies and traps to deal with, I was stuck in that first level for what seemed like ages. My character could float over dangerous spikes, but only for a second and a half. I worked hard to master the exact timing to start floating at the apex of my trajectory and to halt my landings right over a bed of spikes as I swooped down a mandatory pitfall.

Gargoyle's Quest was incredibly harsh and punishing right from the start, demanding that you master every single move in the first level. I was used to finishing games well before my peers, having them hand me the controller whenever they needed to get past a difficult part. Here I was, stuck for weeks on the first level. I thought maybe the game was bad. It wasn't unfathomable, HydLide for the NES still managed to get Nintendo's Seal of Approval after all.

That summer, stuck on a 32 hour car ride across the country, I found myself with nothing but time on my hands. I had just finished reading my new comics, ate my fill of snacks, and got bored of looking out the window anticipating our arrival. Having had my fill of Tetris and finising Super Mario Land multiple times, I had exhausted my tiny library of GameBoy games. Here I was, with not much else to do and so I found a scab to pick at.

I had just made it to the boss of the first level days before. A giant fish-like monstrosity that spat fire, vanished into the murky waters and surprised me from behind. Whatever it was, it handed my ass to me over and over. I renewed my determination, it was better than being bored.

Thanks to repetition and memorization, I had mastered the path through the maze-like area and was able to reach the battle with the daunting gatekeeper in mere minutes. Somehow, after butting my head against a brick wall for what seemed like ages (I was a kid), I finally managed to kick his fishy ass and open up the gates to the next level.

What I didn't expect was to be thrown out into an overhead map, which I had previously seen only in Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. Was this the same game? It was incredibly rare for any game at the time to include multiple play styles and viewpoints. This was like getting out of Midgar in Final Fantasy VII, the world really seemed to open up at this point. This surprising mix of action and RPG really drew me in. It's just too bad it was hidden behind a discouraging introduction.

There were random battles which presented to me a side scrolling area with a handful of enemies, leaving me only with a few "vials" to add to my stock. Then I made it to the first town. Through its inhabitants I learned that the world was full of monsters in peril and they needed me to help them out. I could also finally use those vials I was collecting in the town's shops to purchase items.

Best of all, I got a password that guaranteed I would never have to play that initial stage again, I had spent far too much time there to want to go back. I reached a new threshold and it seemed like the world had just opened up to me, offering different paths and places to visit. I was able to upgrade my character to fire more bullets, and float for much longer, letting me access brand new areas.

After getting over the huge initial difficulty curve, I was really enjoying myself. Unfortunately, Gargoyle's Quest didn't last too long and I found myself wishing for more. Luckily, I had no problem playing the same game over and over though, as kids often do. I was now glad it was part of my library, and when Gargoyle's Quest II on the NES came out, I immediately wanted it. Demon's Crest followed on the SNES, but over 20 years later, Capcom hasn't done anything else with the series.

Thanks to Nintendo's Virtual Console, we have the opportunity to revisit this spinoff of Ghosts 'n' Goblins. Red Arremer, renamed Firebrand in the English adaptation, is a unique hero with interesting moves. The monster world he lives in is the type of setting we haven't seen much of in gaming altogether. Playing as a bad guy saving his kin still feels like a fresh idea, and the entire trilogy still stands out in gameplay and setting.

April 7, 2015

We Wished It Would Never End: A Joystiq Obituary

It's been two months since the untimely demise of Joystiq. It's difficult to believe. Not a day goes by that we don't still feel the loss. For a while the misery was somewhat mitigated by the fact that the site remained accessible. The staff had gone but a few of us faithful community members were keeping hope alive, still carrying on conversations in the comments section weeks after the final goodbye went up (you can still view them here). We didn't want to let go. We didn't want to face the cold reality that the site no longer served any real purpose; and unfortunately, a site without a purpose is not long for the world wide web. The site itself was taken down on March 17th. It was a dark day indeed.

There is a silver lining, however. The name, two former staff members, and seemingly all of the articles (minus the comments) found a new home over at Joystiq X Engadget. As of right now, there doesn't seem to be any way to access the old weblog, but you can search for articles individually or by the author. It's comforting to know that a piece of Joystiq will live on at Engadget. We wish Jessica Conditt and Anthony John Agnello the very best of luck there and will continue to follow their careers and their work with great interest and enthusiasm. Similarly, we wish the rest of the former crew well with whatever they end up doing (there have been rumors of GamesRadar). Wherever they land, we will be following all of them intently on twitter.

Even though the staff already said goodbye during their final days at Joystiq, it feels like there needs to be some sort of closure now that the site itself is gone. We here at Twinstiq wanted to take a moment to say our goodbyes to Joystiq. Twinstiq wouldn't exist without Joystiq. It really meant a lot to all of us. In addition, we have also been fortunate enough to receive some additional thoughts from a few of the former Joystiq staff members. So, without further ado, we proudly present our Joystiq obituary.

Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): "I don't have the words..."
Jimmy Vegas (@JimmyPhantom17): "I read it for 7 years, and it's sad to see it go. I had a bit of an obsession reading it every day."
Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): "Joystiq brought me much of my gaming news. Though I lurked more than I posted it is a piece of gaming history that I will miss, and a community that I hope to see migrate. To all those who lost an internet home in Joystiq: I feel your pain."
John Rausch (@visitzebes): "When Joystiq closed I lost my most trusted insight into the video game industry but the Super Joystiq Podcast was a weekly highlight for me. I listened to that podcast nearly every week for more than 3 years. I got a deep sense that these were individuals that really loved what they did and were fairly humble about it."
Jye Cauffle: "Joystiq was my #1 destination for news, but mostly the comments for the community engaged me. It's hard to find something like that and it's not something you can try and create on purpose, but we were all lucky to be caught up in it, and I'm sure the Joystiq staff felt lucky to steward such a vehicle for thoughtful and insightful community involvement. Hopefully the right ingredients and fate help Twinstiq bring that magic back."
Trisha Baumgartner: "I was a quiet fan, not big into commenting, but waking up and seeing joystiq on my phone bringing me news from everywhere. It didn't seem like a day off unless I was able to read a few articles on my tablet or phone while sipping coffee. Commenting was never a big area for me, I was one of the quiet readers that read articles and dreamed about visiting the same shows they did and possibly one day being able to do the same PR work they did. I'm not much for talking about the bad things, joystiq was a big part of my life for a long time."
Greywolfe (@lostwolfe): "I want to thank the writers for all the amazing articles. The thoughtful way in which they tackled stories was often a breath of fresh air and gave games writing something to aspire to: a sort of pure voice in amongst all the pr speak and the noise of release schedules and the loudness of by-the-numbers reviews.

I also want to thank the readers and commentors for making Joystiq the most awesome place to hang out. WRUP and some of the "non-game" articles were always fun to hang out in just to see who'd show up and see what they'd add to the conversation. Did we disagree? Sure. But /most/ of our comment threads were "reasonably civil" [to a degree] and we all ended up having a good time."
Andrew J Amideo (@Andoru36): "For me, Joystiq was a way of accessing the pulse of the gaming world. It was how I stayed invested and connected to gaming culture. It was a vibrant community. Somewhere I belonged. Somewhere I could go to vent about the latest outrage in the industry or geek out about the awesome new game or content that was coming.

I'll admit I had my ups and downs in those comment sections. Most days I was level-headed and friendly. Occasionally I behaved a bit trollish. I didn't always agree with some of the staff members or other commenters, but they always felt like family. There seldom was a day that I would let pass by without pulling up the site to check out the latest news and conversations.

The closure of Joystiq left a gaping video-game-shaped hole in the internet, and in my heart. My sincere hope is what we are doing here at Twinstiq will help to serve as a sort of makeshift bandage that we can use to repair some of the damage. I know it will never be as good as before, but maybe it could be just enough."
Thomas Ortsik (@Dr Strangethumb): "No idea where to begin with this. Joystiq…

J for the joy you brought me. O for the o in joy, which is very important, because otherwise it would be just jy (and that gets a red scribble in MS Word, so it can’t be right). Y for y were shut down by AOL. S for Stiq, which is the second part in Joystiq. T for this is going really nowhere. I for I’m way too stupid for writing something tasteful about this. Q for questioning my sanity, which you probably do right now.

Seriously: I have no idea what I should write about this. I’ve lurked on the site until it went offline. Not just to advertise Twinstiq, but because I wasn’t really able to let it go. When I stopped working as an editor for nextgen.at, Joystiq became my most viewed site. Funny that about 5 years later and thanks to the Stiq, I’m back at it again.

As much as I would like to distance myself from the “gamer” stereotype, I am one through and through. Joystiq was my go-to place for anything related to it, so it should be fairly clear what a hole their shutdown left in my life. I especially miss the community that brought us some of the best in intended comedy (like X-Cop) and unintended (not going to name anyone, but we all know someone). A community that, at least for the most part, managed to stay calm in the face of gaming’s civil war. A community that at times felt like family and just like family, you loved them even though you sometimes disagreed. By the way: Yes. This includes the Joystiq staff, which didn’t shy away from getting their hands dirty in the comments.

It was not just a bunch of consumers, hell no; it was a vocal community about sharing opinions with such fervor, that its reaction to the shutdown was creating a new site. Sure, we managed to provide a new battleground for some of its most active members, but it’s going to be a long way until we can emulate that experience here at Twinstiq and it will never be the same for me. So yeah, that’s probably the part I miss most. Wow, didn’t think I could get anything besides gibberish out of me today.

One more thing: Thanks to everyone who ever worked at Joystiq. Whenever I talked with one of you about Twinstiq, you were freaking awesome and supportive. Sam, who wrote our first Weekly Webcomic Wrapup (love you, man!); Thomas, who actually showed up in our comments; Mike, who is already a fixture in the WRUP; Richard, who hopefully becomes one; Anthony, who graciously looks away whenever I spam his streams; Susan, who is always a pleasure to talk with, even when she’s probably pissed at me :D Justin McElroy, who not only was the first to provide some lines for this, but who also was the reason I got stuck at Joystiq; Mike Schramm, who probably never even heard of us, yet wrote up this piece (somewhere below me), no questions asked; Chris Grant, who didn’t actually get back to me about this, but still deserves some recognition for being the leading man during what I feel was the golden age of Joystiq; Ludwig, Xav, Alexander, Sinan, Danny, Jess, and yes, even you Earnest.

I think I speak for everyone here when I say: We love you!"

Justin McElroy (@JustinMcElroy): "If it weren’t for Joystiq, I wouldn’t have a career. It’s hard for me to see it as a site though, for me, it will always be a collection of people. The writers of Joystiq were hard working, fiercely honest, kind and hysterical. The line I always heard repeated was if you want to find a Joystiq writer at an industry party, look for the person huddled in the corner, balancing the laptop on their knees and banging out a post. I will miss the site terribly, but I’ll never let go of the people it brought into my life."

Susan Arendt (@SusanArendt): "Most gaming sites have some kind of online chat room that allows the various members of the team to coordinate content and generally be in touch with each other. Instead of sending a bunch of emails, you just hash it out in chat. It streamlines communication and is the next best thing to actually being able to just walk up to someone and ask them whatever you need to know. The chat room was even more important at Joystiq, because we were rarely in the same *state* as each other, let alone the same room.

When I first joined Joystiq, there wasn't much chat in the chat room. News stories got called, facts got checked, headlines got hashed out, but there wasn't a whole lot of socializing. I had just come from an office environment where I could actually see people every day, so the silence was particularly deafening for me. I tried to work my way into this staff that was super tight and had known each other for years. I felt awkward and strange.

I gradually got to know everyone and brought on new team members. We became the group that would close out the site in February 2015. And the chat room filled up with everyday gossip and chatter, from where to get the best burritos to how to respond to hate mail to game analysis and financial advice. But mostly we laughed. We had our own running gags and memes, some of which carried over into the podcast and livestream. We laughed *so much*. We could laugh together because we knew we could trust each other. We didn't have to have our guards up because we knew that we all had each other's backs. Always.

It's unusual for an entire staff to be *that* tight. At least, in my experience. Sure, you've always got a few folks that you're close with, but for it to be everyone? Yeah, I've never had that before, and likely never will again. I miss Joystiq terribly. I miss the work, which I loved doing, and I miss the audience, who was really fun to hang out with, but mostly, I miss those people in the chat room. I miss being around them every single day. They're my family, and I love them."

Mike Schramm (@mikeschramm): "My favorite Joystiq memory is the tale of the Burrito of Fate. It was so much fun to wander around E3 with the team, and go to that party with the great Richard Mitchell, talk about a game that was really just a thought in a developer's mind (and, to be honest, never actually came out), and then experience the confluence of that party and that burrito truck. Richard and I had a great time going after the interview during E3, rubbing shoulders with the industry at that party, and then eating that terrific, legendary burrito. It was so nice, too, to come back to the hotel, see Chris, Luddy and Justin recording that podcast, and have them call me over to tell the story right there, with all of them laughing along as well.

Chris Grant told me once that he was enormously proud of the team he'd assembled at Joystiq, and I am proud of all of them as well, both the folks he assembled and those that joined the group after he went off to Polygon. I admit that I was probably never a central figure on Joystiq, as my time was always split working on WoW Insider and TUAW as well (also both great teams in their own right). But man, to a person, everyone who worked on Joystiq worked tirelessly for the site and did it with such aplomb and talent that I couldn't help be in awe of them even while I was joining them for the morning meetings at E3, carpooling with them to an event in San Francisco, or just logging into our group chat to work on stories every day.

The Burrito of Fate isn't just a fun tale where I get to eat a burrito, either. It's also a great example of what I think Joystiq did so well: Those very talented writers constantly and proudly brought what it was like to be in the video game industry right back to anyone who pulled up the site to read it. Even if you were just a little fat kid in suburban St. Louis who liked video games (as I was when I first started reading the site), you could log on to Joystiq.com and feel like you belonged, like you were part of a bigger culture, and like you had your own advocates in the industry telling you everything you needed to know. Those advocates were funny and thoughtful, they were intelligent and enthusiastic, and they were up at all hours of the day, delivering videos and galleries and great pieces and terrific interviews to you wherever you were. I'm so proud to have been a part of that. To a person, the Joystiq crew were all just great writers and editors who made all of our readers feel like they were insiders with every post, every day, without fail, for so long. So many people in the world never got to go to E3, or play games for previews, or visit Titmouse Studios and eat the Burrito of Fate, but I did, and it was an honor to be able to share that story and all of the other great stories with Joystiq readers over the years through that site."

Anything you would like to add? Maybe an experience to share, maybe your feelings about the site being gone? Leave us a comment.

[Picture: Joystiq x Engadget]

April 4, 2015

Death of the Easter Egg

Ever since the Hot Coffee mod fiasco and the advent of DL C, the easter egg seems harder and harder to find, but rarer still, the easter egg is still out there. The hunt is on!

The Konami code had popped up in games from Gradius to Contra, and most recently Gradius Rebirth on the Wii, but has also made an appearance or reference in many other games. John Romero's hidden head was behind a boss in Doom II. Mega Man 2 was hidden in Just Cause 2. Resident Evil 6 hid away classic Capcom arcade cabinets. Red Alarm on the Virtual Boy unveiled hidden 3D models when you shot specific areas.

What was your favorite easter egg? Are there any recent games that have surprised you with hidden content? Let us know your favorites!

April 4, 2015

Bloodborne’s Sountrack is Sumthing Else

Sumthing Else Music is bringing Bloodborne's gorgeous soundtrack to online retailers April 21st. The music ranges from the atmospheric to the heart pounding, adding a lot to the experience.

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios by a 64 piece orchestra and 32 choir vocalists, the compositions sound incredibly dramatic and moving.

Source: Game Informer

April 2, 2015

This Amiibo situation is way out of hand…

Hey everyone. I've got a story to tell you about Amiibo Wave 4, my local GameStop, and why Nintendo needs to do a much better job serving their EXTREMELY loyal customers. Curious about my experience? Read on.

I received a soul crushing blow yesterday. Ness is going to be a GameStop exclusive... Now, I've got no beef with GameStop. I like my local store and I buy many of my games from there. The Wave 3 store exclusive Amiibo set a disappointing precedent though. I failed to obtain a Meta Knight Amiibo when the wave launched and I've never seen one in a Best Buy. I've had no luck with Rosalina either. These Amiibo have become unobtainable at their MSRP. I can, of course, import them or pay obscene scalper rates but why should I do that when the product is officially available to me?

So... I set out today with solid goal in mind. Pre-order Wave 4 before it is too late. My retailer of choice, GameStop, was to open Wave 4 Amiibo pre-sales (not pre-orders, I'll explain shortly) at 3 PM in my time-zone. I arrived shortly before 2 PM to confirm that the pre-sales would be possible. I returned to my vehicle and proceeded to wait until 2:45 to begin my final wait and payment process. This is where things get dicey.

At 3 PM sharp, the clerks began to process the pre-sales, They are pre-sales because they must be paid in full at that moment, not the usual $5 down and see you later. Orders began to process and... well... that didn't happen. The website wouldn't load. Another essential detail, these pre-sales occurred through the GameStop website from within the GameStop system. This was necessary because of the limited nature of the products. This was explained to me by the employees as such: store based pre-sales cannot be cut off. Essentially, this method is used to prevent GameStop from receiving more pre-orders than they have product available. This has happened at other retailers with Amiibo in the past and I can understand the precaution. That precaution, however, backfired really hard. I was in GameStop waiting for my pre-sale to happen for just over an hour. As you might imagine, this was likely the result of a server overload that GameStop wasn't expecting.

Now, I give a round of applause for the GameStop employees. They handled this mess with grace. A slowly waning mob of very loyal Nintendo fans stood in line patiently as regular customers were served and went on with their day. The gears eventually began to turn and (being second in line) I too was on my way. $130 worth of Amiibo (I got the Splatoon set too) are to be delivered to my doorstep at some point in May. I don't blame the store employees. I don't really blame GameStop (this particular sin is very common). I will blame Nintendo though. I don't speak for myself here (I'm an outlier and a bit eccentric). I'm saying this for the other six or seven people standing in line with me. I say it for the girl who just wanted Ness. I say it for the loyal girlfriend (I assume) who was there for someone else. These products are not available to your fans. I'm a slacker and I've got time to peruse game stores at odd hours. Your other fans don't have the luxury of scouting countless stores and smashing F5 to refresh over-trafficked sites . I don't understand the minutiae of toy manufacturing and I won't spout off like I do. People want these things and you (Nintendo of America) are letting them down. The message is crystal clear. Bill Trenin said this about the Marth Amiibo during the Nintendo Direct yesterday: "Don't miss your second chance". Amiibo should be built and priced accordingly if they are a limited run luxury line of merchandise. They aren't though. They are $13 statues with piss-colored stands... I love Nintendo but this is painful to watch.

April 2, 2015

Throwback Thursdays: Fantasia

Have you ever bought a game, not liked it, but were determined to finish it anyway to get your money's worth? Maybe this happened more in the days when there wasn't much varied coverage on games, no demos, and word of mouth was just what you and your friends were saying. Not much more to go on than the back of the box and a couple of magazine articles. Or maybe you just bought a game on a whim, thinking you'd try something new. However it happened, your money was gone, and all you had to show for it was a terrible game.

It happened to me as a kid, when I depended on getting a games as a gift because I didn't have a salary. Poring over my new issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, I saw screenshots of Fantasia in a preview where they raved about the many layers of parallax scrolling, and the care the developers to put into the animation as they tried to match the quality of the film. I had enjoyed Castle of Illusion before, and it was likewise published by Sega, so I thought it was a sure winner. Was I ever wrong.

That big chain was on a separate scrolling layer! Ooo!

The game did look pretty good, and sounded OK, so my excitement wasn't immediately crushed at least. Then I took control of my character. The animations would take priority over responsiveness, throwing your timing off completely. You had to plan your every move ahead of time because whenever you initiated one, your character would have a wind-up animation before it even happened.

See that tiny little circle in the water? That's a platform you can stand on.

As pretty as the graphics were, you couldn't tell where you were able to walk sometimes because the backgrounds blended into the platforms meant for your character. In one level, you were supposed to figure out that you could stand on water ripples in the middle of a lake, and even standing on whirlpools was considered safe. As you made contact with a platform it would bounce up and down wildly, making you panic about whether you had landed safely.

Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them.

Enemy placement was poorly planned and hit detection felt way off, so it was a challenge to get rid of the simplest of foes. There was no point in fighting, since they would regenerate very quickly after you killed them and just hit you again before you could jump away. The best way to get through a level was just to run right through, avoiding enemies, and just running through the ones that got in your way.

Where do you suppose you can land safely?

Even though Fantasia is a terrible game, and I recommend nobody should ever play it, it was all I had. I don't know if I convinced myself I was having fun, or if I just felt too bad for my family throwing away the money, but I forced myself through it. I even got to the point where I could predictably finish the game in a short amount of time, and in the end it almost felt like an accomplishment. At least I got satisfaction out of the ordeal.

Tell us about your terrible game choices, and what made you stick through until the end. Was it a gift with good intentions, or just a bad purchase that you couldn't take back? Let us know your story in the comments.

April 2, 2015

The rest…

You know what? I’m done for today. Just watch the video and skip the first 25 minutes.

Here are the bulletpoints (incl. timestamps):

Fatal Frame on Wii U finally gets to the EU (24:45)
Box Boy, interesting looking puzzle platformer from Nintendo (25:27)
Pokemon Rumble World, it’s a f2p game (26:30)
Puzzles & Dragons and Super Mario Bros. Edition come bundled and are looking sweet (27:45)
Attack on Titan 3DS game, looks a bit shite, but could be fun for fans (30:20)
Codename S.T.E.A.M., some tournament started (31:00)
Mii Streetpass Updates, are actually DLC since they cost $5 …for a stupid minigame (32:22)
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D infos …sweeeeet (34:28)
New Fire Emblem on 3DS infos …sweeeet too (37:15)
Even more Amiibo, this time in card form and Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer (41:05)
Mario Kart 8 gets free 200cc update, not so free Animal Crossing DLC and new Mii Amiibo Racing Suits(42:50)

April 2, 2015

Are you satisfied yet?!

March 24, 2015

Games For Dads: Super Mario 3D World

This will be the first entry in what I am going to try to make a semi-regular column. Each one will focus on a current game that I feel is ideal for being played and enjoyed together by parents (dads, in my case) and their kids.

My four-year-old son began to take an interest in video games over the last year. I started playing when I was about the same age, so I was only too happy to encourage his interest. When I was a kid, most of the games that were available were quite a bit less violent than today. As such, the question of what is age-appropriate becomes pretty important. I decided to go out and buy a Wii U since Nintendo is pretty well-known for having family-friendly games. Most of the ones I owned didn't really fit the bill.

March 13, 2015

Game Changers: Out Run

Out Run (Arcade) (SEGA, 1986)

So, Out Run has just hit the Nintendo 3DS eShop. That got me thinking about games that have had a significant impact on me over the years. Games that, for me, were so astounding, so groundbreaking, so incredibly stunning and awe-inspiring that they redefined what I thought a game could be at the time. I decided to start a column that will pay tribute to just those sort of games. What better game to start with than the one that both inspired it and, perhaps, had the biggest effect on me as a gamer?

What the majority of popular arcade games looked like at the time.

A Little Perspective

At the time that Out Run came out, arcades were mostly filled with 2D perspective puzzle/platform games set against a featureless black background. The most popular ones were probably Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. They were fun and engaging but, overall, quite visually simplistic. These were the gaming staples I had grown accustomed to seeing and playing at the arcade. Then, Out Run was released, and my gaming world was turned upside down.

I still remember the first time I saw it. My mom had dragged my siblings and I to a local ice rink. I didn't feel much like skating, so I decided to pass the time in the adjoining arcade. I hit the BurgerTime machine first. It was always good for at least a few minutes of fun. After burning through several quarters, I soon tired of that game. I decided to look around and see what other usual suspects they had on offer. Then, something over by the far wall caught my eye. Something colorful. Something new! Something quite unlike anything I had seen up to that point. Out Run! My first encounter with Sega was a game that instantly and forever converted me into a loyal fantatic.

"Get Ready..."

In All of Its Arcade Glory

It was a 3-dimensional racing game with actual backgrounds! Blue skies! White fluffy clouds! Waves rolling up onto a sandy beach! Palm trees! There was a pristine gray highway stretching out to a vanishing point in the middle of the screen. It was calling to me. Inviting me along on what would surely be an amazing road trip. And that car! That beautiful, shiny red convertible Ferrari! My god, did I love that car! To this day, I still want one. It will be the first thing I buy if I ever win the lottery.

It wasn't just the mind-blowing visuals, though. Everything about this game just oozed glorious, arcadey entertainment. The digitized speech. The fitting sound effects. The excellent driving mechanics. Seeing your car flip through the air and tumble sideways if you accidentally hit a sign or tree. My brother called that "Burton air". I have no idea why. (Snowboarding reference?) Possibly, more than anything else though, was the soundtrack. I still can't help but smile anytime I hear Splash Wave or Magical Sound Shower. Sega was actually nice enough to release a bunch of Out Run music on iTunes last year. To say that I was excited when I found out would be an understatement.

Box art for the Master System version.

Master of the House

That day in the arcade was pure magic. I played Out Run until my mom made me quit. Or, maybe it was just until I ran out of quarters. I can't quite recall. At any rate, I played it for as long as I could. Soon after that life-altering experience, my siblings and I were fortunate enough to receive a Sega Master System for Christmas. Most kids got the Nintendo Entertainment System that year. Some guy at Lionel Playworld had convinced my mom that the Master System was going to be bigger. Yes, bigger than the NES. Despite the fact that he couldn't have been more wrong, it all worked out. Receiving my first Sega system sealed my destiny as a lifelong fan. I got to enjoy all the great games the Master System had to offer (there were a few). Also, whenever I wanted to play Nintendo, I could just go over to any of my friends' houses. Literally, any of them. They all had one.

One of the first games we bought for our new Sega console was Out Run. Obviously, on the Master System, it didn't look nearly as good as it did in the arcade. No arcade ports did at the time. On any home system. I didn't care. I was just happy to be able to play Out Run in my own home. The version we bought actually came with a special arcade-inspired joystick called the Sega Control Stick. It was pretty rad. We spent hours fighting over that thing, trying to see who could get the farthest in the game. Soon, it became about seeing who could beat the game. Then, who could beat it on the most routes.

OutRun 2 was an improvement over its predecessor in nearly every way. But, I will always love them equally.

Beyond And Back Again

To this day, I still love that game (in case there was any doubt). In the mid-2000s, Sega released OutRun 2 for the Arcade and the original Xbox. I played both versions frequently. They later released another version of OutRun 2 on Xbox Live Arcade, for the Xbox 360. Of course, I played the hell out of that one too. Now, with the release of the original Out Run on 3DS, I've come full circle. Its probably safe to assume that as long as Sega keeps releasing new versions of the game (Out Run 3, please. Make it happen, Sega.), I will keep playing them; and I will enjoy every minute of it.

[Images: SEGA, G-Mode]

Andrew J Amideo