BoneSnapDeez wrote:1. Antarctic Adventure (Famicom)
I've always had an affinity for those games released during the initial second and third generation overlap. This is when we began to see games evolve significantly in terms of mechanics and aesthetics, but most still stuck to that classic looping high score chaser design. One such title released during this era (1984) was Konami's Antarctic Adventure. Originally on the MSX, it was soon ported to the ColecoVision (in North America) and Famicom (in Japan). These days, the Famicom port is likely the cheapest and easiest to track down, regardless of what continent you inhabit. As an aside, YouTube comments inform me that every European played this on pirate multicarts back in the day.
The goal is to guide a cute penguin named Penta around the perimeter of Antarctica. Each stage concludes with our feathered friend raising a nation's flag at an ice station. The game ends (well, loops) when the flag of Japan ascends, naturally. The viewpoint presented here is similar to that of Sega's classic Turbo, with the player's vantage point situated behind Penta. It's a race against the clock, and instead of other "drivers" on each course Penta must instead hop over and steer clear of various chasms and dastardly seals.
Controls are solid. The up button is used to gain acceleration, and there's little reason to ever not travel at the top speed. Penta jumps gracefully, and if he's travelling fast enough multiple pitfalls can be cleared with a single bound. Note that Penta isn't your typical video game hero -- falling in a hole does not spell certain doom, but it does certainly slow him down. There are actually a variety of chasms, some merely trip up Penta a bit while others result in some more serious stalling. Then there are the seals -- these really cause issues, occasionally popping out of holes about a millisecond before Penta can clear them. For this reason I recommend going around obstacles whenever possible.
Each stage is littered with items in the forms of flags and fish that leap up from the depths. Most do nothing but divvy out good ol' points, but the flashing flags defy the laws of zoology, allowing Penta to fly for a spell. These are all but required in the final stage on the standard difficulty, and are necessary to clear multiple stages on the game's hardest mode.
Graphics are serviceable. Antarctic Adventure certainly looks like an early Famicom game; in fact it looks about identical to its ColecoVision brethren. A sea of stark white dominates the screen (hey, it is Antarctica) though Konami was kind enough to experiment with varying sky colors. It's as if the sun is setting upon Penta as he traverses the stark landscape. Penta's animated well and strikes an adorable pose upon level completion. The game's main theme is undeniably catchy though also unoriginal -- it's instantly recognizable as being an 8-bit rendition of Émile Waldteufel's The Skater's Waltz.
Ultimately, Antarctic Adventure is a tasty morsel of retro gaming fun. The game's goals and control scheme are immediately clear, even to someone just picking up the cartridge for the first time. The frustration factor can be a bit high at first (again, go around the holes) but after a bit of practice everything felt second nature; and there's no better way to kill an afternoon than with a playthrough of something like Antarctic Adventure. It's great for kids too, if my four-year-old's approval is any evidence. She swears Penta is wearing roller skates. I don't see it.
I remember this game when i was a kid ill play this with my dad and my brothers its so memorable this game thanks for your post
brass knuckle
