1. Antarctic Adventure (Famicom)
2. Nuts & Milk (Famicom)
3. Commando (Atari 2600)
4. Binary Land (Famicom)
5. Devil World (Famicom)
6. Disney's Aladdin (SNES)
7. Popeye (NES)
8. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
9. Ys: The Vanished Omens (Sega Master System)
10 Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter (Famicom)
11. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES)
12. Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD)
13. Otenba Becky no Daibouken (MSX)Otenba Becky no Daibouken (hilariously translated as
Tomboyish Becky's Large Adventure) is an obscure MSX exclusive, released back in 1983. The developer, MIA, seems to have developed for the MSX exclusively, and apparently ceased production after 1984.
Becky is notable for being one of the earliest Japanese games to feature a female protagonist. While I lack the instruction booklet, I've been able to find a plot synopsis online: twelve-year-old Becky sneaks into a mansion and while running about she manages to irritate the malicious space aliens that inhabit it. I hate it when that happens.
The game is a scaffolded "ladder" platformer, but Becky can't jump. She defeats enemies by trapping them in holes she digs along the pathways. Sound familiar? Comparisons to
Lode Runner may immediately jump to mind, but in actuality
Becky is clearly aping Universal's
Space Panic, an unheralded 1980 arcade title that is often credited with being the first of its genre.
Stages are single-screen, with a seemingly random ladder layout presented each time. Unfortunately, no layout is inherently more or less interesting or challenging than another, and all can be viewed within a few play sessions. Only the arrow keys and space bar are used, with the space bar assigned to digging.
Becky differs from
Space Panic (and
Lode Runner, for that matter) when it comes to said digging. While the heroes of the aforementioned classics can dig holes to either side of whereupon they stand, Becky isn't especially bright and instead digs a hole directly below her feet, dropping her to the floor below. This adds an additional element to the gameplay, the element of annoyance. Once an enemy is trapped in a hole (suspended, really) Becky must make her way back up to where the enemy rests and walk over it. If she can't do this within an allotted time frame, the enemy regains composure. Foes that have been trampled by the Beckz drop down and transform into apples. When she's had her fill of produce, the mischievous middle-schooler moves ahead to the next stage.
After a few boards are completed there's no reason to continue playing. There's no "end" in sight as far as I can tell, and while the level counter likely rolls over after 99 every possible stage and enemy configuration is seen well before that happens. Graphics are strictly utilitarian, and the "soundtrack" is a single annoyingly chirpy tune looping endlessly. Enemy sprites look and move like utter garbage. Classic MSX choppiness. To make matters worse, enemy sprites often overlap each other, and oftentimes when I thought I was taking out a single enemy another one popped out from behind it.
With its hidden villains and janky "drop down" mechanic,
Otenba Becky no Daibouken is utterly unimpressive. While not a horrendous title by any stretch, it fails to stand out among the burgeoning early-80s platforming scene. As a fan of ancient Japanese obscurities, I managed to get a couple of chuckles out of the
Becky experience, but was ultimately left wishing I was playing the game's more illustrious mentor instead.