1. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (Famicom)
2. Dragon Scroll: Yomigaerishi Maryuu (Famicom)
3. Ninja-kun: Majou no Bouken (Famicom)
4. Hello Kitty World (Famicom)
5. Galaxian (Famicom)
6. Esper Dream 2: Aratanaru Tatakai (Famicom)
7. Ninja Jajamaru-kun (Famicom)
8. Jajamaru no Daibouken (Famicom)
9. Front Line (Famicom)
10. Field Combat (Famicom)
11. Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (Famicom)
12. Mississippi Satsujin Jiken: Murder on the Mississippi (Famicom)
13. Space Harrier (Famicom)
14. Geimos (Famicom)
15. Attack Animal Gakuen (Famicom)
16. Sky Destroyer (Famicom)
17. Ripple Island (Famicom)
18. Oishinbo: Kyukyoku no Menu 3bon Syoubu (Famicom)
19. Bird Week (Famicom)
20. Baltron (Famicom)
21. Yie Ar Kung-Fu (Famicom)
22. Challenger (Famicom)
23. Ikki (Famicom)
24. Dough Boy (Famicom)
25. Atlantis no Nazo (Famicom)When did SunSoft begin releasing their good 8-bit games? Apparently not in the spring of 1986, which is when Atlantis no Nazo dropped on the Famicom. It was the developer's fourth release on Nintendo's hardware, but their first one developed specifically for the system. Atlantis is a side-scrolling 2D platformer, and, in an act of extreme hubris, was marketed as the game that would knock Super Mario Bros. off its throne. Rest assured, the mustachioed plumber had little to fear, as Atlantis no Nazo manifests itself not as a marvelous romp through a Mushroom Kingdom but as a treacherous dive into Hell itself.
Structurally, Atlantis no Nazo is a non-linear (more like nonsensical) platformer. Don't get too excited. This isn't a true "Metroidvania." Rather than featuring a giant world ripe for exploration, Atlantis is constructed of a series of 100 or so bite-sized horizontal stages. Many stages house multiple exits, with one being apparent and the other well-hidden. The game lulls you into thinking that it can be played straight through, but that's a filthy lie. Players will eventually hit a wall (literally and figuratively), be sent backwards, or, worse yet, reach the dreaded stage 42. This is a "troll" stage, featuring nothing but a bottomless pit, obliterating all the player's lives and restarting the Atlantis experience from scratch. To give the game a modicum of credit, there are variety of ways to reach the ending. I've stumbled upon three notable ones -- a scenic route that is relatively tough but showcases most of the game and takes about 70 minutes to complete, an "easier" route that takes about 15 minutes and has the player pick up the best stat-boosting items, and a "speedrun" route that can theoretically be cleared in about three minutes but requires near-perfect play. The ending sports some glorious Engrish and seems to feature a random Ikki reference. I admit it, I laughed.
The "hero" of the game is an Indiana Clone explorer type of dude. His name is Wynn, and he's born to lose. He's got seven lives to start, and is toast in a single hit. The setting, as indicated by the title, is the mythical land of Atlantis. Apparently it houses some sort of magical crystal. Controlling Wynn is a nightmare. He jumps in big floaty arcs. Wynn's trajectory can be manipulated while in midair (like Mario) but he's still undeniably hard to steer. It doesn't help that most stages include elements that seem shoehorned in just to impede proper jumping: obnoxiously low ceilings, rows of miniscule platforms. Wynn doesn't even fall properly. If you find yourself standing at the edge of a high ledge and just barely tap the d-pad to step off, the swooping "jump arc" is nevertheless activated, likely plunging Wynn to his doom. Combat is, somehow, even worse. Wynn wields sticks of dynamite. Similar to the dreaded torches of Ghosts 'n Goblins, these travel in an arc (sensing a theme yet?), and explode a couple of seconds after hitting the ground. Only one dynamite stick can exist on the screen at one time, and they will harm Wynn if he's within their blast radius. Enemies have a tendency to materialize out of thin air, and it's generally most feasible to simply try to outrun them. The game is just dead set on putting the player in a bad mood. Those seven lives seem generous at first, but can be easily drained within a matter of minutes.
There are a handful of items to collect along the way. Some are comically useless, like the one that gives you extra points for pushing the up button. Others are downright bizarre, like the microphone item -- it's meant to be taking literally, while equipped speaking into the Famicom's controller 2 microphone will damage on-screen enemies. There's even an item that makes Wynn impervious to all enemy attacks, though most deaths are caused by pitfalls anyway. Finding those (mandatory) hidden exits is virtually impossible without some sort of outside assistance. Some are discovered while taking a leap of faith into a chasm. Others are unveiled by the "burn every bush" method -- just drop dynamite throughout each stage until a door appears. At least that's how it would work in theory. On top of everything else Atlantis throws at the player, you're give a very strict amount of allotted time to complete each stage.
The soundtrack here was composed by Naoki Kodaka, who is better known for scoring Journey to Silius and Blaster Master. There's only five total minutes of music, all of it excellent. Energetic, driving, and cheerful -- the soundtrack is the game's most redeeming quality. Visuals are mixed. The sprites have a simplistic cut-out look, but mostly look decent, plus there's a surprisingly varied enemy selection. Right away Wynn faces some bats(?) who crap on his head (foreshadowing?). These give way to mermen, mummies, wurms, and all sorts of other ghouls. Stage backgrounds are pretty ugly, however. They tend to repeat, which kills any sense of true progress. There's lots of ugly gray brick patterns, plus some wholly unnecessary "bright" levels. Some take it a step further with seizure-inducing flashes.
Let's see here. Ludicrously convoluted navigation, lack of direction or clues, capriciously spawning fiends, janky combat, an exploration motif. Sound familiar? Yes, Atlantis no Nazo makes quite the companion for the Micronics-developed Super Pitfall. In fact, Atlantis was slated to be released on the NES as Super Pitfall II, but such a cartridge never materialized. Probably for the best; Pitfall Harry has been through enough.