However in Retro Game Challenge, a DS game based on the series, he decides he's had enough. From now on he's going to dish out the challenges for somebody else to face. To this end, a digitised version of himself, dubbed Game Master Arino, manifests inside the Nintendo DS and captures you (yes, you! The one reading this right now!), sending you back to the 80s in order to challenge all the hit games of the era. If you want to be returned to your rightful time of waggle and gigaflops and hi-def blastFX, you'll need to surmount all the challenges laid out before you.
Jesus man, what happened to you? Lay off the squid snacks.
You're not alone in this endeavour. Upon your arrival in the 80s you're greeted by Arino's child self, whom you quickly befriend. This sets out the progression model of the game, where you are issued challenges that once cleared allow you to progress to the next game. Kid Arino will purchase game magazines along the way which will provide you with hints and tips for the games and are also complete with reviews, sales charts and reader letters. This setup makes way for one of my favourite uses of the DS's dual-screen configuration: gameplay appears on the top screen while Arino's living room appears on the bottom. You can pause mid-game and switch to the lower screen to look something up in any of the magazines on the shelf, speak with li'l Arino, or even consult the game's instruction manual. Kid Arino watches on as you play and will occasionally comment on your performance during gameplay; congratulating you when you do well, groaning when you mess up, taking a nap if you're grinding in the RPG and so on. Put on some bad clothes and some New Wave and it's like a real 80s simulation!
I bet there's a stereo just out of frame playing some Oingo Boingo.
The games featured in Retro Game Challenge, all original titles designed specifically for this game, are pastiches of many of the popular styles of games at the time. These include two shooting games (of both the single-screen and scrolling variety), two top-down racing games, a role-playing game and three action games. These are accurate to their inspiration and the time period, right down to things like the Dragon Quest-style RPG requiring menu use just to talk to people or open treasure chests. While all of the games are reasonably enjoyable in their own right, none of them really rise above the level of competent homage. There are no incredible new classics here, but that's not really the point. They all work within the context of the game and none of them outstay their welcome.
The exception to this is the Robot Ninja Haggle Man trilogy. Beginning as a fun little action game (featuring a cutesy robot ninja worthy of being a developer's mascot) wherein you use ninja stars and your jumping abilities, along with strategic use of doors that are scattered around the room, to clear an area of enemies and bosses to proceed to the next stage, the third title in the series sees an evolution similar to the shift from classic Mega Man to Mega Man X. The characters are given a less cartoony makeover, the story becomes a little more involved and the gameplay shifts from the single-room action of the first two titles to a scrolling ninja adventure à la Ninja Gaiden.
The sad part is, this is probably more in-depth than many actual modern manuals.
In a lot of ways, Retro Game Challenge is the ideal licensed game. It looks at the source material, finds an interesting game idea that suits the concept, and then pulls it all together extremely well. A sequel was released in Japan but poor US sales of the original left it unlocalised.
Unfortunately, much like the show it's based on, Retro Game Challenge never hit our shores. If you're interested in checking it out however, it's still available at places like Amazon and Play-Asia and can be had for fairly cheap. Game Centre CX itself also comes highly recommended. Write to SBS and tell them to pick it up; it'd be a great compliment to their never-ending Iron Chef reruns.
Originally published on Aussie-Nintendo 3/9/11
