Binary Land

So cute.

Binary Land is a Japan-only Famicom release, although for the life of me I can't understand why. There's a total of maybe ten words in the whole thing, and I can't see any possible offensive or Nintendo-worthy censorship things anywhere.

No capitalized letters in the title!? BAN IT.

It was developed in 1983 by Hudson Soft. In standard early 80's Hudson style, it was released for the MSX, FM-7, NEC PC-6001, NEC PC-8801, and later the Famicom. The Famicom version was released in 1985, with a few tweaks from the original 1983 version.

The game has a simple concept, simple themes, simple controls, and a simple message. It's one of those great classic-era games that doesn't need a plethora of text and convoluted control schemes to get its point across. Not that it was always a conscious decision to do things that way. There's only so much space on a game cartridge.

The gameplay has a very unique and interesting concept. It's a puzzle/maze, and there are two penguins (Gurin and Malon) who are so in love and just have to be together. You control both of them simultaneously using the D-Pad. One penguin moves normally, and the other mirrors left/right inputs. You have to get them both to the caged heart at the same time to clear the Round (the whole game just oozes adoration).

This is made more difficult by gigantic spiders, spiderwebs, sentient balls of fire, and some kind of weird magic bird. Running into a spiderweb causes a penguin to be caught, and the other penguin has to navigate and rescue (before an enemy reaches them first). Running into a spider or fireball obviously means death.

Don't worry though, because the penguins have a weapon in this struggle. In order to find the power of love, they will use the mighty strength of AEROSOL SPRAY. I assume it's some kind of poison, and it gets the job done. The spray will eliminate both spiders and their webs, but sadly nothing else.

Binary Land could have stopped there and called it a day, and it would have been a pretty clever game. But Hudson decided to throw in some more variables that turn the game from a neat concept into a great one. My favorite has to be the bird. It's not an enemy per se, but it can assist in your death nonetheless. If either Gurin or Malon runs into it, they swap locations with each other. Keep in mind that one penguin has reversed left/right controls, so you might end up running right into a spider due to the confusion. It's great.

Enemies also have varying speeds that change randomly, constantly keeping you on your toes. The fact that fireballs also can't be destroyed by your spray means you have almost no choice but to avoid them.

I say "almost" because there is one thing that can wipe out anything in your path. Picking up a whale icon gives both penguins invincibility and super speed. If it appears, you only have a few seconds to get it. If you're not close enough, tough luck. If you do manage to pick it up, the Round is as good as done.

There are other items to be found, but the only thing they yield are points. The only exception I can find is a Sega Saturn-esque logo. You can't pick it up, and completing the Round with it exposed doesn't do anything as far as I can tell.

The heart in the cage must be reached at the exact same time from both sides. Some stages make this easier said than done. Gurin and Malon can both traverse the entire stage (including the other's starting side) and overlap, but to clear the Round they have to meet at that cage from opposing sides.

There's also a Bonus Round every few stages. One penguin always starts trapped, and the other has to free them and reach the cage as normal to clear the Round. However, there are a bunch of hearts worth a lot of points to consider, but a very limited amount of time. Not reaching the cage in time results in no bonus at all. Later Bonus Stages throw another wrench in the works by including the bird as well. Scoring high enough before a Game Over allows you to input your name into the Top 5.

The background music in every Round is "Je te veux" by Erik Satie, composed in 1902. Translated to English, it means "I want you." A perfect fit for the theme of this game, and a beautiful show of effort by Hudson. The piece itself is a nice easy waltz. Not at all bad to listen to Round after Round. Upon reaching the cage, the opening of "Ode to Joy"is played. The music really adds a lot to the game as a whole.

The Round layout almost seems randomized. There are a set number of pre-determined patterns, and the game chooses one for the left side and one for the right. Lather, rinse, repeat. At about Round 20 or so, it seems to come awfully close to repeating from Round 1, except there are more enemies. I haven't played it enough and kept track to be sure, but it's a strong possibility. According to various sources, there are 99 Rounds. I haven't made it that far yet, because you only get three lives, but I'll take their word for it.

Obviously, Gurin and Malon are deeply in love. I mean, just look at that box art. There are no less than six hearts on the front alone. They are so entranced with each other that they've even failed to notice the Lovecraftian hell they've wandered into. Just look at that sickly yellow light, and the lightning bolt in the middle of the day. Not to mention that creepy-as-hell spider eyeing them like it's his job, no doubt imagining feasting on those penguin innards, as spiders are wont to do.

Hudson is known for sticking little quirks into their early games. Most of the time nobody ever knows about them, even after playing the game for years. The first Bomberman has a bunch of these. Binary Land is no different. My favorite one is running both penguins past each other multiple times. Eventually, you'll hear a fanfare sound effect and a tiny penguin starts running independently around the stage. It's hilarious. That must be why Nintendo said no to an NES release. It makes perfect sense now.

If you hold "A" and "B" on both controllers and press the "Reset" button, you can access the "Love Story" mode. The penguins are renamed "Kiku" and "Megu." Kiku is a pseudonym for Kikuta Masaaki, who was one of Hudson's programmers. Many Hudson games programmed by Masaaki have easter eggs such as this (sometimes to an insane degree). The only difference in gameplay is that when one of the penguins gets caught, they'll have a word bubble shouting out the other penguin's name. It's adorable.

The pre-Famicom versions look quite a bit simpler, and instead of penguins, there are two children running around. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same.

Where are they, how did they get there, and what the hell is going on?

The game is a lot of fun, and perfect for short breaks throughout the day when playing on a handheld device. Hudson really put a lot of effort into this one, and it shows. The gameplay is responsive and refined, with just the right amount of variables to keep things interesting without getting too crazy. The base mechanics are really innovative and well-utilized, and the meager three lives you're given provide a good challenge factor. It's also a really nice feature that you have the choice of which penguin is your "regular left/right" choice, even though it doesn't really matter. I'd highly recommend trying Binary Land out if you can.

Pixel Painting - Explosive Icons (Super Bomberman)

I am a huge fan of the Super Bomberman era. I loved how much it took from the initial, simple idea presented nearly ten years beforehand and just ran with it.

Super Bomberman was the tenth installment in the series (and it was only 1993). The already-iconic symbols were given a splash of color and a very detailed look, and they are really impressive for only being 16x16 pixels each.

There are definitely more icons than the sixteen I chose, and it was hard to decide which ones I wanted to use. The orientation was also a tough call, but I am really pleased with the result.

16-bit sprites are definitely more time-consuming, mainly due to the fact that there's way more colors, and less blobs of it all in one place.

But in the end, the shading effect the original artists created is insanely good.

I didn't replicate the sprites exactly. They actually have a border around each square. In the game, it quickly flashes for a very cool effect. But in a static setting, it looked bad. So I just blocked off each one in its solid-color background (without the border) instead.

The whole thing measures 20"x 20".

Love that rice ball.

Obligatory artistic shot.

Next commission lined up is from Chrono Trigger. Pretty excited about it.

Commissions are always welcome. Price varies based on the size and complexity of the sprite/scene. I moderate comments, so leave one with your contact email and request.

Bomberman II

Bomberman II (not to be confused with Super Bomberman 2, Bomberman Max 2, Bomberman Land 2, Bomberman Land Touch! 2, or Bomberman Touch 2) was a game for the NES developed and published by the late Hudson Soft (may it rest in peace) back in 1991. We didn't get it in the U.S. until two years later. But both Japan and Europe's box art is superior to our own (which really isn't anything new).

Way too much skin showing for the U.S., apparently.

Bomberman has been a gaming icon for decades, and one of Hudson's greatest assets. He is spread over 50 main games and generations of consoles. It's funny to note that on this box it has the "Celebrating 20 Years" seal on it. Even though Hudson was mostly involved in computer hardware back before video game console days, it's impressive that they made it through all the mishaps and pitfalls that hit so many other companies in the industry through the 70's, 80's, 90's, and 00's. In early 2012, they fully merged with Konami (although many key players left to join others, namely Nintendo).

This game holds distinction for me as being one of the earliest video games I ever played. My uncle had an NES with a few games, most deemed "inappropriate for my age" (but man oh man, did that Super C cover art look insanely awesome). My choices were narrowed down to Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, and Bomberman II. I played them all, but Bomberman was special because two people could play at the same time! And you were trying to blow each other up! With bombs! Holy crap!

A VERITABLE BLOODBATH! AHHHHHH!!!

We would play Vs. Mode (pictured above) a lot. As time went on, my hand/eye coordination and pre-planning skills got better, and I noticed there was a direct correlation in how much I won and how much he was willing to play. Eventually he didn't feel like playing (aka losing) anymore, so I was left to explore the single-player mode.

The first Bomberman got the gameplay mechanics down, and was fun in its own right. But there wasn't a ton to it, it was very simplistic. Part of the popularity of the character/game has to be attributed to the initial spread it received across a myriad of platforms. Bomberman was originally released on the MSX, NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-6001, SHARP MZ-700, FM-7, and the ZX Spectrum. It was later ported to the Famicom/NES and Game Boy. The Famicom port was in turn re-ported back to the MSX with updated visuals. That's a lot of Bomberman right off the bat, and it was hard to not be aware of its existence. It had the standard powerups (e.g. Bomb, Flame, Wall Pass, etc.), but all stages looked like the picture above (everything green and gray). This Hudson practice of milking a series for everything it's worth is present in other games as well, most notably the Mario Party series.

"We will use these symbols forever."

Bomberman II had a storyline presented in-game. Right at the start, Black Bomberman (Kurobon in Japan) robs a bank and drops the money in front of White Bomberman (Shirobon) and runs away. The police show up and arrest Shirobon. Then his quest begins, to escape and prove that he is innocent by catching Kurobon.

The first Bomberman also had a story, but it was only present in the U.S. manual and hasn't been addressed since. It involved Shirobon being a robot slave making bombs underground for evil forces. Hearing rumors that robots that make it to the surface become human, he decides to risk the journey. It was really a poor attempt to link the game to Lode Runner, another Hudson-developed game for the NES. This is made even more apparent by the ending screen.

Subtle.

Realizing the narrative was probably plagiarized from a Philip K. Dick story somewhere, they decided to abandon the robot/human spiel and have Shirobon be the first robot created by Dr. Mitsumori to protect the innocent and defend justice. In later games, he joins an intergalactic police force and defends the whole galaxy or something. But for now, he just gets framed for robbing a bank. So he gets carted off to Jail:

But he escapes to the Forest:

After which he climbs over the Mountains:

And traverses through the Swamp:

Then clambers through the Caves:

And finally digs his way up to...the Jail again.

The change of scenery and music helps a lot considering the simple fact that you're just bombing your way through stage after stage. But then again, that's really what most of the series is, and people like it, so no complaints.

The goal of each stage is to eliminate all enemies and reveal the exit door. Lather, rinse, repeat. You have a bunch of powerups. Some that increase your explosion range, some that allow you set down more bombs at a time, some that allow you to set when your bombs explode, etc. Also, if you can find it, there's an item that unlocks a Bonus Stage, in which you are invincible and there are endless respawning enemies.

If only real balloons died with such shocked expressions.

The music was composed by Jun Chikuma, who has done most all of the classic Bomberman games' music, including the SNES-era (which are my favorites). The music in Bomberman II is a huge step up from the first installment. It really utilizes the power of the NES' sound capabilities, and I find myself grooving along more often than not. It's a pretty slick soundtrack overall. The first game had the now-iconic theme during gameplay, but it really just looped over and over and over and over again. Never changing, always present.

The password system isn't too terribly taxing. It's just eight characters and takes about ten seconds to input. There is also a Sound Test that can be accessed, as well as the Bonus Round if you want it. The password system is unique in that it doesn't just send you to whatever level, but the amount of bombs you can set and the explosive range are also encoded. So your password for Area 4-6 will most likely be different from a friend's. It's cool that way, because it sucks to make it so far in a game, but then have to lose everything except your location at a later period. Hudson was aware of this, which is why "INPUT PASSWORD!" is exclamatory.

The hidden items in Bomberman are not present in Bomberman II, which is kind of a shame, but all the other improvements make up for it. Many people don't even know that there are hidden items anyway, because you have to know to do very specific things ahead of time in order to get them. Most of them require performing odd actions, like eliminating all enemies, then walking a full lap around the stage. Or setting off a chain of 248 explosions in a row. So it's not a huge loss that they're not in this game.

Bomberman II also has Battle Mode, in which three players can duke it out for domination. A multi-tap (Four Score, etc.) was needed, but it was still pretty cool to have three people playing at once. Only around twenty games supported the peripheral, so it depended on how vital three-player mayhem was to you. Super Bomberman for the SNES was initially bundled along with a Super MultiTap, which was a great move, because Super Bomberman is one of the best titles in the series, and playing with four people is just awesome. I highly recommend it. Plus about 100 other games support it on the SNES, making it a more sensible buy.

The enemies come in four varieties, conveniently color-coded. For the most part, pink enemies can't go through walls, blue ones can, and green ones have special abilities (like blowing up walls themselves).

At the end of the whole thing, Shirobon corners Kurobon, who tries to run away. The intense chase goes on for a while until Shiro finally triumphs.

Overall, a worthy playthrough. The different scenery breaks up whatever monotony shows up, and any Bomberman game has a slightly addictive nature of, "Well, I'll just do one more stage." As long as you don't make stupid mistakes, it's not that challenging. The hardest part of most stages is right at the beginning, where you might be boxed in and three enemies that can walk through walls are gearing right for you. As long as you can keep your powerups, you're golden. Future installments are definitely better, but this one is special to me. I'd say try out Super Bomberman if you want to know how a really good one feels. In the long run, the NES Bomberman games are just a tiny blip on the series' radar, and served mostly to establish the character and concept (which they did quite well). It's also funny how fat all the characters were compared to today.

"I could have outrun that police car if I had felt like it."