Warning: this post may contain spoilers
COLOSSAL GAME ADVENTURES PRESENTS:
Introduction
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a 2003 Metroidvania, developed and published by Ko-
Wait, that didn't make it? What am I presenting?
Oh. Oh boy.
Here's my dirty little secret: I've only played one of these games! But I know all of 'em, at least, and I'm just as excited to play them too. So! Let's set the scene a few years back.
It's the mid-'90s, and Japan's '80s economic bubble burst due to some sick gamer-level capitalism exploit bullshit going awry. But good news! Its most successful tech megaconglomerate exports are still chugging along on good brand recognition. You go, consolidation of wealth.
Sony is riding high, and running on pure anger from their infamously botched plans for a SNES CD add-on with Nintendo. Despite some internal mix of interest and doubt, they release the PlayStation in 1994. It's selling like gangbusters, and they're in a position to take risks.
Well, sorta. They direct a production arm, Sony Computer Entertainment, to throw money at different development teams; those devs fill in to help make PlayStation hits. Ridge Racer, Crash, Tekken... Look, just check this list and peep at how often SCE pops up here. Sony wanted to make sure their library was rock solid: 14 out of the 22 of the games within the first two years had SCE's hands in the cookie jar. To sell over a million... Cookies. With a dozen genres of cookies covered. The PS1 outsold the PS3! And we all know, the PS3 had no cookies.
But you can't just live on expectation, or the big fish, or cookies. (The big cookie?) Look at the Xbox right now! You'll get stagnant and supplanted by The Bigger Thing. You need funk to stand out. Variety. IP. Je ne sais cookie. Something no one else has. Sony knew this, and a lot of Japanese creators are ready to make some reeeal fresh games.
Here's where we come in. CDs suddenly enable crazy multimedia opportunities for artists and musicians to get their ideas across, and 3D environments are the hot new thing. Myst is just a bunch of pictures, videos, and audio strung together, and people are still caught up in how immersive that PowerPoint can be. So come on, this should be easy! Slap something together - an idea, your brand, a simulacrum of this dumb thing you like. Maybe it works, and congrats, you're a cult artist! Maybe it doesn't? Give it 20 years, and congrats! You're still a cult artist. What can go wrong?
Sony enables some of these ideas themselves through SCE; others do it on their own. Either way, some very original stuff is thrown at the PlayStation. Some of the pasta really sticks to the wall. ...Or, some of those cookies stick to the jar? I'm bad with extended metaphors.
Anyway, these games speak for themselves. Let's play them!
I've got a separate post which I will keep down in the discussion for some fun context, history, and trivia about the games, for anyone who would like them. But overall, my advice: just play 'em. Most of them you'll get within five minutes, or they may already have you hooked by then. Some games are about the shock of an idea, the opportunity and newness driving them to fruition over polish, implementation, even thought. It's about the feeling.
If you haven't played some of these, promise me you'll ignore any write-ups, screenshots, videos, anything, and try at least one fresh, without any prior knowledge. I think we'll all be a little better for it!
Or, traumatized!
Here are the games:
Parappa the Rapper
Info
Versions: Original (PS1 - 1996, PSP - 2006), Remastered (PS4 - 2017)
Genre(s): Music / rhythm
Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia
Stores:
PlayStation Store (Remaster)
How Long To Beat:
2-4 Hours
Not much to replay!
Parappa the Rapper 2
Info
Versions: Original (PS2 - 2001, PS4 - 2015)
Genre(s): Music / rhythm
Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia
Stores:
PlayStation Store
How Long To Beat:
2-5 Hours
A little more replayable!
Irritating Stick
Info
Versions: Original (PS1 - 1998)
Genre(s): Arcade, precision
Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia
Stores:
Generally unavailable! ~$30 on ebay
How Long To Beat:
4.5 hours, according to a single dude on howlongtobeat
Years of therapy
Pepsiman
Info
Versions: Original (PS1 - 1999)
Genre(s): Arcade, runner
Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia
Stores:
Generally unavailable! Uhhhh, $286 on ebay secondhand? $900 for an unopened copy?? Holy hell.
How Long To Beat:
2-4 hours
Additional hours of working off those Pepsi calories
Vib-Ribbon
Info
Versions: Original (PS1 - 1999), Ports (PSP, PS3, and PS Vita - 2014)
Genre(s): Music / rhythm
Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia
Stores:
~$40 secondhand
Technically I think you can still load money to your account via an active PlayStation Store and then buy it on the Vita..?
How Long To Beat:
30 minutes - 1,349 years?
Incredible Crisis
Info
Versions: Original (Arcade, PS1 - 1999)
Genre(s): Arcade, music / rhythm, puzzle, shooter, etc, etc, etc...
Links: Mobygames, Wikipedia
Stores:
Generally unavailable! ~$30 secondhand. This CGA is expensive!
How Long To Beat:
3 hours
1 explanation to your partner about that "back massage"
Important
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Yes, these games are weird and rare! But any links to the game should be legal distributions of the game only. Please do NOT link to any unauthorized copies.
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Put any spoilers in a dropdown block. Copy/paste the block below if needed.
<details>
<summary>Spoilers</summary>
Spoiler text goes here.
</details>
Game Setup
The main purpose of this topic is to get people up and running with the game. As such, it's recommended that you:
Share which version of the game you're playing
Share what hardware you're playing it on
Share if there are any tools/mods that you recommend
Share anything you think is important for people to know before they start the game
Ask questions if you need help
Ask what the hell is going on in Incredible Crisis
Get checked for RSI after Irritating Stick
Another purpose of this topic is to revisit the game and its time period:
Do you have any memories or associations with this game itself?
What about its system or era?
What aspects of retro gaming were common at the time?
What other games from the same time period are you familiar with?
What are you expecting from this game in particular?
U rappin' good?
Finally, this topic is the beginning discussion for people starting to play it:
Post updates sharing your thoughts as you play.
Ask for help if you get stuck.
Offer help to others.
Share some sick beats for Vib-Ribbon.
It is recommended that you reply to your own posts if you are making consecutive updates so that they are in the same thread.
FAQ
What is CGA?
Colossal Game Adventure (CGA) is Tildes' retro video game club.
Each month we will play a different retro game/games, discuss our thoughts, and bask in the glorious digital experiences of yesteryear!
Colossal Game Adventure is a reference to Colossal Cave Adventure. It's one of the most influential games of all time, one of the first text-based interactive games, and one of the first games to be shared online.
What do we want to do with this group? Play influential games; interact with each other through text; and share the love for retro games online!
It also abbreviates to CGA (because we love chunky pixel art), and its name communicates the Colossal amount of fun and excitement that we have with retro video Games in our shared Adventure of playing them together.
Do I have to sign up?
No. Participation is open to all.
There is a Notification List that will get pinged each time a new topic goes up. If you would like to join that list, please PM u/kfwyre.
Are there restrictions on what/how to play?
Each month will have a focus game or games that will guide our discussions. Beyond that, there are no restrictions. The philosophy of CGA is to play in a way that works for you!
This means:
- Choose whichever version of the game you want.
- You can use cheats, save states, mods, etc.
- You can watch a streamer or longplay instead of playing it.
If you have already played a game and want a different experience:
- Try a randomizer or challenge run.
- Play a different version of it.
- Play a related game (sequel, spiritual successor, something inspired by it, etc.)
There is no wrong way to participate in CGA, and every different way someone participates will make for more interesting discussions.
What is the schedule?
Each month the Insert Cartidge topic will be posted on the 1st, while the Remove Cartridge topic will be posted on the 20th.
Nomination and voting topics will happen in March and September (every 6 months).
Schedules are also posted then.
All CGA topics are available using the colossal game adventure tag.
What do Insert and Remove Cartridge mean?
Inserting and removing cartridges are our retro metaphor for starting and stopping a given game or games.
The Insert Cartridge topic happens at the beginning of the month and is primarily about getting the game up and running.
The Remove Cartridge topic happens toward the end of the month and is primarily about people reflecting on the game now that they've played it.
There are no hard restrictions on what has to go in either topic, and each can be used to discuss the game, post updates, ask questions, etc.
One last parting thought til the 20th when we eject: there are so many games for this system that are completely out of the ordinary. But for now, let's keep the conversation on these until we hit the Eject thread on the 20th! And then I'd suggest we open the floor for more weirdo shit to ricochet off the walls.