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The Video Game Canon: The Secret of Monkey Island
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at The Secret of Monkey Island and the many inspirations developers plundered from to make it. Here’s a teaser…
Game publishers have been concerned with digital pirates illegally copying their games since the very beginning of the medium. Some have even gone so far as to include booby traps in their code for these would-be thieves. But when it comes to depicting actual pirates, gamemakers (along with major Hollywood players and one of the most celebrated fantasy authors of the last few decades) are content to pillage, plunder, and steal all the best ideas from each other.
It all began in 1967 when Walt Disney himself oversaw the construction of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland. Over the years, the ride would go on to be recreated at Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Park in Paris. Borrowing a bit from Treasure Island, the ride’s exciting ship-to-ship battle, raid on a coastal outpost, group of prisoners trying to bribe a dog for a key, and the frothy ditty “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me)” created the quintessential image of a pirate that was shared by kids the world over.
Tim Powers was not one of these kids. Already a teenager by the late 60s, Powers rose to prominence as one of the earliest authors of steampunk (and he, along with K.W. Jeter and James Blaylock, helped coin the phrase). In 1987, he published one of his most famous novels, On Stranger Tides. The novel tells the tale of John Chandagnac, an inexperienced youth who becomes the debonair pirate “Jack Shandy” and rescues the girl after he has a run-in with several undead buccaneers.
A few years later, Lucasfilms Games’s Ron Gilbert took his experiences with the ride and mixed them with the magical seascapes of On Stranger Tides to create The Secret of Monkey Island, a point-and-click adventure game first published in 1990. The Secret of Monkey Island starred Guybrush Threepwood, an inexperienced youth with floppy hair who battled his own pirate nemesis, the undead LeChuck, in an attempt to rescue the girl. Most people would chalk these coincidences up to happenstance or cliche, but not Ron Gilbert. He’s the first to tell to you that what he did was out-and-out piracy. Or, in his words, “We in the business call it ‘stealing’.”
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in Features, PC, PS3, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon, Xbox 360
Tagged The Secret of Monkey Island
Nintendo Download: Mario Sports Superstars, Has-Been Heroes, New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers, more
Between the Final Four, the Masters, the NFL Draft, and Opening Day, sports fans are always busy busy busy during March and April. And it’s no different in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Beginning tomorrow, 3DS owners will be able to download Mario Sports Superstars from the Nintendo eShop. The package includes all your favorite outdoor activities including baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, and horse racing. And a new series of Amiibo Cards will give players the chance to bulk up their team without resorting to illegal steroids.
The Switch is also in line to receive several new games this week, including the action/strategy roguelike Has-Been Heroes. Published by GameStop’s GameTrust label, Has-Been Heroes follows a group of knights who have to escort a pair of princesses to a far off academy. It’ll be available to download on Tuesday, March 28.
Switch owners won’t have to wait that long to download New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers… it was added to the Nintendo eShop earlier today. The town-building sim will take players back to frontier times, tasking them with building a bustling metropolis on an empty piece of land.
You can more more about this week’s new additions to the Nintendo eShop (including even more games for the 3DS, Switch, and Wii U) after the break. (more…)
It Came From 200X: Spider-Man
The tail-end of the 90s wasn’t a great time for superhero games. With the likes of Superman 64, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and Spawn: The Eternal clogging store shelves, the average comic geek had few options for playable superheroics. That is, until Neversoft and Activision took it upon themselves to create one of the best comic book-based games of all time: Spider-Man!
Okay, so the title is lazy — but it also set the expectation that gamers could finally become Spider-Man like no previous video game could achieve. Launching in 2000 for the Sony PlayStation (with ports appearing over the next 12 months on the Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and PC), this game oozed authenticity from minute one. From the very beginning, we were living an adventure narrated by Stan Lee, hanging out with the acrobatic Black Cat, swinging by the famous Baxter Building (home of the Fantastic Four), and putting an end to a daring bank robbery.
It was, quite frankly, a revelation. Suddenly, superhero games didn’t have to be cheap cash-ins like all of those terrible movie-based atrocities. There were a few pioneers on earlier consoles, to be sure — Batman on NES and Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage for SNES/Sega Genesis come to mind — but this gem captured my imagination like no other. However, does it hold up to those sugary-sweet memories in these darker modern times? (more…)
Atlus is bringing a Radiant Historia remake to the 3DS in Japan
Radiant Historia was originally released for the DS in 2011, but a new report from Famitsu (via Gematsu) has confirmed that Atlus will re-release the RPG on the 3DS later this year.
The remake will be known as Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, and a new generation of portable players will be able to experience the story found in the original game, as well as enhanced graphics, a new character, a full voice cast, and a never-before-seen “Sub-History” expansion.
But there’s just one catch… Atlus has yet to announce a North American release date for Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology. While it seems likely the remake will cross the Pacific, for now, we’ll have to make do with this translation of a short Q&A with the game’s Director, Mitsuru Hirata:
Famitsu: What’s the story behind developing a full remake?
Hirata: Thanks to everyone’s longstanding support, the build up of wanting to release this title has has risen even within Atlus. Since providing a world experience is essential in an RPG, we kept in mind not to change that impression. We reviewed the playability and improved it overall.
Famitsu: What kind of story is the Sub-History?
Hirata: The third history that is neither the Standard History or the Alternate History is the Sub-History. The Sub-History is not just a single parallel world—the treatment of characters and timeline interpretation, how the Sub-History was born, each of these is different from the Standard History and Alternate History.
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is currently scheduled to launch in Japan on June 29.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Radiant Historia
Mass Effect: Andromeda, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games, Freedom Planet, more added to PlayStation Store
After Mass Effect 3‘s ending divided fans, BioWare wiped the slate clean for the fourth entry in the franchise, Mass Effect: Andromeda. Now available to download for the PS4 through the PlayStation Store, players will explore the uncharted Andromeda galaxy in a search for humanity’s new home.
Also available to download this week is Zero Escape: The Nonary Games, a two-game collection featuring Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors and Virtue’s Last Reward. Launching on the PS4 and Vita for the first time, The Nonary Games follows two groups forced to compete for their lives in a deadly game. One group is trapped on a sinking boat, and the other is locked in a facility, but can they all escape?
Another well-liked game making its PS4 debut today is Freedom Planet, a retro-themed side-scroller that was inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog’s heyday on the Genesis.
And finally this week, Sony is kicking off their “Play Collective” promotion with the release of Everything, a PS4 game that the developers are pitching as “an interactive experience where everything you see is a thing you can be.”
You can learn more about all of these games (and nearly a dozen other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is officially coming to the Nintendo Switch
We’ve expected this announcement for quite some time, but Koji “Iga” Igarashi confirmed today that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is coming to the Nintendo Switch.
This also means that Kickstarter backers hoping to play Bloodstained on the Wii U are out of luck, as Iga and his team had to cancel development of the project for Nintendo’s former console. Backers interested in switching their pre-order to the Switch can do so though the same survey link they received previously, though Wii U backers can also opt to receive the game on the PC, PS4, Vita, or Xbox One. And if you were only interested in playing Bloodstained on the Wii U, you can request a full refund from now until April 20, 2017.
Iga further explained the situation to fans in a new Kickstarter update:
Hello, this is IGA.
Thank you for always supporting us. I would like to give a message to the backers who pledged for the Wii U version of Bloodstained.
During our Kickstarter campaign, the Wii U was at the height of its popularity, but the situation has drastically changed after the release of Nintendo Switch.
This change made it difficult to receive the necessary support from the hardware maker, which has led us to drop the Wii U development and shift the development to Nintendo Switch.
We are very sorry that it has come to this after all your support, but we hope you will understand. We would like to respond by preparing options for our backers, such as moving your pledge to another version or requesting a refund if you don’t want any other version.
We hope you will continue to support us.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is currently on track to be released sometime in 2018.
Posted in News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
New Story Trailer and Limited Edition revealed for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Nintendo will release Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia in North America on May 19, and it’s been a long time coming. Previously only available in Japan for the NES (as Fire Emblem Gaiden), Shadows of Valentia is one of the “lost” Fire Emblem games, and is finally making its North American debut (on the 3DS) after 25 years.
Naturally, Nintendo wants to give fans a package worthy of this formerly forgotten game, and they’ll do that with a special Limited Edition. Priced at $59.99, the Limited Edition will include several goodies that should be of interest to Fire Emblem fans:
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Limited Edition
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Gamecard
- Hardcover Valentia Artbook
- Sound Selection CD
- Pin Set (Alm, Celica, and Marth)
- Reversible Cover Sheet (Based on the Packaging for the Original Famicom Game)
Nintendo also announced that an Amiibo Two-Pack featuring Alm and Celica will also be released on May 19. Not available separately, the Amiibo figures will unlock their own exclusive dungeons, “allowing heroes to earn items and level up their armies further by defeating bosses.” Tapping these figures in battle will also allow players to summon a computer-controlled Illusory Hero, which acts as an ally for a single turn.
Finally, Nintendo unveiled a brand new Story Trailer that’ll give fans a history lesson on the two armies in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, and “their differing quests attempt to achieve the unified goal of bringing peace to the land of Valentia.”
A closer look at the contents of the Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia’s Limited Edition can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory announced for Early 2018 release
Digimon fans will be ecstatic to hear that a new entry in the Digimon Story franchise is on the horizon and slated for a sooner release than some of us may have initially expected. Bandia Namco has announced that Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory will be released for both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in European territories in Early 2018. There is no definitive release date for the game as of yet in North America.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory picks up from the previous game, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, challenging players to uncover the truth about mysteries first revealed in the aforementioned title. Hacker’s Memory will put players in the shoes of protagonist Keisuke Amazawa, a young man falsely accused of a crime, who must team up with a band of hackers and enter the Digital World to investigate and clear his name. The game will also feature over 300 different Digimon, and players will be able to utilize a wide range of battle strategies, compatibilities, combos, and skills to use their Digimon to their fullest potential.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory will be available in both physical and digital formats for the PlayStation 4, but it’ll be digital-only on the PlayStation Vita.
In the meantime, check out some new screenshots showcasing the main protagonist, a few Digimon, and some of the settings players can expect to explore in the upcoming game after the break. Also, be sure to watch the Japanese-language trailer embedded above. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory