Respect and Retrospect- Retro Game Challenge Reviewed

Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenFebruary 19, 2009
47 7,204 2 minutes read


                                                           Anything you say, your Highness!

Nostalgia is a powerful drug. It compels me to play every retro-themed compilation that comes along, both good (Activision Anthology) and not so good (the Tecmo Arcade Classics weren’t exactly timeless). So when I first got the chance to play Retro Game Challenge at E3, I feel in love. Instead of licensing a handful of 8-bit titles, the developers lovingly created eight new games unmistakably inspired by 80’s NES classics. Yet whereas most compilations offer the games themselves with a negligible amount of ancillary content, RGC has devotedly recreated the gaming culture of my youth.

Originally based on a quirky Japanese television program, the game’s guide is Game Master Arino. Arino is shown as a virtual head, floating in a sea of binary digits. His guidance and gentle ribbing may remind gamers of Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, of Brain Training fame. At the game’s onset, the Game Master transports the player to 1984, where you accompany a 10 year-old version of Arino through a variety of game challenges.


                                                                     Hey, isn’t that the Solomon’s Key sprite?

The game’s first challenge is to survive five levels of Cosmic Gate, which resembles arcade hit Galaga. Upon closer inspection, the game offers a considerable amount of supplementation to the existing shooting formula- weapon upgrades tempt the player with score boosting combos, while the elimination  of some foes open a warp gate. Every time one of Arino’s challenges are met, time moves forward, rewarding the player with a new magazine or new game.  Periodicals are dotingly filled with hints, cheat codes, and previews of upcoming games, making Retro Game Challenge’s imaginary world wonderfully realized and realistically detailed.

Diversity is one of RGC’s best strengths. Star Price recalls Hudson classic Star Soldier, with its wide playfield, weapon powerups, and mid-level bosses. Three variations of Robot Ninja Haggle Man follow the evolution of NES-era Ninja Gaiden series. Guardian Quest, the requite RPG, derives inspiration from Dragon Warrior II. Racing is represented by Rally King and its sequel, which invite comparison to the Rare developed, R.C. Pro-Am.  Each of the flagship genres popular during the Reagan years is represented in the collection.


                                                       MegaMan 9 has nothing on Haggle Man!

Each of RGC’s games is graphically authentic, presenting small, simplistically animated sprites that truly capture the essence of 8 bit gaming. While the imagined titles are regulated to the top screen, the bottom display of the DS that looks onto two children, who sit on the floor, captivated by the console and television before them. Watching the duo scamper across the floor to grab a cartridge or pull a magazine from the shelf added a bit of wistful charm to the experience.

Retro Game Challenge transports gamers to a glorious age, where gaming information was confined to the glossy pages of magazine. In this pre-internet era, cheat codes were our currency, gleaned from periodicals, and shared with a tight-knit group of acquaintances. It was a time, when being a gamer meant being a social misfit- it would be years before that notion would change. For players old enough to remember this era, RGC is a virtual time capsule to a pixilated parallel universe. For younger gamers, the title has the ability to show why us old-timers love to reminisce about the early days of gaming. Yes, nostalgia is a powerful drug indeed.          

Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenFebruary 19, 2009
47 7,204 2 minutes read
Photo of Robert Allen

Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

47 Comments

  3. I’ve been hearing nothing but praise for this game. Seems like the young kids may not get it.

  14. “In this pre-internet era, cheat codes were our currency, gleaned from periodicals, and shared with a tight-knit group of acquaintances. It was a time, when being a gamer meant being a social misfit- it would be years before that notion would change. For players old enough to remember this era, RGC is a virtual time capsule to a pixilated parallel universe.”

    Man, that was beautiful. You are an amazing writer, Deagle.

  19. Ok, I want this now. I hear the sequel is out in Japan. I hope this sells enough so that they bring it over, too.

  25. I’m going to grab this today if I can find it.

    DE, you should post your high scores on each of the games….

  28. I thought that was a bit much myself. Tell me whether the game is good or not. if I wanted poetry, I’d get a limerick book.

  31. Haggle man is a weird name for a game. Is it supposed to be a funny Japanese Translation or something?

  34. I knew I’d like this game but I’m loving it! It’s even better than I expected. Not only is it fun to work toward the various challenges in the game but the games they have for you to play are excellent! (Granted, I’m only 2 games in.) I love Robot Ninja Haggle Man! I wish it really had been an NES game but at least we have it now!

    Not to burst DE’s bubble, but Haggle Man is actually seems to be based on the game Ninja Jajamaru-kun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_JaJaMaru-kun) which was a Famicom (NES in Japan) game originally released only in Japan. It’s now available in North America on virtual console. Haggle Man is actually a better game, I think, but I like Ninja Jajamaru-kun too!

  36. Well, these are totally new games. Just made to be retro-like. I believe Justin Mcelroy of Joystiq described it as almost ‘like a Childhood simulator’.

  38. Haha, ok, I was wondering too, so I looked into this. I know a little bit about Japanese so here’s what I figured out. I knew that Haggle is a word that can’t be written normally in Japanese. It has to be turned into something like Haguru and written in katakana (which the character set used for non-Japanese words and names). Well, I looked up Haguru in my Japanese/English dictionary and found that haguruma (sounds a bit like Haggle Man!) is the Japanese word for gear or cog-wheel, though it’s supposed to be written in hiragana or kanji, not katakana. Gears is the name of the fake company that supposedly made Haggle Man.

    …So have I lost you yet? Long story short, it’s a pun and/or joke about bad translation. Haha, I feel moderately smart now.

  39. I never played (or, shamefully heard of) Ninja Jajamaru-kun. So I thought the best point of reference was the Ninja Gaiden NES trilogy.

    I played a lot of NG, as a wee lad 😉

    Yes, I’ll post high scores…

  40. Though new, all eight games feel like they could have been lifted out of a Children’s Palace store circa 1987. Everything from the graphics and control, to the sound and music of the time, has been recreated here in exacting detail. RGC doesn’t feature anything particularly superb in terms of gameplay or design, but the included games range from inoffensive to really enjoyable. That said, I could have done with a bit more variety, as three of the eight titles are sequels or remakes

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