Tecmo Classic Arcade – First Play

I’m a huge fan of emulation. I’ve got an emulator for everything. Yes, even Apple II. Now, as I also own all the games and systems I emulate, many people ask me what exactly is the point of emulating? There are several big reasons to emulate your games. First is convenience. It’s simply not feasible to have ten console systems hooked up to your television, and constantly swapping dusty CD’s and cartridges is no picnic either. Secondly, we have presentation. PC emulators frequently present the titles we all know and love with every kind of filter, anti-alias, and texture enhancement you can imagine. Running emulators on a computer connected to a high-definition screen also greatly improves the presentation of the original content. However, one of the most important reasons to emulate is clear to anyone obsessed with classic games. The ability to save your progress any time you want is imperative to enjoying the experience. This is a feature included in every major free emulator available on the Internet. We simply don’t have the time to sit for seven hours straight to beat Blaster Master or Pitfall 2 any more.

The final reason for emulation is that the game you want isn’t available through any other means. This is the case with some of the titles on Tecmo Classic Arcade. The games on this compilation that were never available for console systems would require you to actually purchase a stand-up arcade cabinet to play them. Also, if your NES died long ago, this is a good way to get in a few more rounds of Rygar, Solomon’s Key, or Tecmo Bowl.

Emulation is currently in the process of exploding into the next generation of consoles, with the backward compatibility of Xbox 360, and the much touted release of downloadable Nintendo classics for the Revolution. A lot of us have been anticipating the introduction of emulation to consoles for a long time and because of this, console emulators have a lot to live up to. As a long time fan of PC emulation, it would be nice to see some PC emulator features such as quicksaves or graphical enhancements make their way onto the consoles.

The Tecmo Arcade emulator offers a handy option to zoom the view in or out, which is convenient for the games with an aspect ratio friendly to your T.V. However, a stretch to fit option is not offered, and would have been greatly appreciated. Games that do not fit the aspect ratio for standard television play inside a black box on top of a background image. I would have also liked to see an option for a plain black background, as the bitmapped background can be distracting.

Now, on to the games. Note that I’ve played exactly none of these games before, so I’ll have a fresh perspective on all of them. Something else worth noting is that a lot of these games are much easier when you have access to unlimited virtual funds. Since inserting a new quarter is as easy as pressing the x button, nursing hours of entertainment out of $1.75 is no longer one of your concerns. Also, it is fair to mention that I won’t be playing each game to completion, as some of these games took years to master. I’ll be playing each game for a couple hours and recording my impressions of it.

Rygar

A predecessor to Castlevania, Rygar is a side scrolling beat-em-up with lightning fast action and non-stop swarms of fantasy enemies. I felt quite a bit overwhelmed by this title at first, dying approximately every three seconds or so. However, after you get into the rhythm of it, you find the walloping of hundreds of enemies with your gigantic ball and chain quite satisfying. Rygar sports some hilarious artwork, including unlikely looking scantily clad body-builders, and charging purple monkeys. The parallaxing backgrounds are also detailed, full of beautiful sunsets, charming waterfalls, and snow covered mountains. One gripe I have is there are simply too many enemies on screen at once. I often found myself attacking an enemy, only to discover another one hiding underneath like Athena bursting from the head of Zeus.

Strato Fighter

Since playing Defender on the Commodore 64 I’ve been a sucker for the side scrolling space shooter, and this game is no exception. The controls feel a little squishy on the Xbox d-pad, but thankfully you have the option to use the analog stick. The artwork and animations are fantastic, and I can see a lot of the innovations in Strato that showed up later in SNES games like R-Type and Gradius: for instance, the trailing gun turret, missile upgrades, and vertical shots. You also have the option to turn your ship around in mid flight, catching that 100-foot slimy gray space worm you’ve got on your six. Squeezing your ship between green projectiles to fire your ion launcher into a raging buffet of aliens feels as good now as it did in 1991.

Solomon’s Key

Solomon’s Key is very different from the other crash, shoot and smash games offered in Tecmo’s classic line up. It’s more of an action/puzzle adventure title along the lines of Lode Runner or N with a little Dig-Dug thrown in for good measure. You play as a chubby elfish looking character named Dana. You’re capable of creating or destroying clay blocks with your magic wand. You can also crack clay blocks from underneath by smashing them with your head, Mario-style. The strategy of the game comes from navigating complex levels full of traps, trolls, and teetering towers of blocks, locating powerful items and keys to unlock your way into the next room. Solomon’s Key also has lots of fairies that need rescuing, and many different enemy types to be outsmarted. Walling enemies into clay prisons was a favorite tactic of mine, although many of your foes are smart enough to bash their pixilated selves out.

Pinball Action

This game is pretty standard console pinball fare, with the option to teleport between machines being its only really innovative feature. I can imagine this cabinet sitting, lonely on the end of the line, in the dark and dusty back alleys of the arcade ecosystem. Unfortunately this game does little to compete with real pinball, which would have been right around the corner in any arcade. The tables look painfully two-dimensional, and there isn’t any of the flash and pizzazz that true pinball aficionados have come to appreciate. There is nothing but the most rudimentary strategy, lining up shots to get the big point payout. I wasn’t a big fan of this game.

Overall I’m having a lot of fun with Tecmo Classic Arcade. These games are faithful recreations, and just as fun as they were when you had to pump your hard won quarters into them. However, commercial emulators are going to have to do better to keep my interest into the next generation of consoles. Quicksaves and graphical enhancements will ease the transition of classic games into next-generation glory. Tune in next time for an overview of the remaining arcade titles.

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