(see below for updates. Apologies if this screws up the feed!)
This week we explore the forgotten corners of Nintendo's history. The Virtual Boy may have been a financial flop, but it is musically rich!
The show can be downloaded here,
or streamed here:
***UPDATE***
In the original post for this episode, I neglected to include the links to the two websites I discuss on the show. Here they are:
And the track list below:
# - Game - Track - System - Composer
1 - Galactic Pinball - Moon Man Fandango - Virtual Boy - Kenji Yamamoto & Masaru Tajima
2 - Golf - Menu - Virtual Boy - Ken Kojima
3 - Jack Bros. - Temple of Nightmare - Virtual Boy - Hiroyuki Yanada
4 - Panic Bomber - Desert of Desolation (World 3) - Virtual Boy - Shinichi Sakamoto & Jun Chikuma
5 - Waterworld - In-Game BGM - Virtual Boy - Jonathan Dunn
6 - Virtual League Baseball - Menu - Virtual Boy - Mari Komatsu
7 - Mario's Tennis - Singles 1 - Virtual Boy - Hitoshi Fukushima, & Morihito Iwamoto
8 - Telroboxer - Staff Roll - Virtual Boy - Katsuya Yamano
It's only fair to give credit where it's due: That same Teleroboxer track was recommended to me by Bryan from Pixelated Audio. They also have a very nice VB episode focusing on the game Red Alarm: http://pixelatedaudio.com/red-alarm/
ReplyDeleteAnd I should mention Benj Edwards is a frequent guest on Retronauts. He mostly makes a lot of understated jokes, but it's apparent that he has an enormous wealth of gaming knowledge floating around in that brain of his.
Lastly, that Mario Tennis track was simply terrific. The B section has these tremolo-filled instruments that are the very essence of video game nostalgia to me. They remind me of Golvellius and all things that are good. Thanks so much for unearthing that gem!
I think that PA episode must be from before my regular listening, I'll have to go ban r for it..
DeleteAnd despite being a pretty avid Retronauts fan, I guess I didn't recognize his name. Or maybe just didn't connect it. The article definitely showed his VG history chops.
The whole tennis ost is pretty strong, and one of the few widely available. I can see the Golvellius connection. "All things that are good" reminds me of "old gregg" if you know the mighty boosh
Sent from phone, I'll rate it a B-
DeleteNot quite sure what the second comment means, but you hit the nail on the head with Old Gregg. "It's attached to your rod, muvalicka!"
DeleteBenj is newish on Retronauts; he appears on Retronauts East with Jeremy and a few others. I think they all live in the same town.
Sorry, was describing my phone's auto correct and predictive text in my last response. Hence, B minus.
DeleteI should have known you were in on The Boosh... You're good people, ND.
I'm merely adequate. You know who's good people? Chiune Sugihara. HE'S good people.
DeleteI think my tombstone will now read "merely adequate"
DeleteThis was a very informative episode. I've always been a bit fascinated by the Virtual Boy, but never delved into it too much. I remember seeing it in a Toys R' Us or something back in the day. It was something that I wanted to like, but it just seemed... off. It wasn't really VR like the "Virtual" would suggest and it wasn't really portable like the "Boy" would suggest, so I never could quite figure out what they were going for. Now I know that some of that was because of fear of litigation. It's weird spot in video game history makes more sense now. I tried a display unit in the store and was not thrilled. The red display was garish, and it didn't do much to stand out as a virtual reality machine. I had played early virtual reality with head tracking software at that point with a game called Dactyl Nightmare, and the Virtual Boy was nowhere near as cool.
ReplyDeleteI did eventually get hold of a Virtual Boy emulator and played a Japanese only release called "Innsmouth no Yakata" which is based on H.P. Lovecraft's work "The Shadow over Innsmouth." This was apparently the only game that was first-person on the Virtual Boy, which is also kind of weird because the head set would suggest it was meant for a first-person experience (seriously, the virtual boy was nothing it seemed to promise: portable immersive VR? Nope. Just a red box you crane your neck into until it cramps up.) Innsmouth no Yakata was pretty fun and unique. There are scary monsters in a labyrinth, but you have limited ammo and a time limit, so you mostly have to run away from everything, which gives the game a bit of frantic tension. It's worth tracking down just to experiment with, especially if you have some 3D glasses to throw on for the full experience.
I recall seeing Innsmouth no Yakata on the list of games. It stood out because the name Innsmouth is decidedly un-Japanese. Now I know why!
DeleteI agree with basically everything you had to say about the virtual boy.
How did you get to play Dactyl Nightmare?? I've never even heard of it
I guess it was just luck. There was a shortlived place in downtown Salt Lake City called CyberSpace. They had some full size VR machines with helmets, trigger sticks, and O-ring enclosures. It felt very cutting edge at the time.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta be kidding me. I also played Dactyl Nightmare; I saw it in EGM and shortly after, it showed up in the middle of the local mall. Virtuality, the company that made the game, had four units there, and you could go head-to-head.
DeleteThe polygonal graphics were about as sophisticated as those in Race Drivin’ or Stun Runner, and the massive headset was cumbersome. I wasn’t very good, so I’m sure that tempered my enjoyment somewhat. If I recall, Virtuality also made another game, although I never saw it and don’t recall what it was.
I'm guessing I would have been a little young for this at the time, but I am certain it would have blown my mind.
DeleteIt's sort of amusing that we are now careening headlong into the future of... 1994.
VR is the future of the past, and the future is now!!
Apparently they made more games than two:
ReplyDeletehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtuality_(gaming)
....And a British news piece on YouTube:
Deletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Imyn6QSq9s
But how was the music????
DeleteThe music was the din of mall goers, and the distant blare of PA speakers belting out pop tunes at the ice rink.
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