Game Gear 1990 (3 of 3): G-LOC / Soukoban / Dragon Crystal / Shanghai II | Game Boy Works Gaiden #11

[@mets137781]

One point to make on Dragon Crystal. While there are some blocked exits they are not impassable. You have to look for a false wall and press a button and it will let you through. It's not obvious but I believe it was in the directions.

[@NiJiFa]

I was going to say this too. Didn't discover this fact until 25 years later! I believe you have to repeatedly push the action/ confirm button.

[@sargesmash1]

@@NiJiFa Yeah, the game often wouldn't register button presses. It was pretty obnoxious to scour a level, only to find out you missed the exit because the game decided, nah, you didn't press the button.

[@popfan95b]

@@sargesmash1 More like you often have to wait several turns in front of a wall before the secret door opens up.

[@BigBangBlitz]

Not to mention a large part of the mystique of G-Loc was it's deluxe 360 degree gyroscopic sit-down version. While only a small amount of those machines were anything but stand up cabs with yolks, the few that were in the wild cemented G-Loc as an arcade only experience in arcade-goer's minds. Ports couldn't be anything more than an afterthought to anyone involved.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Yeah, I found G-LOC on Switch to be a pretty dissatisfying experience. It's pure eye candy, with extremely shallow gameplay even by the standards of super-scaler games, as well as some wonky slow-moving controls have *must* have been tuned around the capabilities of the gyroscopic cabinet. I'd much rather play Afterburner II or Thunderblade, especially in their 3DS incarnations.

[@BigBangBlitz]

@@jasonblalock4429 It's a lot more impressive when you're actually literally spinning upside down with a stereo blaring in your face certainly.

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@BigBangBlitz Oh yeah, no doubt. I'm sorry I never got a chance to try the gyroscopic cabinet. (But weren't there only like a dozen or so ever made?)

[@BigBangBlitz]

@@jasonblalock4429 Somewhere over 100 made it out, it was a hot item for those outlets that could afford it.

[@dillontam9752]

The obligitary fun fact on the slept-on game in this bunch: hidden within Shanghai II's soundtrack is the Bonus theme from Mappy and the title theme from Journey to Silius. Whoever arranged this soundtrack was an avid listener

[@MCastleberry1980]

Dragon Crystal putting that Dark Crystal font to work

[@PowerfulMint]

"Say the line, Jeremy." "It's another version of Soukoban." "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY~!"

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Happy Holidays, Jeremy. Thank you for your work this year. It really helped.

[@jonnyeh]

I just want to say that I really appreciate the quality and info of your videos. I'm a very proud supporter on Patreon. I hope you and your families have a great holiday season!

[@cashnelson2306]

I guess it's not "new" after a month or two but I love the new channel switching motif.

[@absolutezeronow7928]

Even though I'm not a fan of roguelikes, the fact that Game Gear had the first portable roguelike RPG is a accomplishment. Also nice to see that Game Gear had the better Soukoban game (looking forward to when Soukoban gets talked about in Segaiden as part of the SG-1000 overview.) Looking forward to the other portable gaming episodes to finish out 1990, and hopefully you'll start getting more views for your SEGA content, which has been excellent.

[@FallicIdol]

I think rogue likes are just over done now

[@thecunninlynguist]

@@FallicIdol same w/ metroidvanias

[@beelzeburbia]

Thank you so much for everything you did this year!! It really helped me get through it, just because it gave me something to look forward to on Wednesdays! Happy (almost) New Year, you absolute legend.

[@Atomhaz]

You’re making a difference Jeremy. I’ve purchased so many of the titles from gameboy works already. Just picked up Batman today with a manual!

[@icarusonice2350]

I love Dragon Crystal! This was my favorite Game Gear game

[@AmonduulUS]

I always assumed rougelikes were called that because it was referencing some much other game that started the genre, but it didn't occur to me before watching this video that that name is that extremely literal, i.e. they're games that like the game Rogue. The more you know

[@speore]

Even though it isn't portable if anyone is interested in playing Dragon Crystal I recommend playing the Master System port of the game. It has a much higher resolution and can actually be beaten since it isn't on the battery consumer that is the game gear. The only downside is that it was only released in Europe and Brazil making it an import title for those state wise and may need an adapter for american systems if those even exist.

[@GamerGoingGrey]

Jeremy mentioned Sokoban. Everybody take a drink!

[@dcashley303]

I have a weird amount of nostalgia for Dragon Crystal. Used to play it as a kid but forgot about it completely until rediscovering it on the 3DS. Brutally hard but addictive.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Yeah, I feel the same way about Fatal Labyrinth. Although, of course, Toejam & Earl was the real king of Sega roguelikes...

[@DanielBurapavong]

I own the Sega Master System release of Shanghai. Our family played it a bit growing up.

[@EinDose]

I watch these videos in the background while doing other things--this time, it was playing video games. I had to stop everything I was doing to watch, though, when classic roguelikes (hell, not even, Rogue itself!) came up out of nowhere.

[@thepositiver9977]

Happy Holidays and new years Jeremy. Sad the Game Gear 1990 ends but it only get better from here.

[@BenCol]

The title stands for ‘G-Force Induced Loss of Consciousness’? Interesting title - surely that’d be something a fighter pilot would want to avoid? But, what do I know? Maybe the Trauma Centre games would’ve sold better if they were called ‘Malpractice Suit’. And we could have ‘Ace Attorney: Mistrials and Tribulations’ as well.

[@Ginormousaurus]

It's like calling a basketball game "Double Dribble".

[@nate567987]

yes the sale pitch was with the r360 you could be as close to the real thing

[@HybridAngelZero]

Even in the wild and fresh world of Sega, Jeremy cannot escape Sokoban U_U Dragon Crystal looks like a lot of fun, though. I legit might pick that up for 3DS. Anyhoo Happy New Year, Jeremy! I hope your holiday season was cool, and thank you for all your video works series and making 2020 bearable with some of the most enjoyable, rewatchable content on the ol' KZbin

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Finally, they made a sequel to my favourite Chinese city.

[@BadoorSNK]

I really like that G-Loc's shop music uses the same shop music tune found in Fantasy Zone, Hot Rod, Super Hang-on, Turbo Outrun, and probably a few more SEGA games. Anyways, great episode.

[@thecunninlynguist]

So many good memories with Dragon Crystal. I thought it was a foreign game because my cousin had bought it for me when they went to Germany (same with On the Ball for the SNES), amd always wondered why it worked on my American systems, lol. I think I made it to floor 20 as a kid...but only recently beat it when it was released on the 3DS eShop (yay saved states).

[@mattjenkin2884]

Interesting that the music for G-LOC's shop is the same same shop music for Fantasy Zone or at least very similar.

[@thestripedmenace]

The same tune was also used in the Genesis/MD version of Super Hang-On, also for the in-game shop :)

[@nate567987]

@@thestripedmenace and turbo hang on

[@DouglasZwick]

Happy New Year, Jeremy!

[@daedelous7094]

Nice to see a look at Dragon Crystal but there is one slight mistake you made. The dungeon levels with "No physical exit" are actually traps designed to confuse you and make you waste your food guage if you aren't being careful. If you tap one of the buttons enough around the walls you think there SHOULD be an exit (Easy to figure out once you learn the blocks the game can generate), a hidden path may openup with the message "An Exit!". Fatal Laby does the same thing albeit MUCH more frequent and earlier, Dragon Crystal doesn't start throwing those at you till later.

[@fineandsmurfy]

Dig the clip from "Tom's Diner" in the beginning, what a great song / video.

[@roguerifter9724]

I mostly played G-Loc in arcades as a kid though I think I played it some on a friend's Game Gear. ANd I have both it and Dragon Crystal on my 3DS, Dragon Crystal I played a lot more when I was young though. It was one I usually played at least one run of whenever I was visiting my only friend who owned a Game Gear.

[@Phediuk]

I believe the first console roguelike was Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain (Intellivision, 1982). Nice work as usual btw.

[@JeremyParish]

Random level generation does not a roguelike make. Cloudy Mountain was innovative but didn’t really have much in common with roguelikes. Multiple lives, no melee combat, no use-ID, no turn-based combat...

[@jessragan6714]

G-LOC looks like the aerial answer to Rad Mobile. And yeah, neither the Genesis nor the Game Gear had the chops to do G-LOC justice.

[@jamesewing6591]

Dragon Crystal sounds dope

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

I am surprised Dragon Crystal came out before Cave Noire. Can't believe that Game Gear was out that early.

[@timmckernan8135]

I liked G LOC as a kid, it was exciting enough for me to get into. And my lord did I hate dragon Crystal!!! I never could get anywhere in that game. It was so much about luck

[@GoldenPickaxe]

this channel is incredible and i don't get how you don't regularly break six digit view counts when there's tons of other nerdy game channels that say far less in more time

[@rodneylives]

I have not played Dragon Crystal, but one thing Japanese roguelikes do sometimes is hide secret passages that can be revealed by attacking a wall at a specific place. It could be that one of the impossible levels had an essential route blocked off by one of those.

[@dmon007]

Awww yisss, a nice one, as usual.

[@DeepWeeb]

Oh boy Jeremy rambles about Soukoban once again

[@toryficarola]

G-LOC & Dragon Crystal are both currently available through the 3DS's e-shop's virtual console. They are both really "meh" but thankfully super cheap on the virtual console.

[@feitclub]

Has anyone categorized the history of Roguelikes yet? Is that a Sysiphian task?? I would watch that with glee.

[@JeremyParish]

John Harris took a good swing at it. The problem is that there are going to be so many forgotten interpretations on early computers, dating all the way back to the mid-’70s if you count PLATO-based precursors. Definitely sisyphean.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

@@JeremyParish I wonder how many roguelikes appeared on Japanese computers. Surely, this wasn't their first attempt.

[@Lifesizemortal]

its wild how much your videos make me appreciate and want to play every one of these classics

[@NukeOTron]

6:58 Surely, Brian Froud and the Jim Henson Company would have noticed that font by now, right? Not that it matters. Also, I'm sure you'll have a fun time explaining Galaxy Force II someday.

[@ValkyrieTiara]

I didn't notice the similarity before, and there's different enough that there's nothing they really could do even if the wanted to, but whew lad now that I look them side by side there's NO WAY it wasn't intentional! Nice catch!

[@jasonblalock4429]

The 3DS version of Galaxy Force II is amazing.

[@akrites]

Merry Christmas and I wish you a healthy and prosperous 2021, Jeremy. I look forward to more NES works!

[@Jayce_Alexander]

Is it just me or does G-LOC's upgrade menu screen use the same music as Super Hang-On's upgrade menu screen on the Mega Drive/Genesis?

[@thepthepthep]

It is, and it’s also the same as the shop music in Fantasy Zone (which IIRC is where it originates from)

[@jasonblalock4429]

Hah, I'd always wondered why Sega suddenly developed an interest in roguelikes when no other console dev at the time ever touched them. Now I know. Also, speaking of Game Gear RPGs, I can't wait for you to get to Defenders of Oasis - although I realize that'll be quite awhile.

[@dorkidori]

LOL! The "Dragon Crystal" title screen stole its font directly from "The Dark Crystal" movie ;)

[@PSNationTorgo]

It's too bad that we've never gotten Home Ports or direct releases of G-LOC or ThunderBlade :-(

[@jasonblalock4429]

What? Like Jeremy said, G-LOC for Game Gear is on 3DS, and the arcade game is on Switch. And the Genesis\MD Classics Collection has the MD ThunderBlade, while 3DS got an upgraded port of the arcade version as part of the Sega 3D Classics line from M2.

[@jason7478]

If Sega's not giving you a kickback for the Sega Ages and Genesis Collection endorsements, you should shake 'em down.

[@JVeg199X]

*stares at Game & Watches on top of TV* 👀

[@toryficarola]

When he first said Mega Net, I almost thought he said Megaten. >_>

[@ValkyrieTiara]

Just from watching this video I feel like G-LOC's biggest flaw might actually be it's soundtrack? Few things can help accent the feeling of speed and thrill you want from that sort of game like a blazing hot OST, and the music featured here sounds like it'd be more at home in Soukoban or Shangai II. Would it have killed them to throw in some eighth notes or, god forbid, a triplet or two? Maybe there's some hardware reason that's holding it back, but I feel like if Capcom was able to pull Megaman 1's absolute fire out of the NES in 1987 then Sega could have done more with the MS/GG in 1990. Maybe Yuzo Koshiro was on vacation? 😂Or more likely they just didn't care to put the effort in for a handheld title. Still, I almost wonder if it would have been better without music, like Blue Lightning. Oh well! A+ video as always!

[@nate567987]

the arcade music would fade out in arcade for the real feel

[@ShaneCopen]

Of note on Dragon Crystal - I don't think you could finish the game on one set of batteries and with no save feature, one loses all progress. Bad game design for a portable system.

[@mrcrushin]

Ouch, this is exceptionally egregious considering how bad the battery life on GG is to begin with!

[@MrJWTH]

I noticed with Sokoban there was a clock Icon and it looks like the character is pulling the box meaning either you can pull the boxes In this version or it had a rewind feature and the boxes are being pushed backwards.

[@JeremyParish]

It's a rewind feature. If you can pull, it ain't Soukoban.

[@MrJWTH]

@@JeremyParish Thanks, I figured the clock icon indicated a rewind feature but wasn’t 100% sure.

[@elfiebranford9330]

It's almost weird to think that without Dragon Crystal or Fatal Labyrinth, a game like Hades wouldn't exist lol. Maybe ... I doubt it ... but ya never know!!

[@Technosphile]

Damn, you look nice in that blazer.

[@FallicIdol]

I was quite the arcade rat as a kid, but I never saw G Loc in the arcade. It looks like it was my loss.

[@jasonblalock4429]

G-LOC had a few arcade variants, but one of them was one of the most insane arcade cabinets ever made. It was a motion cabinet that stuck you inside a free-spinning sphere capable of doing full 360-degree spins, and even go inverted. Reportedly it was beyond intense to play and a genuinely unique experience, but only a very very small number of these cabinets were made because they were incredibly expensive - as well as requiring a dedicated operator keeping an eye on players. (and handing out barf bags, I'd assume...)

[@FallicIdol]

@@jasonblalock4429 sounds amazing

[@jamesmoss3424]

I will play G-loc. 😀👍🎮

[@BalsticMaker12]

Speaking of Game Gear, are there any plans to cover GG Aleste 3, the latest Game Gear game released? It was released on December 24th 2020.

[@JeremyParish]

Sure, as soon as I get to Game Boy Works Gaiden for 2020

[@cj694x2]

I can just picture a KZbin video from the year 3000, Jeremy's head in a glass jar talking about how odd it was that a Sega Game Gear game was released in 2020.

[@rubberwoody]

soukoban deez

[@BlUsKrEEm]

I love Dragon Crystal! It's a simple roguelike, but just complex enough to be interesting

[@MichaelHeide]

Hold on, if the dragon doesn't help in battle, what does it do? In my very few attempts at the game, I never managed to get it to hatch.

[@JeremyParish]

It’s just kinda there. Useless tag along

[@MichaelHeide]

@@JeremyParish What an odd gimmick.

[@RalphBarbagallo]

Lynx did have a limited release in Japan. There’s even Japanese exclusive Klax box art.

[@JeremyParish]

Yes, that info will be updated for the book.

[@LeftyPem]

Riverhillsoft, makers of Overblood. Hoo boy!

[@MsRougewarrior]

I can always count on Heiyankoyo Alien and Soukoban to rear its head in this series. Great work Mr. Parish!

[@rabiroden]

the best thing about these series is Jeremy invariably becoming the go-to historical expert on Sokoban games

[@JeremyParish]

There’s at least one more to come in 2021

[@JasonMontell2501]

Do you have a Facebook page?

[@JeremyParish]

I try to avoid Facebook ever since they lied about their ad stats to suffocate the industry I worked in.

[@fingrati]

Dragon Crystal has some good rogue-like dungeon mechanics, but it's challenging difficulty and non-existant save state is hard to bear. Sadly, it's a thumbs down from me.

[@ArtUndertheArch]

I like your hat

[@JeremyParish]

Thanks, I stole it from a dead Irishman