Tough but Rewarding: StarTropics for NES - A Review | hungrygoriya

StarTropics on the NES is a worthy adventure to embark upon if you like a little mystery, some tricky traps and puzzles, as well as some mountainous difficulty. Its charming story and characters make for a fun and dangerous summer vacation, with great music to bop along to while you search for a lost family member. Definitely give this one a try, but be prepared to die a lot! 🍖
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#retrogaming #startropics #nes

[@Toast_Points]

So, I know of one difference in review mode. In review mode the poet Po will tell you the two names he is considering for his poem, "Climb Up the Mountain" and "Splash in the Fountain". This ties in with a later villager who asks you to name Po's Poem, followed by a bunch of blank spaces, and then asks if you are a Game Master. This is likely what they were referencing in the manual with the line "True Gamemasters (sic) always try the review mode, just to be certain that they haven't missed any clues" It's very strange that they went through all that just for one change that doesn't actually effect anything, since you don't actually get a chance to name the poem, but it is there. I know WAAAAY too much about this game. It's been one of my favorites since I was very little and my earliest memory is fighting Dodos in the Chapter 3 tunnel.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh nice! I had no idea, but that's a great tidbit of information that others would probably like to know. I'm going to pin your message (if you don't want it pinned, just let me know!)

[@Toast_Points]

@@hungrygoriya I'm honored to have my comment pinned!

[@necogreendragon]

I love hearing about obscure or hidden things in video games like this. Thanks for sharing.👍

[@Toast_Points]

@@necogreendragon Here's another fun one about StarTropics. In Chapter 6 there's a point where you can find a heart container in the tunnels. If you get it and continue to the next dungeon, you can leave the dungeon and come back and the heart container will have respawned. You can repeat until your hearts are maxed. Unfortunately, it only works for that dungeon, as the game will set your hearts to the correct amount afterwards. But it's a very difficult dungeon with enemies that hit like a truck, so it's still a pretty useful trick if you get stuck there.

[@creationzikaz4836]

@@Toast_Points Awesome trivia, thank you.

[@pecoros7]

A Hungry Goriya video AND it's about Star Tropics? My day is absolutely made.

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoyed the video!

[@cookieskoon2028]

Excuse me but is your pfp a NUNEARY!?

[@Desertskunk]

Star Tropics was such a bit part of my childhood. Being a nintenkid, raised with nintendo power, the reference to Nester was a joy to see. As for the movement though, there IS a little bit of a trick to it. Instead of holding the direction change tap it then tap and hold. That should address a lot of the sluggishness of the controls should you ever revisit the game! That doesn't fully alleviate it mind you, but it is way more snappy that way.

[@hungrygoriya]

Ah interesting! So it should be played more like a double-tap than a single button press... I'll try to remember that the next time I play! I had no idea who Nester was until I was an adult. I never had the pleasure of reading any Nintendo Power as a kid.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

I remember when my mom brought this home. She got farther then me. I'm embarassed to say I'm still plugging away towards the ending. I still enjoy it a lot.

[@hungrygoriya]

No need to be embarrassed. This is a tough one!

[@ChunkyBiscuits6744]

This game was, and still is, amazing. Dr. Jones asking you to dip his letter in water was brilliant. For those that never bought it back in the day, a letter was folded in with the game and instruction booklet. Having to get a paper wet IRL to reveal a code was the coolest thing ever at the time, and is still such a great touch. Playing the piano, helping a dolphin and so much more. What a true gem. Glad you covered it!

[@creationzikaz4836]

747!

[@isturma]

I remember being wigged out by the paper giving the code by being wet; I was in Jr. High and remember asking my chemistry teacher about it. Too bad we don't see this kind of interesting ideas in modern titles.

[@TheBathrobeWizard]

Early copyright protection. Anti piracy only got worse from here on lol

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for taking the time to watch! I appreciate it!

[@johnwesley256]

I borrowed a copy from my friend. When I got stuck on the paper part, I played his save and beat the final boss. The code was in the end screen credits. Was able to finish my game from there.

[@TheDumontShow]

😂😂😂 the punctuation bothered you that much. I like you, Goriya. That had me cracking up what you said about it. Never noticed it in the game. Now I can't unsee it. StarTropics was awesome. I beat it on emulation. Such a fun game.

[@hungrygoriya]

Reading it out loud is a totally different story... sorry!

[@Volyren]

Think I figured out the reason for the missing periods. Was watching your video, and noticed it was _only_ periods at the end of dialogue. Question and exclamation marks showed up, and proper periods were everywhere else. So, I'm guessing putting a period at the end called a function or caused an error. For instance, in one rpg maker program I was fiddling with, anytime I used ... in text, the program would crash. But it only happened if I used ... as the opening for a dialogue box. Example: ... uhhhh... what? Come to find out, just two periods will trigger it. Because it was a function that called a name. If I typed ".. Stop right there!" It would display " Stop right there!" And I didn't set the variable. It made pauses at the beginnings of lines very awkward to write. Given its _only_ periods at the ends of lines, I'd put money on a similar issue.

[@dansmith1661]

Breath of Fire 3 does the same thing. They don't end their sentences.

[@williebias672]

I’m very glad that you got around to playing this one. I’ve always found it to be a charming game ever since I was a child. Aside from the drawbacks you listed, the only places I got frustrated, save for the difficulty spike in the final level, was that invisible wall in the ghost village, and finding that frequency, the one that you’d get if you dipped the letter in water that came with the game. 747 forever stuck itself in my brain because when I had first played it there was no internet and I had to go through each frequency one at a time. Again, thank you for reviewing this game.

[@hungrygoriya]

I can imagine this game being something really memorable when you're little, especially if you had to go through every number to get the code! Wow! I also remember walking around the ghost village and having a very difficult time making progress there. Thanks for sharing your memories about StarTropics with me!

[@AvalancheReviews]

I love how experimental game design was back in the NES era. Developers didn't always shoehorn themselves into a single genre. Stuff like Castlevania 2, Zelda 2 and Star Tropics had such heavy RPGs vibes, but they were their own thing too.

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah! Everything was new back then and it wasn't really clear what would stick. This is definitely a unique experience that sets itself apart from other games with RPG elements. I love it!

[@DrunkMoblin]

One of my favorite youtubers reviewing one of my favorite games?! I just played through this again last weekend. I play it once every couple years along with the sequel Zoda's Revenge!

[@hungrygoriya]

Hooray! What good timing then. I hope your revisit was a good time!

[@skcarr4119]

Late 80s/early 90s Canada's Wonderland and getting stuck for weeks at different parts of this game -- pure nostalgia.

[@hungrygoriya]

Canada's Wonderland was a staple for me growing up. I have some old home movies that I've been digitizing and I couldn't help but show some of that. I'm pretty enamoured by how it all used to look back then.

[@ralang999]

Great arcades at CW too!​@@hungrygoriya

[@skcarr4119]

@@hungrygoriya For sure, your video reminded me of going to Smurf Village there when I was little and then, of course, the rides when I was a bit older. It seems like just yesterday that the Vortex opened. I like that you also included a clip of driving on the highway. Even though it only took 45 minutes, as a kid it seemed like forever and the anticipation became a core part of the experience.

[@LazyChillZone]

Hungry Goriya x Star Tropics... this is a treat. Always love your content!

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you! I hope you liked the video!

[@Ragesauce]

I played this game with my aunt a lot as a kid. We didn't have internet at the time, and we had lost the instruction manual. We got to the ship code part and this woman used brute force to decipher it, starting with 001, 002, 003 etc. She took a lot of breaks, and kept the game on for several days till it was solved. Still blows my mind today.

[@Ratralsis]

That is, and I'm not joking, I promise, one of the coolest things I've ever heard. Your aunt was (is?) awesome.

[@Ragesauce]

@@Ratralsis She certainly was. A very unique one.

[@hungrygoriya]

So nice to hear that your aunt came through for you like that.

[@Ragesauce]

@@hungrygoriya oh she was the one playing it, I was just watching. We took turns when she died too much, but it was her game/house and I was REALLY little. I tried to help solve it even my cousin tried and none of us knew what to do, but she was dedicated, she had that kind of mindset, very cool to see as a kid.

[@jasonmiller3543]

Absolutely love this game! It's such an overlooked gem. The puns don't always hit but it's a fun time. Really enjoyed the back & forth of gameplay mechanics. Thanks for covering this one. I may have to dust off my NES and give this one another playthrough. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on an old classic

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoy this one if you revisit it. Thanks for dropping in!

[@TheUnklGene]

This was our family favorite NES growing up. Everyone in our household played and beat Startropics. Wonderful game ♥️

[@hungrygoriya]

What lovely memories! I remember playing Mario 2 with my family a lot back then.

[@BigmanDogs]

Your videos are really relaxing and lets me experience the nostalgia of these games, even though I grew up with games from the 2000s.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you very much! I grew up with the NES so it's nice to find new games for that console and enjoy them in my adult years. I hope you'll try out some older games sometime. There's so much to enjoy.

[@BigmanDogs]

@@hungrygoriya I've loved retro games since childhood, finding out some of my GBA games were ports and remasters of older titles. Seeing Mario World on a friend's dad's SNES was a shock. Growing up with the retro gaming KZbin scene, from AVGN to those inspired by him, deepened my love for 8-bit and 16-bit games. Though right now I mainly play older games from consoles I'm nostalgic for, especially adult-oriented games I missed back then. The mid-2000s charm lies in that it's the era right before game dev teams exploded in size and things got even more corporate and monetized. 🤭

[@yellowstreetlight]

Canada's Wonderland! Nice. Sure loved that Smurf cave. Never managed to go through Gargamel's house. A well placed exit for the not so brave kids had quite the lineup.

[@hungrygoriya]

I've been digitizing some home movies lately, and I'm pretty sure we have some footage of the Smurf area from Wonderland during that time. I was really young back then so I don't have very clear memories of that experience, but I don't think I would've been brave enough for Gargamel's house!

[@KarmaJolt]

Just replayed this game with a friend a few days ago! This game is so great but you have to forgive A LOT about the controls and BS difficulty... XD

[@estefencosta1835]

Product of it's era. For the NES it's not even really NES hard.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh nice! I'm glad you got to pick it up again and enjoy it. I agree about the difficulty. You pretty much have to figure out everything by trial and error and then put it all together to get through each dungeon. It's a lot!

[@chasonlapointe]

The two startropics games were some of my favorite NES games. Fantastic video.

[@hungrygoriya]

I can't wait to try out Zoda's Revenge someday. I've heard mixed things about the changes to the controls.

[@justabaldguy]

Oh I've been waiting on this one. You're so much better at games than I ever was. I have no idea how you're so patient. I got frustrated easily. Some of those deaths were cheap, as you detailed. And don't get me started on all the times I accidentally leapt to my watery grave! We played it way back around '91, I think? Not sure but I remember it was a summer and we had a massive help from Nintendo Power. We LOVED going through it. Four of us "played," including someone making paper maps of rooms and locations and everyone not on the controller helping with ideas and suggestions. Hopping back and forth in the right sequence was initially off-putting but eventually we loved it. It was a bit of lightning in a bottle for me. Never found another game that captured the feeling of that game in a great summer. You said it right, it's one-of-a-kind. As an aside, it'd be fun to copy Jeremy Parish and change his meme to fit you: "It's been ____ many days since this channel mentioned Faxanadu." ;-)

[@hungrygoriya]

I feel like as I've gotten older, my patience continues to grow. I had a way worse temper with games when I was a kid than I do now. The fact that you got through this with a couple of friends and made some great memories with StarTropics is really cool. I didn't know a lot of people that liked games back in the day, so I ended up playing them mostly on my own. I'm jealous! And to copy Jeremy Parish would be an honour, haha

[@thepositiver9977]

One of my favorite nes games, such a fantastic adventure game. Had a few years I replayed the game once a year because I loved the light hearted humorous dialogue and the game that much. I didn't grew up in the 80s or early 90s so I have no idea how being a kid was back then but seeing the old home movies in this review was such a wonderful touch. The dungeons are challenging but on replays they don't become as bad as the first time and the music is really catchy.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad you enjoyed the home movies! My dad lugged a camera around all over the place growing up and it's really nice to have those memories. And I imagine a replay of the game comes with the experience of finishing it before. Hopefully all that motor memory kicks in and saves you from having to relearn everything from scratch! If you do die a lot, the music's good company at least!

[@longshotomega4258]

Star Tropics is a very weird and bizarre game that doesn't get enough love IMHO. I still have my copy from when I was a kid! I never could quite finish the final chapter but I think it's probably a good time to revisit it. Thanks for the review!

[@hungrygoriya]

Good luck with your triumphant return to the game! I believe in you!

[@comicsshouldmatterbutdont2760]

me and my brother got in a big fight at the toys r us to get either this or little nemo our one game for the year :(

[@hungrygoriya]

Awwww :( Both are good. I used to get a game for my birthday and one for Christmas, so I feel this!

[@rhone733]

What a great game. I was so excited for this one when I saw it in Nintendo Power. I rented it and ran into the map/radio gimmick and couldn't finish it. I later got it as a gift and finished it then.

[@hungrygoriya]

Better late than never! Congratulations!

[@BB-te8tc]

Startropics will always hold a very special place in my heart. It was the first brand new game I bought solely with my own money (through a Nintendo Power catalogue, no less!) I think you'll like the sequel. Its much more combat focused but with a much more manuverable and agile character. I think from a pick up and play perspective its a bit better than the first.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh wow! Was it the box art that spoke to you? Did it happen to be the StarTropics issue itself or a different one that talked about it? I hope I like the sequel when I get around to it. People seem pretty split about whether it's a good game or not since it diverges from the first game so much.

[@BB-te8tc]

Actually, it was the NES Game Atlas that piqued my curiosity, and later, a "quick play" walkthrough in a later issue (some point in 1994 I think) that helped me get over the "adventures and RPGs are too intimidating" thing (well, that and limited screen time growing up that I had to share with two brothers). I don't recall what issue the catalog was in: I want to say January 1995? I think it was a subscriber exclusive. Might have been Canada only too.

[@AL_Talks]

"If I do replay Star Tropics in the future I probably won't hesitate to put them to work," she said knowingly lying to the audience 😆

[@hungrygoriya]

Quiet you! I can use consumables. I think I can, anyway. I guess we'll see when the time comes...

[@AL_Talks]

@@hungrygoriya Love you Hungry, your reply made me burst out laughing 🤣

[@estefencosta1835]

Yessss thank you Hungry Goriya! One of my favorite games from my childhood. The vibing tropical feel of the game wasn't like anything else. Star Tropics 2 is even better.

[@hungrygoriya]

The soundtrack's perfect for the tropical vibes eh? I couldn't get over how bubbly and fun the entire story was.

[@estefencosta1835]

@@hungrygoriya Yes, it really is a hidden gem of it's era. It's so different from anything else that existed at that time and it really nailed the tone. I'm glad it's never come up as a franchise to "reboot" because I'm sure they'd screw it all up. I highly recommend the sequel, it gets rid of a lot of the gameplay complaints with more axis of movement and a more responsive controls in general. It's also a much larger and expansive game that is more fun than it has any right to be.

[@creationzikaz4836]

I'm surprised you didn't talk about the code you had to get from putting some paper in water. It's like *the* thing everyone talks about when it comes to Star Tropics. Lovely video as always. Keep it up!

[@hungrygoriya]

That's why I didn't really mention it. Plus it's a huge spoiler!

[@zaelyn]

Hungry, I hope you are taking a bit of time for yourself to rest! You've been going pedal to the metal with all of the content creation this month! With that said though, I did enjoy the review, as always :).

[@hungrygoriya]

Awwww... I promise I'm taking good care of myself.

[@vadenk4433]

I can't believe my 9 year old self ever beat this game. I've been playing it recently and the chapter 7 space ship level is kicking my ass lol. Still my favorite Nintendo game though!

[@hungrygoriya]

Anything's possible if you work for it! Congratulations!

[@EveryDooDarnDiddlyDay]

This is a game begging for a hack that fixes the controls. Also, blind jumps need to go. Then I might actually play this.

[@hungrygoriya]

If you wanted to avoid the blind jumps, you could always play with a guide. I found that aspect particularly annoying though!

[@AB0BA_69]

9:16 Sounds like you needed the power on your playthrough to help with unfair combat rooms: Nintendo Power! 😂

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh probably!! Any help would've been good, but I choose to suffer with no guides when I play these games for the first time.

[@darkworlddenizen]

I started with star tropics II and it was the last brand new game i got for the NES. I picked up the first one a couple years ago at a game store, its ok, but the second i think is better at least if you started with the sequel first. Seems alot of the awkwardness from the first one were fixed.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm looking forward to trying out Zoda's Revenge someday.

[@thegameoverclub]

My love for Startropics and it's sequel knows no bounds! Bought the game with my twin brother and played it endlessly. One memory that is etched in me was trying to figure out the sub frequency. Me and my brothers trying in vein to figure it out, then one afternoon I was looking through the box while my brother was playing and remembered about the yellow letter that was included. I jumped to my feet, bellowing out "I FIGURED IT OUT!" raced to the bathroom turn the tap on and dipped the bottom portion of the letter. (You should have seen the look on my face when I saw that invincible ink come to life LOL) as I bolted back to the living room I was yelling "I got it, I got it! it's 747!!!" :) What an amazing game, and it's a real SHAME that Nintendo hasn't made it into a franchise! Could you imagine a SUPER Startropics for the SNES or even a Game Boy entry. Great video Hungry Goriya, and great memories going to Canada's Wonderland as well.

[@felman87]

Everyone talks about how they grew up with this game and how fun it was. I first heard it from NitroRad and his review made me wish I had this on my NES as a kid.

[@hungrygoriya]

I wish I had it back then too, but better late than never. There's still lots of time to enjoy it!

[@poughkeepsieblue]

I cant believe i missed this upload... i wasnt subscribed for some reason, but i thought i was. Honestly, your attention to details and gameplay makes every second worth it. You seriously know what youre talking about, and im an old gamer, who still owns my original nes, so its very refreshing to hear it coming from a mature woman, which i find rare. Around the time these games were out, it was a boys arena. Gotta say though, you have the voice and charisma to make me return. Very nice work as always.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for stopping by!

[@havanaradio]

Could never beat that damn alien at the end. Just like batman I couldn't kill joker but loved both games ❤️

[@hungrygoriya]

That fight was so tough! The last stage and that final fight were absolute nightmares, but if I can do it, so can you!

[@goatbone]

2:12 I wouldn't call Germany an 'English-speaking region.'

[@hungrygoriya]

Did you guys get a German translation there? I know it was developed for English-speaking audiences in North America first.

[@Illgaia]

The difficulty of the game increased pretty consistently until Chapter 7, but that was when things really got tough. Suddenly, the first level of that area is a maze, enemies are more fierce and numerous, and there's no way to know where to go other than trial and error. Get through that, and you move on to the (shorter) Chapter 8, which opens with a boss fight, and has no way to heal before it. The downgrading weapon system reminds me of Blaster Master. You also lost weapon power as you took damage, but you could at least refill your weapon gauge independently of your health to get your better gun back. One thing I never questioned until I was an adult was Chapter 5. The only way through the strait is to sink the ship that belonged to Captain Bell, a legendary hero to the people who live there who apparently saved them all by blocking the strait with his ship, instead of just going under it with your submarine. And everyone seems pretty ok with it as they wave goodbye while you sail away. Generations of parrots playing the telephone game are also there to make sure you know a thing or two about Solfege. Good luck figuring out the organ puzzle if you're unfamiliar.

[@freddiejohnson6137]

I played Star Tropics when I was about 12 or 13 but had picked up the cartridge only as it was it a pawn shop. Obviously not knowing that you needed a code in the supplied letter to advance. Bearing in mind I had no magazines or cheat books that also had the code printed in it and there was no internet at the time I just kind of never went back to it and it is now on my backlog of games I may never get around to finishing. 30 years later I don't think I have much memory of the game itself because the one thing that stuck in my mind was never being able to progress.

[@jarredkrum9894]

I bought this awhile back got pretty far in it and then havent played it in awhile. I should really beat it lol

[@hungrygoriya]

Good luck to you if you do get back to it. I enjoyed how the game slowly trained me up for the more difficult parts towards the end. If you do need to brush up your skills if it's been a while, Review Mode may come in handy after all!

[@Funrunner008]

This needed a sequel badly on the snes, One of my favorite games for nes besides crytalis.

[@hungrygoriya]

There was a sequel on the NES. Have you tried that one? I haven't yet.

[@benito6036]

Parrot: DO ME SO FAR, DO ME! Me: Am I being propositioned by a parrot?!

[@AlexDraut]

One of my favorite games on the console. Thanks for reviewing. Cheers!

[@hungrygoriya]

It's an easy favourite. Very rewarding when you make progress!

[@Grinnar]

This game was very unexpected for me when I played it.

[@hungrygoriya]

Hopefully in a good way!

[@Grinnar]

@@hungrygoriya yes! It was very refreshing and a new way to play!

[@Merlchar]

This was a game I loved as kid and had forgotten all about. To be reminded of it decades later and be surprised at some of the memories that still remain is a real treat.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh nice! Glad you have such longstanding memories of this one.

[@ZEKESPILLEDINKMUSIC]

I had been waiting a long time for you to talk about StarTropics. It is such a good game with creative puzzles. I especially loved the one where the parrot seems to be spouting nonsense (" DO ME SO FAR, DO ME!"), but it is actually the key to a music puzzle that requires understanding some solfege in order to solve it.

[@ZEKESPILLEDINKMUSIC]

The puzzle involving the piece of paper with the secret ship code was also interesting because of how it broke the "Fourth Wall." It was a piece of paper that came with the physical copies of StarTropics. The paper had to be carefully dipped in water to reveal a three-digit code that would provide the coordinates for a location halfway through the game. The code is also required to complete the game because there's an NPC who will ask for it and instruct Mike (the player) about what to do with the paper. Since I played StarTropics on Switch, and since the game is unplayable without that code, I have committed the code to memory ever since. The ship's coordinates are: "747." Again, entering that code is the only way to complete StarTropics.

[@Joker22593]

In digital editions of the game, the included digital manual has a digital letter that you can dip into digital water. No memory needed!

[@hungrygoriya]

I recognized it right away as an adult and knew I was on the right track once I saw the piano. As a kid though? I don't know that I would've put that together right away.

[@poughkeepsieblue]

I love reading the comments about moms and aunts playing games on this channel. To me, it seemed more boys played these games than girls, but i know they still did. My friend Mike, his mom was trying to play mario 2 when i met her, and i appreciate now, how young she was, and everything she went through at that time. I always look back at that, and make the connection that she was a teenage mom, and how she influenced us by being "cool" but stilll being a mom. I mustave been like 8 years old when i saw this. And i still remember it and appreciate it till today. God bless the girls who grew up to be nostalgic gamers. My shirt goes off to you beautiful ladies.

[@chroniclesofguyver7888]

I'm sure Startropics will always be remembered as one of the greats of the NES. I remember my friends and I were immediately fascinated by it because it was like Zelda... but different. Once you started talking about the game's extra lives system it reminded me of a recent discussion about the difficulty of video games and how old games are generally regarded as more difficult than newer games. I absolutely believe this is true and my main reason is autosaves replaced extra lives. Nowadays it's a given that every game has an autosave system that quickly drops you right back into the game almost from the very point where you died, making an extra lives system irrelevant. Before autosaves you had to defeat a game, an entire game, before your lives ran out. One of my favorite examples is the much praised Souls-like games. They are widely regarded as highly difficult games because your character dies so easily. But the deaths are really meaningless as your character is immediately dropped back into the game at the closest possible point to where they perished. If Dark Souls had been conceived of in the 8-bit era, death would have meant starting a level over again, probably with a penalty, and three deaths would have been a trip back to the title screen. Now I will probably spend the rest of the day wondering what an 8-bit Dark Souls demake would be like.

[@hungrygoriya]

You know, you raise a very good point. I agree with you: lives and limited continues really made retro games a lot more difficult. I haven't played many modern games, but based on what you're describing, you really just have to go through the motions of the game rather than really needing to practice and put it all together. I don't know if one's better than the other, but I'm personally always up for the challenge of old games.

[@Ironstarfish]

I rented it and played several hours trying to figure out that stupid Do Ra Me musical code AND then never knew the 1776 code because it was a rental at blockbuster!!!!

[@hungrygoriya]

Booooooooo! I never encountered issues like this when renting, but we never really rented games until I was a bit older in the 90s. I mostly rented Sega Genesis stuff back then. Sorry you couldn't get further without the letter :(

[@Ironstarfish]

@@hungrygoriya yeah the letter didn’t come with the game lol guess I’m just old and 43

[@InflatableConan]

My all-time favorite game on the NES. I remember looking at the box art, anticipating being taken to this tropical nautical setting. It was digital magic.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's great how well this game takes that feeling of summer vacation and just emanates it in every way. I really loved the setting here.

[@InflatableConan]

@hungrygoriya Ah, indeed. Another game that takes me to "Summer days" is Wave Race 64. I always make sure to play that at least once a year during the Summer time.. 😂 And about StarTropics, it was a great game to play growing up in Chicago during the winter when it was minus 30 degrees outside. Made me forget about all the snow I had to shovel.. 😂 And great video, by the way! So many valid points that I can relate to. Keep up the great work with your channel! I subbed. 😊

[@boardgameJeff]

I beat the game this year, very proud of myself!

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey congrats! That's not an easy feat!

[@jamesmoss3424]

StarTropics is a brilliant 90's Nintendo game. 😀👍🎮

[@hungrygoriya]

It was a great time! If the movement delay was eliminated, I would've loved it even more.

[@TimewornUncle]

The end clip was so nice. You didn't mention "the letter". I bought this new when I was in high school, so I had the letter and I dipped it in water to get the code. Many people who bought this 2nd hand were absolutely stumped until the internet happened. Also what was not mentioned is how amazing the story was in that it starts in primitive jungle islands and suddenly becomes a futuristic outer space adventure. Or maybe you didn't want to spoil it for anyone. That was the best feature of this game. I must have played through it over 10 times in the past 35 years.

[@hungrygoriya]

I didn't mention either of those things since they spoil big parts/features of the game, but I can just imagine how frustrated people without the letter were back in the day. I had a willing person from my stream community actually dip their letter in water and take a photo for me, so it was like I actually had one. I only have the cart and manual.

[@jeggitv]

Fantastic video as always! Keep up the awesome work, HG! - Andrew "Vahn"

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks so much for stopping in!!

[@JAleksandr]

Just found your channel and LOVE IT!!! Scrolled through vid list and didn’t see anything like a setup reveal showing off your setup and possible library. Would love to see a walkthrough of your game room!

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks so much for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying the channel. I think I'd like to do a game room video one of these days, but we desperately need more shelving first. Right now I have games doubled up and things are a bit chaotic.

[@mmo4754]

Thanks to you I've started collecting nes games, though I don't yet have my nes to play them on. I picked up Faxanadu, StarTropics, Milons Secret Castle and Legacy of the Wizard, all fairly cheap. I haven't played ANY of these games, but I've watched you review them and I've listened to the music a lot. I can't wait to see it on my CRT someday.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh wow! That's really great to hear. Collecting's a very fun hobby, especially if you're patient and wait for some good deals. Congratulations on the budding collection! I hope you can get yourself an NES soon and give them all a try. Especially Faxanadu!

[@chaos_sonic2.0]

Hi can you make a video collecting emrelds in sonic one

[@hungrygoriya]

I don't think I'm able to do that. Those special stages are impossible!

[@adambilz9978]

I do so enjoy when one of your videos pops up. Nice work!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you! I'm a little late with this one. I've been getting featured on the front page of Twitch for the month of June, so I've been working on representing retro over there in as many ways as I can. I'll hopefully be up to a more frequent upload schedule soon. Thanks for your patience!

[@PositronPlays]

I love StarTropics! Over time it has risen through the ranks, so-to-speak, as one of my favorite NES games. There really was nothing quite like it; I'll never forget that dungeon theme.. or the first time I fell for the incredibly mean trap in that first 'secret' area. The sequel is also quite fun, but making it more action-oriented did take away a bit of the charm of the original. Thanks for the video!

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm really curious to see what the sequel is like someday. Glad to hear you also enjoyed the first game. What's not to love?

[@ianlotts]

Ok, now you need to play Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II. I personally find it significantly better than the first, with movement and attacking being much better.

[@hungrygoriya]

I will definitely try it out someday.

[@RetroGamingNook]

Perfect review! I got this on the Wii Virtual Console and kept getting stuck on dungeon platform timing 2/3rd in and gave it up. It's a tough game. The save file is still there. I want to finish it now as I own the sequel physically.

[@hungrygoriya]

Each new area has a pretty significant difficulty jump, so I don't blame you for getting stuck. I had to put a lot of work in to get through this one. If you try again, I wish you the best of luck!

[@Umqualquerporra]

Ah, Star Tropics. The Dark Souls of Star Tropics games. Sorry, sorry. I like how positive you are with your game reviews. Of course, I "grew up" with the foul-mouthed angry retro reviewer, and will always love the 2008-2012ish youtube antics, but your delivery is very refreshing, precisely because it isn't it. Variety is a great thing. Your style is very much your own, and amazing. Please play more games and review them.

[@hungrygoriya]

I try my best to keep things positive. There's good in every game! Even the games I really didn't enjoy overall had some good points to them. I'll keep making videos for as long as I can. Thanks for the support!

[@dracoerrarus4834]

Great job! I love this game, but on the original NES, I only made it to the beginning of the last chapter. Losing your powered up yo-yo is devastating! I did finally beat Star Tropics 1 & 2 on Nintendo Online, but I save scummed all the death traps, lol. The controls are updated in Star Tropics 2. I bet you’ll like it more. I, however, still prefer the first game’s intentional pause when turning for the sake of tight platform jumping.

[@hungrygoriya]

I don't blame you for save scumming. I occasionally wish for save states playing on original hardware, and this was one of those times for sure. I'm curious to see what StarTropics 2 is like someday.

[@Zirbip]

I rented this game as a kid and enjoyed it... until I got stuck at that one point where I needed the physical note to get the code to continue the adventure.

[@hungrygoriya]

I've heard from a few people that got stuck there as well. It's a cool idea but not the kindest implementation for the used/rental market.

[@Zirbip]

@@hungrygoriya That was probably the idea. If you want to finish the game, you'll have to buy it!

[@mccloaker]

HungrTropics. I agree, the bosses were the highlight of the game. Apparently this was made entirely in the US.

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah! It's nice that it had a coherent story.

[@kuma1388]

Hi my name is Michael jones, all my friends call me Fred.

[@Animebryan2]

One little quirk you didn't mention in the video is that the side quest rewards like hidden Heart Containers would be given to you automatically at the end of each chapter even if you missed them, so not being able to go back to a previous chapter wasn't that big of a deal. There's also a exploit in Chapter 6 where the meteorite is where you can find a hidden Heart Container, leave the area & come back, and it would respawn, allowing you to max out your hearts.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh really? I didn't know that was a thing in the game. Thanks for explaining!

[@ColedOne]

Thorough and entertaining, as always! StarTropics is something I only got around to checking out way after the fact, but it still stands out to me as one of the most entertaining games to revisit on NES. It combines parts of other games that clearly were being worked on or had already proven somewhat successful in such an interesting way that it feels like a sort of remix of the era's greatest hits, wrapped up in its own little package. Love it!

[@hungrygoriya]

That's very true! It has a little bit of everything.

[@benm.724]

Been waiting on your next review...love watching them!

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm a little behind! Thanks so much for your patience. I've been playing retro games on the front page of Twitch for the month of June, so my schedule's been pretty busy. I should be back to uploading a little more frequently when the month draws to a close.

[@bannelore449]

I was just thinking I hadn't seen a Hungry Goriya upload in a while, and boom! And one of my all-time favorite NES games, to boot! Haven't watched the video yet, but the skull-headed ostriches always gave me nightmares as a kid lmao

[@hungrygoriya]

It's been a little bit! I've been featured on Twitch's front page for the month of June, so I've been doing lots of extra streaming over there trying to represent retro the best I can. Sorry for the delay! And those ostriches were one of the worst enemies!!! I hated them!

[@ralang999]

Mike could really have benefitted from having 8 way attack/movement in the dungeons. I remember at the end of the summer in 1990 I had saved up enough meager kid money for one game. If Crystalis hadn't existed I would have definitely gone for Startropics!

[@hungrygoriya]

I think either game would've been a good choice.

[@galloe8933]

Broke the sub code as a kid, 111, 112, etc, etc, 747! I still remember being intimidated by the Easter Island heads when I was watching my dad play it, well before I had to crack the code or had the hand eye coordination for this game. I could beat the first level in SMB 3, but mom did the second so I could get creamed on the third, this is all to say I think I was 4 when I first saw Star Tropics, and it was still very new. Xoda's revenge controls better, and looks better, but for the sake of when I first saw it, the first one is my favorite. That's the one that has a place in my past... I beat Xoda on my PSP, never did finish it on native hardware. Lovely video.

[@hungrygoriya]

I always enjoy your memories of gaming with your family. I'm really curious to try out the sequel someday. It's good to know there's still more StarTropics left to enjoy and that I'm not out of games yet.

[@Dustin_VG]

Good video on one of my favorite NES games! Besides the amusing but ultimately inexcusable "gotcha" rooms, I think this game is actually quite well, if still brutally, designed. The movement delay is a very common sticking point, but I feel it's fairly easy to see why they did it. StarTropics' combat is designed to be, for lack of a better description, very tactical; the constant push and pull of offense and defense feels very baked into the design in my opinion, and a big part of that is being able to change directions without actually moving. I feel like, on a controller with more buttons, there would absolutely be more elegant ways of doing this (such as something like the 360 aim in Metroid Dread), but I guess this is the best they could really hope to do on the NES. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the sequel. It changed up a lot of things about the first game and it's very contentious for that reason.

[@hungrygoriya]

You know, I've thought a lot about the movement and I can see what you're saying here, but I think they could've done it a bit differently as well. Golden Axe Warrior allows you to pivot by holding the attack button, but it's optional. You can choose when to take damage rather than having it forced on you, and the Master System controller has even less buttons than the NES one. I take your point though! They tried something and while it makes sense to not automatically start moving when you turn, it would've been a bit nicer having the option to activate it. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel someday. I've heard mixed things because of those changes you mentioned and I'm extremely curious!

[@PragmatikReviews]

There is just so much goodness with star tropics. With a challenge that doesn't have you throwing your controller. And the fact that it is more directed towards an English speaking audience is kind if nice. Nice to see more text than you'd see in other NES games. Great review here!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you very much! I agree with you about the difficulty, though there were some parts I really struggled with. I found this more difficult than a lot of other NES games I've played but seeing it through was worth it!

[@winstonslone2797]

I must say. Out of all the bandwagon NES content producers out there I enjoy your videos and they are accurate. I grew up during the hayday of Nintendo and you bring back great memories. I watched a video of yours the other night and had a dream reinacting me buying a McDonald's super Mario bros 3 happy meal in 1990 I had forgotten that awesome moment. Thanks.

[@hungrygoriya]

That's really nice of you to say! The only thing I can really speak from is my own experience, usually the first time through some of these titles (even though I've been playing video games since the early 90s). What an interesting dream! It's so cool getting teleported back in time like that, even just for a little while.

[@christhenerdtv]

I played this growing up, side by side with my grandmother, who taught me how to play the game. It will always hold a strong place in my heart. Great video.

[@hungrygoriya]

What lovely memories! Thank you for sharing!

[@KaskelotenZebbe]

I played this on the NES Classic Mini earlier this year. Sometimes, especially when it came to timing puzzles (like the rolling balls), I was extremely frustrated. I also felt very underpowered compared to the enemies, which could not only move faster and in diagonal directions, but also attack faster than me. But the dungeons were fun enough to keep going, and the graphics and music are both topnotch. What left my final impression on it on me, however, was the story, which was mind-blowingly good at the end and felt so rewarding.

[@hungrygoriya]

I feel the same way! The music and characters/story were the highlight of StarTropics for me as well, and the game was a struggle, especially the back end of it. I still enjoyed my time with it though!

[@danbauer3669]

As a kid, I played this game about a million times and never beat the third level. As an adult, I've played this game about half a million times and never beat the third level. Is it time to just use a walk-through and crush this game once and for all? Next stop, UCBVG! Great review for a great game, Goriya!

[@hungrygoriya]

Ooooo UCBVG has a great channel! I know I'm a bit late to replying, but I hope you made it!

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

I think this game is what coined the old saying “Nintendo hard!” Followed up with the “get good” slogan. Those action stages often broke many players. Only to pick that controller back up knowing you can get past that part. I think that’s why it really does feel good when you get out the end of an area and the game exclaims “wow! You’ve done it!” then giving you points that amount to nothing 😂 This is definitely one I’ve played many times! First play thru though I got stuck at Captain Mac’s ship. It all came down to not knowing my music scale! So ai spent days trying to figure out what I was doing wrong until my mom actually helped. So with the help of my mom and this game I actually learned my Do Re Mi 😆

[@hungrygoriya]

I got absolutely crushed by this game. I hope I shared enough examples of my terrible gameplay to illustrate that this was not a walk in the park, haha... that music at the end of the battle stages fuelled my desire to keep going. Without it, I would've thrown in the towel way earlier on! And that's really cute about the music bit. Glad your mom pulled through for you!

[@ShinShadoWolf]

Startropics. Never played this one. The cover art didn't speak to me like Rygar did. One of my many regrets, because Rygar wasn't very good.

[@hungrygoriya]

I really liked Rygar!

[@johnwesley256]

Star Tropics 2 was a bit more fun after the first couple of chapters. You didn't have the delay from turning around.

[@hungrygoriya]

I need to give the sequel a try someday. I think I'll enjoy it, though I've heard mixed things depending on who I've been speaking to in the comments here about it. People either seem to love or hate it.

[@jorymil]

Star Tropics' dungeons are somewhat similar to Zelda's, which might have had a dead end on a new screen, but never instant death. Better just to take life meter away. For me, StarTropics was a nice COVID diversion, but there are a lot better games out there, like Zelda, Faxanadu, the Dragon Warrior series or Phantasy Star.

[@hungrygoriya]

I feel like StarTropics is a totally different experience than many other games I've played in its unique movement/mechanics. I enjoyed my time with it, but I don't think I'll replay it as much as I would replay some of the other games you've mentioned here.

[@wraize78]

I really need to give this one another try! I feel like I got just past the part with the organ when playing as a kid, but I can’t remember exactly. It is so tough! The music is fantastic though, and I know what you mean about coming to that victory theme feeling so rewarding 😄 Have really enjoyed watching your videos as I progressively unpack and rearrange from my recent move! Your reviews are very thoughtful and thorough and are helping me come up with a nice list of need-to-play games 😄

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks so much for wandering back through my video backlog here. I hope you're getting nice and settled in after the move.

[@alfredocanas6802]

Despite it's flaws Star Tropics is charming and it warms my heart every time I hear the chip tunes which transport me to a special time from my childhood between 1990-1991. Great review as usual, thanks.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for checking out the video! I loved the soundtrack, and I can see it being one of those things wedged in your childhood memories that feels really great to listen to again later in life.

[@geoffreywilson7008]

Zoda's Revenge is much more focused on the action stages, though thankfully they also increased your maneuverability a lot. You still seem to only have 1-2 Iframes, so expect an equally tough ride. There are effectively no 'instant death' traps compared to the first game, and the health reliant weapon has much more overall range, especially towards the endgame.

[@hungrygoriya]

Good to know that there's some challenge and a few quality of life changes coming for me in the sequel. Thanks for the info!

[@garou1911]

Imperfect though it is, Startropics is a very one-of-a-kind game. For better or worse, as an experience it really stands apart and it really is wholly unique to the NES. At least I can't think of another game like it

[@hungrygoriya]

I agree! A few people have mentioned a Famicom game that's similar, but I'm not familiar with it.

[@TheCompletionist]

A fine review there Goriya, but one thing to always admire about your game playing ability is your sheer tenacity to recognize a game's shortcomings but still find the willpower and strength to push yourself through it. For as much as I love the game personally, even I can recognize the fact that the game is not the easiest experience to push through but it is simply one of those trial and error style games, and even though much like you I have replayed the same stages over and over again, it gives me such a great feeling of satisfaction when I finally get through them. At least with unlimited continues you never have to worry about starting over the game right from the very beginning once you lose all your lives unlike a lot of other nes games. I still have a tremendous amount of fondness for this game. It's definitely one of my favourite nes games of all time. Even to this day it has my favourite nes box art and all it took was seeing the commercial for this game for the very first time and I was already convinced. I rented this game so many times as a kid and could never beat it as a rental but I felt pretty proud of myself when every time I did rent the game and I got a little further each time, but it wasn't until I actually got to own the game that i finally managed to beat it. I just love the vibrant colours of the awesome opening and the ending was so long, detailed, and by the time the madness was all over - it felt incredibly rewarding. I still hope that one day Nintendo will come back to this franchise but it may not be feasible to do so since there are very few people that even recognize what Startropics is except for those that truly grew up during the time of the nes.

[@hungrygoriya]

Unlimited continues feels like trouble sometimes to me. It makes it so that I keep playing even when it's long after I should've quit. Sometimes having a proper end to a gameplay session is a good thing, though I'm usually good at knowing my limits and not pushing myself to a point of grumpiness if I'm stuck in a game. I absolutely adored the ending. I didn't include anything from it so I didn't spoil it for anyone wanting to try it out for themselves, but it was one of the best NES endings I've experienced. I love the extra effort! I'll keep my fingers crossed that Nintendo doesn't forget about StarTropics forever. I'd love to see more from this series.

[@lexluthermiester]

@HungryGoriya Your complaints about how cheap the game is and how deliberately unfair it was are why I turned this game off and took it back to the store(because back then you could do that) and never looked at it again until the Game Genie was a thing. In it's original form, it is unreasonably maddening. Even with Game Genie codes, it was an unpleasant experience I will never subject myself too again.

[@hungrygoriya]

Sorry you didn't enjoy this one. I'm happy that I pushed through the control troubles and got to see the end of the game, but there was a lot of trial and error on the way there that I could've done without.

[@gwgux]

Such an awesome game! It'd be great if Nintendo would pick it up again, but alas, I don't see that happening. Also, the boss dying sound wasn't as bad as the mystic cubes at the end IMO...That can make you go nuts if it doesn't blow out your speakers and ear drums. lol

[@hungrygoriya]

Absolutely! I didn't want to spoil anything about the ending of the game, so I stuck to my small rant about the boss screams instead.

[@Boco_Corwin]

The manual reminds me of Castlevania or Kid Icarus for some reason. I loved looking through the bestiaries of video game manuals and D&D books back in the 90s. There's something about the style that's distinctly nostalgic to me.

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah! I really liked the artwork here. Faxanadu, Kid Icarus, Zelda, Mario 2/3's manuals were all ones I read regularly growing up for their artwork and interesting descriptions.

[@magicmike618]

Thing about damage avoidance, you can jump over bats, projectiles, etc., but your attack will float to ground level midair. You dont have to keep getting hit like the hand enemy did, jump!

[@hungrygoriya]

I jumped over quite a few things after I knew they were there. The first time into a room was always a surprise.

[@ggbetz]

Startropics was a game i tried as an adult, and its probably a top 5 NES game for me. Love the music and graphics. I mostly didn't use a guide, and dropped it at the final dungeon. Its definitely an imperfect game. I actually liked the restricted movement system, I found it less fun to play the sequel for that reason Funnily enough, I would love if it was an rpg with lots of reason to backtrack. I think itd be different.

[@hungrygoriya]

Sorry you didn't end up finishing it. It has a mean streak that did get under my skin once in a while. With the movement, I understand why they did it that way, but I didn't like how it felt. It does make sense that you wouldn't move and turn at the same time.

[@jozzeppi]

I received this game for my 7th birthday and was absolutely amazed by it. I think it has not aged well in some respects, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I still have my old Nintendo Power issues with the walkthrough. I don't think I would have finished it without them.

[@hungrygoriya]

There are some aspects that feel a little rough, but I still think it's a good game. It just took me a lot of patience and practice to get through the end section.

[@ozmahunter6940]

Wonderful review, as always, but I’m shocked there was no mention at all about this game’s notorious anti-piracy measures. If like me, you were unfortunate enough to buy this game used or rented it and it had no manual, then you were just completely out of luck. A ways into the game, you’d be prompted to enter a radio frequency that was in the manual (I believe you had to submerge the page, which was a letter from your Uncle?) and without access to this letter, you simply had no way of proceeding. And this was before the internet was filled with solutions. You just had to accept that your purchase was a dud, with no way of being completed.

[@hungrygoriya]

I didn't mention it because it's a pretty big spoiler. Someone in my stream community was kind enough to dip their letter for me and take a photo since I didn't have a copy!

[@fergalstackstreams]

I loved Startropics. It had the high seas, submarines, aliens, dolphins, parrots, and the gameplay was like Zelda meets Goonies II with some Dragon Warrior thrown in for the overworld sections.

[@hungrygoriya]

It was a great mix of many great games all in one place. Agreed!

[@jailhousephilosopher3309]

I remember playing this as a kid, the sticky controls almost ruined my playthrough experience. Especially like you said when the level would cheat you out a life. It would have been better if your health and lives could charge way up. The health, weapon, and life caps crippled the game with the tiny amount of extras available.

[@hungrygoriya]

There were a lot of things that made the experience a lot more difficult than I would've liked it to be at times. I agree!

[@buzzbros2002]

Loving the StarTropics love, and can't wait for if you end up doing a video for Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics 2!

[@hungrygoriya]

I haven't played Zoda's Revenge yet, but I'm definitely curious to see how it compares to this one.

[@hannes8835]

StarTropics is one of my all time favorite games for the NES. The first 6 chapters are great. Chapters 7 and 8 are really challenging and caused some bad words coming out of my mouth.

[@hungrygoriya]

The last stretch of the game really pushed my patience and skills to their limits. I found some of the earlier dungeons a little tricky as well since it was my first playthrough, but that was mostly me not getting used to the controls quickly enough.

[@iamsheel]

I grew up with bootleg famcoms with few games collections. And I find it extremely unsettling seeing a nes game with good graphics.

[@hungrygoriya]

There are plenty of good-looking NES games!

[@lhfirex]

I was glad this is on the Switch's NES emulation, so I could save state and rewind some of those later cheap deaths once they started showing up. I never really got a chance to play this one back in the day. But pre internet it was a buy or don't play it game, with the invisible ink paper giving you that one code (I want to say it's how you unlock the submerge mode for the sub, but I might be wrong). You can imagine rental places not keeping that. It was also cool seeing this in the retro game shops in Akihabara. I remember it being prominently displayed on the Famicom floor of one of the Game Trader stores there, and it obviously stands out compared to the different form factor of the Famicom cartridges.

[@hungrygoriya]

Since I play on hardware, I don't normally have the luxury of rewinding or save stating, but this game is definitely an example of where I wished really hard that I was playing it that way instead. I can imagine how frustrating it would've been for kids not having that paper to dip in water for the answer. I think it's actually the answer to a radio frequency you need later on in the game. You find the submerge code in a bottle washed up on shore! I've heard Akihabara's wonderful for retro collecting and shopping. I'd love to go there someday!