Neutopia for TurboGrafx 16 is Just Okay - A Review | hungrygoriya

[@seranonable]

I played a tiny amount of Neutopia as a kid and thought it was the most amazing thing ever... but that was before I even owned an SNES or played through Link to the Past. This game just seemed so vibrant compared to NES Zelda.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's a beautiful game and has some fantastic music as well. If it had just let go of my hand once in a while and let me find my own way, I would've liked it a lot more.

[@RetroGamingNook]

In the early 90s when I had to wait for another Zelda game like the original, Nuetopia was amazing. Playing it was fantastic at the time considering I had no idea Golden Axe Warrior existed and Ys Book 1&2 was a month or so away.

[@hungrygoriya]

For sure! Something to tide you over until the next grand adventure is a good thing. I just wish that this could've also been another grand adventure among the greats of the time as well.

[@Gatorade69]

I could never get used to the bump combat in Ys :/

[@Unquestionable]

Those first two Ys titles are still some of my favorites of that generation, one of the first gaming epics I remember blowing me away with how huge it seemed. Still hold up well too largely thanks to the updated versions that were put out.

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

Hey it's my favorite KZbin channel. I just want you to know that I just got out of the hospital and it's really nice to see a video from you. This made my day

[@hungrygoriya]

Awwww I hope you're recovering well from whatever you've been dealing with. Wishing you a speedy recovery and a great transition to home.

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

@@hungrygoriya Thank you so much. I appreciate you

[@davidcarmichael4006]

It’ll be interesting to hear your future comparison between the two

[@hungrygoriya]

I'll definitely play the sequel someday!

[@nagsheadbeach]

HG, you are my favorite youtube gamer. Your pt analysis and personal experiences are well paced. You have no filler, and I'm thankful I subscribed. I love these old games and its a great trip down memory lane, or like this, a thoughtful take on one I never tried.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww that's very nice of you to say! Thanks so much!

[@Mega_Mikey]

I always love your reviews. It just feels so cozy watching these old and obscure games get some unbiased attention. Dunno why but it’s great 😄

[@hungrygoriya]

It makes me happy to hear this! Thank you for checking out the newest video here.

[@Majo_Ellen]

Happy New year. ✨ I often forget turbogfx exist, though my best friend has both that and a wonderswan, never got to play them so it's always nice to see these. I can say as a tot, I could've even read so the straight forward text wouldn't have helped me, but I remember playing Zelda on NES when I was like 3, hehehe..

[@hungrygoriya]

Happy new year to you as well! I'm glad to finally be getting around to some of these other systems. Better late than never. I almost wish I'd played this game in a different language so I didn't know where to go. I think I would've enjoyed this one a lot more that way.

[@Joker22593]

That Dungeon Explorer OST right off the bat makes me so happy.

[@hungrygoriya]

I listened to a whole bunch of TG-16 tunes and really liked that one, so in it went. I've only played a tiny bit of Dungeon Master but it seemed neat!

[@Guardian978]

What a coincidence, I just started playing this myself a couple days ago. I'm finding it pretty fun, myself. The Fire Rod is awesome.

[@hungrygoriya]

Good luck with your playthrough!

[@neoturfmasterMVS]

I had a TG-16 as a kid and yes I did play Neutopia as a kid and have played through it in the last year or two including Neutopia 2. They are both great for what they are. They are actually fantastic but remember I played it when it was new and I also had a NES and SNES and played through the Zelda's also. Loved them all. Honestly you couldn't have asked for more on the TG-16 for a Zelda clone. Imitation is an art that at times is rarely done so good.

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah, I can appreciate the good in Neutopia! I wish it was a little more challenging and didn't spell things out so clearly all the time, but for what it is, it's a good time.

[@NeufAtora]

I really like that you review so many lesser-known games. I've added a bunch of games to my "to play" list from listening to your thoughts

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you're enjoying those new experiences!

[@ggbetz]

Nice video! When i first learned about the tg 16 years ago (thru bonk), this was one of the first games that really interested me when i looked thru its library, just like Golden Axe Warrior with the Master System (tho I havent played either yet). Even if at the bottom of the grouping of games you shared (and I have enjoyed) it still looks like a good time all this time later! I like they went with not ridiculously cryptic in the hints this time, a different "voice" for non nintendo owners. Great video!

[@hungrygoriya]

It definitely holds up if you don't mind something that's going to point you in the right direction at all times. It was still fun, just a little too easy for my personal tastes/what I enjoy about exploring these kinds of worlds. Not everyone likes the cryptic hints and needing to scour around and that's okay too!

[@richfutrell753]

This is one of the best LoZ clones along with Golden Axe Warrior. I played through every original Zelda clone I could find and this one was one of the better experiences.

[@hungrygoriya]

It was fine, just not amazing for me. I wish I'd gotten to think for myself a little more versus being ushered around all the time.

[@iami3rian394]

​@@hungrygoriyaI own it, and bought it when it was released. Lovdd it, but I was just a kid then. You maybe need to think about it in that context.

[@hungrygoriya]

@@iami3rian394 I did get into that at the end of the video.

[@Gatorade69]

You forgot Crusader of Centy/Ragnacenty/Soleil

[@hungrygoriya]

@@Gatorade69 I did! I played that one about five or so years ago.

[@gruntguru2274]

Another great video! I love the Trogdor reference :D I'm curious about Neutopia II now, maybe they addressed some of your disappointments. I was disappointed with Crusader of Centy. Not many options on the Sega for a 'Zelda-like', although it does seem a bit more interesting than this one.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you sir! I was just the right age when Strong Bad emails were all the rage and the Trogdor song is permanently stuck in my brain folds. I found Crusader of Centy to be fun enough since it had some different mechanics in it, but the story was just plain weird. It's another game that I was a bit more hopeful for and fell a little flat. I'm definitely curious about Neutopia's sequel and hope that it'll be at least a little better than the first game.

[@EdmondDantes224]

I do feel like games like Neutopia have a place. One thing that becomes a problem replaying the older Zelda games is... they feel too much like a known quantity. Even if I'm playing a romhack that rearranges the map, I still know "Oh, I should push every block in this room" or if I see a small river blocking my progress, I know the answer is gonna be the stepladder that I get in Dungeon Whatever. Neutopia though, feels me with a sense of mystery. I know its vaguely Zelda-esque but I don't know the rules, I don't know for a fact that I will find a Hookshot in Dungeon X or a super-strength glove under the one statue... or even that I'll find an equivalent. Its fun and mysterious and makes me feel like.... like I'm playing a game for the first time. Of course, the problem is that one day I will finish the game and will know all its secrets... although, I might not have the memory for them that I do for things like the location of Zelda 1's power bracelet. So Neutopia will in a way always be fresh, a collection of "I sorta remember how to do this" or "I sorta remember where that dungeon is," unlike Zelda where years of gaming have ground it into me.

[@hungrygoriya]

This is a great point! Neutopia's definitely fresh in all the ways you mentioned. I just wish it didn't beat me over the head with where to go and what to do so much and left some of the deciding up to me.

[@EdmondDantes224]

@@hungrygoriya Actually, I never got far in Neutopia. At the beginning it seems to leave exploration up to you but is it actually really hand-holdey? Not that this would be much different than the later Zelda games. Main reason I didn't play far into Neutopia is because I only have it via emulator and for some reason I'm more inspired to play games when I have a legitimate copy. So any game I find interesting I tend to want to hunt down and buy. Which I should do for the Neutopias one day... despite not being a huge fan of the Zelda series proper, I like a lot of games in the same genre (Landstalker, Crusader of Centy, or jumping ahead a bit, Mega Man Legends...)

[@bloodblues85]

I love hearing your thoughts and commentary. Turbografx is one console I never had the chance to get into. I might have to pick up Neutopia for an okay time. (A+ for the StrongBad reference)

[@hungrygoriya]

It's definitely an okay time. It doesn't really innovate anything beyond what most other games like it already do better, and it leads you around a little too much for my tastes. It's still a complete experience though! Not fundamentally lacking in anything, just not very fun in how I like my games to be fun. And thanks! I was just the right age when StrongBad was fresh and new for it to be permanently burned into my mind.

[@bloodblues85]

Same, I still quote Teen Girl Squad. 🤣@@hungrygoriya

[@ROMBomb001]

@@bloodblues85 "I have a crush on every boy!"

[@bloodblues85]

BWAHAHA! 🤣🤣That's my favorite one!@@ROMBomb001

[@SeveredLegs]

Excellent review. I really think that all of the points you made were an accurate representation of the experience. It's a great example of an 'almost great' game.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks! Glad we're on the same page here.

[@JohnZyski]

I had a turbografx when it was current, but didn't have this game. Loved the Bonk games.

[@hungrygoriya]

I've yet to play any of the Turbografx Bonk games, but I did try out Super Bonk and its sequel on the SNES/Famicom. They're fun but very weird in their sense of humour. Especially the second one!

[@video-luver769]

I have this game and its sequel on my Wii U, because both were actually released via Virtual Console, surprisingly enough.

[@hungrygoriya]

I remember that there were a few TG-16 games released on the Wii U store back in the day. I wish I would've picked some of them up back then and might have if I knew what the system was all about.

[@video-luver769]

@@hungrygoriya It's a darn shame that the Wii U eShop was shut down last year because several *extremely* rare TG-16 games were re-released on Wii U, so that was the only way to get those games legally at a reasonable price. Now they're totally inaccessible.

[@redscarfboy]

Have you played Ys Book 1&2 yet? I had that for my TG-16 CD growing up and loved it more than Link to the Past. There are lots of great games on the mini, especially if you like shooters.

[@hungrygoriya]

I played Ys 1 on the Master System ages ago but haven't gotten around to trying the TG-16 CD version/the sequel yet. I like how you can apparently carry your game over from the first to the second game with that setup, so it's definitely on my list to do someday. I'm not much of a shooter fan but I'd definitely try a few out for fun. I really struggle with them.

[@redscarfboy]

@@hungrygoriya I used to not be a fan of Shooters at all, but I've recently come to love them. Seirei Senshi Spriggan, R-Type, Sapphire, Soldier Blade and Star Parodier are all on the mini and are all top-notch. Give them a try (after Ys Book 1 and 2 though - WAAAAY better than the Master System version!).

[@hepwo91222]

new to the TG-16/PCE and you have the mini and like this style of game, should really check out Ys Book 1 and 2, its on the mini, its a little strange at first with its bump combat and not a button press to slash, but great game. Just bump at angles, there is a strategy to it. Came out in 1990 and was different than anything else at the time and even had voice acting, cutscenes and redbook audio CD music.

[@hungrygoriya]

I absolutely adored Ys 1 when I played it back on the Master System but I've been curious to try the TG-16 CD version and get to Book 2 someday. That's a good point! I'd forgotten about them.

[@hepwo91222]

@@hungrygoriya the TG-16 CD version of Ys Book 1 and Book 2 sort of made it like one continious game where you keep your levels and experience, just not your weapons for the start of Ys 2. It has a cutscene intermission where Adol is transported from Darm Tower at the end of Ys 1 to the ancient land of Ys floating in the sky.

[@LazyChillZone]

Thanks for another great video!

[@hungrygoriya]

You're very welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@LazyChillZone]

@@hungrygoriya I finally remembered to turn on notifications for your videos as well lol

[@opaljk4835]

I think it’s main appeal in its day was the graphical upgrade over LoZ and it’s sequel. The second Neutopia is pretty fantastic. Lots of cool magic and tools and whatnot. And it looks even better.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's a very lovely looking game, that's for sure! I'm really curious to see how the sequel is. I'm glad there's more tools and magic in it because I kept wanting just a little bit more of that from the first game here. Thanks for the info!

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

@opaljk4835 That was absolutely part of it. I knew about this console from a couple of articles in game magazines and a display at Toys R Us. Vegas was a lot smaller then but it was growing quickly and had just been declared a large city for reasons that I think were census related, so we got most of the ad campaigns that major cities got, plus local promotional things because Vegas. So anyway, the display at Toys R Us featured screenshots from Bonk, Neutopia, Renegade, and a few others. But they were prominently displayed with text that said something like "Next Generation Graphics" or "16-Bit Graphics." They totally pushed the visuals of this game specifically. It's featured in TV spots too. I think most people don't realize that the PC Engine was meant to compete with the original Famicom, not the Super Famicom. So even tho it was underpowered in North America, when it was new it was actually a pretty high end experience for its time. The graphics *were* considered beautiful and a huge improvement over the Famicom. That definitely was a main selling point

[@SonofSethoitae]

I have such nostalgia for this game, ever since buying it on the virtual console because it looked like Zelda. It's completely unexceptional, but so is most comfort food.

[@hungrygoriya]

Nothing wrong with that! It's a fun game for what it is. I just wish it had a little more challenge to it.

[@SonofSethoitae]

@@hungrygoriya Well as others have said, Neutopia 2 is better in that respect, but it's probably not the massive leap forward you might be hoping for.

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

This is one not too many people talk about. When I think of the Turbo I think of the Bonk series and all the shoot-‘em-ups. Heck the only other time I hear of this one was on Turbo Views by Spida1a who did every game that was published in North America. He did seem to like it a little more but the same complaints did come up. You can tell Legend of Zelda was on the developer’s mind. As someone who loves adventure games I always wanted to try it, but I think I’ll keep in mind that it isn’t as solid as some of my favourites. At least you have a better sword swing then in Lagoon on SNES!

[@hungrygoriya]

I was so excited to try it out. I'm always looking for games like this on every console and rarely find something I really love, but it still happens every once in a while. I love The Legend of Zelda for many reasons. Neutopia brings a lot of its good qualities forward but doesn't really excel at anything in particular on its own. And those bossy residents made me feel crazy. I just wanted to explore all on my own without being directed as much. I still need to play Lagoon but that sword swing looks abominable!

[@MotherKojiro]

I remember seeing commercials for the TurboGrafx-16 back in the day, but never actually saw one; I knew a guy who knew a guy who had it, and the only information I was able to get out of him is that Bonk is fun. Didn't even know that Keith Courage existed, and that was supposed to be their mascot; Bonk quickly became the actual mascot, but still. I really loved the visuals in this one; I'd always wanted to play something visually presented like this, especially the dungeons, and that was enough to carry me through with a relatively positive impressoin of the game. Also great to see someone else who appreciates color changes in character sprites to signify upgrades; I always love seeing that, but almost never see anyone else mention it. I do agree that most everything else (music aside) about it is pretty just okay, though. The sequel does have more variety and a connected overworld, so I don't know if you'll like it, but I'm pretty sure you'll like it better at least; my first playthrough was over a long winter day that I had off, taking occasional breaks to shovel our driveway from Hell.

[@hepwo91222]

I had one and its one of my all time faves, at the time it was marketed as "16 bit" when in Japan it came out in 1987 and was really made to compete with the NES and was "8 bit". Turns out it was an odd hybrid in it could do most of the tricks "true 16 bit" consoles could do in more sprites, more colors, but struggled with parallex scrolling and would use sprites as scrlls when it used them at all. It had an "8bit CPU" but a "16 bit" GPU" capable of displaying as many or more colors on screen as the SNES, more than the Genesis, but Genesis and SNES could do real parallex scrolling and SNES had hardware scaling and rotation "mode 7".

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad I wasn't the only person who didn't hear much about the TG-16 back when it was new. I only just learned about Keith Courage when I got the mini and actually kinda like its janky platforming. I don't know if I'll ever be able to beat it, but it did make me chuckle a lot. Neutopia's definitely a fun game, but just not fun for me in the ways I like my games to be fun, if that makes sense. It has everything a game like it needs to have but then just stops short of being excellent in all the ways I enjoy my adventures to unfold. The graphics and music are awesome though. That's one of the things that originally sold me on Neutopia, apart from it reminding me of an action RPG first and foremost. It just looked so bright and colourful, and I was immediately curious about how the game would play. The same thing happened to me with Golden Axe Warrior and I ended up loving that one, so you can imagine how I felt coming away from this game after not having those expectations met for a second time. I'm looking forward to trying the sequel sometime. Your driveway shovelling story reminds me of my life just yesterday: I was editing the end of this video and taking breaks to push around a ton of snow we'd just gotten dumped on us from that huge storm that went across quite a bit of North America. We got about 30 cm (1 foot) of snow here so it took me a while to clear the whole driveway. It was a good excuse to get up and do something else other than stare at my screen working on the video though!

[@hepwo91222]

@@hungrygoriya well I mean it was heavily marketed in 1989 along with the Genesis, I think they came out only a few days apart, but I think the TG-16 had a more limited release at launch where Radioshack had it before anyone else. Also a year or so later child actor McCauley Culkin was doing interviews for Home Alone saying he was getting a TG-16. By the time the SNES came out though the Genesis had caught on and the TG-16 never did.

[@MotherKojiro]

@@hungrygoriya It's funny how those things work out sometimes. Darkstalkers REALLY wanted Dmitri to be the main character (he even has a moveset very similar to those of Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter), but the fans decided that Morrigan was the main character and that was that. Keith Courage was just alright for me, and kind of a baffling choice as a system seller. I feel like they did alright over here, considering that NEC wasn't exactly a household name in North America, since we didn't have their popular PC-88 and PC-98 systems. I definitely get it; I tend to get antsy if I'm on the same game for too long, unless it's something really special, like Yakuza or Borderlands, so I have kind of the opposite problem. The original Legend of Zelda is a good example: it was the second NES cartridge I ever got (after the pack-in Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt), so I had a lot more time to fiddle around with it, and that made it feel like a big adventure; I revisited it recently, and while I'm glad to have had the incredible experience of going through it back in the '80s, before the whole thing was completely demystified, I don't think I'll ever go back to it at this point. We just got hit about a week ago, though only about 8 inches (probably 20cm), though alarmingly, almost all of it melted a few days later. The small creek (maybe ditch is a better word; we call it the moat) that mostly encircles our house is so full and loud that it sounds like heavy winds from the other end of the yard after all that!

[@timotheegoulet1511]

Years ago i received a Turbo Grafix16 new for Christmas. That holiday season NEC was running a free game giveaway with the purchase of the new console. Only Caveat was is you chose the game from a list and sent in the redemption card through the mail. NEC said it would be about a month for delivery. January came; nothing. February, March came and Nothing. I had forgotten about the game until tax day in April that i received a box in the mail having completely given up on it ever popping up at all. In it wasn't the game i had ordered, which remember i can't remember myself. It was this game Neutopia. Which i still have fond memories of playing.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's funny how back then, when you sent in for something like that, you had no idea if they got it, if it got lost in the mail, and had no way of really following up. Something similar to me happened with Puppy Surprise. I'm not sure if you remember those, but you could get 3-5 puppies and you could mail in for an extra. It was such an exciting wait but it felt like it took forever. I'm glad Neutopia was a happy accident for you in your life at the time. Glad you enjoyed it back then!

[@pretzelthedude]

I loved my Turbo Duo. But the games I played on card were less rpg, more everything else- Bonk, Splatterhouse, and Military Madness were replayed staples in my TG-16 catalog. But two games I have the most happy memories playing was the TG CD games Cosmic Fantasy 2 and Dragon Slayer! I'd happily go back and play those both if I could. Neutopia completely fell under my radar, but judging by this vid, it wouldn't have thrilled me anyway. Thanks for yet another lovely review! Tho hate you had to import a TG from the US and hope it didn't cost too much to send to whatever country you live in. I still haven't managed to score one of those Mini's either, hopefully one of these days 🙂.

[@hepwo91222]

Cosmic Fantasy 1 and 2 are getting Switch releases, only CF2 ever made it to the west, but a translated CF1 is coming out. Dragon Slayer I think was the OG Legend of Heroes (Trails) game that are well known today.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm in Canada here, so really all I had to worry about were import fees and the horrendous exchange rate. At least it got here, even though it's a little ugly! Fingers crossed you get your hands on one someday. I got on the pre-order train back when it was still available and I'm happy I did. Cosmic Fantasy 2 and Dragon Slayer both sound like they'd be right up my alley. I'll look them both up. It's cool that you got to experience the system first hand growing up.

[@hepwo91222]

@@hungrygoriya Cosmic Fantasy 2 was translated by Working Designs so it had their sense of humor, but no spoilers the ending was a mixed bag where the last enemy seemed laughable in its naming but sort of had a somber ending to the story too. Its OK for a 1991 JRPG, nothing special other than interesting cutscenes and voice acting in a few parts when that was rare. Dragon Slayer is a better game overall IMHO, but not an all time great or anything. But they are early JRPG's on CD format.

[@sevencastleforest]

Great insightful review. It's a shame when a game restricts the hero's choices to an extent that it feels like the player has no agency at all, especially in this type of game where the player WANTS to explore and get lost a little bit. Hopefully Neutopia 2 will improve on some of the issues!

[@hungrygoriya]

Here's hoping! This one was fine if you like a more direct game, but that's not what I tend to enjoy personally. Thanks for the thoughtful comment!

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

7:05 you throwing a trogdor reference? I love you. Best youtuber

[@hungrygoriya]

I was just the right age when Strongbad was the hip new thing.

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

@@hungrygoriya I remember those good old days friend. Never stop using old funny references. You are a treat.

[@AB0BA_69]

If a game from this era is merely "okay" to our modern standards then that's a huge win in my book IMO for the simple reason that back then there were a looooot of absolute garbo being released. Same as now, of course, but at least now we have the internet and review sites/communities. BTW, I really liked your simulated "rental store shelf" at 0:20. Cute 😊

[@hungrygoriya]

Neutopia's just fine, just not anything special to me. I like a little more depth in my games and this one feels fairly surface-level with many of its mechanics. I'm sure there was lots of weird stuff coming out back then, and Neutopia's certainly far from a bad game. I hope I made that clear in the review: it had everything a game should have but it just didn't wow me in the ways I like to be wowed in adventure games. And thank you! We have a bunch of shelving in the closet in the game room here and we just cleared off two shelves to simulate that. I tried to put the boxes on an angle but good luck trying to photograph Genesis cases... they're so shiny!

[@Shamazya]

I appreciate a review that's just like, "It's okay'. A lot of reviews skew highly negatively or positively because that tends to be more entertaining.

[@hungrygoriya]

All I can be is honest! Games rarely make me mad anyway.

[@dopemopey]

I really appreciated the Trogdor reference.

[@hungrygoriya]

That Trogdor song's been burned in my brain my entire life.

[@dopemopey]

@@hungrygoriya Same. And any time I read a typo, I read it in Strong Bad's voice.

[@Unquestionable]

When I was a kid and the Turbografx was still relatively new my cousin owned one and would let me have at it anytime I visited. I remember being so proud that I finished the first two Bonk titles with no help, something 6 year old me wasn't used to. He only really ever stuck with the more main stream titles so never played Neutopia until over a decade later and while it was neat never felt overly impressed. The title is pretty on point, it's just okay. The sequel is pretty much more of the same as well.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad it's not just me that feels this way. I just wanted this game to be a little deeper in its exploration. It didn't even need more weapons/magic... just let me figure things out for myself, you know?

[@watcbd]

Now that I'm older I actually LOVE when a game tells me exactly where to go because I don't have enough free time to explore the entire map looking for my next objective. :)

[@hungrygoriya]

I've heard that from a few people and I can totally understand the need to save time, but still get lost in a neat video game world.

[@infinitecanadian]

He's even left-handed like a certain other star of action-adventure.

[@hungrygoriya]

Very suspicious indeed...

[@Ariesgodtron]

Always got to catch the newest Hungry Goriya vid! Nuf' said!

[@Ariesgodtron]

Can't wait to see what the sequal is up to, looking forward to the vid!

[@hungrygoriya]

Here's hoping it's a fun one when I get around to it!

[@sneakyskunk1]

Wait, we're getting TG 16 love from HG? This is going to be great! Die Hard Game Fan used to cover the console and games pretty extensively with many beautiful screen shots. Man, those multipage spreads used to make my mouth water. I'll be looking forward to more TG 16 reviews(if and when they arrive).

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm definitely hoping to play more TG-16 stuff in the future. Definitely Neutopia II at some point, but other things too!

[@sneakyskunk1]

@@hungrygoriya Hopefully Bonk is right around the corner. I was surprised by a certain guest star in St1ka's most recent video. Nice to know some of my favorite creators are networking. Keep up the great work HG, and thanks for replying!

[@NessExplains]

Happy New Year to you! I'm excited to see what lovely obscure games you'll introduce me to this year

[@hungrygoriya]

Happy new year to you too! I'm looking forward to getting some great videos together in the next many months so stay tuned!

[@Dariothehungry]

Usually watch these all the way through but here is a comment, and like. I'll be playing this but I don't want any spoilers. I'm certain it's a wonderful video as usual.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment even though you haven't seen the video yet. I try not to spoil too much or usually present things out of context for what it's worth, but I hope you enjoy your playthrough when you get around to this one!

[@ThomasMHead]

I'm sorry Neutopia was a letdown for you. I know you love the original Legend of Zelda and Crystalis--as do I! I played those before I played this, when I was about 11 or 12. I did and do love Neutopia, myself; although I can also understand your criticisms. I didn't expect it to really tread any new ground. I actually liked the tradeoff of compartmentalized worlds for the added thematic diversity. I guess it was kind of like comfort food: the familiar Zelda formula, with vibrant graphics and music. I enjoy your reviews, and I hope you do Neutopia II someday, since I never got to play that.

[@hungrygoriya]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this game as a whole and I think it's fantastic that you enjoy it as a good way to unwind and enjoy yourself. I suppose I'm learning that I love specific things in my adventure games and some degree of challenge in terms of the puzzle/problem solving. Neutopia was an okay time for me but didn't really sweep me off my feet. I'm really curious about the sequel to see if it did anything new and exciting with the magic.

[@lessthankate]

The Neutopia's have a lot in common with the third and fourth "quests" that Nintendo released as part of their satellite download service in Japan. Snack-sized adventures that aren't as puzzle or difficulty intensive as what came before but satisfy that kind of itch in between games that are more like projects to complete. Approached from that angle, it's quite fun and breezy, though I will admit I didn't feel terribly accomplished completing the second title.

[@hungrygoriya]

That's an interesting way to look at it. After such a long wait to play this one, I hoped it might've been a little more my speed, but it's fine for what it is. It's entirely possible that I'm not the target audience and that's just fine.

[@childofcascadia]

I have a PC Engine Mini I imported from Japan. It has both TG16 and PC Engine games but I dont know if the games are different than the North American TG16 mini and I wonder if it has neutopia 1/2 on it- I dont remember them, but the mini was a xmas gift for my spouse whos way more into retro arcadey stuff than retro pc rpgs like me so I havent messed around with it as much as he has. Even just watching, I could see how bad the hit detection was tho, it looked very frustrating to aim with the sword compared to crystalis or zelda. Awesome review as always!

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm not sure if the Japanese system's the same lineup as the North American one, but I'm sure there must've been some differences. The Genesis Mini 2 has a very different lineup depending on the region, which is unfortunate. I would've gotten it for Lunar 1 and 2 in a heartbeat since I don't know that I'll ever find a Sega CD copy of Lunar 2 at this rate. The hit detection was pretty terrible with the sword. I didn't see a point in trying to use it later on in the game unless my fire magic was at the lowest amount and I didn't feel like hitting enemies 1000 times to kill them with a weak fireball. Thanks so much for watching! It's always nice to hear from you in the comments.

[@BoboBreez]

Was just thinking about you recently! I have played through this game. It's decent but not amazing. Haven't played through the second game yet, I hear it's more fleshed out and there is more to do than the first game

[@hungrygoriya]

Life got pretty busy for me this past month, so sorry for the wait! I thought this one was okay but nothing special. I wanted a little more difficulty and some more meaningful exploration.

[@ralang999]

This was a great look at Neutopia. Hope you review more TG16 games!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks so much! I certainly hope to play more Turbografx stuff in the future.

[@scottmackensen8690]

The fire rod is one of the coolest items I've ever used in a retro zelda like. It's versatile powerful and is still powerful the entire game.

[@hungrygoriya]

It was a really neat addition. I just wish they did more with it!

[@EDFCentral]

I beat Neutopia about 10 years ago. I really enjoyed this little Zelda clone. I have the sequel but havent tackled it yet.

[@hungrygoriya]

I still need to play the sequel as well!

[@Larry]

I got that TurboGrafx Mini too, mainly as I wanted to play Y's, and being pleasantly surprised it wasn't so unbelievably grind heavy as the Master System version was. But I never touched Neutopia, I thought it was that game that was essentially an RPG version of Gauntlet, so I must be thinking of something else. :S BTW did you manage to unlock all the secret games on the system? :)

[@hungrygoriya]

The Master System version of Ys was also a little mean in that it capped your level! I really struggled with the end of the game without the ability to grind my stats any higher. I think that you might be thinking of Dungeon Master as a Gauntlet RPG (don't quote me on that!) but Neutopia's an entirely different thing! I didn't unlock all the secret games on the system... what secret games?!

[@truejavier]

You get bonus points for the Trogdor reference.

[@hungrygoriya]

Jazeta's the original Trogdor.

[@totemlordreviews7242]

In the dying days of the Wii U, I went through and bought some of the Turbo Grafix titles that I had an eye on. Just like you, I had never heard of the console until much later in life and this was a cheaper way to play the titles without breaking the bank. I did snag Neutopia 1 and 2 but haven't tried them out yet (gamer problems, amirite?). That's pretty funny and frustrating that fire melts away rock like that. I would've been in the same mindset as you - who would logically think to use fire on a rock? Lol! Also, I loved your Trogdor reference and got a good chuckle out of that!

[@hungrygoriya]

Gamer Problems is my favourite type of problem to have, haha... glad I'm not the only one who slept on this system for many years. I'm glad you got to pick up a couple of titles before the Wii U store went away forever. I think if you come to this one with the proper expectations, it's a fine game. I was only disappointed in that it was just more of the same but not nearly as fun in many ways. The fire melting rocks away totally blew my mind! I was listening back through my stream vods and I probably should've included what I said from the stream in the review, but it went something like "omg are you serious? I can melt these rocks?! WHAT" because it was just that surprising after searching around for so long. And thanks! The fire wand is Jazeta's best tool for constantly burninating the countryside. I was just the right age when Strong Bad emails were a thing so they're permanently burned into my memory.

[@atmaweapon2803]

Neutopia I & II, were, in the words of my cousin who only had a TG-16 as a kid, really awesome. When you didn't have a NES to play Zelda on, Neutopia was a pretty good deal. Plus, the graphics were better. We forget sometimes that this game came out in 1989. For a brief, nearly insignificant moment, Neutopia looked next level and totally sweet. Maybe we had to be there.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm sure it was awesome as a kid. I said as much during the review that it would be a great introductory game to the genre. I'm not judging it by today's standards or really comparing it to anything else. I'm just basing my thoughts on whether it felt fun to me as a standalone, and without a bit more challenge and self-directed exploration, it was just okay for my personal tastes. It's still a good game, just not for me!

[@atmaweapon2803]

@@hungrygoriya totally! Sadly, for a system with so much potential, being a stepping stone between the NES and the 16-bit era, there weren't enough RPGs. The CD add-on became a sort of RPG haven in comparison, but again, most of the games didn't make it to America! So frustrating. Although, many of them are being translated...Tengai Makyou Ziria was just fan converted to English, recently, the prequel to the Tengai Makyou game on the Super Famicom (one of the best Super Famicom RPGs).

[@Wyrdwad]

Very interesting! A good friend of mine swears by Neutopia, so I was surprised to see the title of this review. Hearing your issues with the game, though, it makes total sense, and I have a feeling I'd probably have a very similar takeaway from the game as you. Fortunately, I have heard the second game is much better, so hopefully you'll enjoy that one more! Also, the TG-16 Mini has Ys Book I & II on it, doesn't it? I can't recall if you've ever played Ys I & II before, but if not, that's one that I think you'll REALLY like! Of course, my top recommendation would be one of the Ys I & II Chronicles releases, since I personally worked on the localizations for those -- but Ys Book I & II is a pretty classic release with some of the best English voice-acting in '90s video gaming, so you really can't lose playing that one! About the only downside is that you can't move diagonally (which you can in the Chronicles release), but I think you're probably used to that by now. ;)

[@hungrygoriya]

I think it's a fine game for what it is, but it just didn't bring it to the level of depth and challenge that I usually appreciate in my games. I'm certainly not the end-all authority on these topics, so take it with a grain of salt and see what it's like for yourself sometime. I know I've had some people very strongly disagree with my feelings here and some that agree wholeheartedly. It's really going to come down to personal taste. Let's hope the sequel's a little more my speed. I haven't played the TGCD versions of Ys yet, but I played Ys 1 ages ago on the Master System. I liked it just fine, but I'm really intrigued about the idea of bringing your old save information forward to Book 2 after you complete the first one. I've been interested in playing those versions for a long time and just haven't gotten around to them yet. And what are these diagonals you speak of? hahaha

[@chasonlapointe]

Great review as usual. I have no history with this game whatso ever but it has that charming C+/B- quality that I used to eat up. I may have to scrounge up one of those TG minis and give it a shot.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's not a bad game by any stretch, I just didn't find it exceptional in any way either. Definitely give it a try!

[@MrDowntemp0]

I'm an American that had a TG16 growing up. Always felt like a souped up NES because even though the graphics are nicer, its still just an more powerful 6502 under the hood. I didn't have many games, only 4 or 5 that I can remember (No Neutopia). Toys R Us had a whole aisle of Video games which was roughly half Sega and half Nintendo, with TG16 squeezed into a sliver of space at the end with only a fraction of the selection. My favorite TG16 game, and one I think you might also like, was and is Final Lap Twin. (There it is at 14:28 !!!) It's a competent race car game very similar to Pole Position. But it also has a QUEST mode, which is technically my first ever JRPG. I still replay it every few years. I think it was the first game I found a cuss in too! Blows my mind there hasn't been a similar JRPG where combat is replaced by Need-For-Speed style pink slip racing. Although, I think there was a Tennis game on the system with a similar quest mode. Great Vid, I think I'd rather replay NES Zelda than try Neutopia. But I do like the sprites and especially the wiggly water.

[@hungrygoriya]

So cool that you used to have the TG-16 when it was fresh and new! It's no wonder I missed out on seeing any of it in stores if it's like what you described here. I'm so glad I found a copy of Final Lap Twin! I love Super Hang On and it looked similar to that, and I was definitely drawn in by the Quest Mode. I actually played a ton of Pole Position back in the day on the Commodore Vic 20. Probably not the best version of the game, but one that I'm super nostalgic for by this point. Glad to know FInal Lap Twin will be a fun time when I get around to it. I feel like there's some kind of racing RPG on the Game Boy/GBC that I've long forgotten the name of, but I'd never really heard of another before Final Lap Twin. Personally, I'd rather be playing the original Legend of Zelda as well. Neutopia's fine, but just a little too direct for my tastes. I enjoy exploring and wandering, and Neutopia just didn't let me do that as much as I would've liked. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here!

[@gaetan4164]

That's the kind of game where you'd be very happy to play it in context (you're a kid with a tg16 and you want zelda) but that's kinda dull nowadays when you have every single retro game at your fingertips.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's a fine game for what it is, just a little too pushy for my personal tastes. I just wanted to explore a little more. I don't know that it has anything to do with having other "superior" games more than that it's just not for me and what I like in my games.

[@zerogold8717]

Didn't have a the OG system, had the portable Turbo Express. Pops bought me a racing game called Final Lap Twin. Ended up being my favorite RPG on the platform.

[@hungrygoriya]

I got to play a Turbo Express for a little while recently and it was actually pretty cool. When I got my little PC Engine, my husband installed a region unlock modification on it, and one of the games I got was Final Lap Twin! I'm so happy to hear it's a great game!

[@orcwarchiefreviews]

Found your channel like what I'm seeing hope to see more mini turbo graph because like I see those on sale for like over $500

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks so much! I have to play some more Turbografx stuff eventually, so you can expect more reviews when the time comes.

[@JBEEUD]

Other greats on the TG-16 are Dungeon Explorer (Gauntlet-like), Ninja Spirit, Golden Axe (not the Sega one and pretty difficult), Rondo, Blazing Lasers (if you're into to shooters), and Order of the Griffon which is an old school D&D (as in first edition) RPG.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for the suggestions here! I've only heard of a couple of the ones you mentioned so I'll keep an eye out for the others. Much appreciated!

[@retrogamingknight]

I felt the same way when I played Neutopia. The sequel, Neutopia II, is pretty much a clone of the first one with a few added features like the ability to walk and attack diagonally and you get more magic items besides the fire. In fact, they discourage you using the fire because enemies that get hit by fire get pushed towards you and you usually take a hit as a result.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad it's not just me! I felt so alone in my opinion on this when I streamed it. It's a fine game but it holds your hand wayyyy too much for my personal tastes.

[@Chris-Courage]

You have to keep facing towards whatever enemy you fire magic at. If you turn away, enemies fly back into you. Neutopia 1 did not have this mechanic.

[@bovinedevine2715]

I think the real issue with this game is that since it LOOKS and ACTS a lot like Zelda many people simply EXPECTED it to be more like Zelda when in fact its design as a more linear top down action game seems be taken as a negative when in fact I actually appreciated the game that didn’t require maps, obscure secrets, obtuse hints etc and that you could just play through it all the way and have some fun. Granted, as this game came out after Zelda this can be fair criticism as it didn’t further the genre but I appreciate the fact that this “Zelda Lite” game was made and the amazing over world music is some of the best 8bit tune age I have ever heard. As always, an amazing thoughtful review and all points are succinctly made. I would still recommend this game to anyone looking for a fun adventure game that won’t break your brain or force you to go look up a walkthough of any sort and sometimes that a good enough time for most gamers out there!

[@hungrygoriya]

You raise great points here! I suppose I just got used to the idea of getting a grand world to explore and finding my way through it, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with something that's a little more linear in nature. I guess I'm learning that I love a good problem to solve and Neutopia just didn't have many for me to grind my brain cogs about. It's funny that the writing in this game is so good that in ways it's almost too good. Gimme my broken English NES hints where I have to think really hard about what people are trying to tell me! I'm honestly just kidding of course. Neutopia's a fine game, and I just wanted something from it that it isn't!

[@tylerholmes2727]

Not going to lie this title on the wii turbo graphics shop listings got me super interested so I downloaded it and had a good time. It's exactly what I needed before drawing the Marine Corps to de-stress my mind. I really enjoyed the second title in the series as well when in service

[@CAHSR2020]

Neutopia was a good game _for the era in which it was created._ I played it back when it came out and loved it. I craved more Zelda and that's what Neutopia gave me during the _six year gap_ between Z2 and Z3. I'm sure it feels dull and repetitive now but it was a lot of fun back in the day.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad you got to enjoy it back in the day. The game's just fine, just not as in-depth as I like my adventure games. I don't think that opinion would've changed for me even if I'd played it back then between Zeldas. I grew up with Zelda 1. Neutopia's just a bit too direct for my tastes.

[@kevinfishburne]

I owned this on a Hu card for my Turbo Duo. It was shockingly good for a Hu card game, and the music was sick. So I liked it, even though I guess it doesn't compare to other similar fare in many ways. Ys IV and Dorakiyura X / Rondo of Blood were good too. Flash Hiders. Bomber Man 3-5P and SP. Gate of Thunder and it's OST...

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad for some other recommendations here! As I'm branching out into this library a little, it's great to have a place to start looking for fun titles.

[@TopSpot123]

Fwiw, the sequel does have the type of cohesive connected overworld that is more familiar in the genre. I don't know how much it addresses your other critiques, but just the world map itself makes it a more enjoyable experience so I hope you give it a try and find it an improvement.

[@hepwo91222]

I think on the mini the sequel is in Japanese though, its not a game that requires much reading, but its something to be aware of. If I remember correctly the sequel story was Jazeta's son has to rescure Jazeta, the hero from the first game, so it can be played without knowing Japanese I believe, but never tried to play it that way myself, its been awhile.

[@hungrygoriya]

I definitely will play the sequel one of these days. Here's hoping I have a better time with it. By the sounds of what you're describing here, there's some nicer features to look forward to.

[@wilmepelin589]

Neutopia II does add more wands (and a few other ways to attack). Aside from an awful bug where the enemy flies in the direction you're facing (for example, if an enemy approaches you going left to right, don't go right, either go up/down or stand your ground) II is better. Plus, it's all in one big world and has actual towns and a real final dungeon. Agree on the bombing walls. Both games way overdo that, along with pushing blocks. Some rooms have like 40 blocks and you need to find the right one. I also like Dirth's "Climactic Castle" being two rooms up from the old lady at the start. Good review.

[@johnrussell8086]

I'm starting to realise that I need the manual for a few older games especially adventure or roll playing. Would you or even your viewers recommend a good site to find scans. I think it would be fun to save them on my kindle as a reference. 😊

[@hungrygoriya]

When I'm looking for manuals, I usually just do a general search and pick the best-looking PDF. Gaming Alexandria has some really high quality stuff but it's quite limited. The Vimm website has a few good manual scans as well, along with the obvious one: Internet Archive. One great initiative I'll highlight is by Peebs who collated all the manuals for a few different systems: sites.google.com/view/snesmanuals Enjoy all the reading!

[@johnrussell8086]

@@hungrygoriya thank you sooo much 🥰

[@yellowstreetlight]

Growing up, I only ever saw the TurboGrafx at Radio Shack. I would play it until some employee would ask me where my parents were and to please leave. I wouldn't mind picking up a mini but the price has gone up a smidge in the last few years...

[@hungrygoriya]

It's so unfortunate how the mini's price has gotten out of hand like it has. I got mine through pre-order because I didn't really have any TG-16 in my collection at all and wanted to play a few things on it.

[@AL_Talks]

Legend of Zelda on NES and Link's Awakening DX on GBC are the only games like this that I've played. I've tried Link to the Past but it was too hard, I gave up but I want to revisit it eventually. I have Crusaders of Centy on the Sega Genesis Mini 2. That part with the fire rod, I think it would have benefitted if in that first area you showed they had those flying bug enemies in the area where you figured it out. I've gotten stuck from similar situations, seems frustrating. Never had a Turbografx or knew anyone with one either. When you said you imported the mini from the US, I had a moment, lol, you're not wrong just in my perspective it felt odd. I hope Neutopia II is better, the top comment as of now says so. I never got into Turbografx games, it looks like now there are some great mods so it might finally be the time to get one. Much like the N64 I haven't been a fan of how the console looks digital until now. The mini was always sold out when I tried to buy one, I don't pay scalpers. See you with the sequel review

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you'll give Crusader of Centy a try sometime. It's a really unique take on the top-down adventure game formula with some wacky storytelling too. It's so funny that Neutopia's so direct in some aspects but so vague in others like the fire rod use. You're absolutely right in that a subtle hint with even some similar enemies would've done a lot to trigger a thought to try out that weapon in that way. I'm hopeful the sequel will be better when I get around to it. If you do dive into the TG-16 library, I hope you enjoy it. I've gotten to try out quite a few titles between the mini and the few games I've purchased. Thanks for stopping in!

[@kevintown311]

Turbo Grafx 16 was my first console. Neutopia, Legendary Axe, Bloody Wolf, Tiger Road, Bonk's Adventure, Alien Crush and Splatterhouse were the very first video games I ever played. I legitimately used to think Nintendo IPs were rip-offs of these games. It wasn't until much later that I discovered that Neutopia was indeed the clone. I sub'd to this channel because I never see anyone talking about these games. Thank you.

[@hungrygoriya]

I clearly need to branch out a little more with the TG-16 library. I appreciate the list of games to look into. Thanks very much for your kind words too!

[@spwolftech]

I have not played Neutopia, but i have Played Pixel Remastered. I noticed the new version of Final Fantasy is way easier than the original, by far. do you know if they modified the game a little to make it easier? made the people more helpful? 9:44

[@hungrygoriya]

I imagine they might've retranslated it, but I haven't played the Pixel Remasters to know. Sometimes they'll also do a rebalancing of experience/money from battle to make things a little smoother. I'm sure someone else can weigh in better than I can, but those are my best guesses.

[@mattlockwood6089]

At least Rondo didn't disappoint! What other games on tg16 are you looking forward to?

[@hungrygoriya]

Legendary Axe looks pretty cool! I'd love to get my hands on some other adventure games if they exist, but I'm also curious about Neutopia II as well.

[@j.michaelklein6901]

gg! thx for the video!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for checking this one out!

[@SinisterSally]

Weird coincidence, I just got a ten o koe 2 bank because I got tired of putting in passwords for Neutopia.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh seriously? I can imagine! Those passwords are pretty intense. I'm really grateful I didn't have to use them.

[@VanillaCuckoo]

While I've not played the game myself, all the criticisms here make sense, and I'd have to agree with them all. There are certainly a few obvious flaws that don't seem as if they'd have been too hard to rectify. If only they'd had Hungry Goriya proving feedback during development, we could have had a better Neutopia! What might have been, eh?

[@hungrygoriya]

Then I would love every game I play with all my heart and have to listen to others complain about the things I adore... I wonder if I could take that!

[@rogue-like4life]

None of my friends had any of these super expensive systems that came out and faded away as fast as the nu-metal band Videodrome either. Once PlayStation and Saturn came out and conquered the market, they were in everybody's houses. Oh and I am now the proud owner of 6 Vomitron shirts, 6 posters, and a crap load of stickers for the low low price of 80 bucks (including shipping)... Although it was cheaper because I already own all their CDs. Hope you took advantage of the deal while it's available.

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey congrats on all the Vomitron stuff! I unfortunately missed the sale.

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

I remember trying this out a few years back, only to bounce off of it pretty quickly. I find how blunt this game is to possibly be a response to how arguably obtuse the original NES Zelda was. In trying to "fix" the issue though, they end up totally missing the point.

[@hungrygoriya]

A middle-ground would've been a lot better in my opinion, rather than just blatantly pointing out exactly where I needed to go at all times. It's still a good game, but just a little too direct for what I like in my adventures. Glad it's not just me.

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

@@hungrygoriya Here's hoping the sequel is better!

[@StewNWT]

Yay more Goriya! Hope ALundra is coming soon. You will love it

[@hungrygoriya]

I haven't played it yet. I'm deep into Final Fantasy Tactics though! That's fun so far!

[@StewNWT]

@@hungrygoriya Oh wow great choice! Probably the most coherent gameworld soundtrack of all time and the best FF OST (and coming from someone who loves FFIV). Incredible story and game mechanics. Love the use of bells. Another recommend I have that is more old school NES vibe is Kickle Cubicle, a very obscure, deeply weird but extremely fun game sort of like a cheerier version of Adventures of Lolo

[@littlemixer7522]

I never had a Turbographx as a kid but wanted one, and this game was always fun to look at in magazines. At first glace, it looks pretty amazing, but yeah the gameplay seems to have a lot of tedious stuff as you cover here, especially the part where you're supposed to burn rock crystals like they're a tree? That's kinda ridiculous, haha. Thanks for the review! This game could have been better than it was without a doubt.

[@hungrygoriya]

It seemed like it had really good bones to build on but it just stopped getting refined at some point. I'm honestly glad so many old games have a questionable translation and let me wander around trying to find out where to go because this "pointing me in the right direction" business was just too annoying! I totally don't know why fire burns down rocks and pillars and other stuff in the later spheres. It must be the hottest fire known to mankind!

[@philipneedstowrite1799]

This video reminded me I have yet to spend much time with my Turbografx Mini, but based on this I might start with the bomberman games instead...

[@hungrygoriya]

I'd say give Neutopia a try and see what you think. It felt a little bit too bland for me personally since I like a little more mystery in my games, but it's far from a bad experience. Just doesn't have the things in it that I find especially fun/engaging.

[@firecrest3325]

Great review, I enjoy them and your voice is perfect! 🎉🎉😂

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh thank you so much!

[@CasperEgas]

Only played it a little bit on the mini. I have quite a large Turbografx collection, but this one is missing. It is pretty expensive too...

[@hungrygoriya]

The min was a good way to get a lot of games and a system I could never hope to own. That photo I had of the Turbo Express and all those cards was someone else's collection that was in our possession for a while. My husband swapped out a bunch of capacitors in the Express and the owner lent us his whole collection to try out with the system to make sure it was working properly. My little collection was shown with the PC Engine and the five cards near the beginning of the video and it'll likely stay that small for a long while. It's such an expensive system to collect for, but I hope you chance into a cheap copy of Neutopia some day if it's something you'd like to add to yours.

[@EatingCtrlV]

I haven't played this one before, and I think I may just skip it now lol. I would be interested to know if the second one improves on this much!

[@hungrygoriya]

It's definitely a complete experience but just not very deep, if that makes sense. I'm curious about the sequel too.

[@VenusHeadTrap2]

7:04 I get the reference. Good ol Strong Bad emails

[@hungrygoriya]

I was the perfect age when Strong Bad was new and hip.

[@GameTimeWhy]

That "hard to hit enemies with the weiner sword" was funny.

[@HybridAngelZero]

Even with its issues, I am still really looking forward to playing Neutopia when I get around to it. There are so few 2D Zelda games overall, and there's just a certain magic in that gameplay design, so even Great Value 2D Zelda is still worth a look!

[@hungrygoriya]

I definitely think you should play it and see what you think. It's not bad by any stretch, but it just didn't really challenge me much. I think I prefer games that let you find your own way a little more. It's great for what it is!

[@HybridAngelZero]

@@hungrygoriya To be honest, the direct hand-holdy-ness will probably be a plus for me. I tend to drift off course pretty easily with games that are open,but knowing exactly what I need to do, for me, makes me more eager to explore everything else, if that makes any sense

[@1351211495evangelion]

It's Dino Riki action RPG version! Did you guys play trog or kickle Cubicle love those old games I was allowed to rent one a week and of course they were just the cartridge they didn't give you the manual and I had to finish them in two days 😅

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh man... Dino Riki is not my cup of tea! I've played Trog and Kickle Cubicle in recent years, but never came close to finishing them. They're definitely fun though!

[@Seikent]

I owned both Neutopias as a kid (no idea how my dad got a tg16, maybe it was when they were discontinuing the console) and played this one again like 6 months ago. It didn't age well in my opinion. As you said, the graphics and the music are quite good and I can deal with the gameplay, though I agree on the sword being not very useful. The main issue is that the exploration was boring. I felt that it's not only that the world is segmented, but that the diversity was very poor. Most of the time was spent going through every screen burning, bombing and pushing everything hoping that you would find the 'key to the dungeon'. On the other hand, Zelda 1 would let you make progress in multiple ways, so the chances of making progress on one path were higher and felt more rewarding. I don't remember much of Neutopia 2, its gameplay was more polished. Exploration wise, I just remember that I got stuck and couldn't finish it. Good luck with that one! One of the best games on the system of the action adventure genre is Dragon's Curse in my opinion (you may have already played it in the Master System as "Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap"). It's not in the mini console sadly.

[@hungrygoriya]

I agree with you about the repetitive nature of the exploration. I got into it a bit with the dungeons being the same few things you have to do over and over again, but the same thing applied to the overworld as well. I know other games are like that too, but there was something really missing from Neutopia that made it feel a lot less engaging than other games like it. I can't quite put my finger on it. I'm curious to see what Neutopia II is like but very sorry to hear that you got stuck. That's not something I could really see happening to someone in the first game, so maybe that's an improvement... we'll see! I've played Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap on the Master System, and I adored it. I have a review of it tucked away somewhere in the channel backlog here, but I'd like to try Dragon's Curse sometime too. The different sprites/music might be a neat way to relive that experience, though I'm also looking forward to trying the new remake as well.

[@Seikent]

@@hungrygoriya , for what it's worth, Dragon's Curse has slightly better graphics (twice the fps too) and the music is much better in my opinion (it's the same, but with better hardware). The remake has a retro mode, but it matches the Master System version unfortunately (though they added widescreen and 60fps). In my personal opinion, Dragon's Curse is the better 'old' version. I played through the remake partially and it seems like a good faithful remake, though I'm still not sure if it's the way I want to replay the game ^_^;;. I'd love to see a video review of it 😁, I hope to eventually see it! Have a good day!

[@TimewornUncle]

I bought both of these Neutopia games on WiiU before they closed that eShop. Have not played them much yet, but I will.

[@hungrygoriya]

Good luck with your playthroughs when you get there. Neutopia's fun, just not mindblowingly fun for what I like in my adventure games.

[@johnrussell8086]

Just like you i wanted to pick up the Mini for a few of the games, Neutopia being one of them. The Core was always available on Amazon here in the UK but i have now left it too long that the only way i can get it is though Ebay at extortionate prices. Maybe one day.

[@hungrygoriya]

Here's hoping you can find one someday! I got mine through pre-order when it was being sold retail because I knew I wouldn't have much of a chance to collect the real deal for a long time, if ever. Sorry you haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

[@skins4thewin]

The new Zelda games for the Switch have a fully open design that lets you do literally anything in any order, including the dungeons or the final boss! You can literally go straight to the final boss & beat him if you want! I know those may be a bit too mainstream to cover on your channel but I'm sure you'd love those games.

[@hungrygoriya]

I don't know that I'd ever cover them here, but I did play a bit of Breath of the Wild when it first came out. The breakable weapons and long, long walks of nothing between objectives wore out my patience pretty quickly. I got about 20 hours in and didn't bother finishing it.

[@skins4thewin]

@hungrygoriya Ah I see, guess it really isn't for everyone then. Sorry to hear ya didn't enjoy it.

[@three-quartersbadger2929]

I know that this was posted 5 months ago, HG, but I wanted to recommend one specific port for the PCEngine (as the TG16 was called outside of North America), and that is Pac-Land. Every port of that game was either bad or poor, but the PCE version of that game is better than the arcade. I keep an emulator set up for that game alone.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh wow! Thanks for the suggestion. I had no idea!

[@chroniclesofguyver7888]

I've never played this one so I can't comment on its quality one way or the other. I do have a fond memory of watching somebody speed run this game as part of a charity marathon. Half joking, they kept going on about how Neutopia is their favorite game and the greatest game ever made. In fact, they claimed it was the inspiration for every other video game ever made. Eventually somebody in chat asked "So if Neutopia inspired every game, what inspired Neutopia?" The response was "Neutopia is so great, it inspired its own creation as part of an infinite time loop." 😆 It made for some of the best speed run commentary.

[@hungrygoriya]

That's hilarious! I love watching speedruns so I'd be curious to see how this game goes when people are really skilled at it. I know there's a lot of technical stuff in The Legend of Zelda's speedrun for enemy kill counts to get bombs to drop and I wonder if there's anything like that here too. Thanks for sharing this story! It gave me a good chuckle.

[@MaidenHell1977]

That’s a crying shame over what Amazon US did to that TurboGrafx Mini box. I ordered mine from Amazon Japan and they shrink wrapped the system box to a piece of cardboard then glued that cardboard to the inside of a larger box so that it wouldn't get damaged. It was pretty impressive I have to admit. No packing paper or air bags needed. Great little review. Cheers.

[@hungrygoriya]

To put it lightly, I was really frustrated when it arrived. It was one of the first time I ordered from the American site instead of the Canadian one and apparently there's an option you can click to put it inside of another box that doesn't exist on the CA one... I learned my lesson I guess! I'm glad yours arrived in great shape.

[@theycallmejojo6090]

Out of curiosity I played this on my pc engine mini and I thought it was aggressively average for the most part. Nothing about it feels horrible but I always had this feeling that I should be playing A Link to the Past instead. I still think it’s kinda neat that the tg16 had a Zelda clone in an ocean of shoot em ups and arcade ports though. I still have yet to play its sequel but I feel confident that it will be much better, at least enough to explain the insane prices on places like eBay.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. It definitely has a lot of good things in it, but it's lacking that extra bit of flavour I usually enjoy in my exploration-based games. Thinking for myself and trying to figure out where to go next is something I revel in, though there's nothing wrong with a game that just holds your hand. It's just not for me!

[@oscarl.3563]

Haven't played the game but it isn't a far stretch to try melting ice crystals with fire. Although they look like regular crystals.

[@hungrygoriya]

Hindsight's always 20/20, haha

[@blackenedheart9592]

I live in the USA and couldnt afford the TurboGrafx mini. It's over $500! A couple years ago the only one i could afford, somewhat, was the PC Engine Core Grafx mini. Even that was around $270! But it was and still is the only way I've ever played Turbo games. No one in my hometown ever had one back in the day. I never saw them in stores either. Only bad thing about the Core GFX mini is most the games are in Japanese. There are some in English though

[@hungrygoriya]

I got on the preorder train thankfully, and with import fees, shipping and taxes, I was still uncomfortable with paying $123! I can't imagine paying $500! That's ludicrous!

[@blackenedheart9592]

@@hungrygoriya it is. It wasn't but around $100 when it was new but it didn't even take but a couple months afterwards for the price to skyrocket! Which sucks. The USA one has the same games in English, well some of them at least, that are only Japanese on mine. But mine does have a small English tg16 menu. It kinda weird how they programmed all of them

[@skins4thewin]

Oof, that Turbo Express screen is pretty awful lol. There are screen mods available that not only improve the picture substantially, but also increases the screen size by a full inch from 2.5" to 3.5"! Makes it much more enjoyable to play on.

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah, it's not the greatest. My husband repaired the Express for a friend and he didn't want the screen mod installed. It didn't work since the day he bought it and he was hopeful that he'd finally get to play some of his collection after all these years. And now he can, crappy screen and all!

[@darkengine5931]

The movement and thrust attack seem quite clumsy just eyeballing the game footage. I think what made the original Zelda feel smooth enough in movement but simultaneously quite intuitive in terms of what is hit when Link thrusts is that the movement and collision detection was snapped to half-cells: each tile/cell was broken down into 2x2 sub-cells and all the movement and collision detection was based on these sub-cells to my understanding. This one seems like they use completely free movement and collision detection not at all related to the grid which seems clumsy to me with a thrust attack and exarcerbated by how the character sprite is taller than a tile. It always seemed like such a smart choice in Zelda 3 on SNES that they made Link's default sword attack a wide swing rather than a narrow thrust.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'd like to think it wasn't just me missing enemies because of a skill issue, but I think it was the game! The original Zelda was definitely a little smoother because of the sword's range. The one in Neutopia feels way too short. I had a really hard time judging sword swings up and down and tried to line myself up horizontally with enemies most of the time because of that. Even then, it didn't work out as often as I might like.

[@darkengine5931]

​@@hungrygoriyaIt's something I might be a tad more sensitive about than usual with respect to game design, since the very first graphical game I attempted to design and program as a kid was a Legend of Zelda clone. Yet I wanted to make the one little tweak that movement wasn't at all snapped to the grid (the most granular movement snapped only to pixels and not grid cells) and that collision detection wouldn't be grid-based either. I was also programming this on the 80286 with keyboard for control so I had some more buttons to work with and wanted a third button for dashing (similar to making Super Mario dash). Then I just couldn't make it feel quite right. Lining up the character to hit enemies with a thrust felt a bit too precise, but it also ties in with the movement. Like in Legend of Zelda, say you want Link to move through a narrow one-tile gap between two obstacles (blocks, trees, etc). It's so easy to visually judge at a glance when Link is lined up to pass through that narrow gap because of the half-cell grid snapping. In a similar way, it's so easy to tell when Link is lined up on the ground plane to hit an enemy he's facing with the grid snapping. In mine (and it looks like Neutopia had a similar issue), it's very easy to not line up the character quite right to pass through a narrow gap and end up colliding with an obstacle and getting stuck on it right along its edge without passing through a narrow opening because we're just a few pixels off from clearing the obstacles. The fact that hit detection of the sword against an enemy in LoZ is also half-cell-based is probably why Link's sword range feels longer while the Neutopia one feels shorter even if they're both one cell span in length. Neutopia might also make that feel a bit shorter because the character is taller than a tile with overlap and slightly increased sense of depth/perspective (the game I attempted still kept the sprites to a tile size and lacked as much depth/perspective, but I suspect that exacerbates it otherwise). When Zelda 3 came out, I facepalmed because they managed to solve all the issues I was struggling with: replacing thrust with a swing and visible arc that isn't nearly as sensitive to being so in line with other enemies, making it so if we try to move through a narrow gap but are a few pixels off, Link begins to move automatically slide in a perpendicular direction to get through the gap, etc. So much of it seemed like common sense when the game came out that I was kicking myself for not coming up with the same solutions. But it gives me some degree of comfort seeing Neutopia also made similar mistakes I did when trying to move away from grid-based movement and hit detection. Nintendo always seemed especially good when it came to making movement and collision detection feel so right in the games they developed. Nowadays I develop more turn-based strategy and RPG games where the best movement system and collision detection aren't required to make the game feel so good, but I'm always taking notes from Nintendo when it comes to making movement and collision detection feel so right.

[@jhousdan]

How unfortunate.... I had this one bookmarked on my miyoo mini plus to play sometime this year. I'm sure I'll still play it, but perhaps with a shade less expectation. I always saw pictures of this one in gaming magazines in the early 90s and it had definitely piqued my interest. Here's to hoping Neutopia II fares a little better! (And Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is DEFINITELY a reason for owning the console! Whereas Symphony of the Night is my favorite CV game overall, Rondo of Blood is peak "linear" castlevania. It's got gorgeous graphics, a soundtrack second only to SotN, and the controls are snappy and well-coded.)

[@hungrygoriya]

I'd say give it a try anyway and see what you think. I went in hoping it'd sweep me off my feet a little more and really let me get into exploring and finding ways to advance, but it didn't. I'm hopeful about the sequel! And Rondo of Blood is a great game! It's among my favourites of the linear Castlevania games, for sure.

[@low_e_music]

While I enjoy Neutopia quite a bit, I can't say that your assessment is wrong, haha! As stated, the second one is definitely better. You should try Ys Books 1 and 2 as well, it's just fantastic, would be curious to hear your review. It's one of my favorite TG games and the soundtrack is utterly fantastic!

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope I made it clear in the review that the game's just fine but just didn't hit all of the things on my personal list that I usually enjoy most about the genre. I played Ys Vanished Omens (Book 1) on the Master System many years ago and have been looking for an excuse to play the Turbografx CD games for a while. I still haven't played the second game in the series so perhaps that's something I should plan to do in the near future. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@low_e_music]

@@hungrygoriya Looking at the game through non-nostalgia laced eyes, your review is pretty dead on. I agree too that it's a great option for someone looking to get into the genre. Hope you enjoy part 2 better. The diagonal movement alone is reason enough to be excited.