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NEC TG-16/TE/TurboDuo => TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion => Topic started by: MurderDate on September 24, 2007, 03:45:29 AM

Title: PAC-LAND
Post by: MurderDate on September 24, 2007, 03:45:29 AM
any fans of this game?    What appears on the surface to be a stupid throw away is really a cool oddity, I think.
Fun fun fun.  They don't make 'em like this anymore.
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: Necromancer on September 24, 2007, 04:32:24 AM
They don't make 'em like this anymore.

Thank the gods for small favors.  It can be a little bit o' fun, but it's not very pretty, it's repetitive, and the music and sounds are damned annoying.
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: nat on September 24, 2007, 05:23:41 AM
It's a fun classic for sure, but I doubt they spent more than 20 minutes drawing the graphics for the entire game. Yeah it's light years ahead of the NES port but the Turbo could've done so much better.

They probably spent another 10 minutes composing and implementing the music.

You know, this all is a gripe I have with a lot of Namco's early efforts for the Turbo. A lot of them seem to lack a good production value. Genpei Toumaden, Pac-Land, Ordyne, Bravoman... They all seem to eminate a certain feeling of.... crap.

Luckily in the case of Pac-Land, the game is fun enough to make up for all this.

Namco must have had all their worst software engineers in the Turbo programming department.
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: rag-time4 on September 24, 2007, 05:53:27 AM
Have you pac-land bashers ever compared the turbo version to the arcade original?

Remember, it first game out in 1984....
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: nat on September 24, 2007, 05:56:44 AM
No.

And I'm not bashing Pac-Land. Re-read my post and you'll see that I actually like it.

I'm bashing Namco for giving us a bunch of shitty games early on.
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: spenoza on September 24, 2007, 06:15:11 AM
Nat, at what point would you say you think Namco found their groove?
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: rag-time4 on September 24, 2007, 06:34:50 AM
No.

And I'm not bashing Pac-Land. Re-read my post and you'll see that I actually like it.

I'm bashing Namco for giving us a bunch of shitty games early on.

It's fun, but it's an ugly POS  is pretty much what I read :P
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: nat on September 24, 2007, 06:53:56 AM
Nat, at what point would you say you think Namco found their groove?

THat's a tough call, even more so because I don't have a list of all Namco's games in chronological order.

The early shitty games that spring instantly to mind are Genpei Toumaden (Samurai Ghost 1), Wonder Momo, Xevious, Pac-Land, Ordyne, Bravoman, and Dragon Spirit. And by "shitty" I'm not necessarily talking about the gameplay itself, but rather the overall production quality (graphics, music, little details, etc). Although the majority of the titles listed above are actually pretty crappy games, too. Two of the games on that list I would argue are the all-time worst PCE/Turbo games ever released. Xevious and Pac-Land you could almost give a pass to because they are just replicas of the arcades which were ugly to begin with. Many of the games listed feature very dirty graphics and look bad even compared to NES games.

Namco really picked up the ball with Galaga '90, Splatterhouse, Samurai Ghost (Genpei Toumaden 2), Final Lap Twin, and Dragon Saber (Dragon Spirit 2). These games all scream "quality" and give you the impression that someone spent more than an afternoon throwing them together.

Namco has more games on the Turbo that what I've listed here, but these are the ones that really stand out to me. Because of the poor crap:decent ratio, Namco remains my least favorite third-party developer for the Turbo. Even behind the infamous Pack-In Video, whose often-bashed Deep Blue I actually find pleasing to look at and fun to play.
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: Keranu on September 24, 2007, 08:01:50 AM
Am I the only person who loves the graphics and even the music in Pac-Land? Simplistic attractive stuff.
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: rag-time4 on September 24, 2007, 11:52:56 AM
Am I the only person who loves the graphics and even the music in Pac-Land? Simplistic attractive stuff.

Rest assured, you are not alone!!  :-({|=
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: Keranu on September 24, 2007, 12:09:05 PM
Wonderful! Now lets play a violin deut!  :-({|=
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: rag-time4 on September 24, 2007, 01:01:40 PM
Wonderful! Now lets play a violin deut!  :-({|=

Sadly, Pac-land is a 1 player game...  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: OldTurboBastard on September 25, 2007, 02:09:28 AM
any fans of this game?    What appears on the surface to be a stupid throw away is really a cool oddity, I think.
Fun fun fun.  They don't make 'em like this anymore.

I dunno, anyway i spun this game it was pretty lame back in the day, and I was pissed I made the 19.95 purchase. Fun to look back on if nothing else.
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: ceti alpha on September 25, 2007, 06:17:39 AM
Yeah, I'm not sure about Pac-Land. Definitely an oddity. I've never played the TG-16 port, but I have played the arcade/mame version. All I remember about playing this game is thinking to myself, "Boy, I'd rather be playing the original Pac Man. hehe  :P But I'll admit the game does have a certain charm.  :)

There should have been more nods to the original. Like after each level a little animated/graphic sequence like in the original. Or maybe a level that is all in vector-like graphics. Or more levels that were like a maze? I don't know.  :-#

Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: Keranu on September 25, 2007, 10:23:12 AM
Or maybe a level that is all in vector-like graphics.
YES! I support vector graphics 120% !!
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: Hobo Xiphas on September 25, 2007, 01:26:22 PM
Vector graphics are the best kind of graphics

Raster graphics are for sissies
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: Tatsujin on September 25, 2007, 02:43:12 PM
(http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9392/sissyia0.jpg)
Title: Re: PAC-LAND
Post by: ceti alpha on September 25, 2007, 05:33:29 PM
LMFAO!!  :P