You’re not even my actual dad

Spelunker could also be thought of by the Japanese to be a “densetsu no kusoge” or “crappy recreation of legend,” however I think about myself a fan. It wasn’t unhealthy, it was simply type of a jerk. It made financial institution in Japan, however it then began filling up the cut price bins. So, it’s important to marvel what led to the event of Spelunker’s sequels: Spelunker II on arcade and, confusingly, Spelunker II on Famicom. Have been they making an attempt to earn more money off the title, or have been they making an attempt to proceed the legacy by making a worse recreation?

I don’t have a solution to that query, and by the top of this text, I nonetheless gained’t have a solution. Spelunker II: Yuusha he no Chousen on Famicom isn’t horrible. It’s not nice, however I’ve performed a lot worse. Extra strikingly, it has little or no to do with the unique Spelunker.

Stabbing hams

The Famicom model of Spelunker was a easy recreation at its core. Your objective was merely to descend or “spelunk” a cave to the very backside. The twist was your protagonist had bones product of breadsticks and will die if a bat pooped on them. It was a easy port of a Broderbund recreation that obtained blown out of proportion because of its popularity.

For the console sequel, Irem licensed the title from Broderbund. After that, I can’t comply with their logic. You begin off by selecting considered one of three characters: the explorer, the priest, and the esper. An esper, for those who didn’t know, is somebody who can use extra-sensory notion, which appears to only imply psychic powers to the Japanese. I’m unsure what a priest and an individual who can inform what’s on the hid facet of a card are doing plumbing caves, however right here we’re.

The necessary factor is that all of them have totally different talents. Whereas the explorer simply has a gun and a knife to start out with, they’ll carry extra objects. The priest casts spells that may damage the undead. The Esper can, most notably, set factors to warp again to. They every have totally different quantities of well being and “toku,” which interprets most on to “advantage.” Your advantage ensures that Hell will kick you out everytime you fall right into a pit, and also you additionally must be above a sure threshold to make use of the rosary. You lose it by taking injury, looting graves, or killing harmless deer, and also you achieve it again by stabbing hams in caves. Or simply by killing enemies.

An excessive amount of venison

You additionally begin above floor, confusingly, however don’t go anyplace; I promise there truly is spelunking. Spelunker II is a kind of exploration platformers that grew to become huge within the wake of Zelda and Metroid. There are three maps, however it’s important to discover them to seek out the boss and the exit.

You could ask how that has something in frequent with the unique Spelunker, and actually, there isn’t quite a bit. To say it’s utterly unrelated could be disingenuous. A number of the hazards are clearly taken from the unique title. The largest distinction, nonetheless, is that your hero is not struggling an incredible hangover and might stand up to greater than a little bit poop.

You’ve obtained an incredible well being bar, and the one instantaneous demise I’ve actually discovered is for those who fell right into a pit and have eaten an excessive amount of venison. Even issues like falling into spikes or tumbling down an extended distance solely damage you rather than killing you outright. It’s an odd departure, which once more calls into query whether or not or not the builders have been focused on replicating the spirit of the unique.

Pure panic

Spelunker II isn’t an extended recreation, particularly if what you’re doing. Nevertheless, if it’s your first time, it’s a superb recreation for mapmaking for those who really feel like breaking out some graph paper. There’s a certain quantity of exploration and backtracking wanted to achieve the top, so if you wish to keep away from doing circles, taking notes is the best way to go.

I actually don’t thoughts Spelunker II. It perhaps lacks lots of the issues that made the unique so particular, and the design is half-baked in some locations, however as an exploration platformer, it’s higher than some makes an attempt. It’s nowhere close to as cryptic as one thing like Tremendous Pitfall or Goonies II, so as soon as what you’re doing, it’s a fairly alright time. I’m not solely certain if that’s on goal, although.

It additionally has some unbelievable field artwork. I sort of want I imported a boxed copy since I can’t discover any high-resolution pictures of it on the market in our on-line world. However take a look at it. I’ve by no means seen panic so effectively encompassed in a single picture.

We’d by no means get Spelunker II over right here in North America. The sequence continues to be operating with Spelunker HD Deluxe and Spelunker Occasion being moderately latest. I don’t know why anybody would localize a distinct segment Famicom title like this, however it may occur. Within the meantime, it’s comparatively understandable to English audio system. If you wish to deobfuscate it additional, there’s a fan translation you may slap onto it that can clear up any confusion.

Try earlier Famicom Fridays proper right here.