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The Green Screen Scene Zine Vol 1 No 1
Article 5152 of alt.zines:
Path: news.cic.net!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!agate!darkstar.UCSC.EDU!news.hal.COM!decwrl!tribune.usask.ca!skyfox.usask.ca!skripj
From: skripj@skyfox.usask.ca
Newsgroups: alt.zines
Subject: _The Green Screen Scene 'Zine_, Vol.1 No.1
Date: 21 AUG 94 23:57:58 GMT
Organization: University of Saskatchewan
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Message-ID: <21AUG94.23575847@skyfox.usask.ca>
NNTP-Posting-Host: sask.usask.ca
_________________
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| ## -------- ## | | The
| ##| |## |)| Green
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| </ </ \\\\|/ No. 1
\________________/ August 1994
============================================
Written and published by Jack Skrip.
Copyright 1994 by Jack Skrip.
============================================
OPTIONS
START:
Greetings, Green-Screen Gazers!
LEVEL ONE:
Mano-a-Mano: Fighting Sims for the GameBoy
LEVEL TWO:
The First Official TGSSZ Reader Survey
GAME OVER:
Not-quite-the-last Word
The Last Word: Unpaid Apolitical Announcements
**********
START
Greetings, Green-Screen Gazers!
Welcome to issue #1 of _The Green Screen Scene 'Zine_, a new e-zine
devoted solely to that little green sprout of handheld videogame systems, the
Nintendo GameBoy. The focus of TGSSZ is games. Each issue will contain
comprehensive, in-depth coverage of a selection of GameBoy games usually chosen
according to theme of some sort; in addition to description and evaluation of
each game, I'll also include tips, tricks, passwords, Game Genie codes, and
numerical ratings from other sources whenever possible. As well, I also plan
on doing "walk-through"-style features on some individual games, such as Final
Fantasy Legend. If there is enough of a demand, I will also add an occaisional
piece on peripheral devices for the GameBoy, such as lighting systems or the
Super GameBoy.
TGSSZ is NOT a news-gossip-rumors 'zine, and I will NOT be focusing
only on what's newest to the marketplace; there are many magazines and e-zines
that handle that stuff, and there will no doubt be many more. No, I won't pass
up the chance to review a new cart like The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers or
Mortal Kombat II, but my ultimate goal is to provide a comprehensive player's/-
buyer's guide to the entire catalogue of GameBoy games -- or, at least, as much
of it as I can get my hands on!
Right now, TGSSZ is a "one-man show"; I'll be writing and publishing
the 'zine on my own in my (rapidly-vanishing) spare time. If TGSSZ catches
on, maybe I'll be able to enlarge it and take outside submissions, but right
now I'd rather not solicit articles for a 'zine that might not last long enough
to print them. Although I'm not yet taking submissions, I do want to hear from
TGSSZ's readers. I would like this to be sort of an "interactive 'zine" in
that I want you to tell me what kind of games you'd like to read about.
Shooters? Tetris clones? RPGs? Comic book adaptations?
Let me know!!!
Also, if you have questions about games you're playing right now,
send them to me, and I'll try to answer them in either a "Letters" column or a
game feature.
_The Green Screen Scene 'Zine_ will be published electronically once
a month. Ideally, each issue will come out during the first week of the month,
but there may be a few "temporal glitches" (such as this issue) until I get
everything sorted out. By next issue, I hope to have my distribution methods
in place and will provide some brief instructions on where TGSSZ can be found.
'Til then, I'l be waiting to hear from you.
Enjoy!
Yours Truly,
Jack the skRipper
**********
LEVEL ONE
Mano-a-Mano: Fighting Sims for the GameBoy
These days, when gamers talk one-on-one fighting sims, the conversation
is usually dominated big-time by Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat. Unfor-
tunately, GameBoy players are usually left out of these conversations, since we
seem to have gotten the shitty end of the joystick with respect to these titles
-- NO port of SF2 and a seriously gimpy version of MK.
However, those of us who have been loyal to the Little Green Sprout
since its appearance back in 1989 know that the GameBoy has, in fact, a
suprisingly large catalogue of fighting sims. Unfortunately, a lot of them
kinda stink, but this is only because today's gamers have become too used to
basking in the odor (and color) of blood, sweat, and tears given off by the
Big Two I mentioned earlier. The standards set by SF2 and MK have resulted in a
contemporary norm of expectation that most older fighting sims just can't live
up to; as well, some gamers insist that the true realm of the fighting sim is,
and should be, the arcade machine and the high-powered home console -- not lowly
handhelds. But GameBoy programmers have been trying hard to prove them wrong,
with mixed results.
So, this month I invite you all to slip into the fighting togs of your
choice and accompany me on a rough-and-tumble tour of the GameBoy Fighting Sim
Hall of Fame and Shame. The only requirements are effective head-and-groin gear
and an open mind -- we're heading into some serious nostalgia!
First, a quick description of the ground we'll be covering: Fighting
games for the GameBoy fall neatly into two categories according to style of
play: 1) One-on-one fighting sims (i.e. Mortal Kombat and WWF Superstars) and
2) side-scrolling action/adventures in which the player's primary means of
survival is hand-to-hand combat (i.e. the Double Dragon series and Sumo
Fighter). The focus of this collection of reviews is a narrow slice of the
first category; I'll be looking at one-on-one fighting sims which specifically
involve a mixture of martial arts fighting styles. Categories like wrestling
sims and boxing sims will be covered in future issues. As well, I'll be
presenting the games chronologically, beginning with the first GameBoy one-on-
one martial arts fighting sim to receive international distribution and ending
with the GameBoy port of what is probably the world's most notorious game in
the category -- at least until September.
Fist of the North Star
(Electro Brain)
Although both are based on the incredibly popular Japanese manga/anime,
this game doesn't resemble its NES couterpart at all. In fact, it should have
been called "Fist of the Worry-Dolls," since most of the characters look like
those little faceless stick-people made out of matches and string. If only the
game looked as good as its title screen! This game promises much more than it
delivers, since two of its three fighting modes are only available through a
two-player gamelink. What remains is a tournament-style fighting game which,
while graphically archaic, manages to offer a few intriguing features. You
choose to play as one of eleven fighters, and you must beat all ten of the
others to win. All fighters have a basic arsenal of punches and kicks, and
most can deliver flying kicks (two characters are too large to get off the
ground); as well, most fighters possess a special attack, usually some sort of
psychic projectile, charged and fired by holding and releasing the "A" button.
One of the niftiest features of the game is the password system; your
character's abilities and experience increase with each successful fight, and
the password allows you to restore those abilities each time you play. As well,
you can input a password that powers up, say, Kenshiro, but choose to play as
a different character. You can even use the passwords to include "experienced"
characters in the two-player "Team" mode. Fist of the North Star is not as
visually impressive as contemporary fighting sims, but worth looking at since it
represents the beginning of the GameBoy fighting sim lineage. *48*
Passwords/Codes:
XKP 72QN VHR JGU5 GameBoy guides and mags have been incorrectly calling
this a "Level 5" password; it actually sets Kaioh (the
game's "bad guy") at Level 3, with all other characters
at Level 1.
FWH GCE9 380 40AB This one sets Kaioh at Level 4, which is as high as he
can get.
OKL TZ8S FPG CY9I This one sets Kenshiro (the "good guy") at Level 2.
To advance a character to his highest level more rapidly, each time you advance
in level, restart the game with the password INSTEAD of continuing.
Pit Fighter
(Atari/Tengen)
Now THIS is a relic! Does anyone remember this game? It was an arcade
smash hit (pun intended) and started the whole "digitized photo" craze that led
to Mortal Kombat. As well, it's a remnant of a time when Atari and Nintendo
were actually on speaking terms -- yes, Pit Fighter is a Tengen product. It's
even available for the Lynx (oh boy). Take my advice and rush out and buy this
one just for it's nostalgia value. As far as play value goes, well . . . when
you buy it, buy it cheap. Believe it or not, the game has fewer options than
Fist of the North Star! You choose from one of three characters to play, and
you fight five other players through ten regluar matches and five Grudge matches
before facing "Ultimate" in the Championship Match. Granted, the three players-
characters have more moves available than in Fist of the North Star; each
character has a Super Power move, plus you can pick up your opponents and toss
them. However, the play control is very touchy, and the computer-controlled
opponents are fast and ruthless. The digitized stuff is a two-edged sword. The
voices are kind of cool, though they get repetitive; the digitized characters
are about the same quality as those in Mortal Kombat (not necessarily a good
thing), but the light-colored arena makes them look smudgy. The biggest downer
is that Pit Fighter may well be the only one-on-one fighting sim that does NOT
have a two-player gamelink option! *52*
Fighting Simulator: Flying Warriors 2-in-1
(Culture Brain)
This game follows very closely the playstyle, control, and overall feel
of Culture Brain's Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll and Flying Warriors. If
you like those games, particularly the latter, and like the combat system
Culture Brain created for them, you will love this one. It is actually two
games in one. In the fighting sim portion, you have the chance to answer that
often-asked question, "If you put a boxer and a karate expert in a ring
together, who will win?" You choose from one of eight fighters, each
representing a different style of fighting from kung-fu to wrestling, and
battle your way through a long, increasingly difficult series of matches. You
can play one- or two-round matches, single-fight or tournament play, and you can
also set the difficulty level and play-control style. Players have a wide range
of offensive and defensive moves which vary according to the character's
fighting style, and the fighters are fairly large and well-animated. The combat
system itself takes a while to explain; basically, you either like it or you
don't. I happen to like it -- a lot! In addition to the fighting sim, the cart
also contains a surprisingly long and involved side-scrolling action game which
is a sort of sequel to Flying Warriors. This, plus the two-player gamelink
option, make the cart a great bargain. *88*
Game Genie codes:
0F7-24E-E66 Start with 15 lives (change first two digits to change
number of lives)
008-D7E-19E Infinite lives
3D7-3CE-19A Almost infinite energy
Raging Fighter
(Konami)
This game came as a major surprise to me, first because it beat Mortal
Kombat to the portable market and, second, because it came from Konami; if
anything was going to "scoop" MK, I figured it would be a SF2 port from Capcom.
NOT! However, what wasn't surprising was the high-quality of the game, since
that is what exactly what gamers have come to expect from Konami. Raging
Fighter has all (if not more) of the fun of Mortal Kombat, but none of its
problems. You have a wide choice of fighters with large selections of moves,
including secret combinations for you to find. The play control is complex, but
not frustrating (although blocking could have been explained better in the
manual), and the combinations work EVERY TIME. The characters are large and
beautifully drawn, not smudgy digital graphics; there's even a bit of "sweat
spray" that gorehounds (like myself) can pretend is blood. One of the cart's
biggest pluses is the selection of options. Instead of one big tournament, you
have three different modes of play: Tournament Mode is a series of best-of-
three fights against all of the fighters; Story Mode is an endurance test in
which you must take three characters against the remaining four, culminating
in a mirror-match. In Practice Mode, you can hone your skills against the
fighter of your choice in Fighting Mode or Training Mode (in which your opponent
will defend, but not attack). You can also vary the level of difficulty and
choose whether or not to give each match a time limit. Add an impressive
soundtrack and a two-player gamelink option, and you get the best GameBoy
fighting sim to date. *96*
Passwords/Codes:
UUDDLRLRBA Enter the famous "Konami Code" at the screen to
access the ability to play against the same fighter.
Here are some secret moves not listed in the manual; they are described as if
your opponent is on your right. If you find more, let me know!
Tao DLRB Sweep/Punch Combination
Vandal RDRB Somersault_Punch
Aska RDRB Backfist/Elbow-Strike Combination
Bulk DLRB Roaring Charge
Myabi CloseRB Sometimes she pulls off what looks like a Tiger Push
Fireball at very close range, but I'm not sure this is
a true "Special Attack."
Ruoh RRRA Headbutt (all Ruoh's moves also apply to Shades)
RDRA Flying Knee
Also, if the distance is just right, Myabi, Ruoh, and Shades can throw
opponents at close range by holding down R and pressing B.
Game Genie codes:
009-1FB-A22 Infinite time
004-E0B-E6D
+ 007-1AE-3B7 Infinite energy
3E1-F2A-4CA
+ 041-F3A-E62
+ 771-F4A-3BA Expert level: Go to "Options" screen; set highest
difficulty, then press "left" three times; exit; try
to survive!
Mortal Kombat
(Acclaim)
There really is little more to say about this game that hasn't already
been said. It was probably the most eagerly awaited arcade translation of 1993
and the biggest disappointment. Of the various ports of the game, the GameBoy
version is unquestionably the worst, mainly a result of complex, unresponsive
play control. The digitized graphics are better than those of Pit Fighter
(which isn't saying much), mainly because of the different backgrounds, the
apparent use of more frames of animation per move, and the variety of moves per
character. However, the screen does, at times, look like a badly tuned
television, and special moves aren't any good if they don't work consistently.
Don't even TRY comparing this game to the arcade or console versions; it's an
"apples to oranges" situation. But even in the "apples to apples" context of
GameBoy fighting sims, Mortal Kombat has quite a few worms. *60*
Passwords/Codes:
I don't yet have a complete and accurate list of moves for the MK crew, but here
are some to test (T=Toward AY=Away; BL=Block). I can't guarantee the accuracy,
so please let me know what works and what doesn't:
Kano Knife AY,T,B
Cannonball T,DN,A (add BL to spin in place)
HIGH KICK D,T,T,A
Sonya Ring Toss AY,AY,B
Flight T,AY,AY,T
Scissor Grab D,HB
KISS OF FIRE AY,AY,T,BL
Rayden Lightning Throw AY,T,B
Teleport DN,T,A
Superman AY,AY,AY,T
ELECTROLITE AT,T,D,HB
Scorpion Van Dam Spear AY,AY,B
Teleport T,DN,A
SKULL FLAME T,T,T,BL
Sub-Zero Freeze AY,T,A
Slide T,DN,B
SLIDING PUNCH T,D,T,B
Liu Kang Fireball AY,AY,B
Flying Kick T,T,A
SUMMACUT T,T,AY,B
Goro Every once in a while, I can get him to turn invisible and
hurl his opponent across the screen, but I have no idea how
I'm doing it. If anyone has any moves for Goro, please let
me know!
Game Genie Codes
00C-B5E-3BE Infinite time
005-94C-B31 Player 1 is invincible
0A0-14B-F72 10 continues (change first two digits to change number
of continues)
002-96D-B31 Infinite continues
FF9-AFC-6EE Punches do more damage
FF9-BFC-E6F Knees do more damage
FF9-A7C-E60 Uppercuts do more damage
FF9-CFC-E6F Kicks to stomach do more damage
FF9-B7C-6E3 Kicks to face do more damage
FFA-17C-E6F Shoulder throws do more damage
C68-35F-24E Play as Goro
A Parting Shot:
Just a final general comment on one-on-one fighting sims. Nearly every
game in this particular category, no matter what the system, is at its best
when played in a two-player mode. No matter how advanced the system, human
interaction is better than pummelling a CPU. Computers get predictable, but
humans can still be surprising now and then! Unfortunately, the GameBoy, like
all handheld portables, is biased toward one-player use. Sure you can GameLink,
but let's face it: It's annoying. All those cables, the added expense of
multiple GameBoys and multiple cartridges . . . . However, the new Super GameBoy
may present an opportunity to get around this. Unfortunately, Nintendo
apparently chose to waste chip-space on a draw program instead of trying for a
built-in two-player option of some sort. Perhaps software companies can take
advantage of this technology and add a new dimension to GameBoy fighting sims:
Two-player competition on the Super GameBoy.
Any opinions? Drop me a note!
**********
LEVEL TWO
The First Official TGSSZ Reader Survey
I'm always interested in people's opinions of the GameBoy system, games,
and peripherals. One of the neat things about the GameBoy is that, with all the
stuff available for it, it's possible for each of us to create our own personal
GameBoy package to suit our needs and preferences. From time to time, I'll be
asking you about your experiences with the GameBoy -- and this is one of those
times! Please take a moment to answer these questions and send your responses
to me.
1) Overall, what GameBoy game do you play the most?
2) What GameBoy game have you been playing most recently?
3) What game tip do you most desperately need?
4) Do you use a lighting system?
5) Do you often play your GameBoy in total or near-total darkness
(with a lighting system, of course)?
**********
GAME OVER
Not-quite-the-last Words
Well, that's it for issue #1. I hope you found it both enjoyable and
useful. The contents for next issue are a bit up in the air right now. If I
have time, I'll publish a walk-through to Final Fantasy Legend, since I noticed
quite a few people asking questions about the game on rec.games.video.nintendo.
That would like result in a late issue, probably mid-September. If I can't get
the FFL piece together, I'll run a feature on classic-style shooters. Help me
decide . . . if you have FFL questions, send them to me; if I get enough of
them, I'll run the walk-through.
The Last Words: Unpaid Apolitical Announcements
The Game Genie mailing list and ENCRYPT
The list of Game Genie codes I provide for any given game will NOT be
comprehensive; I will list the codes I find most useful or interesting. For
the latest codes and news about the Game Genie, as well as info on accessing
the Game Genie code-server, subscribe to the Game Genie mailing list and read
ENCRYPT, the official Game Genie e-zine. Unfortunately, I don't have the
current subscription instructions onhand, and I don't want to risk burying the
wrong person in unwanted mail. I'll obtain the correct address for the next
issue of TGSSZ; until then, keep an eye on rec.games.video.nintendo.
The GameBoy mailing list and archive
If you're reading this, you probably have both Internet access and a
GameBoy. If you do, then you just gotta subscribe to the GameBoy mailing list!
The list definitely needs more traffic, and all those GameBoy-specific requests
on rec.games.video.nintendo should definitely be sent to the list as well, so
they can reach an audience of GameBoy-users who are most likely going to be
able to answer them! Through the GameBoy mailing list, you can also obtain
information on accessing the GameBoy archive, an excellent source of a variety
of GameBoy info. Subscribe today . . . or, better yet, subscribe NOW! Contact
gameboy@cuckoo.hpl.hp.com for further instructions (I hope).
