Hosts discuss their experiences at BitSummit '23 and the intriguing retro indie games showcased. Topics include cultural differences in Japan's gaming industry, influences from games like Undertale and British microcomputer games, recognizing familiar places in movies and games, a murder mystery game called Scene Investigators, their experience at the Sunsoft booth, two retro indie games Last Command and Al Golomak, a clever and intriguing game demo, playing Castle of the Darkness 2, and honoring gaming history of Ken Gino.
Castle of the Darkness 2 offers a challenging platforming experience with a metroidvania feel and difficult bosses.
Death the Guitar is a visually striking platformer with fast-paced gameplay and a scoring system for fans of challenging platformers.
EverDeeb Aurora combines atmospheric visuals with unique platforming mechanics, including digging, manipulating platforms, and a time element.
Deep dives
Castle of the Darkness 2: A Challenging and Agile Platformer
Castle of the Darkness 2, the sequel to the original game, offers a challenging and fast-paced platforming experience. Inspired by the game Eastly, the protagonist is now more agile and has a faster slashing speed. The game includes a leveling system where killing enemies allows the player to level up and become stronger. The world map feature adds to the metroidvania feel of the game, with inaccessible ledges and platforms to explore. The bosses in the game provide a significant challenge, reminiscent of the difficulty found in Eastly.
Death the Guitar: A Fast-Paced Platformer with a Unique Concept
Death the Guitar is an intriguing platformer where you play as a guitar seeking revenge on enemies using music as your weapon. With limited colors and a nostalgic pixel art style, the game stands out visually. Playing as a guitar, you can strum to create a mini-area effect that disintegrates enemies near you. The game features fast-paced gameplay, requiring quick reflexes to avoid enemy attacks. While the difficulty level is high, the game offers a scoring system that tracks your time taken and the number of deaths, appealing to fans of challenging platformers.
EverDeeb Aurora: An Atmospheric Platformer with Unique Mechanics
EverDeeb Aurora is a platformer that combines atmospheric visuals with unique gameplay mechanics. The game features an 8-bit micro look with a limited color palette, creating a distinct visual style. Players control a character exploring the underground, interacting with various characters and searching for their missing mother. The platforming mechanics involve digging, avoiding enemies, and manipulating platforms using chords and charges. The game also includes a time element, adding tension and challenge as players attempt to clear a debt within a specific time limit.
Bitsummit Highlights: Retronauts Takes Over from Coast to Coast
Retronauts, a popular gaming podcast, takes part in various gaming expos and events across the United States. The host, Jeremy Parrish, discusses upcoming appearances and events, including the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo and Retro World Expo. The podcast team shares their perspectives on retro games and related titles showcased at events like BitSummit. They discuss games like Hebereki 2, Shanghai Legend, and Last Command, offering their impressions and thoughts on each game. The podcast episode captures the atmosphere and excitement of gaming conventions and highlights the variety of game titles and experiences available at these events.
Inclusion in Illbleed and the Unconventional Development Process
York Tittle, a writer for the Official Dreamcast Magazine, contacted the creator of Illbleed, Sheine Nishigaki, after seeing a teaser trailer for the game. Tittle convinced his editor to let him write a cover feature about the game, and as a result, Illbleed found a publisher in the US. Nishigaki, grateful for Tittle's help, added a character named York S. Baker as a detective in the game, modeled after Tittle himself. Nishigaki and Tittle formed a close friendship, and Tittle remembers their time together fondly. Despite communication barriers, they had a soul connection and shared a vision for the game's unique and unpredictable nature. Tittle admits to being a terrible player of Illbleed, but appreciates the game as a work of art.
The Legacy and Influence of Illbleed's Creator
Sheine Nishigaki, the creator of Illbleed, was a visionary game developer who had ideas ahead of his time. Although his games were not always commercially successful, they left a lasting impact. Nishigaki's improvisational approach to game development was like making jazz, riffing and coming up with ideas on the spot. His games, including Illbleed, were seen as works of art and have gained a cult following. Nishigaki's unique creativity, combined with his friendship with York Tittle, helped shape Illbleed into the weird, atmospheric, and unforgettable game it became. Nishigaki's contribution to gaming deserves more recognition and appreciation.
Jeremy Parish and Diamond Feit emerge blinking into the Kyoto sunlight to discuss the most intriguing, the most entertaining, and above all the most authentically retro indie games they experienced only moments before at BitSummit 2023.
Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts
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