GOTMC: Star Tropics

[Nz17]

Welcome to the latest installment of the Game of the Moment Club!

This time at the Club, we'll be playing Star Tropics (NES). The time period allocated to play this game is one fortnight (14 days). Come back on September 24th and let's chat this game on up!

For those of you new to the club, here is how it works: each time we do this we select a game for everyone to play. After the appointed amount of time, we all come back for a week of discussion about the game we just finished.

On the sixth day, we begin taking in suggestions on what to play next. These should be PM'd to nz17. On the seventh day, we hold a poll to determine what we should play next. The following day, the next GOTM will be announced, and the process starts anew.

So for now, get out there and start playing! And remember, Club members help each other out with games, so if you get stuck, come back here and ask for help.

Let's play GOTM!

[stuffedmonkey]

Oddly enough, I've been playing this game for the last week. Some parts are really frustrating - as in you have to go to random location x and walk straight through a secret mountain passage you cannot see. If not for gamefaqs - I think I would have stopped playing out of annoyance by now....

[Famidrive-16]

If I get my NES out of the moving box and hooked up I'll give it a go...

Never got past the first level. That's how much I suck.

[Nz17]

Yeah, ST really keeps you on your toes. If you are not paying attention or know what to do, it can kill you off quickly.

[badinsults]

Once I get the Generation NEX, I am going to get that game from my little brother (technically, it is mine). Classic. Though, the stupid 4th chapter, where you have to enter the code is freaking retarded.

[InsaneDavid]

Ahh, my all time favorite NES game.. hmm, I've got a few hours until the Belgian GP...

[vintagegamecrazy]

I guess I have to sit this one out because I finished this game and I am in the middle of the second one, this game is quite difficult and time consuming. Good luck to all.

[-hellvin-]

Damn...you picked one of the few factory sealed games I have. Wish my xbox didn't just die or I'd emu it. Not really a fan of nes emulation on pc =\.

[Jorpho]

That Ghost Tunnel is a b*tch.

That is all.

[Ruudos]

Once I get the Generation NEX, I am going to get that game from my little brother (technically, it is mine). Classic. Though, the stupid 4th chapter, where you have to enter the code is freaking retarded.

Is that the part where you have to drop that letter that came with game into the water. I thought that was a very original idea.

StarTropics, my all-time favorite game.

[badinsults]

Once I get the Generation NEX, I am going to get that game from my little brother (technically, it is mine). Classic. Though, the stupid 4th chapter, where you have to enter the code is freaking retarded.

Is that the part where you have to drop that letter that came with game into the water. I thought that was a very original idea.

StarTropics, my all-time favorite game.

It kind of sucks when you don't have a manual to do that. I spent like 2 months randomly guessing the code.

[luffy744]

Once I get the Generation NEX, I am going to get that game from my little brother (technically, it is mine). Classic. Though, the stupid 4th chapter, where you have to enter the code is freaking retarded.

Is that the part where you have to drop that letter that came with game into the water. I thought that was a very original idea.

StarTropics, my all-time favorite game.

It kind of sucks when you don't have a manual to do that. I spent like 2 months randomly guessing the code.

This was back BEFORE Gamefaqs, I hope? LOL

I haven't played Startropics in years, though I do distinctly remember beating both of them. Startropics 1 and 2 are two of the very few NES games I have complete with box + manual. I bought them both brand new for $6 each at Toys 'R Us when I picked up my N64 after middle school graduation back in... damn, 96 or 97.

All my NES stuff is in a plastic bin somewhere, so I might boot up an emulator to give it a go... my NES has been kind of flakey for the last year or so, plus I have no idea if the battery in the game still works...

[Gapporin]

I have StarTropics, and I've played through it as well, but it always seemed to me to be, at best, a poor Zelda clone. I mean, think about it:

Both games were developed by Nintendo.
Both games are an Adventure-type genre.
Both games use the scrolling from screen-to-screen to traverse (but not in the towns in StarTropics).
Both games use the hearts method of health.
Both games use the same sound effects in places.

Now, don't think I'm trying to cut StarTropics down. I'm not; it's still a good game. It just seemed to me that Nintendo was trying to make lightning strike twice, and it didn't happen.

[jdc]

Cool! I happen to have both games in my teeny NES collection. This sounds like a great idea BTW.

[pseudonym]

i've played through st1 many times but there are a few weak points...

the letter code. the first time i played the game i was stuck here for awhile looking for a way to get past that part. i only got it when a friend told me what it was.

the controls. they're kind of tough; it's seems like you have to press the direction twice to actually move in that direction. that makes it harder to manuever around enemies or avoid bullets, etc.

the tiles. i don't really care for them. it get annoying when you have to hop around on them to find the item or the button to open the door.

everthing but the controls is easily forgivable imo. it's a pretty unique game despite probably being based on zelda. i liked the jumping parts, the dark areas of the caves, the difficulty, the humor (the whole first area is a "c" pun; c-island, c-serpent, etc.).

[Jorpho]

Both games were developed by Nintendo.

Technically, Star Tropics (http://www.planetnintendo.com/nindb/nes/oc.shtml) was developed by Nintendo IRD, and Zelda (http://www.planetnintendo.com/nindb/nes/zl.shtml) was developed by Nintendo EAD.

(I thought it was nindb that had the pages with further details about EAD and IRD and RD1 and so on, but I guess that was elsewhere... Anyone remember where?)

[Ruudos]

The letter part is unique and not a weak part.
That's the reason to never throw your manuals/maps away 8-)

[jezt]

We need a gba remake, or a third insallment of this game IMMEDIATELLY!!!!!

[dojosky]

yeah that's one of our favorite games !! back on its release day my girlfriend (now my wife) at that time and I were at Toys R us looking for new games and we saw that ST came out that day so we immediately bought it for $34.99 or 39.99 don't remember the price LOL ... and we got home then we played with it. took only few days to beat it and we were stuck at the piano part. so I had to call the Nintendo Game counselor and they told us how to get past that stage so we did. and I have finished it few times. same goes for ZR (Zoda's Revenge) I've finished it maybe twice or so. and yea I agree time for 3rd one to come out on GBA or Cube !!! :D. same goes for KId Icarus and faxanadu and earthbound well the list goes on ! LOL.

[mysteroiusgamer?]

haven't beat it maybe i'll have to dig it out of my nes. i was hoping on seeing the third coming out on the cube. theres still a chance but slim

[Jasoco]

Damn you, now I have a craving to hook up my NES and play!

I keep praying for a sequel or better yet a remake on the GBA or DS.

And I agree, the Ghost Tunnel is the HARDEST part thus far. I have never gotten passed it without a Game Genie.

Well, now to try again.

Also, can someone explain who EAD and IRD really are?

[InsaneDavid]

It kind of sucks when you don't have a manual to do that. I spent like 2 months randomly guessing the code.

Pre-GameFAQ's / mass 'net usage: Call the Nintendo gameplay hotline and ASK.

Post-Nintendo gameplay hotline: Check GameFAQ's or online.


I have StarTropics, and I've played through it as well, but it always seemed to me to be, at best, a poor Zelda clone... ...don't think I'm trying to cut StarTropics down. I'm not; it's still a good game. It just seemed to me that Nintendo was trying to make lightning strike twice, and it didn't happen.

That's EXACTLY what they were trying to do and one of the reasons it didn't catch on as much as it should have in my opinion...

"Hey, have you played this game called StarTropics?"
"StarTropics? That's just Nintendo trying to do Zelda again. It'll never be as good, why even bother!?"

As opposed to "Check out this game, it's a lot of fun" minus all the Nintendo overhype how they had their own secondary flagship franchise killer.

The big N did the same thing with my all time favorite game, Illusion of Gaia on the SNES, promoted it as the sub-evolution of the Zelda games when Zelda III was making them money hand over fist. No matter how great a game is you can't set it up to have a showdown with such a popular franchise and expect it to do well. Heck, I still don't know why people go on and on about SoulBlazer's play control and graphics (not story surprisingly enough) when Illusion of Gaia improved upon both ten fold.

Anyway, back to StarTropics (still my favorite NES game), the whole thing with water on the booklet was cool - it was something to add experence to an adventure game. I'm sure along with many others, when it said "put water on the map of C-Island in the instruction booklet" it took a couple minutes of "huh?" before actually doing it.

Oh yeah, and since no one's just freaking came out and said it yet (which I find funny), it's 747MHz. Now stay out of the FAQ's and beat it on your own! LOL

[Jasoco]

I borrowed this game from my uncle when it first came out yeeeeaaaars ago. I instantly fell in love and instantly went Game Genie on its ass. Back then I was unexperienced and terrible at a lot of games, so the Genie was my salvation. Now-a-days I've gained a lot of EXP points in gaming and can beat most games without cheats. (Though a lot of newer games still require FAQ's as I can never figure out what the hell to do.)

StarTropics is one of those games I hope to one day beat without the aid of an aide.

That said, I don't get why people keep calling it a Zelda clone! It has NOTHING to do with Zelda! Aside from a heart system, which many games use, there aren't any resemblances. Does Link use a Yo-Yo? No. Does Link sail from island to island on his quest to find his Uncle? No.. Well, he does NOW. (Replace Uncle with Triforce) But hey! ZELDA IS A CLONE OF STARTROPICS WTFBBQQ!!!!!! AM I RITE? ROLFWAFFLES! Seriously. Who's copying who here? The StarTropics of the early 90's had virtually no similarities to the Zelda of 198X. I can't believe people still see it as that! It's a great game by itself. It's completely different. And people comparing it to Zelda need to clean out their eyes because I just don't see it.

That said as well, I really REALLY want to play this on a portable. Whether it's an NES classic rerelease (Sad, seems we'll never get a third volume of the NES Classics.) on the GBA or a download from the Revolution to the Nintendo DS, I must have this portably. (Until someone cracks PSP 2.0 and lets me play NES games on my PSP.)

And the sequel was just as fun. Aside from the overly long opening story which you can't skip and if you don't get to the save point before you die you get to sit through it again.

I remember trying to find a way out of the Female castle as a woman so I could see if I could play the rest of the game as Michelle. LOL That game taught me what the symbol for Female was.

[TEXASGAMEPLAYER]

water + mint copy of star tropics = TGP losing his mind