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THATinkjar
08-10-2006, 06:11 AM
I thought that there might already be a thread about these games, but I'm possibly thinking of a thread some of us hijacked briefly a while back. Apologies, though, if a thread does already exist.

So, as some of you may already know, the first seven (thanks, Windy Miller!) games under the Bit Generations banner hit Japan recently. And, since these are unlikely to hit European soil anytime soon, I decided to import the three that appealed the most, based upon the brief impressions I've read, and the official trailer (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/bit_g/index.html).

Boundish was the first of the three that I tried. It features five simple takes on Pong, and while a couple of them are iffy - the others are darn good, and would make for some cracking multiplayer!

One variation is basically akin to a standard game of Pong, but with four paddles. Each player controls two, though you only have direct control over the outer paddle (up, down, backwards and forwards). The paddle behind simply mirrors your movements, but with a slight delay; though you can slam it up and down to make a saving interception. Overall, the gameplay is pretty hectic, and the AI competes particularly well.

My favourite offering, though, has you firing a heavy ball back and forth, which bounces in the middle (leaving a crater behind) before deviating randomly. This, too, can be a lot of fun, though the AI is generally quite pathetic - even on the third setting - so the rallies don't last all that long. A crying shame.

Coloris... I just don't... "get"... this game. You're basically matching up coloured blocks and, as in Zoo Keeper, new blocks fall down to replace the ones you've cleared, possibly clearing additional blocks in the process for bonus points. Simple enough, so far.

But you're not actually moving the blocks; you're changing their colour. And some blocks refuse to change, and I fail to see why. And other blocks only change to certain colours - again, I'm yet to see the logic behind this. I'll have to read up on this before I play it again...

Dotstream is fascinating. This is just a bog-standard racing game. You avoid obstacles, ride over speed boosts, etc. But as you accelerate, you leave a coloured trail behind you. And this one aspect alone completely changes your approach. You feel the need to leave a perfect trail, to miss obstacles by a mere pixel. Quite magical, really, and good fun to boot. And the music is also the best of the bunch.

While these are probably over-priced (especially if you're importing them), one or two of them may well be worth it, if just to experience something different. Anyone else played any of these, or any of the others?

Windy Miller
08-10-2006, 06:24 AM
So, as some of you may already know, the first six games under the Bit Generations banner hit Japan recently...



Seven games were released. :) I'm still waiting on my order from Yes Asia (I ordered all seven), but there appear to be many favourable comments on some forums about these titles. Being a puzzle fan, they appear to be right up my alley & at £10 each I thought I'd buy them all. Before they appear on eBay as R@rE!

Oobgarm
08-10-2006, 08:28 AM
Wow. These look really fun, although I can't really justify spending $25 EACH on something so simple. If they would have dropped these all onto one cart, then I'd be right on top of it.

I love puzzle games a lot, especially on handhelds, but still....

THATinkjar
08-10-2006, 09:02 AM
Question: Are all Japanese GBA games packaged in such small, beautiful boxes? They are roughly half the size of the GBA boxes over here in Europe! They also open differently.

roushimsx
08-10-2006, 09:25 AM
I really hope they release them on multicarts in the US. I played a buddy's copy of DotStream and while it was pretty damn good, I wouldn't blow $25+shipping on it.

you just know PopCap is going to rip 'em off and make some flash versions of them for cheaper, too.

Julio III
08-10-2006, 03:30 PM
I was actually going to post a topic about these after I recieved the first 3 but haven't really had time - I mean, the only games I've had time to play are these 3 on the way to work. I've got the 2nd series on order and since I have a package waiting at the post office for me they might be in my hands tomorrow morning!

And to anyone complaining about price - a tenner each for a new game - especially a brilliantly packaged, brilliantly stylised game, you can't complain.

The one really striking thing about these games is the whole audiovisual style - I truly love it, and believe they were made for the GBMicro. These games look and sound utterly beautiful - if you like the style of things like Rez, Cosmic Smash etc then these will grab you. Minimalist "retro-futurist" designs with great bleepy electronica.

Dotstream:
Great idea for a racing game - the slipstreaming and the way your line moves is good. The game gets rock solid later on and one of the races must of taken me over 100 attempts. Managed to complete it all now, woo!

Dialhex:
Great little puzzler with the only complaint that initially a couple of the colours are too similar but you soon get used to them. The endless mode (which i've only tried once) does seem a lot poorer than the normal singleplayer mode though and I wish that that continued or kept score. It gets real frantic near the end and when you complete it stops real sudden and you still are going full pelt. For a few days I found myself staring at the sky/carpet/wall and moving hexagons about, :/

Boundish:
The worst of the 3 initial releases but still great fun. 4 pong spinoffs, 3 of which i really enjoy (i dont get the whole turntable one) and the difficulty settings are just right. I would love to play this in multiplayer. I've had some really good matches against the level 3 CPU though. Box Juggling is also great fun and because of the high score keeps me coming back - the problem is its really slow at the start and then gets really hectic after the 100-ish mark, around 200 is crazy




Question: Are all Japanese GBA games packaged in such small, beautiful boxes? They are roughly half the size of the GBA boxes over here in Europe! They also open differently.

Nope! These are special bitGenerations boxes and they are indeed beautiful. Normal Japanese GBA games come in a different case to the UK ones though, a small rectangular shape.

slapdash
09-10-2006, 01:08 AM
Were there originally going to be 8 of these? I ask because the "AGB" numbers are mostly in order, starting at AGB-BVAJ and ending at AGB-BVHJ, but for some reason skipping AGB-BVFJ. I mean, the graphics show 7 and only 7 icons, one for each game, but it seems odd that they wouldn't run from A to G without a gap...

Austin
09-10-2006, 11:36 AM
Thanks for the little write-ups. I was completely unaware of these. I'm always on the lookout for unique GBA imports.

THATinkjar
09-11-2006, 06:07 AM
So, I imported the remaining four games in the series: Dial Hex, Digidrive, Orbital and Soundvoyager. They're all a bit rubbish, to be perfectly honest, and weren't worth the money. But I kinda knew that this would be the case, but thought it was probably worth completing the series for the sake of it.

Julio III
09-11-2006, 05:28 PM
So, I imported the remaining four games in the series: Dial Hex, Digidrive, Orbital and Soundvoyager. They're all a bit rubbish, to be perfectly honest, and weren't worth the money. But I kinda knew that this would be the case, but thought it was probably worth completing the series for the sake of it.

Thats sad to hear. I've heard some good things about the 2nd set, especially Soundvoyager (the game can be played with no visuals, just sound) and Orbital with its gravity system. Dialhex was a 1st series game and I enjoyed it a lot as per my previous post. I've had the 2nd set sitting here for a long time but I've a big backlot of games - especially portable ones - to get through

Flojomojo
09-12-2006, 09:49 AM
Nintendo USA would do well to bundle these into one GBA cartridge for sale at $20 -- as it is, these "boutique" games are a great concept but way to expensive for what they are.

Vectorman0
09-12-2006, 10:26 AM
After trying out all of the ROMS, I decided to import the two ones I fell in love with, Dotstream and Orbital. I fully enjoy both of them, and wish games like this would be given a chance domestically. Though Orbital is weird and not very fast paced, it is a neat game.



So, I imported the remaining four games in the series: Dial Hex, Digidrive, Orbital and Soundvoyager. They're all a bit rubbish, to be perfectly honest, and weren't worth the money. But I kinda knew that this would be the case, but thought it was probably worth completing the series for the sake of it.

I have to agree regarding all but Orbital. Orbital captured me. I love how simple the controls are, using only two buttons, while still being a tough game. I also love how the background music picks up tracks, as you absorb and orbit with other masses.

j_factor
09-13-2006, 02:04 AM
Nintendo USA would do well to bundle these into one GBA cartridge for sale at $20

Nintendo couldn't 'bundle' a GBA release to save their life. Just look at all those NES and SNES ports -- every single one of them (from Nintendo) came one at a time.


-- as it is, these "boutique" games are a great concept but way to expensive for what they are.

Perhaps they will be cheaper in the US.

Julio III
09-13-2006, 02:51 PM
-- as it is, these "boutique" games are a great concept but way to expensive for what they are.

Perhaps they will be cheaper in the US.

I thought they were already priced at bargain level - £10 a game. And what does "boutique" mean?