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Segaiden #022: Championship Lode Runner / H.E.R.O. / Champion Ice Hockey (Patreon)

Published:
2021-12-08 13:43:36
Imported:
2024-04
Tags:

Content

We have officially reached the SG-1000's salad days. From this point on, the remainder of the system's library is largely good to great. Yeah, there'll be a few duds, but I managed to get about a month ahead on my production schedule over the weekend, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by all the SG-1000 has going on. 

This episode is a great example of that promise: Once we soldier through another Lode Runner game, we have a great adaptation of the excellent Atari 2600 classic H.E.R.O., which is still loads of fun. And then there's the hands-down best sports game on SG-1000, Champion Ice Hockey, whose only real downside is that it makes you wish all the SG-1000's Champion games had been this lively and fun.

We'll have seen the back side of SG-1000 by the end of January, but what a lovely backside it is. Wait, that sounded weird. Scratch that.

Files

Championship Lode Runner / H.E.R.O. / Champion Ice Hockey: Descent into radness | Segaiden #022

A couple of standout releases in this episode... but first, we have to survive another version of Lode Runner. Look, I like Lode Runner. Great game. But there's been a lot of it here in the mid ’80s! This time, the monk/robot guys win. Beyond that, however, we have the final entry in Activision's brief dalliance on SG-1000 (or maybe Sega's brief dalliance with Activision?): H.E.R.O. It's a strong conversion from 2600 that loses none of the original quality or originality yet manages to spruce up the visuals and replace the retro helicopter backpack with a jetpack, which of course makes this the objectively superior rendition. And then there's Champion Hockey, a game that actually makes me angry. No, I'm not angry because it's bad; quite the opposite. My brain tells me I'm supposed to find sports games interminable, and yet I love this ice hockey game. Absolutely unacceptable. Production notes: SG-1000 footage in this episode was captured from a combination of Sega SG-1000 II with (with Card Catcher; RGB amp mod by @iFixRetro) and @Analogue Mega Sg with card adapter module and DAC. NES/Famicom footage captured from @Analogue Nt Mini Noir. Video upscaled to 720 with@Retro Tink 5X. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Also available in print: Virtual Boy Works Vol. I Hardcover: https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books-board-games-and-more/products/virtual-boy-works-book

Comments

Kyle Olson

Champion Lode Runner reminds me of absurd Mario Maker levels that are more about showing how clever the creators are than creating good gameplay. There's something amusing about seeing H.E.R.O. ported to a system other than the 2600 but still retaining the symmetrical room requirements of the old system. Obviously that's the way to literally port the game, but it's still wacky.

Vinushika

I really wonder how the heck Sega ended up licensing Activision games in 1984 of all times. It seems like one of those amazing game history footnotes that probably only exists in the mind of some exec who was around at the time. I'm also surprised at how good Champion Ice Hockey ended up being. I feel that a comment I heard once about the early pop'n music charts (1998-2006 or so) applies here - Champion Ice Hockey is a dumb joke and everyone is in on it. Excellent as always, I never had any kind of investment in the SG-1000 before seeing it on Segaiden and I've been pleasantly surprised by how much wonder there is to be found inside it. It's pretty neat how far devs managed to stretch such a limited system by 1985.