Gaming Target, Written by John Scalzo on January 18, 2008
Introduction:
For some reason StarTropics, a spiritual sequel to the original Legend of Zelda, is completely forgotten by most of the retrogaming populace. Thankfully, Nintendo has remembered their island-hopping adventure and brought Startropics to the Virtual Console.
StarTropics uses the same engine as the original Legend of Zelda to tell the more modern story of Mike Jones, a teenager from Seattle. Mike's uncle, a scientist who lives in the tropics, has disappeared and monsters have begun to appear in the caves below C-Island. Using a yo-yo as his main weapon (dubbed an Island Star by the chief), Mike ventures into the caves in search of his uncle.
Bottom Line:
StarTropics is one of the few games developed and published that has been almost completely forgotten by the gaming community. And it's truly a shame as the Zelda-like adventuring and the tropical island twist make for a spectacular game. Hopefully, the game can find a new life on the Virtual Console and maybe a future life with a new sequel.
Score:
• Visuals: 8.0
• Audio: 8.0
• Gameplay: 9.0
• Features: 8.0
• Replay: 8.0
• Final Score: 8.5 (out of 10)
Despite skyrocketing retro game prices the NES remains a deep trove of excellent games that, if you can avoid eBay sellers, are really quite affordable for new collectors.
I remember one of the levels in Retro City Rampage was paying homage to those seaweed segments. Not quite as hard but man did it bring back bad memories of my many deaths on that level. Never did beat that game without the Game Genie. Same with Battletoads. lol
The top-down view theme music was stuck in my head all day as a kid.
I'm not sure if I ever completed a no-damage seaweed run.
Double Dragon 2 is one of the best!! Several good games on this list! Shadowgate, P.O.W., and Klax. That is actually a super fun puzzle game! TMNT, I think every time after the seaweed, I only had like 1 Turtle left. lol
Shadowgate was how I got so familiar with Nintendo's helpline lol. But man did I love that game.
And wow I forgot all about P.O.W. until you mentioned it. Man being a kid with a NES really was the good ol days.
Best birthday ever: 15 and I got a Super Nintendo with Super Mario World, Pilot Wings and Street Fighter. (Spoiled rotten) And I saw Basic Instinct at the theater!
So yeah, that infamous Startropics "dip the letter to reveal the password" code? It's not in the Nintendo Switch Online version. Bummer.
I remember the code still
If you have an online account you have the internet
747
"Players usually remain safe and separate from the games they are playing. They are free to wreak havoc and violence in their digital world with no consequences. It’s a safety barrier that creates a comfortable level of escapism that most games share. Shatter that safety barrier and you create a sense of immersion that can be powerful, emotional, and sometimes unsettling."
Honourable mention to PT for making me think my console was haunted lol. Remember the reboot to main menu and debug screens? Even the pause menu had a hidden clue in it.
I even remember that I really liked the ending. If you're a fan of games like this I advice you to check it out.