"It appears I missed a play mechanic here (clearing rows by pressing down) due to the manuals to this game only being available in German and Japanese." But the NES version is fully in English and lists the patterns on the cart label.
You can clear entire lines by doing Combos. The game doesn't indicate at all but there are certain sequences of numbers that once cleared enable a combo to be triggered. For instance 3 numbers in a row or the best one, 1 2 3 4 5 6, which clears 5 lines I think, and it becomes necessary as the game gets tougher in the tournament mode. I think you hold up and A or B, or maybe select to trigger the combo. I forget.
You had to press down to activate the combos. You could clear combos in the following way: 3 same number - 1 line 4 same - 2 lines 5 same - 3 lines 6 same - 4 lines You could also clear consecutive numbers, starting from 3 consecutive numbers. A 1 to 6 consecutive would be just like you wrote. 1 player mode had 6 dices combos, I think Tournament had only 5. Not sure if you could also clear 3 pairs, haven't played this in a long time. It was a really hard game to figure out as a kid. Hated it will all my guts. I saw Arcus87 playing the NES version the other day and though the music in this one sounded a lot better (but then again never played the NES version).
[the odd numbers stand out, the even ones don't] is the story of my poor dycalculiac life tbhhhh. 1/3/5/7 look distinct, but 0/2/4/6/8 are all very similar to other numbers, with 4/9 blend, 6 looks much like 5 when written, 0/3/8 often look similar when printed OR written, especially when 0 has a slash or dot in centre (to differentiate from O), but in print, 0/3/6/8/9 can all jumble together. on digital alarms, only 1/4/7 offer relief. but in general, in handwriting or printed text, the even numbers as a general rule blend together quite easily, odd ones (fuck 9 tho) are distinct (except when the top left part of 1 is too flourished, which is an annoying typeface feature that usually is scaled back fortunately), and so when people prefer even numbers, i pity their incorrect opinion. so at least i finally have a game to throw at folks and say 'this, this is what dyscalculia is like'!
Yeah, the game mechanic is built around the last 5 dice you have cleared, displayed at the bottom of the screen. It’s kind of a Yahtzee thing where you collect die and press down to activate your pattern. I won’t defend the game too much, but I enjoyed it as a kid on the NES.
I feel like there's a discussion to be had about how the monochrome nature of the Game Boy relates to accessibility in gaming as a whole - how many games on other consoles are rendered more difficult or unplayable to people with conditions like colorblindness? Off topic, but maybe worth exploring elsewhere.
A better counter example to Palamedes than Magical Drop 3 is Money Idol Exchanger. It's the same pull and shoot mechanics as MD3, but you match together Japanese coins.
I have never played the NES version of this game, but based on your review, it makes perfect sense why it’s not a good fit for the Game Boy. That said, I enjoy these sorts of puzzle games, so I might have to track down the NES cart, and would still probably grab the GB cart, if it was cheap, and the opportunity presented itself.
Jeremy have you ever considered commissioning some extra backgrounds done in the Super Gameboy Style so that your not just limited to the ones you have. Wouldn’t be that difficult to then drop the footage in a square.
HAL developed Ghostbusters? Huh. I'm kinda itching to look up their complete list of works. I bet some would be surprising. Heck that's not a bad thing to do with any ol' developer. Well, if such lists even exist in certain cases given the low-key work of those such as Tose and just crediting in general
Even with the "correct" play mechanics this still feels like a miserable, low-depth experience. The sense of gravity in stuff like magical drop is what makes them work; even playing Palamedes "right" it feels totally impactless. I guess it takes a bad puzzle game to realize what's missing from a good one; a really great experience is visceral and moving the pieces around has real impact both in animations and ingame effects. My favorite of this type is of course Puyo Puyo, but even something like Columns or Yoshi's Cookie has gravity to it.
No, he didn't. He just hit a Clear (C) block. It was quite odd for me that Jeremy didn't know that, if you pressed down with certain dice patterns stored (the best one is a straight flush from 1 to 6, but there's also 6 blocks of the same suit, 5 blocks, 4 blocks, 3 blocks, two triplets and three duplets), you could clear lines. The CPU in the Tournament mode was doing exactly that, and yes, it gets even worse from there, with the AI becoming more and more obnoxious to deal with.
![Maru's Mission retrospective: Slow-gun warrior | Game Boy Works #092 [EPILEPSY WARNING]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tHFgjoh2mj4/mqdefault.jpg)
"It appears I missed a play mechanic here (clearing rows by pressing down) due to the manuals to this game only being available in German and Japanese."
But the NES version is fully in English and lists the patterns on the cart label.
Well, whose fault is that? Yours. You forgot to send me a copy of the NES version in time.
You can clear entire lines by doing Combos. The game doesn't indicate at all but there are certain sequences of numbers that once cleared enable a combo to be triggered. For instance 3 numbers in a row or the best one, 1 2 3 4 5 6, which clears 5 lines I think, and it becomes necessary as the game gets tougher in the tournament mode. I think you hold up and A or B, or maybe select to trigger the combo. I forget.
You had to press down to activate the combos.
You could clear combos in the following way:
3 same number - 1 line
4 same - 2 lines
5 same - 3 lines
6 same - 4 lines
You could also clear consecutive numbers, starting from 3 consecutive numbers.
A 1 to 6 consecutive would be just like you wrote.
1 player mode had 6 dices combos, I think Tournament had only 5.
Not sure if you could also clear 3 pairs, haven't played this in a long time.
It was a really hard game to figure out as a kid. Hated it will all my guts. I saw Arcus87 playing the NES version the other day and though the music in this one sounded a lot better (but then again never played the NES version).
i remember seeing the nes cartridge for the game, and it actually had a list of possible combos written on it.
Sane and reasonable people may recognize HOT-B from their fishing games but TRUE classy gentlemen recognize that name from Hoshi wo Miru Hito.
Looking forward to Ghostbusters! I got really excited when you mentioned doing it on the Retronauts GB podcast ☺️
[the odd numbers stand out, the even ones don't] is the story of my poor dycalculiac life tbhhhh. 1/3/5/7 look distinct, but 0/2/4/6/8 are all very similar to other numbers, with 4/9 blend, 6 looks much like 5 when written, 0/3/8 often look similar when printed OR written, especially when 0 has a slash or dot in centre (to differentiate from O), but in print, 0/3/6/8/9 can all jumble together. on digital alarms, only 1/4/7 offer relief. but in general, in handwriting or printed text, the even numbers as a general rule blend together quite easily, odd ones (fuck 9 tho) are distinct (except when the top left part of 1 is too flourished, which is an annoying typeface feature that usually is scaled back fortunately), and so when people prefer even numbers, i pity their incorrect opinion.
so at least i finally have a game to throw at folks and say 'this, this is what dyscalculia is like'!
The way the music is sped up compared to the NES version makes the whole game feel like a bonus stage for another game
Worth it just for Magical Drop III footage
Yeah, the game mechanic is built around the last 5 dice you have cleared, displayed at the bottom of the screen. It’s kind of a Yahtzee thing where you collect die and press down to activate your pattern. I won’t defend the game too much, but I enjoyed it as a kid on the NES.
I feel like there's a discussion to be had about how the monochrome nature of the Game Boy relates to accessibility in gaming as a whole - how many games on other consoles are rendered more difficult or unplayable to people with conditions like colorblindness? Off topic, but maybe worth exploring elsewhere.
It's a good point.
I remember Hal Labs did Ghostbusters II primarily because of Jun Ishikawa's excellent 8 bit rendition of the Ghostbusters theme. That man is amazing.
A better counter example to Palamedes than Magical Drop 3 is Money Idol Exchanger. It's the same pull and shoot mechanics as MD3, but you match together Japanese coins.
Of course, before Magical Drop came along, there was Panic Dizzy on the Game Gear...
Yes. Ghostbusters. That is all.
Chances are you're going to mention New Ghostbusters II in passing next episode as well.
Looking forward to your next GB video. Found Ghostbusters 2 to be a fun little game with kinda annoying partner AI.
I kinda sorta really dig the name though... Palamedes. Just rolls off the tongue.
Oh man the music conversion was so sloppy. It sounds terrible compared to the NES version.
I have never played the NES version of this game, but based on your review, it makes perfect sense why it’s not a good fit for the Game Boy. That said, I enjoy these sorts of puzzle games, so I might have to track down the NES cart, and would still probably grab the GB cart, if it was cheap, and the opportunity presented itself.
ah man this makes me want to play money puzzle exchanger
Ever since I've first played the GB version I've had this unexplainable hatred for Palamedes. Now I know why.
Jeremy have you ever considered commissioning some extra backgrounds done in the Super Gameboy Style so that your not just limited to the ones you have. Wouldn’t be that difficult to then drop the footage in a square.
sledathon No. Not sure why I would want that.
HAL developed Ghostbusters? Huh. I'm kinda itching to look up their complete list of works. I bet some would be surprising. Heck that's not a bad thing to do with any ol' developer. Well, if such lists even exist in certain cases given the low-key work of those such as Tose and just crediting in general
Congrats on Breaking 100, btw buddy! Long live the Works series!
HAL Labs even developed an RPG at one point (Arcana on SNES).
They made Blade for the GBC. You know Blade, the black half vampire vampire killer. That's the weirdest one I remember.
Even with the "correct" play mechanics this still feels like a miserable, low-depth experience. The sense of gravity in stuff like magical drop is what makes them work; even playing Palamedes "right" it feels totally impactless.
I guess it takes a bad puzzle game to realize what's missing from a good one; a really great experience is visceral and moving the pieces around has real impact both in animations and ingame effects. My favorite of this type is of course Puyo Puyo, but even something like Columns or Yoshi's Cookie has gravity to it.
Im glad you recognized the gameplay mechanic you missed. It really does at a lot to the game.
...
But yes, its an awful fit for gameboy
No, he didn't. He just hit a Clear (C) block. It was quite odd for me that Jeremy didn't know that, if you pressed down with certain dice patterns stored (the best one is a straight flush from 1 to 6, but there's also 6 blocks of the same suit, 5 blocks, 4 blocks, 3 blocks, two triplets and three duplets), you could clear lines. The CPU in the Tournament mode was doing exactly that, and yes, it gets even worse from there, with the AI becoming more and more obnoxious to deal with.
The Lightbox read the description
...
Silly me. Sorry about that.
Hot font though.
Palamedes 3 London evolution
Make a video about the NES version, know that you know how to play.
Ryuma King His videos (with a few exceptions) are in chronological order and we are currently at the start of 1987 for the NES.
I will pass on this game.