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Strangest Retro Videogame Plots Pondered
Thanks to TotalGames.net for its article discussing the oddest retro videogame plots of all-time. Among the highlighted titles are Sega's Genesis title, Greendog ("All you hafta do is find the six pieces of the Surfboard of the Ancients. They were hidden long ago by the Aztecs somewhere in the Caribbean"), along with Konami's N64 version of Mystical Ninja ("A giant UFO shaped like a peach has suddenly appeared in peaceful Oedo Town! The evil musical corps, The Peach Mountain Shoguns, have come to steal the Great Stage Plan.") What classic game made the least sense to you?
What about Dizzy? You can't get much stranger than a wizard-fighting hard-boiled egg.
Fireballs don't fire from Mario's stomach. There is a distinct fireball-throwing frame. Don't you remember it? It's the frame where Mario looks like the posing English swordfighting dandy from Rob Roy.
Also, Mario and Luigi wear different colored shirts and hats, not pants.
Finally, Mario could run in both directions. He just couldn't backtrack beyond the current screen.
A Cry in the Dark , starring Merryl Streep.
Aw, I was gonna mention Blaster Master and you beat me to it. And yes, it's Blaster Master, not Master Blaster. Still a perfect game for this discussion, though.
Actually, that quote is from Marcus Brigstocke, a British comedian. Any other attributions are apocryphal.
It was a joke about ravers, it wasn't incidental prescience on the part of Nintendo in 1989.
*everything* is Orwellian to cats.
Oh, and here's an informative link about the whole thing here.
*everything* is Orwellian to cats.
I can explain some of this. These answers are all from the game's manual. If you're reading this and haven't tried this NES game, I highly recommend it. It was designed by David Crane (of Pitfall fame), and it really is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.
You just happen to have a blob
"Like many boys in the twenty-first century, the boy has a buddy from outer space. This one's from Blobolonia - a place where an evil emperor makes every-one eat only marshmallows and chocolate. In fact, for the emperor, healthy things like vitamins are poisonous."
, known only as "blob"
"Blob (his full name is Blobert) came to Earth looking for someone to help him defeat the evil emperor. That's how he met the boy."
It turns into things based on what flavor jellybean you feed it. Things like ladders and trampolines and such. No complex machines, per se. You use it in various forms to navigate the sewer in search of treasure, while it follows you around bouncing and begging for more jellybeans.
"You see, the boy miraculously discovered that not only does Blob love jelly-beans - but that different jellybeans turn Blob into different shapes. And that those shapes can be used to get through many otherwise impossible situations!"
There is no plot beyond the treasure hunt, and the fact that you have a blob.
"To defeat the evil emperor they boy and Blob will need a goodly supply of vitamins. And to get the vitamins, they'll need money. To get money, they'll search the underground caverns for hidden treasures and diamond stones."
Meteors, mad scientists, girlfriend rescuing, meteor police, tentacles, dungeons...it had it all.
Man I loved that game.
This subject reminds me of the weird plot twist near the ending of Monkey Island 2. It is truly strange to say the least, where LeChuck who tormented you with a voodoo doll is really your brother in a theme park. I remember my first reaction was like 'wtf...' this is totally weird.