Hey fellow gamers. Let’s dive into SUNSOFT’s SUNSOFT Is Back! Retro Game Collection. Basically, it’s a revival of three classic games, all originally from the 80s. Anyone else get that nostalgic feel?

Absolutely. It’s really exciting to have access to these classics. Besides nostalgia, it’s a unique journey to re-play these games with enhanced features. I must mention the save and rewind functions, which are useful, especially since none of these games originally had the ‘save’ feature!

Totally! I absolutely loved the adventure element in every game. Especially Ripple Island, where you play as Kail and take on numerous challenges. The fact that the whole island’s fate rests on your decisions really had me hooked!

I liked that each game had its distinct gameplay style. I agree that the rewind feature was super useful, it helps with optimizing your strategies without losing progress, which is crucial when you’re trying to speedrun.

Looking at some Steam user reviews, I see some mixed opinions though. More on the negative side, one user found The Wings of Madoola very frustrating and almost unplayable due to unbalanced enemies and various bugs. Anyone else find that?

That’s true. It seems like the game still retains some old-school toughness. But I believe SUNSOFT could fine-tune the balance in future patches. The in-game items and new spells add some interesting dynamics to overcome challenges.

Coming back to the aesthetics, the NES-style 8-bit graphics definitely added to the nostalgic feel. Incorporating the option to modify color palettes was a stand-out feature for me.

I loved that too! The Game Child and the Virtual Child palettes were a nice touch – it was fun seeing how visuals evolved from the early green Game Boy screens to the red-hued Virtual Boy look.

Right, the visual customization adds a new element to the experience. Now, moving onto sound design, I personally found SUNSOFT sticking to the original 8-bit soundtracks in all three games quite appealing.

I agree. They hit the right notes with retro ambiance. As far as characters and development go, the stories may not have been deeply plotted, but characters like Lucia from The Wings of Madoola and Kantaro from 53 Stations of the Tokaido definitely had their charismatic appeal.

I enjoyed that each game had its own unique challenges and puzzle mechanics. Ripple Island, for example, was intriguing with nine different commands to work through different challenges.

I think the difficulty level of the games is a natural fit for speedrunning. They provide a solid challenge but also are always pushing you to improve, which is exactly what I look for in a game.

As for replay value, it’s a mixed bag. We don’t really have branching paths or secrets, but there’s still strategy to optimize, particularly with item usage and enemy encounters.

I would agree. If you’re a completionist like me and love discovering every nook and cranny of a game, this might fall a bit short. But the gallery mode with all the concept art and design documents is a charming addition.

Well, considering these are almost four-decade-old games on a new platform – they’ve done a fair job. What I’d love to see, though, is SUNSOFT bringing more of their vast library to present-day platforms in future.

Absolutely, the fact they’re revisiting their old titles gives me hope! I’d appreciate an option to speed up or slow down the game, which can be a valuable tool for speedrunners.

So that’s our take on the SUNSOFT retro collection. It was interesting to see how each of us viewed the games from our distinctive perspectives, and I’d say they did a good job reviving these classics. Here’s hoping this is just a taste of more retro revivals from SUNSOFT!

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