Beaten to the Punch (Part 1 of 2)

On February 5th, 2023 the United States military deployed an F-22 jet fighter to shoot down a high altitude spy balloon that had been launched by China.  Some might think this was a first for aerial combat, but it was actually something that happened surprisingly often during World War 1.  Specifically, hot air balloons were used regularly to gain a vantage point in which one could observe enemy positions while being safely out of artillery range behind friendly lines.  As such, missions to shoot down enemy balloons were a fairly common assignment for pilots of that era.  Unsurprisingly, older-than-you-think is very much an ever present aspect of game mechanics and design as well.  Sometimes the games that started a trend, or even a whole (sub-)genre, are celebrated to this day.  However, in many cases they are mostly forgotten.  Lets go over seven such examples.

Sweet Home is an NES title that was never ported and, as such, failed to receive much recognition outside of Japan.  Nevertheless, it is often thought to be the origin of the survival horror genre.  While some claim the roots go back even further, there is no denying that this game along with the original Alone in the Dark were the primary inspirations for Resident Evil.  RagnarRox, of Youtube fame, goes into extensive detail about the Sweet Home and how the original Resident Evil was going to have a very similar story.  Some of the details remain in the final product; in particular, thematic elements such as a mansion and multiple playable characters, each with their own unique abilities.  Ultimately, part way into development the story was modified to include the idea of a zombie/monster creating virus and the elite crime-fighting unit (S.T.A.R.S.) that we all know and love.  Unlike Alone in the Dark, which spawned several sequels and a soon-to-be-release remake (as of the time this blog entry), Sweet Home is largely unknown outside of collectors and gaming historians. 

Next is Daisenryaku.  Translated to English the title means something like "Great Strategy" and features gameplay that would seem strangely familiar to fans of the Advanced Wars series.  Originally it began on PC, but saw ports as well as exclusive titles on a variety of consoles and operating systems.  All told it has been on over 22 different devices with something like 70 titles in the series.  However, the vast majority of these games were never released outside of Japan.  As such the IP has never really gained traction the way its more cartoonish predecessor has.  Kind of crazy to think, considering it was the first game to feature the split screen combat scenes which are a hallmark of numerous Japanese strategy war games that followed.  If I had to wager a guess, I'd say that Daisenryaku might have scared a lot of potential players off due to its use of a hex grid map.  As stupid as it sounds making the zones squares might have made it more palatable to a wider audience.

Speaking of games like Advanced Wars, there are a few fantasy-themed equivalents that have come out over the years.  Wargroove is one of the most recent and is based on the much older Warsong (also known as Langrisser: The Decendants of Light).  Even older still is a prequel of of sorts to that series called Elthlead.  The ur-example when it comes to SRPGs, it was only released for the Japanese PC market.  That, along with the previously mentioned aversion many gamers had toward hex grids at the time, might have kept it from gaining wider acclaim.  Elthlead also lacked the large cast of distinct hero characters that has since become a pillar of the genre.  Overall, the game feels closer to a table-top wargame than those titles which followed.  Nonetheless, far more widely recognized games such Final Fantasy: Tactics, Shinning Force and the Fire Emblem series have roots stretching back to this obscure game from 1987.   

People will often point to the original Legend of Zelda (or The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu in Japan) as the starting point for the classic hero's action/adventure genre.  What they don't know is another game came out two years before it by the name of Hydlide.  Released in 1984 for PC only, it was ported to the NES two years later.  Then, three year after that, it was finally localized for the western market.  By that time though Zelda had a gained a considerable lead in popularity.  As such, Hydlide never really caught up despite trying to innovate in its own ways.  An awkwardly named sequel, Hydlide: Shine of Darkness, was released exclusively for the Japanese market.  In addition to that, plans for a Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) port of the original under the name "Hydlide Special" were made, but this was abandoned in lieu of an all new entry in the series entitled Super Hydlide (or in Japan Hydlide 3: The Space Memories) followed by Virtual Hydlide for the Sega Saturn...honestly, I think the naming conventions for this series leave something to be desired.  "Link the Adventurer" might not sound like the most inspiring name for a protagonist, but it's still better than Hydlide's "Jim the Knight".

Since we still have three more examples to go, I'm splitting this blogpost entry into two parts.  In the next and final installment, we'll go over three more games; starting with something more contemporary and ending with a game that inspired not one, but two whole genres.  Stay tuned until then!