Fun fact: the Bit Generations series was initially shown off at E3 2005. It was called the Digitylish Series, and it gave an interesting glimpse into what could have been. Earlier visuals and mechanics, an entire game called Eyeball that was scrapped (the gameplay of which I'm very curious to know about), and even some early names, like Boundish's working title, Neopong. Apparently there was even going to be an additional mode in the game called Groove Session, and akin to most of the other game modes in the retail release, it looks an awful lot like Pong.
Or maybe you wanna call it Light Tennis, who knows. Four of Boundish's modes are a 1v1 affair, and all four of these are essentially Pong. Now, I always tell myself that this is my least favorite game in the Bit Generation series, but I seem to forget that this doesn't also mean it's bad outright. All five modes are mechanically engaging, and playing it again reminded me that the games don't have to be very deep to be a fun time. So yes, that puts it closer to the level of an Atari 2600 game than one for the GBA, but I'm pretty sure that was the intent. The menus and fonts are reminiscent of this very raw feel with their computer terminal-like appearance, and the music sounds like an NES game. Essentially what I'm trying to say is that I went into playing this game again with the expectation of not having too much fun, but the opposite happened. Set your CPU level to 3 and the game's a genuine challenge. Or, find another person that's enough of a goober to sit down and play this with you, instead of, you know, any other multiplayer game out there. And, if my math is correct, you'll have some fun. Maybe for five minutes, but it'll be there, and that's exactly what the devs were going for. This was meant to be the series' ultimate pick-up-and-play experience. Of course, the issue in 2006 and every day since, is that for a game that costs at least $20, you'd be hard pressed to not find a game that's cheaper and has better replay value and/or goals to accomplish. But, who cares, in and of itself, it's actually a nice way to kill some time.
Some tips for the pros:
-In Pool Flower you want to have your ball hit the others floating around on the field. When they're your color it'll speed up the ball on your hit and slow down your opponent if they swim through it.
-During Power Slider, you can give the puck some spin by hitting it from the side, combine it with a well timed power shot from releasing the A button and you can be super hard to read.
-In Human League if you press A and either up or down, you can make the guy in the back zoom to either side. It'll stun him for a sec, but you might save the ball that way. You might also want to hear the entire song play out as well (it's a good song).
-Wild Go Round lets you hit the ball harder with A, but more importantly you can control the direction of the ball with L and R for as long as the meter on the side of the screen allows it. You can even stop the table from turning by holding both shoulder buttons and then turn it last second for a fakeout.
-This game's got an interesting sense of humor. Why do the stick people yell so much?
That all being said, this game very much reminds me why I'm more of a gameplay over story kinda guy. There's just something about creating a fun strategy and actually feeling a game nicely respond to your input that is very powerful. It reminds me as well that there were more to these games beyond their style that resonated with me, because the gameplay of all of them are unique and, simply put, fun. And fun is what a game should be.
Bit Generations series reviews:
Dotstream⠀⠀⠀(Start)
Boundish⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Dialhex⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Coloris⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Orbital⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Digidrive⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Soundvoyager⠀⠀⠀ᐁ (End)
Or maybe you wanna call it Light Tennis, who knows. Four of Boundish's modes are a 1v1 affair, and all four of these are essentially Pong. Now, I always tell myself that this is my least favorite game in the Bit Generation series, but I seem to forget that this doesn't also mean it's bad outright. All five modes are mechanically engaging, and playing it again reminded me that the games don't have to be very deep to be a fun time. So yes, that puts it closer to the level of an Atari 2600 game than one for the GBA, but I'm pretty sure that was the intent. The menus and fonts are reminiscent of this very raw feel with their computer terminal-like appearance, and the music sounds like an NES game. Essentially what I'm trying to say is that I went into playing this game again with the expectation of not having too much fun, but the opposite happened. Set your CPU level to 3 and the game's a genuine challenge. Or, find another person that's enough of a goober to sit down and play this with you, instead of, you know, any other multiplayer game out there. And, if my math is correct, you'll have some fun. Maybe for five minutes, but it'll be there, and that's exactly what the devs were going for. This was meant to be the series' ultimate pick-up-and-play experience. Of course, the issue in 2006 and every day since, is that for a game that costs at least $20, you'd be hard pressed to not find a game that's cheaper and has better replay value and/or goals to accomplish. But, who cares, in and of itself, it's actually a nice way to kill some time.
Some tips for the pros:
-In Pool Flower you want to have your ball hit the others floating around on the field. When they're your color it'll speed up the ball on your hit and slow down your opponent if they swim through it.
-During Power Slider, you can give the puck some spin by hitting it from the side, combine it with a well timed power shot from releasing the A button and you can be super hard to read.
-In Human League if you press A and either up or down, you can make the guy in the back zoom to either side. It'll stun him for a sec, but you might save the ball that way. You might also want to hear the entire song play out as well (it's a good song).
-Wild Go Round lets you hit the ball harder with A, but more importantly you can control the direction of the ball with L and R for as long as the meter on the side of the screen allows it. You can even stop the table from turning by holding both shoulder buttons and then turn it last second for a fakeout.
-This game's got an interesting sense of humor. Why do the stick people yell so much?
That all being said, this game very much reminds me why I'm more of a gameplay over story kinda guy. There's just something about creating a fun strategy and actually feeling a game nicely respond to your input that is very powerful. It reminds me as well that there were more to these games beyond their style that resonated with me, because the gameplay of all of them are unique and, simply put, fun. And fun is what a game should be.
Bit Generations series reviews:
Dotstream⠀⠀⠀(Start)
Boundish⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Dialhex⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Coloris⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Orbital⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Digidrive⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀|
Soundvoyager⠀⠀⠀ᐁ (End)