Steam] Let's play retro-style PC games that offer a taste of newness amidst good old-fashioned nostalgia during the GW holiday season!

How are you doing, Akiba Research Institute readers? I am Nero Hyakkabe, a writer who buys too many games. Recently, I started playing the game "Tokimeki Memorial" on my "PC Engine mini. I have only played Tokimeki Memorial since the second game, and this is the first time for me to play the first game. Although I had gruffly asked Yuko Asahina, whom I had set my sights on in the advance information, out on a date, I kept seriously missing the conversation options and kept getting the "not so good impression~". I was usually upset that I was destined not to get together with this girl even though I liked her so much ....... Love is so difficult!

And so, while thinking about the retro games that were released one after another, starting with the booming "Mini Famicom" and continuing with the "PC Engine mini," we would like to introduce some retro-style games that can be enjoyed on Steam.

Piko Piko "

Manufacturer: Marquet
Release date: August 15, 2019
Price: 1,019 yen (as of April 24, 2020)

When we think of retro games, side-scrolling 2D action is the first thing that comes to mind, perhaps due to the strong influence of Mario. In addition to Mario, the Famicom (NES) had many other classic 2D action games such as Metroid, Kirby, Makai Mura, Castlevania, and so many more.
Piko Piko" is a retro-style 2D action game with cute graphics.

The main character is a girl named Piko with red hair. Together with Nyan-senpai, a senior who wears a cat-shaped helmet, she goes on an adventure to become the best blacksmith with her beloved giant plastic Piko Piko hammer in her hands. The students who stand in the way of Pico and his friends are students who go to the same school. It seems that this school is a place to learn about hammers, and they all believe that the hammer they use is the most powerful and challenge them to a battle in the name of an examination.

In this work, the world revolves around hammers, and of course, Pico's actions are mainly based on hammers. Of course, the basic action is to attack by swinging the hammer and punching, but jumping, hopping on the hammer, and falling from above is also very important. This allows you to press and activate switch-type contraptions or temporarily stun a boss. The feeling is similar to the hip drop in the Mario and Yoshi series, and those who have played those games may feel somewhat nostalgic.

This title is an action game that belongs to the so-called "Metroidvania" genre. Metroidvania" is a term coined from "Metroid" and "Castlevania" (the overseas name of Castlevania), and refers to an action game with a strong exploration element that progresses in a side-view mode reminiscent of those games. By taking power-up items found along the way, it becomes possible to advance to places on the map that were once inaccessible. ...... is a cycle in which the scope of action keeps expanding, which is a characteristic of Metroidvania.　This cycle of expanding one's area of activity and filling up the map with more and more places to go stimulates a sense of adventure, and is very exciting!

This title has a very orthodox style for a 2D action game. The game is designed in a style reminiscent of the action games of the Super Famicom (SNES) era, with the player advancing through stages while making full use of jumps, knocking down zombie enemies, and learning the action patterns of the opponents in boss battles.
The most appealing aspect of this game is its graphics. The screens are pop and cute, and just looking at them will surely bring you a sense of fun.

The translation and other aspects of this early access game are still inadequate, but if the cute atmosphere of this game has you hooked, you will not lose anything by buying this game!

Click here for Steam

Bukiatsume "

Maker name: kagaya
Release date: June 28, 2019
Price: 980 yen (as of April 24, 2020)

It is no exaggeration to say that RPGs and weapons are inseparably linked, such as holy swords, divine spears, demon swords, magic wands, and so on.
The game "Bukiatsume" we are about to introduce is, as the name suggests, based on the concept of weapons.

The game is a 2D, look-down RPG with retro-game-like graphics and a turn-based system in which enemies move when you move, reminiscent of games such as "Siren of the Wind".

The main character is Ueko, the daughter of a weapon shop owner. She sets out on an adventure with her late father's words in mind in search of the legendary "Tsuyosugite-Kusahaeru Sword," a weapon said to lie somewhere in this world. The name of the game is very peculiar, but the most important feature of the game is that "anything can be used as a weapon".
What this means is, well, just as it sounds, anything can really be used as a weapon in this game.

This game has a command called "pick up a weapon," which allows you to pick up anything in front of you and use it as your weapon, which is, quite frankly, the craziest point of this game. Eko can pick up almost anything in front of her without regard to its physical limitations. For example, she can pick up a bed, a bookshelf, a tree, a pond, a village resident, an enemy, her home, anything from small objects to large ones and even living creatures, and use them as her weapons. Note that you cannot pick up people or enemies out of the blue, but rather you have to damage them a little to reduce their HP before you can pick them up.

Weapons picked up are of course equipped and used for attacks, but since Ueko's house is a weapon shop, they can also be sold by placing them on the table. When I started picking up and selling them after beating up the "well woman," a resident of the village, to reduce her HP, I was horrified ...... that I had found a great game, but when I picked up the "home" and placed it on the table inside my house and started selling it, my eyes I had the strangest feeling in the world, like a gnashing of teeth in front of me.

Another interesting aspect of the game is that each weapon not only has a different attack power, but also comes with a variety of special effects. The "Poison Swamp" can poison an opponent just as it looks, while the "Bed" can put him to sleep. Since there is no concept of MP or magic in this game, acquiring weapons with special effects is the key to success.

However, it is fun to simply see what you can pick up and what special effects they have, not only from the perspective of strategy, so as the title "Bukiatsume" suggests, you will inevitably want to collect more and more weapons.

The game is not a game that is a drop-in game, but rather, it is a game that is very carefully designed. The enemies are generally rather strong, perhaps because of the abundance of weapons available, and if you are not careful, you can easily find yourself in a dangerous situation, so you must always be thinking ahead.

Bukiatsume" is a good RPG with a good balance of the story element of being able to use anything as a weapon and the moderate tension of an RPG. We hope you will experience the shock of equipping your home with your own hands.

Click here to visit Steam.

Hypergalactic Psychic Table Tennis 3000 "

Manufacturer: Blue Wizard Digital
Release date: March 3, 2020
Price: 205 yen (as of April 24, 2020)

Have you ever heard of the game "PONG"?
Released by Atari in 1972, almost 50 years ago, "PONG" is a simple table tennis game consisting of only a paddle and a ball, and is said to be the "world's first hit video game," making it a major player in the retro game world. Even if you do not know the name, you have probably seen the game screen at least once.
This title, "Hypergalactic Psychic Table Tennis 3000," is an amazing game based on the ancestor of such games, "PONG.

When you start the game, a retro-looking table tennis game begins. There are two white elongated rectangles on each side and one white square, which is your paddle, your opponent's paddle, and the ball. There is also a dotted line representing the center line and a number indicating the score. The left side is your team and the right side is the enemy team, and you move your paddle up and down to hit each other with the ball. Although I am not from the "PONG" generation, I feel an indescribable sense of nostalgia.

However, this is merely a prelude. After the first game, the game evolves one after another as you win by scoring three points against each successive enemy. Yes, this is where "Hypergalactic Psychic Table Tennis 3000" really begins.

In the process of evolution, the game first develops colors, enemies develop personalities, and players develop their own statuses. Colors, personalities, and statuses may sound a bit confusing, so let me explain them one by one.

The enemy in this game is the paddle on the right. But as the game evolves, this long, thin, square paddle is given a character, such as "golem," "reddish slime," or "chainsaw killer. To all appearances, it remains a paddle, only smaller, larger, redder, or blacker. But it gives the player room to imagine, "This guy looks like a paddle, but he's actually a vicious chainsaw killer. ...... This is another evolution of the game. That being said, I think the giant enemy is just plain unfair.

Now, the most important element of the game is status: icons representing HP and MP appear on the screen, and familiar RPG values such as attack power, smarts, and speed are added to the paddle itself.

HP, as it goes without saying, is physical strength. It decreases every time you bounce a ball, and it also decreases when you are hit by fireballs released by enemies or when you touch damaging terrain on the field.

Yes, these action game elements will be added during the evolution of the game. This is no longer just table tennis.

What happens when the HP runs out is that the paddle pops off and disappears. If that happens, of course, you will not be able to play the ball back, and you will definitely get a point. However, not only you but also your enemies have HP, so it is important to reduce their HP by using magic such as fireballs and poison. Once again, this is not just table tennis anymore.
After defeating an enemy, you are presented with several random rewards, from which you choose one to earn. This system is quite RPG-like, and as I have said before, it is not just table tennis anymore.

However, the evolution of this title does not stop there.
Rich background music has been added, paddles can move left and right as well as up and down, and you can even wear costumes and ride animals. "Who?" That's right, of course, the paddle. There are four costume parts available: hat, armor, pants, and shoes, so you can dress up in style from top to bottom! By the way, enemies sometimes wear costumes, too.

I hope this is enough to show you that this is an original game, but there is more to this game.

Every five stages in this game, there is a boss battle, and during the battle, a conversation event with the boss occurs. During the battle, a conversation event with the boss occurs.

Some of the choices, such as "Your fragrance is very nice," are meant to be seductive, and it really does have a "Tokimemo" feel to it, but if you successfully seduce the boss, he enters a state of romance, and his body will overflow with hearts, weakening him. By the way, if you make the wrong choice, you will make him angry, so be careful. Now, for those of you who have lost track of what game this is, let me reiterate that this is a table tennis game.

This game is a unique evolution of the table tennis game that everyone knows, with RPG and adventure elements added, but it is not just a chaotic joke game, and the game is very well made.
First, you have to cut down their HP with poison, then follow it up with a fireball to bring them down. Then, while being careful of the amount of mana left, finish with a petrifying magic for the third point!" The game requires strategic thinking as you hit the ball back and forth, and the feeling of playing this game is like an action RPG in the shell of a table tennis game.
The game experience is so exceptional that it would be a shame not to try it. If you are interested in this game, please enjoy the unprecedented experience of a paddle seducing a paddle.

Click here to visit Steam.

That wonderful retro gaming experience all over again....

So there you have it, three retro-inspired yet new Steam games.
Remakes and remasters of classic games from the previous generation on current consoles have become a trend in the gaming world, but there are probably many people who, when playing games with beautiful graphics that make full use of the latest technology, suddenly miss the feeling of playing retro games with dots and high difficulty levels. Steam has a lot of retro games.
There are still many new retro-inspired games available on Steam. If you are tired of playing the latest games, you may find it interesting to browse through retro-style games.

Author: Nero Hyakkabe: Freelance writer who buys too many games. I currently have more than 300 games in my stack. Also a novelist. He is the author of "Goaken Unrated Edition" (Kodansha) and "My Mother's Lie (in "Malicious Kwaidan")" (Takeshobo).