Another 10 Weird Levels and Locations From Computer Games (Part 2)

This was a continuation of a list of weird locations and levels from computer games. The items included in the list were from games I had personally played and considered weird. The entries were not placed in any order.

5. Twinkle Park from Sonic Adventure

Station Square, one of the settings for Sonic Adventure, was a city that included a theme park called Twinkle Park. Twinkle Park, however, was a highly unusual theme park.

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Another 10 Weird Levels and Locations From Computer Games (Part 1)

Previously, I published a post that described 10 weird levels and locations from computer games. As I completed the post, however, I realised that there were more than 10 locations that could feature. This post, therefore, listed another 10 strange levels and locations that appeared in computer games. The entries were a mix of unexpectedly strange levels and locations found in grounded games and extreme ideas used in bizarre games. The list only included levels from computer games I have personally played and thought were weird. The items in the list were not placed in any particular order.

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10. End of Mission Impossible

The story for the Mission Impossible game ended with Ethan Hunt (the hero) escaping a terrorist base by piloting a gun boat (from the American Civil War) along a river. After exiting the perimeter of the base, Ethan reached a large, black submarine, which he boarded. At the top of the submarine, Ethan met Candace Parker (another hero) and she congratulated him on completing the mission. Ethan and Candace then embraced. The credits for the game then appeared.

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Strange Aspects of The Recurring Themes of Levels in Sonic the Hedgehog Games: An Observation

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The Prevalence of Atlantis in Computer Games released during the 1990s: An Observation

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Based on a personal observation, a large number of computer games, that were released during the 1990s, featured Atlantis or levels whose designs were based on the mythical site.

Atlantis was described by Plato (in his works Tinnaeus and Critias) as a huge island in the Atlantic Ocean, that was situated opposite the Straits of Gibraltar. The island was mostly mountainous, with a fertile plain in the south, and contained an unique metal (called orichalc). A magnificent city was built on three circular rings of land, which were separated by rings of water, and the island was ruled by ten powerful kings, who were descendants of Poseidon. The country fought a war with Athens and was then struck by violent earthquakes and fierce floods, before being swallowed by the sea.

Since the first discussion of Atlantis, it has always been debated whether the city, and it’s presence at the bottom of a sea, actually existed or if Plato suggested it as a theoretical city for an idyllic society. It has also been speculated that some inhabitants of the mythical city may have survived the loss of their home and settled elsewhere.

A number of games have featured Atlantis as a location.

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10 Weird Locations and Levels From Computer Games (Part 2)

This was a continuation of a list of weird locations and levels from computer games. The items included in the list were from games I had personally played and considered weird. The entries were not placed in any order.

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5. Ikana Canyon from Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Ikana Canyon was the strangest area in Termina, the setting for Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, partly because it was unusually unsettling.

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10 Weird Locations and Levels From Computer Games (Part 1)

This post listed 10 strange levels and locations used in computer games. The entries were a mix of unexpectedly strange levels and locations found in grounded games and extreme ideas used in bizarre games. The list only included levels from computer games I have personally played and thought were weird. The items in the list were not placed in any particular order.

10. Marble Garden from Sonic the Hedgehog 3

It was difficult to decide which level from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 belonged on this list, Marble Garden or Hydrocity. According to the story for the game, Sonic was exploring the Floating Island, which had fallen from the sky and into the sea, and had reached Hydrocity. Hydrocity was built with colourful stones and was filled with water. The background for the level was strange as it seemed to resemble a purple cathedral, although it was not clear what it was actually supposed to be. The level ended with Sonic being carried upwards on a large jet of water to reach the next zone, Marble Garden.

Marble Garden started with Sonic falling from the sky, presumably after the jet of water had dissipated. The level design consisted of stone ruins covered in grass, with broken pillars and destroyed rooms adding to the sense of destruction. The background consisted of a dense, green forest, with more stone structures visible, and distant purple mountains. Weird objects were present throughout the level. A large number of strange large, orange pots, that contained plants, were present, along with narrow, red pillars that led below ground. The player was able to spin small, blue wheels, which caused parts of the ground to move, and use blue platforms, which had rotating drills placed on the underside, to fly through the air. Sonic could also run around large, circular pillars to reach lower levels.

The weirdest aspect of Marble Garden concerned it’s theme. The levels that featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 presented with clear themes, one level was based around exploring a water-logged environment, another was filled with snow and ice, etc. Marble Garden, however, seemed to use an abstract theme of ground and sky. There appeared to be 2 distinct paths to follow through the level, one that led upwards and another that led along the ground. If the player followed the upward path, they navigated between floating platforms and spent a lot of time flying through the sky. If the player stayed on the ground, they encountered Dr. Robotnik, who used a drilling machine to cause the ground to shift and force the player to race through the level to avoid being crushed.

The level’s boss was strange, but innovative. At the end of the level, Dr. Robotnik fell from the sky in his drilling machine and hit the ground, which caused the ground to seemingly melt. Tails appeared, using his two tails as a propeller to fly through the air, with Sonic holding onto his hands. Dr. Robotnik then flew across the sky and the player had to jump from Tails and hit the villain. Each time Sonic struck his enemy, he fell downwards and Tails rushed to reach him, before the two heroes reappeared. It was not actually clear what happened after Sonic fell to an area not shown on screen, as the ground was clearly shown to have been destroyed. Weirdly, after the boss was defeated, time passed so rapidly that the day changed to night within seconds, so that the player started the next level (Carnival Night Zone) during darkness.

9. Eye Snake from Bomberman Hero

The Bomberman Hero game contained a large number of odd levels, such as a valley populated by vicious clowns and a dark wood that contained both benevolent and malicious tornadoes, however, the weirdest level in the game was Eye Snake.

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Initial Impressions of the SNES Classic Mini Games

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was a well-known console developed by Nintendo. Some of the games released for it continued series that started when the NES was released, while a few games were released that started other franchises. A number of games released on the SNES became popular.

I did not own a SNES when it was released, however, I have used a SNES Classic Mini. This article described my initial impressions of the games that were available on the SNES Classic Mini.

These impressions are based on playing the games using the SNES Classic Mini console and not using the original SNES console. All the games were sampled for a similar amount of time and the impressions were based on the beginning of each game, not the entire game.

Contra III The Alien Wars

This game was a side-scrolling shooter, which incorporated some features that were used in arcade games, such as collecting points. Like other arcade games, this game was not designed to be completed easily. The gameplay consisted of shooting enemies and obtaining power-ups. The game was actually very difficult because the player’s character was killed every time they were harmed, which made them seem very fragile, however, the player was presented with a few continues that could be used to complete the game.

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A Historical Note Regarding Sonic Adventure

The game Sonic Adventure was released at an interesting time. At the time of it’s release (in the late 1990’s), computer games were being released that demonstrated the transformation of series from 2-dimensional designs into 3-dimensional environments. It also marked the period where the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games declined in popularity among both critics and audiences.

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A Review of Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut (PC)

2003

The Stories

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Each character’s story was listed individually. The highlighted parts of the story indicated events which also took place in another character’s story.

Sonic

The residents of Station Square enjoyed the peace at night. People walked along the streets and past the railway station and shops with no particular sense of urgency. The peace was broken by a helicopter flying above the streets, a bright light fixed to it’s underside illuminating the darkness. A strange ball of red light followed the helicopter as it hurried to it’s destination.

Sonic appeared, leaping from building to building, before making a large jump to land on a rooftop. “Ah, Yeah! This is happenin’!” He announced, his face illuminated by a warm light. He looked down to see a group of four police cars speeding along a road in a reckless, yet comical, manner. Sonic jumped down to the ground to follow them. “What’s up?” He asked his deserted surroundings before rolling into a ball to follow the vehicles that drew his interest.

As drops of rain started falling from the sky, police vehicles and armed officers faced a large, grand building. A strange creature, coloured bright blue with a human-like shape and a visible brain, jumped down from the top of the structure. The creature landed on a concrete awning and surveyed the nearby people with large, green eyes. The creature’s body appeared to be like liquid, with bubbles visibly travelling through it’s body. “You are completely surrounded!” One police office commanded, while others took up positions nearby, their guns trained on the unusual lifeform. “Surrender yourself!”

A few tense moments took place while the police, ready to open fire with sub-machine guns, waited for the blue creature’s response. Suddenly, the creature jumped a huge height into the air and landed in front of the officers. The officers, believing this to be a hostile act, prepared an appropriate reaction.

“Lock on target, men!” The lead officer commanded, “Ready?” A brief pause occurred “FIRE!”.

The assembled armed police officers fired volleys of bullets at the strange being. The creature did not react, instead, the fired bullets fell from it’s body and it remained unharmed.

“Oh no! Our weapons are useless!” One of the men shouted. The officers retreated while one remained with their gun pointed at their enemy, “Retreat! All personnel, fall back!” He told the others. The remaining officer fired a few useless bullets at the creature.

Sonic jumped onto a nearby police car. “Ah, yeah! This could be fun!” He announced before jumping onto the ground in front of the creature.

The two combatants faced each other before the battle began. Continue reading →

10 Weird Aspects of Computer Games

This article listed 10 weird aspects of various computer games. The list only included things from computer games I have personally played and found strange. I have also used specific aspects of each game, rather than using general ideas, such as entire games or every enemy. I have also refrained from adding weird levels because I may create a separate list that focused on these items. The items in the list were not placed in any particular order.

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10. Recorded Laughter from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon was a highly unusual game that featured the villains performing a song, a submarine filled with vicious sushi and weird enemies, such as flat sumo wrestlers. The story also involved the heroes paying a large amount of money to a witch to summon the spirit of a character, whose implied death was witnessed previously, only for the same character to be found alive later in the game.

The most unusual aspect of the game, however, was the recorded laughter that played whenever a character said anything humorous. It was very strange for a game to use recorded laughter in a similar manner to a sitcom, particularly as the game seemed to be an epic adventure, rather than a comedy game, and because some of the lines that the laughter was played for were not actually funny. One of the most bizarre uses of this effect occurred when one of the minor villains was annoyed by the heroes and left the area, which led to the sound of a round of applause playing in the background, as if he was a popular comedy character.

9. Ouromov’s Briefcase from Goldeneye 007

The Goldeneye 007 game mirrored the plot of the Goldeneye film, however, certain levels were included in the game that were not linked to the film. One of these levels was Silo.

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