Maybe it’s just the weather or something, but for some reason this newly-minted Umihara Kawase Portable import hands-on makes me feel terribly melancholy. Not simply because it’s a troubled port of a game that deserves better — although it is! — but because it’s one of those instances where I’ve written at length about something in which I’m genuinely interested, yet it will vanish into the ether of 1UP never to be promoted. Or read, for that matter. Not that I can blame the folks in charge of the front page for burying it! Putting it in an above-the-fold slot would be a waste, since all of maybe a few dozen readers would actually click on a link entitled “Umihara Kawase Portable.”
Still, I feel like there must be some way to make my sincere efforts regarding something like this as valuable as a few thousand rote words about something like Crisis Core. I liked Crisis Core, of course, but my favorite part of writing for 1UP — the reason I became involved there in the first place — is that it offers a forum in which I can expound upon things that interest me, things that I think others would enjoy if they took the time to try. Not that most people are bothered to make the effort, of course; that’s just human nature. Most people simply don’t have an interest in the unfamiliar; if they did, we’d still have a Computer Gaming World. And really, the notion that a skull-bitingly obscure game like this could ever pull in a sizable audience is merely a silly delusion. I’ve drifted into an awfully futile career, eh?
For what it’s worth, I read it.
Now I’m sad, but at least my desire to import has been cut short before proving disastrous.
Wow…the ‘Two Worlds’ blog made the cut above this preview? Or any preview? :(
I have no idea what the title of this post means, but I do know that you’re doing the right thing. There’s always a certain nobility in supporting the underdog; the fact that you’re so concerned about bringing something new and fun to people (as opposed to just writing them off as philistines for not understanding your tastes) is proof enough of the importance of your advocacy of niche games.
Hang in there, Parish! まだ大切な用事があるんだから。 And grating though it may be, remember that your witty writing in a Crisis Core-esque feature could be the thing that inspires someone to search for more articles written by you, and that might be how they stumble upon something great.
Thanks, but I’m just musing aloud, so to speak. I don’t really need perking up, or whatever.
The title of the post is the full name (or maybe slogan) of the company that published the Super Famicom version of Umihara. Apparently “TNN” was short for… that. It is awfully cryptic, though.
“Things that I think others would enjoy if they took the time to try.”
Such is the thing that separates the professional from the amateur. Sure, most people will just play whatever the PR firms tell them to, but when people start asking, “wait. surely there is [i]more than this[/i]!” the professionals are right there with a “I’ve been waiting for you to say that”. Sure, it might get less hits, but the important part is that it exists at all, that when people want to go beyond the surface, there’s something for them to find that doesn’t necessitate finding Derek Yu’s website.
It’s something that’s generally missing from most gaming press, while being for the most part present in other, less time-eating media.
I really wish you would do more 1up features on import gamers like this one. It doesn’t need to be encyclopedic, just a primer on what they are and how they relate to games that gamers know (ex: Umihara and Bionic Commando). There are definitely people who are interested in exploring stuff beyond what’s sitting in a Gamestop.
You could even apply this notion to your Retro Roundups. If you sectioned off a little space after a review that endorsed some good VC and non-VC retro games, I think you would find people taking you up on those recommendations. If you give an example of a good game to counteract a poor VC game (ex: Baseball Stars > Bases Loaded) or encourage people to pick up titles similar to good games (ex: Alien Soldier goes well with other Treasure platformers), you would get your points across better and nudge readers towards games they might not otherwise find.
Sorry for being particularly preachy. I just feel like your preview articles and the Retro Roundups can be made into something more than you make them out to be.
(/Crazy m’f’n rant)
“If you give an example of a good game to counteract a poor VC game (ex: Baseball Stars > Bases Loaded)”
There’s some of this in the Retro Roundups, but actually formalising it as a “Try This Instead” might be nice, especially for people who want to get the game anyway because they like that sort of thing.
It could be worse, you could be an international correspondent working for a domestic newspaper.
If it’s any consolation, I picked this up on your recommendation and I really enjoy it. Even if I can’t get past the ninth level.
“There’s some of this in the Retro Roundups, but actually formalising it as a “Try This Instead” might be nice, especially for people who want to get the game anyway because they like that sort of thing.”
Exactly, Merus. You always seem to know how to say something clearly and concisely. :)
The formalizing of a “Try This Instead” for bad games or “Try This Too” for bad games would be optimal. These ideas are already embedded in the Roundups, but separating them from a game’s review would make them more noticeable. You can use any extra space to explain why the suggested game is better than or as good as the reviewed game. The idea of suggesting games for VC and their original systems ain’t a bad idea either.
Well you always wanted to write something for hardcore gaming 101, and you just did–in spirit anyway. On the plus side, your new 1UP photo makes you look like a poet laureate or a celebrated novelist.
Oof. Shame about the port’s physics. It does save me from having to angst about the fact that I don’t have a PSP, but that’s small comfort since I rather doubt a more definitive edition has much chance of coming to DS or consoles if this one fails. Alas.