Love some Snow Bros. I think the key is making the levels short (you should be able to clear any non-boss in under a min.) You also need a good variety of different enemy types and powers-ups to keep things fresh after dozens of stages. Cute graphics and catchy tunes helps. Those adorable dinos Bub and Bob from Bubble Bobble and that infectous theme tune are iconic.
Another one I don't hear much about is Nightmare in the Dark for Neo Geo
I first heard the term "Clean'em up" on Retronauts (iirc). I really liked the term. I think games like Pacman, Trog, Kickle Cubicle and etc fall under the genre, but I was mainly looking for suggestions on what makes a 2D, sideview clean'em up fun. I have been considering adding clean'em up stages to my game as currently, its just a boss rush. So, I'm sort of looking for input about what people like and dislike about these games. No one has yet to mention a bad one. I personally didn't think Tumble Pop for GB was bad, just a bit slow.
Well there's the Luigi's Mansion games because, you know, the vacuum and everything. Then there's Super Mario Sunshine where you clean up the town. Not exactly the games you asked for but the first things that came to mind when I saw the topic title.
I never understood why the sequel got an NES release but the original didn't.
The Nintendo version isn't much different from what a port of Defender I would be, except for the warp holes. And it was already six years after Stargate came out in arcades. I think we're lucky there was even one game for the console.
I never understood why the sequel got an NES release but the original didn't.
The Nintendo version isn't much different from what a port of Defender I would be, except for the warp holes. And it was already six years after Stargate came out in arcades. I think we're lucky there was even one game for the console.
True.
I do find it weird the NES got a bunch of sequels to arcade games. Defender II, Dig Dug II, Galaga (granted, Galaxian was ancient even in the late 80s), Dragon Spirit: the New Legend, etc.
BTW, is Galaga a shoot em up/clean em up hybrid? It is single screen and you have to kill everything.
I do find it weird the NES got a bunch of sequels to arcade games.
Dig Dug 1 is the biggest travesty as far as classic missing arcade titles in the NES library, IMO. I got it for Famicom. Centipede is also missing, but at least there is Millipede.
Galaga seems to fit the definition of this genre . I would not think to group many games mentioned ITT (including some I said) together, but it makes sense. Yesterday I would have said Galaga and Defender are ship shooters, while Mario Bros. and Joust are platformers. But there is another kind of unification to these.
I am still trying to answer DarkKobold's question, what makes these games fun? I think we need to define that unification. I see it as a combination of action and strategy. The rules and the methods of attack are simple enough to fit in three or four short sentences. Yet, deep and complex gameplay can result from them. This is a gestalt that's hard to describe. But I think the possibility of bonus points is a key element.
anyways...I think what makes one of these games fun is probably the puzzle bit of it. Obviously they won't be as complex as a straight up puzzle game but they need to be challenging enough to be interesting with some twitchy playing skill required as well. Oh and the controls have got to be spot on.
I first heard the term "Clean'em up" on Retronauts (iirc). I really liked the term. I think games like Pacman, Trog, Kickle Cubicle and etc fall under the genre.
I have heard of those referred to as "maze games" or "maze/chase games". Other goodies from that category would include Berzerk, Ralley X, Armor Attack, Wizard of Wor, Bubbles, Munch Man, Jawbreaker II, Turmoil, Solar Fox, Devil World, Q*bert
Trog is definitely one of my favorites although the NES port lost a lot of the charm of the arcade version. I think these games are fun because each stage has a clear goal, and you can take multiple paths to try and dodge the enemies to complete your task. It can be studies in depth like chess as the many books on Pac-Man patterns can attest to. It definitely keeps you on your toes.
I am still trying to answer DarkKobold's question, what makes these games fun? I think we need to define that unification. I see it as a combination of action and strategy. The rules and the methods of attack are simple enough to fit in three or four short sentences. Yet, deep and complex gameplay can result from them. This is a gestalt that's hard to describe. But I think the possibility of bonus points is a key element.
Once again... I would expect no less from a man with a Kurtzman avatar.
I think what makes these games fun is the focus on defeating enemies. I'm sure there are lots of counterexamples but it seems like most games have minor enemies that are optional and in clean-em-ups you must develop a consistent strategy for defeating all enemies instead of skipping the ones that come up in bad situations or whatever.
Another facet that makes these games fun is having some kind of combo system where you can defeat more than one enemy at a time. It's fun to knock out a row of enemies at once!
So if we're undecided on ZAMN, what about New Ghostbusters II? You can't leave the levels until you bust every ghost in there, and since you have a much more limited toolset than ZAMN it feels slightly closer to something like Snow Bros. even if the mechanics are markedly different. And...you know, there's slime and stuff, so there's that.
Comments
Another one I don't hear much about is Nightmare in the Dark for Neo Geo
Nice spooky fun Clean em up
Rod Land, SonSon, A good number of the Ninja Jajamaru-kun games, and Don Doko Don come to mind.
Heck yeah, I was gonna say Don Doko Don on Famicom, good choice!
Does Zombies Ate my Neighbors count?
Oh, and I forgot Dig Dug and Mr. Do!
The original Mario Bros is one
Does Zombies Ate my Neighbors count?
Oh, and I forgot Dig Dug and Mr. Do!
Woudln't Zombies Ate My Neighbors count as being far too large in scope considering how big each "screen" is?
Originally posted by: jerbloopy
Originally posted by: Br81zad
The original Mario Bros is one
Does Zombies Ate my Neighbors count?
Oh, and I forgot Dig Dug and Mr. Do!
Woudln't Zombies Ate My Neighbors count as being far too large in scope considering how big each "screen" is?
I wasn't sure how tight the perameters would be held. That's why I asked about ZAMN.
But the rest should definitely fit.
Another question. What about Lolo?
Originally posted by: Br81zad
Originally posted by: jerbloopy
Originally posted by: Br81zad
The original Mario Bros is one
Does Zombies Ate my Neighbors count?
Oh, and I forgot Dig Dug and Mr. Do!
Woudln't Zombies Ate My Neighbors count as being far too large in scope considering how big each "screen" is?
I wasn't sure how tight the perameters would be held. That's why I asked about ZAMN.
But the rest should definitely fit.
Another question. What about Lolo?
What about Lolo? No, I jest. I think that would be more of a puzzler. Let's see what the pros say!
Defender
I never understood why the sequel got an NES release but the original didn't.
Defender
I never understood why the sequel got an NES release but the original didn't.
The Nintendo version isn't much different from what a port of Defender I would be, except for the warp holes. And it was already six years after Stargate came out in arcades. I think we're lucky there was even one game for the console.
Defender
I never understood why the sequel got an NES release but the original didn't.
The Nintendo version isn't much different from what a port of Defender I would be, except for the warp holes. And it was already six years after Stargate came out in arcades. I think we're lucky there was even one game for the console.
True.
I do find it weird the NES got a bunch of sequels to arcade games. Defender II, Dig Dug II, Galaga (granted, Galaxian was ancient even in the late 80s), Dragon Spirit: the New Legend, etc.
BTW, is Galaga a shoot em up/clean em up hybrid? It is single screen and you have to kill everything.
I do find it weird the NES got a bunch of sequels to arcade games.
Dig Dug 1 is the biggest travesty as far as classic missing arcade titles in the NES library, IMO. I got it for Famicom. Centipede is also missing, but at least there is Millipede.
Galaga seems to fit the definition of this genre . I would not think to group many games mentioned ITT (including some I said) together, but it makes sense. Yesterday I would have said Galaga and Defender are ship shooters, while Mario Bros. and Joust are platformers. But there is another kind of unification to these.
How about Q*bert?
Fire 'n Ice?
I play that on my phone.
anyways...I think what makes one of these games fun is probably the puzzle bit of it. Obviously they won't be as complex as a straight up puzzle game but they need to be challenging enough to be interesting with some twitchy playing skill required as well. Oh and the controls have got to be spot on.
I first heard the term "Clean'em up" on Retronauts (iirc). I really liked the term. I think games like Pacman, Trog, Kickle Cubicle and etc fall under the genre.
I have heard of those referred to as "maze games" or "maze/chase games". Other goodies from that category would include Berzerk, Ralley X, Armor Attack, Wizard of Wor, Bubbles, Munch Man, Jawbreaker II, Turmoil, Solar Fox, Devil World, Q*bert
Trog is definitely one of my favorites although the NES port lost a lot of the charm of the arcade version. I think these games are fun because each stage has a clear goal, and you can take multiple paths to try and dodge the enemies to complete your task. It can be studies in depth like chess as the many books on Pac-Man patterns can attest to. It definitely keeps you on your toes.
I am still trying to answer DarkKobold's question, what makes these games fun? I think we need to define that unification. I see it as a combination of action and strategy. The rules and the methods of attack are simple enough to fit in three or four short sentences. Yet, deep and complex gameplay can result from them. This is a gestalt that's hard to describe. But I think the possibility of bonus points is a key element.
Once again... I would expect no less from a man with a Kurtzman avatar.
Another facet that makes these games fun is having some kind of combo system where you can defeat more than one enemy at a time. It's fun to knock out a row of enemies at once!
Best "clean 'em up" I can think of is the PC game called Snood. I think they ported it to GBA but the PC version is better.
Snood is just a worse Bust-A-Move IMO.
What the heck is a clean 'em up?
mario sunshine?
What the heck is a clean 'em up?
mario sunshine?
Are you suggesting Mario Sunshine or did you just say "Mario, sunshine"?