VideoGameCritic wrote:Lately I've been reviewing a lot of Lynx/Game Gear titles, and it seems to me the Lynx had a lot more games with scaling effects like War Birds, Turbo Sub, and S.T.U.N. Runner. The Game Gear seems to have more standard side-scrollers. Unfortunately, I don't think too many of those innovative Lynx games were particularly good.
Am I right about this?
I know this is over a year old, buts since nobody ever answered...
You're right.
Unfortunately, many Western developers of that era mostly lacked an intuitive understanding of design fundamentals, other than simulation or old school arcade thrills, so many experiments failed more often than not. Atari, by that time, was already a tainted brand in the States and in Japan, and Jack was cutting costs whenever possible, so it's several miracles we got a decent library at all.
There's also the way most Western developers usually thought of the games as either a form of self expression, a science experiment, or as a soul crushing job. None of these mindsets is really trying to understand the needs of the player.
Japan's gaming industry, by contrast, featured all of these mindsets, but also had another- the gaming industry as a service industry. The relationship between developer and their audience was better understood, and there was room to play with that connection. Often, audiences were rewarded for their experimentation, rather than simply being "rewarded" for obeying restrictive rules with a straight forward difficulty spike.
Think of Super Mario Bros vs. Jet Set Willy and Pitfall. Or even the way Space Invaders allowed you to hide behind the bases and fire through them.
The difference is really obvious, sometimes even when you look at games that were better on the Lynx.
Double Dragon on the Lynx kept the original arcade design, which gave you stylish moves with a satisfying impact...then encouraged players to turn their backs to their enemies, drawing them out from hiding. Only then, could the player strike with the deadliest move in the game - the most counter intuitive thing imaginable, and a complete power trip for audiences of the day. Double Dragon on the Game Gear? You get a gun, which should technically make you feel way more powerful, but doesn't. And none of your own moves stand out in any way. They're really only there to get the job done, echoing the thoughts of the team that made them.
It's not hard to guess which game design came from an experienced Japanese company and which comes from a contracted Western sequel.