Page 20 - OSG Presents Video Game Trader Magazine #14

Back in the day as a
gamer, you where the
coolest kid on the block if
you owned an SNK Neo-
Geo AES (Advanced En-
tertainment System) home
system. Since the AES
was essentially the ―home
version‖ of SNK‘s arcade
hardware, the MVS (Multi
Video System), and re-
tailed for about $649.99 for
the gold package, you
were the talk of the town.
To this day the Neo-Geo
remains a very highly desirable system among classic gaming collectors and is a real
show piece for one‘s collection.
There were a lot of popular titles available on the Neo-Geo platform like Samurai Show-
down and Metal Slug, but like any system, there are always great games that slip
through the cracks. One of SNK‘s Hidden Gems is a side scrolling platform game in the
vein of Super Mario Bros. called Blue‘s Journey, also known as Raguy in Japan. It was
developed by Alpha Denshi, who designed several other hits for SNK including Magician
Lord and World Heroes and released into the arcades and for the home in 1991.
Blue‘s Journey is a unique, fast paced and colorful side scrolling adventure that has you
playing as the loveable Insectarian Blue, who‘s on a quest to save his planet, Raguy,
from the pollutions left by the intruding Daruma Tribe. Through the 6 area zones, you
sport a leaf as your main weapon to fight enemies including lizards, Vikings and birds
that drop rocks on you from above. Blue‘s attacks consist of throwing his leafs at the
creatures, which knocks them upside down, allowing you to pick them up and throw them
at other enemies on the screen, killing them Super Mario Bros. 2 style, baby. You can
also power up your leaf weapon to dish out a heaver attack. Along the way you‘ll also
come across another power up allows you to light up and destroy enemies as you run
through them similar to the Star Man power in Super Mario Bros. There are other addi-
tional weapons that can be had such as boomerangs and bombs.
As you progress through the levels, you‘ll collect flowers which are used as currency to
purchase extra items at shops. Items include Fins to swim faster, a Light Safe to protect
your items, Honey for extra stamina, Spikes and Ocarinas. You will also run into charac-
ters in the game that can assist you if you have enough flower money. For example,
there‘s a shoe keeper that‘s found further along in the game that can dispell a curse
that‘s placed upon you from a witch that flits about the levels. In another area shop, you
can rent one of a variety of boats to take a quick ride across the level, if you have
enough money.
The general game play itself is comparable to other platformers like Super Mario World.
You have 238 seconds to complete each level, which end by jumping on a huge plant.
The higher you jump, the more points you receive (sound familiar?). After every couple
levels you are faced with a boss battle. One of the things that sets the game play apart
from other titles is that Blue can switch his body size from big to small depending on
what the level design calls for, allowing for some extra cool game play and new ways to
conquer a level.
There is some replay value to be had from Blue‘s Journey. Having a good score makes
the difference between a good ending or a bad one. When you get the high score, you
live happily ever after while having a very low score will get you the cold shoulder from
the princess. You get a special ending while your cursed and if you challenged your rival
early in the game. He will challenge you again and you must fight for the princess‘s af-
fection. Blue‘s Journey also features a Co-op mode, so be ready to plug in your extra
Neo-Geo Joystick or Wii Mote (as the game is now available on the Virtual Console for
the Nintendo Wii) and have a friend take control of Blue‘s green colored buddy.
In closing, Blue‘s Journey is a Hidden Gem for the Neo-Geo because there were very
few platformers in the arcade and on the AES system. It was sadly over looked by a lot
of gamers who knew the Neo-Geo for its shooters and beat‘em ups. A lot of people com-
plain about Blue‘s Journey‘s graphics as it looks more like it was made for the Sega
Genesis or Super Nintendo. Judging it solely on its graphics is unfair as it‘s a fun and
awesome game. Besides, in all honesty, the graphics are part of Blue‘s charm and fits
for this genre of game for the time. Blue‘s Journey can also be found on the Neo-Geo
CD (1994) and the Wii Virtual Console (2007) for 900 Wii Points. Be sure to track down
Blue‘s Journey and enjoy some simple and fun old-school side scrolling goodness.

20 • Video Game Trader Magazine • Issue #14 • Winter 2009/2010 • www.VideoGameTrader.com