Games

More Grassy Platforms

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Long a standard element in platform games, platforms with grass on ’em! This is part two of a series, click here for more!

You don’t really notice when you’re playing the game, but now… Doesn’t that grass seem a little bit fluorescent?

But ol’ Hiryu doesn’t care. Lookit ‘im just strutting along. Striding, you might say.

Hoho, I slay me.


Strider, Capcom (arcade)

Meanwhile, over in ancient Capcom history, there’s SonSon, a game that is nigh impossible to play with modern sloppy controllers but quite enjoyable with the right stick. It has the grassy platforms I love, with the right coloured grass:


Son Son, Capcom (arcade)

And did you know Son Son had a PC-Engine exclusive sequel?


Son Son II, Capcom (PC Engine)

Sometimes you find grassy platforms in strange places. Like Jaleco’s Astyanax. What is such a friendly, innocuous bit of platform doing in an axe-murder simulator?


Astyanax, Jaleco (arcade)

Finally, I held back long enough, but here’s a grassy platform we all knew was coming: Super Mario World, featuring horizontal and diagonal grassy platforms.


Super Mario World, Nintendo (SNES)

These next two games are from Data East: Caveman Ninja and Joe and Mac Returns. The former is a scrolly beater with few redeeming qualities, and its grassy platform is included here because completeness.

The second game, however, is beautiful. Top score for grassy platformery!


Caveman Ninja, Data East (arcade)

Someone at Data East learned a thing or four between these two games.


Joe & Mac Returns, Data East (arcade)

How about a little more SuperNES love!

Hoshi no Kirby 3 is a weird game. I’ve never really gotten with Kirby as a game, it’s sort of endless and easy and I can’t stand to play it for very long. This third Super NES game uses a second CPU (the SA-1 chip) to something something, I dunno. I think it tries too hard to be as awesome as Yoshi’s Island, but ultimately it looks a little bit washed out and ugly.


Hoshi no Kirby 3, Nintendo (SNES)

Castlevania IV was a flawed game, but it had a few grassy platforms so I’m sort of compelled to love it. Plus, the music. Do yourself a favour, and go play this today.


Castlevania IV, Konami (SNES)

Lastly, a game that’s right at the top of the list for best-looking SuperNES games, Demon’s Crest. I’m not sure that this screenshot accurately represents grassy platforms, but they’re green


Demon’s Crest, Capcom (SNES)

Yoshi’s Island was a revolutionary game when it came out in 1995. It used the SuperFX-2 chip to turn the crayon-like graphics into malleable taffy, stretching and squashing and rotating sprites and other elements in nearly every stage.

And, unlike the above-mentioned Kirby, it worked. The graphics are incredible, fast and fluid. The screenshot below doesn’t do the game justice, but that’s OK ’cause grassy platform!


Yoshi’s Island, Nintendo (SNES)

And then there’s Willow, an arcade game from Capcom known by teen girls as a game easy enough that their 25 cents would last a while, and by operators as a game that would never make money because the girls could hog the machine on one coin. It never made a lot of money but the kids loved it, and it looked great.


Willow, Capcom (arcade)


Willow, Capcom (arcade)

Here’s something a little special. Bonk’s Adventure, arcade version. This is a rare game, and is vastly different from the home games.

And look! Grassy platforms!


Bonk’s Adventure, Kaneko (arcade)

--NFG
[ Jun 19 2013 ]
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Comments

Matt

Feb 13 2016

man, seeing these pictures of grass makes me long for the good old days. Polygons killed grass.


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