Ahhh SNK’s Neo Geo, a dominating arcade machine that swept the world in the 90s. A name that carries a strong level of iconography to it
…..if you live in Asian, Latin Americannnnnn or African territories. For everyone else it’s that arcade machine Terry Bogard in Smash Bros Ultimate debuted on.
Yeah this is the platform where many of those random PS2 and Wii Virtual Console arcade re-releases came from.
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| "Hmm, there seem to be quite a few games missing from here" |
While many companies sought to make home releases or compilations of their arcade titles in the 2000s, some titles would take their sweet time to see any home release period – as is the case with Alpha Denshi’s 1990 release Blue’s Journey (or as ya call it in Japan, Raguy).
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| "Ahem....an AFFORDABLE home release" |
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| "OH HEY , one that doesn't break the bank!" |
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| "Yeah that last Neo Geo purchase didn't just break the bank, it made it blow up" |
But what is the reason for the title of this article you may wonder? Snuck onto the Neo Geo? What is it an unofficial release?
No not at all, see the Neo Geo itself was mostly known for two genres - run/gun shooters and fighters, this was the platform that was home to legendarily iconic releases such as Metal Slug and King of Fighters.
Yes America, legendary, the world is round with 7 continents, not being popular in one continent doesn’t mean ya can’t be popular in another
Blue’s Journey unlike these two titans was instead a 2D side scrolling platformer, very much in the same vein as the Super Mario Bros series and in some cases, sharing some similarities
For example, in Super Mario Bros 2 USA, one of the game mechanics was the ability to pick up enemies and hurl them towards other enemies into one another. Blue’s Journey contains a similar mechanic, however unlike Mario where you can just hijack them from the ground, Blue requires that you stun them first with whichever weapon you’re carrying, then stand on top of them. Then chuck them into a few enemies.
So ya know…just a few extra steps….
And that does tie into one of the underlying issues the game has from the get go - it feels a bit clunky in some areas.
While controls for the game are very responsive, each session never had me once complain that when I pushed an action button, that the character hadn’t done as he had been told, but rather the complete opposite. The problem lies in the time it takes for the action to take place. Blue’s Journey has this weird slight delay when it comes to how the character’s move - almost as if each step they took was similar to hopscotching along , despite their movement animations clearly showcasing them walking like any typical platformer protagonist. So because of this there are sometimes pitfalls in the game that will hit you where you’ll be left clenching your first , wishing you could go faster.
What makes this issue particularly bizarre is that the game designers actually acknowledged in!
”Hey, dontcha think we’re a little slow?” “Maybe?” “Wanna put in a paid power up to move like a normal person?” “Sure”
That’s not too far from the truth, one aspect of the game is that you are able to enter these mushroom taverns from time to time where a fairy will sell you items of various properties that in theory, should make you more better equipped for the adventure ahead. Things like speed upgrades, stronger weapons (like bombs!) and the ability to be cured from poison (err being cursed).
That is correct! You can be cursed, poisoned in the game, which results in Blue freezing if he does nothing - so its easy to avoid it if you keep moving
Except for the ending
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| "Need something for that cold ya got there?" |
………..One of those upgrades you can also purchase is the ability to move faster
…….and….ya know something, the game feels a lot better when you have this upgrade, unfortunately like any upgrade in any platformer game, not just this coin eating black hole, the moment you lose a life, it’s gone, so Blue is back to dragging his feet on this journey
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| "MOVE YOUR LEGS DAMNIT" |
It’s also baffling since this is just 1 of 2 ways the devs factored in Blue’s regular speed being a bit rigid in motion. The other being the shrink ability where you can access small corridors usually.
Except…..you’ll soon realize in some cases that you will have to shrink to avoid obstacles that roll towards you to get that greater speed - an ability that admittedly the game does under-use for its original intended purpose since the catch with this form is that while small you can’t attack enemies at all.
So…bit of a rough start isn’t it, based on the above phrasing you might think that such a thing would be a deal breaker, after all movement is a core function when it comes to a video game correct?
Bizarrely enough, while general movement wasn’t well thought out implementation wise in the game , the game does bank on you learning these tricks and experimenting - after all, arcade games , gotta get people to spend as many quarters as possible, what better way than to make them look for other ways to avoid certain obstacles am I right?
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| "Alright ya little coin gobbler, just how many quarters did ya swindle outta people to learn all ya tricks" |
While this may seem like a bit of a cop out response since technically one can master most broken games or even bad ones when you figure out their tricks….I wouldn’t say the original speed you move at is gamebreaking enough to warrant labeling it as bad. It’s functional but also clearly not properly implemented.
But on the other hand, the fact that the designers implemented ways to work around the shortcomings, it’s very clear that their intention was for you to learn how to work around it. And once you do the game plays pretty solid otherwise.
On the topic of upgrades, your default weapon is a leaf that both swipes at the enemy and sends out a hurricane, stunning them for you to either pick up or hit again. There’s also a bomb you get - because ya know, fighting pollution sometimes requires explosive means.
This is the best weapon you will come across, even if sometimes it causes the game to slowdown a bit
Level design wise, there are no complaints, it’s well designed but nothing particularly really sticks out - it does suffer from what a number of Neo Geo arcade titles did at the time, that being slow down when there are too many enemies on the screen which does thankfully rarely happen.
That said I can’t think of too many levels that really stuck out to me or felt like they carried much of an identity of their own - which is a shame because the game is well designed, it just doesn’t really stick out.
Even narrative speaking the game doesn’t really stick out much. I’m not expecting much from a 90s platformer where you save the princes---oh wait
You actually don’t save a princess this time…huh
No instead the trope of saving the princess is replaced by stopping an evil ruler from polluting the land of “Raguy”. Which, I’m not surprised, this was the 90s, environmental PSAs were all over the place and hey, if you're going to-do one in game form, may as well make it fun.
And that’s what Blue’s Journey boils down to in the end. A fun adventure that while it doesn’t really stick out in its level design, visuals,animations or bosses - with the one attempt at shaking things up being the final boss where instead of hitting him like normal, you gotta chuck his stuff back at him
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| "Return to sender ya bugger!" |
It’s still an enjoyable time and worth looking into - especially for a game that does try to encourage you to replay it by being one of those adventures where you select the destination, you decide which level you’ll play or skip on a particular run, along with different secrets to uncover.
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| "Oi, quit trying to squeeze coins outta me" |
That said, what does stick out about the game is ironically when you do things you’re not supposed to do. Which…it’s a funny spot to be in, how can I highlight a memorable aspect of a game being the part where I’m doing stuff the game doesn’t want me to do???
So one aspect of the game that is a lot of fun are the dialogue options. The developers and designers let their sense of humor kick in whenever you’d do something daft. Same goes for the occasional translation errors that tend to seep through from time to time
From giving you a sarcastic “Bad ending” because you joined the villain’s tribe , to the shopkeeper tossing you out and saying she doesn’t attend to poor customers, to flat-out having your rival steal your girlfriend at the very end if you failed to land a single blow on him.
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"I tell ya, with classism like this, how bout I leave your kingdom polluted huh?"
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This is the same game that instead of rewarding you for merely SAVING someone at the end of the level, you need to join a lottery to actually get something!
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| "Sorry, you saved me and I should be grateful, but ya know, the house always wins" |
There’s a level of snark in the writing here that honestly makes the game stand out more to me than the actual design did and that alone, alongside the good yet flawed gameplay is why I’d suggest giving it a spin in spite of it’s little coin sucking hurdle.
So how would I summarize it?
Blue’s Journey, while a fun game isn’t going to blow or necessarily invest you deeply in the world and levels it creates, but the humor in the writing and its multi choice layout, makes it well worth a few playthroughs just to see what all you may or may not be missing out on.
And I mean hey, with the digital re-releases, you can explore and experiment around to egg a reaction out of the game without going broke.
Thank you kindly for reading, if you wish to support me feel free to donate to my kofi below
https://ko-fi.com/stumblinmedia
PC & Xbox:
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/aca-neogeo-blues-journey/9pb633dv2xlh
Playstation 4 + Playstation 5
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0571-CUSA09187_00-HAMPRDC000000001
Nintendo Switch
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/aca-neogeo-blues-journey-switch/?srsltid=AfmBOorBvINy-J_uZjIhYSceJTlIKt8cgZKg16XAr9eqrW6OhIUoF0AJ
Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snk.acaraguy
Apple:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blues-journey-aca-neogeo/id1607801578
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