Flawless Victory

Recently I got a hankering to play through Drakkhen again with a new party, and it was just as much fun as last time. The final boss fight was pretty hilarious -- we walked into the room, listened to his evil monologue, and then my wizard killed him two seconds later with a single spell!

Evercade Hall of Fame

Adding up all the games on all the carts, I probably have upwards of 200 retro games I can play on my Evercade systems. Of those games, I've completed probably about two dozen. Of those two dozen, only a select few merit inclusion in my new Evercade Hall of Fame -- games so awesome or so memorable that they rank among my favorite video games of all time, regardless of the era or system. 

Here is the inaugural class of Hall of Famers, presented in alphabetical order:

• Brave Battle Saga
• Captain Commando 
• Dragon View (Drakkhen II)
• Drakkhen
• Final Fight
• Flashback 
• Sensible Soccer

What's likely to be the next entry in the EHOF? Well, the first three Tomb Raider titles come out for Evercade in July...

One Last View of Dragon View

After overcoming countless foes -- and one very nasty real-life game glitch -- I completed the Drakkhen sequel Dragon View today. Here's a photo of my character, Widsith, about to take on the final boss...

The game concludes with a lovely (and lengthy!) series of cutscenes showing what happens across the game world after the hero's victory. Spoiler alert! Don't look if you want to play through and be surprised by how the story turns out.

The defeated villain is redeemed, and the hero is proclaimed king of the realm!

Hail to the king, baby!

Next up, I'll be putting the world of Drakkhen aside and delving into a new Evercade cartridge dedicated to the "cinematic" games of Delphine Software International. I remember playing Delphine's Flashback on my Sega Genesis long ago and just being blown away by the story and the silky-smooth (rotoscoped!) animation.

Saved By the Save

I've been working my way through the Drakkhen sequel -- known by many names, but called Dragon View on my Evercade cartridge -- and digging the unique blend of side-scrolling beat-'em-up action and open-world roleplaying. Everything was going great until the game started crashing every time I entered a particular room. A bit of googling revealed a known issue with the original '90s programming. The bug is related to how the game is saved, and from what I learned on Reddit and other sites, I would need to start the game over (farewell, 30th-level hero!) and save it differently in order to avoid the issue on subsequent play-throughs. I didn't relish the thought of starting over after completing about three-quarters of the campaign, so I fired off a quick email to Evercade's tech support and let the game sit for a few days. Evercade responded with an overview of the issue and a recommended workaround. I gave it a try, and voila, the game no longer crashes! My hero can now continue his quest with a renewed sense of purpose, optimism, and confidence in his ultimate victory. How's that? Well, when I tried over and over and over to enter that room, there was one time when the game didn't crash. For whatever reason, it skipped all the way to the final cutscene that plays when you win the game!

More Retro Fun

I'm taking a few days for much-needed R&R, and with the kids busy with their schoolwork, I have the opportunity to just bum around the house and do my own thing. That means lots of Evercade time! I played through Final Fight, one of the all-time classic Capcom beat-'em-up games, and I've also started a new campaign in Drakkhen II, or Super Drakkhen, or Dragon View, or whatever it's called. It's the sequel to Drakkhen, and it seems pretty damn cool so far, with a nice mix of new stuff and familiar stuff.

Frakkin' Drakkhen, Man!

I plugged my Evercade into the TV with an HDMI cable so that I could play out the last few minutes of Drakkhen on the big screen. Spoiler alert: Here are some pics of the game's ending!

You can see my fighter and scout on the left. What of the priest and wizard? Fear not! They didn't perish in the final battle; they have magic items that render them partially invisible, so they appear as the sparkly white mist to the right of the scout. 

And, for some reason, there's an electric guitar in this world!

I'll be ready!

A Triumph 32 Years in the Making!

Drakkhen is about as unforgiving a game as you'll find. Touch a gravestone and a horrific, invincible monster emerges from the underworld to destroy you. Step on a flashing road and a dragon god comes down and rips you to shreds. Take an idle step into any body of water and you drown in seconds. Hell, even the constellations in the night sky sometimes coalesce into living creatures and attack you. We're talking Oregon Trail-level dangers here, people!

Well, approximately 32 years after playing Drakkhen for the first time and experiencing death in all its many, many forms, I've completed the game on my spiffy new Evercade. I expect a return trip to the world of Drakkhen sooner than later, however, as Nathaniel is already talking about starting it over so that he, Matthew, and I can all play through it together.

Retro Fun

My new Evercade EXP is totally rad! I'm really digging the retro gaming fun, so much so that I can overlook the system's piss-poor battery life. (Seriously, it's that bad.) With some vacation time coming up next week, I picked up a smattering of cartridges, each of which is a collection of ten to twenty retro games. 

I bought one particular cartridge, I have to admit, solely for game Drakkhen. I have such vivid memories of playing this D&D-inspired fantasy RPG on my old Tandy 1000 SX back in middle school. The game was revolutionary for its time, and mind-bendingly difficult. I never finished it, and it aggravated me to no end, but I always had a healthy respect for this game. I'm delighted to be able to give it another go on the Evercade. I've already rolled up my party, and we're on our way!