A look back at: Startropics

I have no idea why I considered this one an RPG. It is another game that just falls under the action-adventure category and I called it that so long ago. I found Startropics from the same source as Threads of Fate, that one GameFAQs list that talked about RPGs no one has played.

It's a relatively short NES game with a reasonable plot. There's not much I can really make of it. Mike is looking for his uncle and it's basically a fetch quest odyssey with robots, submarines, and talking animals. Also some aliens are involved and a the villain is a guy named Zoda who apparently is the titular character in the sequel game which I'm not gonna play.  A whole lot of these side stories and navigation actually DOES spark some interesting moments, like the piano, the graveyard thing, the ship sinking, and actually finding your uncle. Not to mention the alien infiltration. Mike as a character is alright, a fish out of water considering he's an all-American dude visiting native places that look like they come out of the Flintstones. Zoda isn't necessary fought, but he has to have that "enter your mind" trick on Mike near the final part of the game. That's all there is to the plot and characters, but I'm fine with that. The music is fine too, and one of the high points of the game.

What I'm not fine with is the gameplay. I find it novel that the weapons Mike uses are yoyos and other modern items, meaning this predates the Mother series in its abilities. There's also a lives system which really makes this NOT an RPG in the sense. Dungeons are laid out Zelda-style, top-down perspective. It's very tough, this is why I hate it. And even after playing other Nintendo Hard RPGs I still think this is one of the toughest ones. I barely beat it, some of the enemies and all bosses can one-shot you on contact and there are a few mechanics involving jumping that get to my head way too much. Indeed, it's how the game plays that bothered me into not liking it. Why lose ALL your weapons aside from your default when you simply leave a dungeon? Why does your health level default back down to three hearts when you have more anyways? And oh yes, the default weapon actually gains in power when you have more health, assuming you have the upgrades. So if you struggle at some point, you are really struggling overall.

It's far from my least favorite game though, as there are far worse, but this is something that really doesn't need too much explanation. On the surface, it's a Zelda-like game that is appropriately hard, but I was not comfortable with this game when I played it, and I'd rather not play the sequel if it plays similarly to this.