Uşas
| Uşas | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Composer(s) | Kinuyo Yamashita |
| Platform(s) | MSX2 |
| Release | MSX |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Treasure of Uşas[a] is 1987 a side-view platform game released by Konami for the MSX2 computer platform.[1] The game received positive reviews by critics, who praised the level design and graphics.
Gameplay
[edit]The game is a two dimensional platform game.[2] Due to hardware limitations of the MSX, the screen does not scroll, and instead is a static screen that switches to a new screen as the player progresses.[3] The player can pick between two different characters, Wit and Cles who have different starting stats. VIT stands for Vitality, and represents how much damage the player can take, SPD represents the characters walking speed, and JMP stands for their jumping ability.[4] Both players likewise have different means of attacking. Wit uses firearms and starts slower and with less of a jump, while Cles can jump higher and walk faster but attacks with kicks.[5]
Each of the game's five stages is divided into four sub-stages ('ruins') and a boss area ('shrine'). All four ruins need to be completed and their respective sub-bosses defeated before the shrine can be entered and the level's boss beat. Each sub-stage or shrine can be entered by only one of the characters at a time. If one of them perishes while attempting to clear a ruin, the other will have to come to his rescue.
Both characters have unique abilities. By touching one of four special 'emotion' icons found in various places within the game, the character will change to the corresponding mood: happy, angry, sad or neutral. Each mood bestows special powers (or lack thereof) and attacks, different for both Wit and Cles. This requires a careful management of what ruin to play with what character in what emotion. Moreover, a happy character has an additional 'secret' power: Cles can walk over gaps and Wit can jump mid-air.
The game has a graphic style that heavily borrows from Hinduism, Buddhism and South-East Asian art and architecture in general. In accordance with this, the game's passwords refer to actual ruins or ancient cities in southern and south-eastern Asia, for example 'Mohenjo Daro' and 'Harappa Ruins'.
The places where the ruins are, are also cities/places which really exist. These places are Pegu (or Bago, in Burma/Myanmar), Dunhuang (China), Hunza (Pakistan), Alchi (India) and Agra (India). Agra is known for the legendary Taj Mahal.
In tradition with other Konami cartridge releases of the same era, there are also some possible cartridge combinations.
Releases
[edit]It was initially released on the MSX2 home computer on November 1, 1987.[6] On June 23, 2015, the game was released for the Japanese retro video game distribution service Project EGG platform.[7] The game was re-released for the WiiU Virtual Console in 2016 in Japan.[8]
Reception
[edit]| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| The Games Machine | 88% |
| ASM | 10 /12 |
The game received largely positive reviews upon release, as well as in retrospective reviews. The Games Machine called it "Attention to detail is omnipresent and a fantastic, impelling urge to get to the final battle is instilled by the steady progress one makes with practice - and the enjoyment to be gleaned by making it."[9] ASM likewise, praised the game, praising the graphics, and quality of the game's design.[10]
Retrospective reception of the game was also positive. Loading magazine likewise also praised the graphics, and sound design, while also calling it the best platformer on the MSX system.[5] Weekly ASCII in 2014 praised the game and said that the lack of screen scrolling was not an issue, given the skill of the developers to work around it.[3]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "コナミのMSXソフトデータベース". web.archive.org. 1996-11-08. Archived from the original on 1996-11-08. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
- ^ "「プロジェクトEGG」で，「ウシャス（MSX2版）」の配信が本日スタート". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
- ^ a b ASCII (July 24, 2014). "喜･怒･哀･楽だよ人生は！コナミのMSXゲーム伝説10：MSX31周年". 週刊アスキー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
- ^ "ウシャス". LOGiN Magazine (ログイン) -. No. 12. ASCII. December 1987. pp. 292–295.
- ^ a b Snake, Solid (April 2000). "Dossier Konami". Loading (in Spanish). No. 8. Spain: Ares Informatica. p. 50.
- ^ "コナミのMSXソフトデータベース". web.archive.org. 1996-11-08. Archived from the original on 1996-11-08. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "「プロジェクトEGG」で，「ウシャス（MSX2版）」の配信が本日スタート". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
- ^ "Wii U向けVC『ウシャス』8月24日配信". インサイド (in Japanese). 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
- ^ "A Rom with a View". The Games Machine. No. 6. United Kingdom: Newsfield Publications. May 1988. p. 44.
- ^ Mühl, Ulrich (March 1989). "Treasure of Usas". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). Germany: Tronic-Verlag. p. 8.
External links
[edit]- Treasure of Uşas at MobyGames
- Uşas aka: The Treasure of Usas at Generation-MSX