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Writer's pictureAdam Cassar

0-9 is for... 198X

Updated: Sep 25, 2024


Platform: Steam

Genre: Arcade

Completed: 20/06/2024


The last time I picked up this game was... 4 years ago? Wow. I could have sworn it was a lot longer than that. But anyway, 4 years ago I had attempted to play this game. I was intrigued by the premise and wanted to give it a go. However, back then, I was giving a lot more importance to collecting all the collectibles and all the achievements. So when there was something that I struggled to complete, I would eventually drift away. In 198X three achievements call for a perfect run of their respective stages. I'm glad I can now say I enjoyed the levels without the stress of trying to perfect them.


198X is a coming-of-age story, and there is a hint that something happened in the protagonist's life. Either the father passed away or he left - it's unfortunately left unclear. The game subtly revolves around the changes following this and growing up, as well as how the character feels adrift and alone until they come across this Arcade. This is one of the areas that the game falls short in. The story is the barest of backbones and is only used as a minor segue between stages. And it feels like more could have been told.


The second failure was the duration of the game. I started the game today when I had some spare time and in just under 2 hours the credits were rolling. I was completely dumbfounded by that! 198X felt like it was building up to something and then suddenly: end credits. I thought it was a joke at first, but no, others complained about the length of the game. 198X supposedly does end with a "To Be Continued" but considering that in 4 years there hasn't even been an announcement of a sequel, I highly doubt that there will be one. Which is a shame.


I did also find the pacing of the cutscenes between stages very slow (which in a way was a good thing, otherwise the whole game may have finished in 30 minutes). Don't get me wrong, the cutscenes were beautifully rendered in pixelated art. A lot of work went into it. But, they plodded along. And with the main character just speaking in a monotone voice, it got annoying. I supposed there may have been a bit of reason for this though. It was a juxtaposition of the slow pacing of his "real world" and the high-speed thrill of the arcade world.


What I did love about 198X, was the detail in the game stages. You could tell immediately which games/genres they were recreating - like a tribute to them. The level of detail given, for just a few short stages, was absolutely impressive.



For me, seeing these stages was a massive trip down memory lane. You had a game that resembled Final Fight or Streets of Rage (Bare Knuckle in Japan); another that reminded me of Gradius or R-Type. Then there was one inspired by Shinobi or Ninja Gaiden. And one clearly similar to Outrun. And to wrap it all off, one that blended a Dungeons & Dragons dungeon crawler with a System Shock vibe to it.


The only thing is, and it keeps coming back to it, the duration of the gameplay was way too short to truly appreciate what the developers were trying to achieve with this game.


Anyway, while I didn't expect to finish the game so soon, it still means I have now completed my first A to Z run. Woohoo! Before I start another cycle, I will post a summary page of the overall experience and map out some of the titles I hope to play in the next run.

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