Software:Adventure Island IV

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Short description: 1994 video game
Adventure Island IV
Cover art by Susumu Matsushita[1]
Developer(s)Now Production
Publisher(s)Hudson Soft
SeriesAdventure Island
Platform(s)Family Computer
Release
  • JP: June 24, 1994
Genre(s)Metroidvania[2]
Mode(s)Single-player

Script error: The function "nihongo_foot" does not exist. sometimes referred to as Adventure Island IV, is a 1994 video game released by Hudson Soft for the Family Computer.[lower-alpha 1]

The game follows Takahashi Meijin[lower-alpha 2] in his quest to rescue his dinosaur companions, who have been kidnapped by a mysterious entity. While it's still a platformer, Adventure Island IV features different gameplay than previous iterations of the series. Instead of a series of explicitly separate stages, it features a complex scrolling map connecting its various levels.[10] The player progresses through these levels by solving puzzles, using various items, and defeating the boss enemies.

The sales department at Hudson Soft suggested that the company create a new game for the Famicom. They believed it could potentially perform well, as games for the system were still sold in the Japanese market. This led to the development of a new Adventure Island game, as the company felt it would require the shortest amount of development time. Now Production, who developed Adventure Island II (1991) and Adventure Island 3 (1992), created the game.

Upon its release in Japan on June 24, 1994, the game became the final licensed title for the Famicom. Takahashi Meijin said that of the 36 titles that Hudson Soft released for the Famicom, Adventure Island IV sold the least amount of copies.[11]

The game has received contemporary reviews in Electronic Gaming Monthly and retrospective reviews in GamesTM.

Plot and gameplay

A boss battle in Adventure Island IV. Unlike previous entries in the series, the player now has a life gauge that is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

A mysterious entity appears and kidnaps Takahashi Meijin[lower-alpha 2]'s five dinosaur companions, who are recurring characters in the Adventure Island games. Meijin sets out to rescue them.[10]

Meijin navigates the game world by moving forwards and backwards, as well as jumping. He can interact with elements in the environment, such as by climbing trees and entering doors. He also uses a wide variety of items to interact with the world. Some of these items are used as weapons, such as boomerangs and spears.[12] while others, such as the water gun, are used to solve puzzles and progress through the game.[2] Items can also assist with exploration- for example, a compass that lets you see your location in a 3D map.[12]

The game features various boss enemies. Defeating them allows the player to rescue one of the kidnapped dinosaurs and open paths to traverse to new areas.[1][10]

Adventure Island IV changed the series' design formula in several important ways. In the previous Adventure Island games, the player cleared individual levels with set beginnings and endings. Adventure Island IV has players explore areas with a complex map connecting areas with no explicitly separated stages.[1][10]

The game also introduced a life gauge, which allows Takahashi Meijin to take more than one hit from an enemy. Meijin collects fruits, hearts, and faeries scattered throughout the game. After collecting a certain amount of fruit, it will restore part of his life gauge.[12]

The life gauge can also be expanded by collecting two fragments of a heart container.[10][12]

Development

Adventure Island IV is part of the Adventure Island series of video games that began with Adventure Island in September 1986. The series was popular enough to produce sequels and spin-offs for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, TurboGrafx-16 and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[1]

Despite the newer consoles being released, games for the Famicom[lower-alpha 1] were still commercially available in Japan in 1994. The sales department at Hudson Soft suggested releasing a new game for the system, as they believed it still might be able to perform well. Hudson Soft felt an Adventure Island game would require the shortest amount of development time. It also wouldn't use any intellectual property that Hudson Soft didn't already own, avoiding copyright issues that would make them unable to make a game based off of properties like Ninja Hattori-kun or Doraemon.[11][13]

Hudson Soft had Adventure Island IV developed by Now Production. Now Production had previously developed Famicom games such as Software:Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (1989) for Namco and Yo! Noid (1990) for Capcom.[14] They had also previously created Adventure Island II (1991) and Adventure Island 3 (1992) for Hudson Soft.[14]

Release

Adventure Island IV was the final commercially released game for the Famicom in Japan.[1]

Adventure Island IV was released on June 24th, 1994 for the Famicom.[1][15] It was the final official release for the Famicom in Japan.[1]

Takahashi Meijin, who worked for Hudson Soft between 1985 and 2011, said that of the 36 titles Hudson Soft published for the Famicom, this game sold the fewest copies.[11][13][8] He further explained that when orders for the game began in March 1994, the number of Famicom cartridges on shelves had decreased, and the amount of orders were low.[16]

Meijin later said in interviews and blog posts that sales were just "a few tens of thousands", less than 20% of what Adventure Island 3 had sold.[13][17] He said these low sales led to the game being priced highly later on the second hand market.[13]

An English fan-translation of the game was released as Adventure Island IV.[2]

Adventure Island IV was re-released on January 19, 2006 for the Game Boy Advance in Japan as volume six in their Hudson Best Collection video game compilation series.[18][19] This release also included the first three Adventure Island originally released for the Famicom.[18]

Reception

A reviewer in Electronic Gaming Monthly said that Adventure Island IV had better graphics than any previous Adventure Island game for the Famicom. They also claimed was the best game in the series for the console.[20]

GamesTM covered Adventure Island IV in a retrospective on the history of the Metroidvania genre. They compared the game to Super Metroid (1994), finding many close similarities between the titles. They praise the game for its multi-functional and well integrated items, as well as the ways they allow the player to interact with the world. For example, the game contains a water gun item that is used to defeat enemies, put out fires, and revive plants to use as bouncy platforms.[2]

Kevin Anderson of GameSpy said the game was closer than ever on getting the gameplay right with the Adventure Island series, noting innovative boss battles and a pseudo-3D map display.[10] He believes the game still has room for improvement; in particular, he criticizes that the game having more than one or two uses for some weapons and that the choice of a dinosaur partner only became important towards the end of the game. He concluded that the game "remained an innovative 2D platformer".[10]

See also

  • List of Nintendo Entertainment System games
  • List of Hudson Soft games

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Family Computer (Famicom) [3] and the Nintendo Entertainment System have identical CPUs internally, but have visual and technical differences in their design, controller and game cartridges.[4][5][6]
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 In the Japanese game series, the playable character is Hudson Soft employee Takahashi Meijin who became famous to young Japanese gamers after showcasing his ability at the game in Star Force in 1985.[7][8] In the English Adventure Island series, the character is known as Master Higgins.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 ウワーマン 2020.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 gamesTM 2011, p. 152.
  3. ↑ Kohler 2004, p. 58.
  4. ↑ Altice 2015, p. 49.
  5. ↑ Altice 2015, p. 82.
  6. ↑ Altice 2015, p. 108.
  7. ↑ Sheffield 2008.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 カワチ & 菅谷あゆむ 2025.
  9. ↑ Leo 2011.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Anderson.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Meijin 2009.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Hudson Soft 1994.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Horiuchi 2009.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fahs 2008.
  15. ↑ Game Pia 1994, p. 117.
  16. ↑ Meijin 2023.
  17. ↑ Meijin 2023a.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Gantayat 2005.
  19. ↑ Famitsu.
  20. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly 1994, p. 76.

Sources

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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