Software:Uşas

From HandWiki
Short description: 1987 video game
Uşas
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami
Composer(s)Kinuyo Yamashita
Platform(s)MSX2
Release
  • JP: November 1 1987
Genre(s)Action, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Script error: The function "nihongo_foot" does not exist. is 1987 a side-view platform game released by Konami for the MSX2 computer platform.[1] The story follows archeology assistants on the hunt for a legendary gemstone for a statue of Ushas. The game received positive reviews by critics, who praised the level design and graphics.

Gameplay and premise

Gameplay screenshot

Long before the events of the game, the Indra threw away the Goddess of Dawn's jewel, which fell to earth and broke into four pieces.[2] In the present day, Wit and Cles are lab assistants for Assistant Professor Atre of oriental archeology. Recently, a statue of the Goddess Ushas has been discovered with a recession in its forehead where a gemstone seems to be placed.[3] To save their laboratory from its financial problems, the two go and hunt for the missing gemstone to complete the statue.[3]

The game is a two dimensional platform game.[4] 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.[5]

The player can pick between two different characters, Wit and Cles who have different starting stats.[3] 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.[6] 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.[7] Coins are found throughout the stages, which can then be used to upgrade the power of your character or replenish health.[2] Players can pick up different items that change emotions ("Joy," "Anger," "Sorrow," and "Happiness") that affect the kind of attack Wit and Cles can use.[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. If Usas is placed in slot one, and F1 Spirit, Metal Gear, The Maze of Galious, or Nemesis, are placed in slot two, a special effect will take place such as additional coins.[2]

Ending

In a then-unusual twist at that time, the game ends on a downbeat note, where, upon putting the combined four pieces of the stone onto the forehead statue of Ushas, it is implied that Wit & Cles died in a nuclear explosion. The player is merely told in the intro that completing the quest will result in "good things happening". The epilogue text notes that Atre later discovered that the statue was actually a switch for a nuclear bomb developed many centuries ago. Concerned that it would misused, the stone was split into four pieces, and sealed away in four different locations, so that nobody would look for them. The epilogue then proceeds to mock the heroes as "Fools", while seemingly-happy music plays. This part of the ending was edited out from the European version.[8]

Development

For music, the game does not use the SCC (sound source chip) which was a Konami sound chip for the MSX2 and used in their port of Gradius 2.[5]

Releases

It was initially released on the MSX2 home computer on November 1, 1987.[1] On June 23, 2015, the game was released for the Japanese retro video game distribution service Project EGG platform.[4] The game was re-released for the WiiU Virtual Console in 2016 in Japan.[9]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
The Games Machine88%
ASM10 /12
MSX Club MagazineA

The game received largely positive reviews upon release, as well as in retrospective reviews. Upon release in Europe, reviewers praised the game. 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."[10] ASM likewise, praised the game, praising the graphics, and quality of the game's design.[11] Likewise, Benjamin Llamas and Javier Veret of MSX Extra magazine praised the game's visuals and graphics, saying it is elevated to something on par with arcade games of the time.[12] Wim Dewijngaert of MSX Club Magazine also praised the game, only lamenting the lack of an SCC chip.[2]

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.[7] 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.[5]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "コナミのMSXソフトデータベース". 1996-11-08. http://www.konami.co.jp/cs/msx2.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Dewijngaert, Wim (March–April 1988). "Usas" (in nl). MSX Club Magazine (Netherlands: DAInamic VZW): 26–27. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 電撃オンライン. "MSX2版『ウシャス』がプロジェクトEGGで配信開始。遺跡を巡る冒険が再び！ - 電撃オンライン" (in ja). https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/074/1074884/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "「プロジェクトEGG」で，「ウシャス（MSX2版）」の配信が本日スタート" (in ja). 2015-06-23. https://www.4gamer.net/games/008/G000896/20150623010/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 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" (in ja). https://weekly.ascii.jp/elem/000/002/624/2624497/. 
  6. ↑ "ウシャス". LOGiN Magazine (ログイン) - (ASCII) (12): pp. 292–295. December 1987. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Snake, Solid (April 2000). "Dossier Konami" (in ES). Loading (Spain: Ares Informatica) (8): pp. 50. 
  8. ↑ "Ending for Usas(MSX2)". https://www.vgmuseum.com/end/msx2/a/usas.htm. 
  9. ↑ "Wii U向けVC『ウシャス』8月24日配信" (in ja). 2016-08-17. https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2016/08/17/100999.html. 
  10. ↑ "A Rom with a View". The Games Machine (United Kingdom: Newsfield Publications) (6): pp. 44. May 1988. 
  11. ↑ Mühl, Ulrich (March 1989). "Treasure of Usas" (in DE). Aktueller Software Markt (Germany: Tronic-Verlag): pp. 8. 
  12. ↑ Llamas, Benjamin; Veret, Javier (April 1988). "¡ENHORABUENA, KONAMI! The Treasure of USAS" (in ES). MSX Extra (Spain): 31–33. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.



Warning: Default sort key "Usas" overrides earlier default sort key "Mobygames".



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Uşas&oldid=3952927"