Software:Whirlo

From HandWiki
Whirlo
Developer(s)Nova Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)Namco
Composer(s)Hiroshi Ebihara
Norihiko Togashi
Tarō Nakanobu
SeriesValkyrie
Platform(s)Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • JP: July 23, 1992
  • PAL: 1992
Genre(s)Action-platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Whirlo[lower-alpha 1] is a side-scrolling action-platform released by Namco on July 23, 1992 in Japan for the Super Famicom video game system,[1][2] and in Europe and Australia later during the same year. The game was re-released August 1, 1998 in Nintendo Power flash RAM cartridge format.

The game is a prequel to Valkyrie no Bōken and features Whirlo (known as Krino Xandra in Japan), a secondary character from the first game, in a starring role. While the character designs by Hiroshi Fuji give the game the appearance of a picture book, the degree of difficulty is high, and there are many "bad ending" scenarios.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot.

Whirlo is a side-scrolling action-platform game.[3]

Plot

The game is set in a time when the actions of the Valkyrie have become legendary. The story tells of events leading up to the initial meeting between the Valkyrie and Krino Xandra. At the beginning of the game, Xandra is living a peaceful and happy life deep in the countryside with his wife and son in the Land of Marvel.

One day, a huge explosion is heard throughout the land and a deadly dust falls from the sky, causing many people across the Land of Marvel to begin dying from a withering disease. One of those to be afflicted with the disease is Xandra's son, causing Xandra and his wife to be at a loss as to what to do. After overhearing talk of a marvelous curing medicine, Xandra sets out on a journey to find this medicine and save his son.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Famitsu24/40[1]
Joypad51%[5]
Nintendo LifeStarStarStarStarStarStarStar[7]
Video Games (DE)58%[10]

Whirlo was met with mixed reception from critics since its release, but a fan reception was positive: in a poll taken by Family Computer Magazine, it received a score of 21.8 out of 30, indicating a large popular following.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Xandra no Daibōken: Valkyrie to no Deai (Japanese: サンドラの大冒険 ワルキューレとの出逢い, Hepburn: Sandora no Daibōken: Warukyūre to no Deai; lit. "Xandra's Great Adventure: Encounter with the Valkyrie")

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: サンドラの大冒険 〜ワルキューレとの出逢い〜". Famitsu (ASCII Corporation). 1992. https://www.famitsu.com/games/t/5565/reviews/. 
  2. ↑ Kindaichi, Wazahiko, ed (2000-12-01). "スーパーファミコン" (in ja). Kōgien (広技苑) (2000年秋 ed.). Mainichi Communications. pp. 219. ISBN 4-8399-0447-2. 
  3. ↑ Kalata, Kurt (July 20, 2010). "Whirlo". Hardcore Gaming 101. http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/whirlo/. 
  4. ↑ García, Marcos (April 1993). "Lo Más Nuevo - Super Nintendo: El Gran Héroe Verde - Whirlo". Hobby Consolas (Hobby Press) (19): 106–107. https://archive.org/stream/HobbyConsolas019#page/n97/mode/2up. 
  5. ↑ "Les Daubes Du Mois: Super Famicom - Whirlo". Joypad (Yellow Media) (13): 159. October 1992. http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Joypad/joypad_numero013/Joypad%20013%20-%20Page%20159%20%281992-10%29.jpg. 
  6. ↑ Demoly, Jean-Marc (October 1992). "Console News: Super Famicom - Whirlo". Joystick (Sipress) (31): 153. http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Joystick/joystick_numero031/Joystick%20031%20-%20Page%20153%20%281992-10%29.jpg. 
  7. ↑ Lopes, Gonçalo (12 July 2016). "Whirlo Review (SNES)". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/snes/whirlo. 
  8. ↑ García, Marcos (July 1993). "Consolas - En Pantalla: Whirlo - ¡Se han fundido los plomos en Sandro!". Superjuegos (Grupo Zeta) (15): 34–38. https://archive.org/stream/Superjuegos_015#page/n33/mode/2up. 
  9. ↑ Brookes, Jason (November 1992). "Import Review: Xandra's Big Adventure - Encounter with the Valkyrie". Super Play (Future Publishing) (1): 50–51. https://archive.org/stream/Superplay_Issue_01_1992-11_Future_Publishing_GB#page/n49/mode/2up. Retrieved 2020-08-01. 
  10. ↑ Knauf, Andreas (November 1992). "Test: Es Grünt So Grün - Sandra". Video Games (Future-Verlag) (12): 114. https://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=10862. 
  11. ↑ "90年11月から'93年6月21日発売までの323本を収録!! Super Famicom All Catalog '93 8月情報号特別付録 - サンドラの大冒険 ワルキューレとの出逢い". Famimaga (Tokuma Shoten) (16): 13. August 1, 1993. 
  • 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. 
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