So browsing through the Extra Credits forum led to a
surprise to me: There’s a new GreatGiana sisters coming out! I then hedge
fearing the collective groans of old school gamers like me in the know, and the
puzzled on-lookers who can only guess who Giana could be. Stay with me gamers, as we have some much
needed history to cover to bring everyone up to speed.
Back in 1985 (there is some debate as to the date)[1] Nintendo
rocked the world with the release of the Super Mario Bros. Video games existed long before that, and
fell into a pattern that pretty much ruined it for everyone. Younger gamers often lack this scope: how
many companies invented and could profit from Pac Man? One, that’s Namco! Well, two if you count Midway.[2] How many put a pink bow on Pac Man’s head and
made a killing? Too many![3] In 1987, Mario is the new big dog, and who
comes out but a year later? Giana! And she sure looked like Mario with a pink
bow! Nintendo was on the phone making
legal threats before it even came out.
Now, I’m of the opinion that Nintendo was in the right
here. Games were always better when
original, in order to stay fresh and interesting. Giana’s publishers Rainbow Arts never took
this fight to go to court, and instead they and the developer TimeWarp agreed
to see Nintendo’s side of things. They
pulled the game from many platforms competing with the NES at the time (the
Commodore 64 version was not pulled) and the game and its creators sank into
relative obscurity, even as Nintendo and Mario rocketed into mainstream status.
Seeing many of the games videos and playthroughs over again,
I am now seeing new differences I couldn’t see before. For example, 1987 Giana included variations
on theme, like crumbling weight sensitive platforms. 1985 Super Mario included platforms that fell
out from under you, but wouldn’t include crumbling platforms for a while
yet. The use of powerups like the bomb,
the clock and the seeking “Dream bubble” were variations on their inspirations,
to the point of being standard fare in games today. In 1987 all of that was new, and it
encourages me to see The Great Giana Sisters not as a shameless clone like Ms.
PacMan and more like a, well, clone, that used Mario as a starting point and
sought to grow its own ideas from there.
I like to think the reason you don’t see many other games franchises
star in worlds of pipes, floating bricks, and mushrooms is because there isn’t
much room for your own ideas.
So yeah, the original is a clone; I think even the creator
knows that as he calls it as much in his kickstarter video. But here’s the thing: he wants to try
again. And the video looks pretty good
as all things go.
Now here’s the new problem: it’s more or less the same as
the old problem. Consider Giana’s new
ability to rocket through the sky.
Cool! And also cool when Sonic
does a homing attack, and also cool when Kirby (Return to Dreamland, for those keeping track) does it too. Her new twirl ability looks useful
right? It sure was whenever Mario used a
propeller suit (New Super Mario Bros Wii
by the way). Isn’t she doing anything
truly new? Well, there is that whole
shifting the world thing! Huh. Nice.
I’m sure that I’ve seen it before, whether Link to the Past, or Metroid
Prime 2, or even Fractured Soul
on the eShop. Nothing is an easy match,
though, so this detail here definitely serves Giana, at least until somebody
else brings me another game to compare it too, cause, I’m out of comparisons!
Here’s the thing as I see it. Gaming is definitely improved with original
experiences, and cheapened by clones of clones.
At a time when the New Super Mario
Bros series is being used by Nintendo as an increasingly safe and staid crutch,
I feel like Giana`s time may genuinely have arrived. In truth the 1987 Giana looked so similar
that you could swear you were playing a bad clone of Mario, even though the
music, level design and challenge are all pretty good. That's a disservice to everyone, and gaming
is the better for the variety.
We still don't know how Nintendo is going to react, but the
deadline to stop Giana's return is fast approaching, and there is yet not a
rumble of complaint. Here's to something
new Black Forest Games: I intend to try this game shortly after launch, and I
hope for something cool for my time. With news that Giana is now Greenlighted, the wait may soon be over. But can the game carve out its own audience and niche? Check back tomorrow, and I may have some more for you.
[1]Cifaldi,
Frank. Gamasutra. Posted March 28, 2012. Accessed online October 18,
2012. Available at: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/167392/sad_but_true_we_cant_prove_when_.php.
[2]
“Pac-Man.” Wikipedia. Posted October
17, 2012. Accessed online October 18,
2012. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man.
[3]
Wikipedia keeps a list of Pac-Man Clones at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man_clones. And yes, I am aware that Ms. Pac-Man is an invention of Midway that they made legit. I don't know how much that changes, since it wasn't Namco or the creator, Tōru Iwatani that created her.
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