Games I Grew Up On: StarTropics

Another game I love to replay from time to time is the game, StarTropics.  This game combined a tropical theme with a strange sci-fi theme and 2D overhead travel and puzzle solving with 2.5D action gameplay.  It also had an amazing soundtrack that matched the theme incredibly well.

One of the most memorable things about the original copy of the game is that it came with a letter that at a certain point in the game, you were told to dip in water to read a message required to progress further in the game.  Basically it was copyright protection, but along with the Monkey Island code wheel and Advanced Dungeon and Dragons journal copy protection it was one of my favorites.

In the game, you play as Mike who is looking for his uncle, Dr. Jones the archaeologist (I see what they did there...) who has mysteriously disappeared.  The journey to find your uncle takes you into the belly of a whale, through a booby-trapped shipwrecked pirate ship, and ultimately into a spaceship.  There are very interesting bosses, tough action, a lot of instant kill death traps that require skill to navigate, many hidden areas with secret goodies, and plenty of powerful items to help you survive.

I want to say I've only beaten this game once and I'm pretty sure that was with the use of an emulator's save states - it's a difficult game to say the least.  But it is well worth a play through, especially with a Nintendo Power map at your side as you play...